Thursday, August 30, 2012

Great Deal I HAVE to Share!

So when you know when you find out about a good deal on something great you want to tell everyone you know?! That's how I have been since yesterday when I found out about this. Trying to think of everyone and anyone I know that could benefit from it...

So I thought I should just throw it on here and then if anyone is interested they can let me know!!
So what is it???

Well, awhile back a friend of mine sent me these workout fat burner bars that you take before working out to try. I'm always up for trying new things so I was like SURE!

Well not only did they taste amazing but here is the description of what they do...

Access® Exercise Bars – Chocolate Caramel Kruncher
What Makes It Different?
Access® turns fat into fuel. Access® includes a proprietary fat conversion formula combined with clinically proven* CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) to help you access your stored fat, achieve greater endurance, reduce body fat†, increase muscle tone†, and keep fat off†.
Why Is That Important?
Access® technology allows you to jump-start and maximize your workout and weight loss potential using a unique technology combination only found in Access®.
The original Access® technology allows your body to:
  • Access stored body fat faster to fuel your workout
  • Naturally block the energy-sapping effects of adenosine
  • Increase endurance with less fatigue and soreness
With the addition of clinically proven and patented CLA, Access® technology also delivers increased fat-loss and body toning benefits*. This proven technology from CLA can help you:
  • Reduce body fat by up to 10%*†
  • Improve muscle tone and build lean muscle†
  • Keep fat off and prevent weight regain†
For optimal results, consume one serving of Access® 15 minutes before exercising.
It Works Because…
During exercise the body produces adenosine, which slows fat burning and promotes fatigue, soreness, and reduced muscle contraction. The original Access® technology developed by Larry Wang, Ph.D., a world-renowned authority on fat metabolism, helps block adenosine so you can more easily convert fat into fuel and increase endurance with less fatigue and soreness associated with exercise.
Access® also delivers impressive fat-loss and body toning benefits by leveraging the power of CLA. Access® contains the purest form of CLA available. Naturally sourced from safflower, this highly purified CLA is patented and clinically proven.
Reduced body fat, improved muscle tone and weight regain prevention is possible because of the way CLA alters the body's interaction with fat. By helping the body burn fat more efficiently CLA helps increase fat metabolism, limit fat deposits, reduce the size of fat cells and build lean muscle. Because muscle helps burn fat, the longer you use Access®, the more fat loss and body toning benefits you will see.
This remarkable technology is backed by extensive scientific research, including 18 independent clinical studies and more than 75 published articles. The CLA found in Access® has over 40 patents or pending patents across the globe.
An impressive research finding is the fact that the CLA in Access® works on people of all shapes and activity levels, whether they are normal weight, overweight or obese.
Let Access® turn your fat into fuel to fuel your personal weight-loss and fitness victories.
*In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, CLA users showed a significant reduction in weight, BMI, and body fat mass versus placebo. CLA users also significantly increased lean body mass. Gaullier, et al., CLA Reduces Body Fat Mass and Is Well Tolerated, The Journal of Nutrition, 2005.

Sounds pretty sweet huh?! I thought so! :)

So I asked the girl how I could get more to try out and she gave me a link to this company Melaleuca. After watching the video I realized they had A LOT more going for them then just supplements. They have a million and one different products that are all natural and good for you that do great stuff from cleaning to makeup to lotion to food, etc.

So the reason I am trying to spread the word so quickly is because until Friday at midnight it is ONLY $1 to sign up and become a member. The great thing about it is there is no risk. You aren't locked in for any length of time you can stop ANY time. ALL of there products are money back guarantee so if you don't like something your not stuck with it.

So I am gonna try it out for a few months and all at risk is losing $1 instead of their regular $30 fee. The great part is most of their products are things you normally buy at the store so it's not like your coming up with extra money for things...you are just buying them from a different source.

So anyways if you want to learn more about it the link to watch the presentation that explains more is www.melaleuca.com/deliveringwellness.
The passcode that makes it available is 099718 (it will be available at 9 a.m. Mountain time til 9 p.m. tonight and then it expires)
So if you miss that one another code is 07db99 (it will be available from 9 p.m. tonight until 9 a.m. in the morning)
If you miss both of those and want to watch it leave a comment or email me and I will open up another one.

I'm TOTALLY not doing this as a business. I HATE pyramid things because the only person that makes money is the person on top..the bottom people just do all the work! So I'm not sharing this to try and make money off anyone...just thought it was a great deal, great company, and great stuff. As soon as I signed up I called my sisters right away...that's how cool I thought it was. So NO PRESSURE from this end AT ALL!!!!

Even if it's something your not interested but would like to try just one thing I would be happy to get it for you with my membership too. So whatever is best for YOU!!

Has anyone out there in blogger land ever tried any of Melaleuca's products??? I would LOVE to hear what you have tried and what you think??? Good/bad/whatever!!

Have a great day!!!

 

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

WE DID IT!!!

We did it people...we went camping WITH Dakota...AND we had SO much fun!!!

Zach's dad's side of the family goes almost every year. Since Zach and I dated we have gone every year they have gone...except when Zach was in the hospital with his eye stuff (we missed that year...not by choice).
DATING
This is how he won me over! ;)


HUGE PREGO WITH DAKOTA!

HUGE I KNOW...I don't think Zach is breathing! ;) (This was bout a month or less to go so give me a freakin break!) :)


Dakota's first camping and fishing excursion...big fish!!

My sister and her kids got to come with us that time...so Dakota is "pretending" to ride the 4-wheeler with Trai

 His AMAZING grandparents always set it up and most everybody comes...aunts, uncles, cousins...the whole shebang! It is always a blast because his family is so fun and Zach LOVES camping, fishing, 4-wheeling, being outdoors, campfires, EVERYTHING!! I like it too but Zach really comes alive in this atmosphere and I LOVE to see him so happy.

So this year when it got set up we didn't even hesitate to go. Luckily they got a spot in the Uintahs that had little cabins or trailers you could rent...which made bringing Dakota and all his equipment possible.

As the week of finally came around I started to get worried. What if Dakota just cries the whole time and it is horrible...then what? So I told Zach if it goes bad I would just leave with Dakota the next day and let him stay the next night and enjoy it because I knew he wouldn't if  Dakota was ornery.

As we were packing up the whole house pretty much and I was making a million meals for Dakota I started thinking...is this worth it???

As we were driving up the 4 mile dirt road in the mountains Zach and I both kind of looked at each other and said...what are we thinking...this is crazy...are we really doing this?! Don't get me wrong...we were excited...but bringing your child with a million and one health problems into the middle of nowhere where you couldn't get help for a long time seemed all the sudden like not the smartest thing in the world...BUT we have to live right???

Despite ALL of the worries, we had an amazing time and Dakota did SO good! Lucky for us Zach's parents came the first couple days and first night so they were a HUGE help with Dakota. They actually slept with him in the rented trailer the first night while we bunked up with Zach's cousin Scott and his wife in one of the little cabins. Zach and I started off together on a little single bed but after the heat and claustrophobia set in I moved up to the top bunk...so we were bunk mates! (Zach said the bunk beds reminded him of his first night in the MTC thinking...what did I get myself into?! ;) ) The next night Zach's parents weren't there so we had the trailer all to ourselves. It was a fun little atmosphere.

Luckily we brought up Dakota's oxygen concentrator (as we debated over it) cuz he needed it in the nights. (Not sure if it was the elevation or what)

Zach and I went river fishing with Doug. I got to wear my new waders for the first time...I felt like a REAL fisher woman....even though I won't touch the worm or the fish! ;) That's why I have Zach! We came across a huge beaver dam that was SO rad.

Zach's parents took Dakota on lots of walks and we went on a lot of Ranger rides where we saw Moose and deer.
Snugglin with Dad

and grammy!

Look at that cute lil camper!

Poppy cookin up some dinner!


One ride Zach, Dakota, and I snuggled on the back seat of the ranger while his cousin drove...Dakota looked up at us with his little perfect face and smiled and both Zach and I were in heaven. It felt SO good to be doing something FUN as a family again. Those times are harder to come by these days since we don't have a healthy child that enjoys many kid things or anything for that matter so we don't do much. But this was one of those moments where I just started thanking my Father in Heaven that I still have this precious boy, that I get to be his mom, that I have a little family of my own!! I couldn't have been more happier in that moment and it made the WHOLE trip!!

Best night ever!!!


That and seeing Zach so happy and alive in his most favorite element. Even though he can't see clearly the beauty around him he just kept saying it is so pretty up here. He could just feel it I'm sure!

Thank you SO much Grandma and Grandpa for setting it all up! Grandma even shared a little bit about Zach's grandpa Joe that passed away when he was little. It was SO neat to get to learn about this great man and see some of the amazing paintings he had painted.

Thank you Doug and Vicki for all your help with Dakota!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Dear Dakota...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Dear Dakota,

Happy Happy Birthday my sweetest boy!!! I can't believe that you are already 4!!! You will always be my little baby but you just keep growing up so big and I'm not sure that I like it! You don't fit in my arms quite so easily anymore, you are getting heavier and harder to hold all the time, every time you get your hair cut you look more and more like a little boy instead of my little baby...I wish I could stop the time and keep you little forever but I can't. Because I was the youngest of 6 Nana always used to tell everyone..."this is my baby...I don't want her to get bigger." I didn't understand it at the time because I wanted to be big...I wanted to grow up. Now I get it!!

I wish that I could sit here and list all of your big boy accomplishments that you have done since you turned 4...like ride a bike, write your name, share with your sister (who I thought we would have by now), start preschool at Toree's down the street, be a big helper around the house, ride a horse all by your big boy self, etc. Things don't look at all like I imagined them being when you turned 4 BUT you are accomplishing more then I ever thought possible and things of FAR greater importance then riding a dang bike. YOU are teaching ME so much instead of ME teaching YOU! You got a free ticket to heaven on that tragic day that you keep in your pocket while mom and dad are still trying to earn ours...YOU have become our teacher and guide down the straight and narrow path back to our Heavenly Father. YOU are MY motivation to stay on the path and keep moving because I know that that is where my little boy is headed. You have taught me how to love more deeply and sincerely, how to have pure love and compassion for others...even complete strangers, patience...a lot of patience, how to trust in my Heavenly Father COMPLETELY (it's easy to trust in his plan when life is good and things are easy...but man it is SO much harder to do when life is hard), how to appreciate the little things in life...most especially a simple smile (I LOVE your smile and your sweet little giggle and I love seeing all children smile...it warms my heart like never before), how to do hard things...really hard things I didn't know I could do, how to focus on things that matter most, how to focus on the inside of others and see the good in each person, how to not judge others...I realize now more then ever that we NEVER know what a person has been through or are going through, how to pray more sincerely and with real intent, and the list goes on and on!! (Not that I have mastered any of these but you are teaching me) You are the most amazing 4 year old I know Dakota!!! Thank you for sticking with us when it would have been so much easier for you to leave this world and have that perfect body. I still believe you had a choice that day and you chose to stay. I'm sure you were warned how hard it would be for you if you stayed but you knew how much your mom and dad would need you and we are SO grateful to get to celebrate YOU turning 4!!

Mommy did a lot better this year then last. Instead of having a week of sadness...thinking of all that me and you were missing out on...I had a week of excitement. I think it showed me that I am healing... at least a little bit. You know I still cry cuz I miss your sweet voice and everything that I knew, but I love YOU and I believe you deserved to be celebrated for the amazing boy that you are. I wish everyone could see everything I see in you!!

Even though we can't say you have learned to ride a bike...you have accomplished a lot of little things in the last year and have come so far since the accident. You are a rolling machine!! You still get stuck when you are on your tummy and your arms are by your side but you try SO hard and don't give up. You are starting to bring your arms up some to help you but haven't quite mastered it. I think it is coming soon! You love to roll back and forth though and as soon as I lay you down on the floor you are rolling instantly and are most often laying on your side or partial front.
You are getting so much stronger with your head and core. You lift your head up off mine and daddies shoulder all the time and on your tummy. Your eyes are looking and tracking so well. You have gotten SO good at your swallows and are getting spoonfulls of baby food every day (just for practice). You close your lips better and better on the spoon and are keeping more of the food in your mouth then before and swallowing faster all the time. Eating orally is by far your most favorite thing to do...even more then watching Buzz. You are breathing SO good with your cap on...even during nap time. I only have to suction you 1 or 2 times a day (hopefully we will get the trach out next spring). I can't even remember the last time you needed oxygen at night...you are keeping your stats up so good we hardly have you plugged into the monitor anymore. You are responding more and quicker to things with your looks and smiles. I totally know you understand what I'm saying even when you ignore me. My most favorite of all is that you are smiling and giggling more often and sometimes at things we do. You have worked SO hard to get to where you are at and I couldn't be more proud of you buddy!!! I can't wait to watch you continue to learn and grow over this next year!

Dakota at swallow therapy...closing lips on spoon.


We have had a really fun birthday week (birthdays should be celebrated at least a week! ;) ). The Sunday before your birthday Grammy and Poppy had a family party for you! All your aunts and uncles and cousins on the Friedli side were there to celebrate YOU!! Grammy decorated so cute with western stuff because you are still our favorite cowboy!! Mommy made you your very own pudding pie since you are doing SO good with swallows and grammy had your own special Trix yogurt and an otter pop for you! I think that was probably your most favorite part of it all!

Hangin with some of the fam

Daddy, Mailee, Uncle Ry, and baby Tate

Trying Trix yogurt for the first time

Chillin with Aunt Lindsay and Tate

Yummy otter pop

Me and Liv liked them too...you didn't want to share I guess! ;)

You and all your cousins

Opening presents...your a spoiled boy

yes you are the boss!

You got a slinky dog that does bubbles...

I think it was your favorite!

Your cool Woody hat that Aunt Jenny made for you!

Getting ready for your own special pie...your eyes are glued to the prize!!

Mommy and daddy can't leave you alone though!

Blowing out your candles

YUM!!! Thanks dad!


On your actual birthday we woke up to Woody at our door and balloons that Grammy and Poppy surprised you with. You even gave Woody a smile.

You were so happy and smiley that morning YOU made MY day!!! I even captured some of it on footage...which I rarely get.

Birthday Morning

Later that day we went to the fair to watch Uncle Riley compete with his wagon. Lucky for us Aunt Ashley, Uncle Beau, Houston and Mailee got to come too! We had fun walking around the petting zoo and ran into our neighbors the Martins who gave you some of their goat food to feed the goats. You didn't seem so sure about it as the goats were licking it from your hand but afterwards you smiled that sweet, sweet smile!
Go Uncle Riley!!! Houston would yell..."go green one!"

You and your cousins checkin out the animals

Daddy and Houston

Feeding the goat

You liked it!!!


You had a couple of visitors come by to bring you a little birthday present. Grandma and grandpa Rhees come first and then our sweet friend Claudia.
Snugglin with grandma

She brought you a special card

Claudia brought you a balloon and bubbles...so sweet!

The Saturday after your birthday grammy and poppy took you for your very first sleepover since the accident for your birthday. They took you and cousin Houston to the fish farm and let you catch some big fish! I'm sure you had so much fun without us...which is why you hardly slept for them! ;) Too excited! (Mommy slept better then ever though! ;) )

You and grammy!

You and Poppy

What a big boy!

Your buddy Houston

Grammy always captures your sweet face so well...




Thanks Grammy and Poppy for a special day!
This year for the first time ever you got your very own friend birthday party! Something just told me it was time and that you were ready for it. You have so many sweet friends that love you and SO many of them came to celebrate YOU!! That morning when I got you out of bed I said..."Dakota today is YOUR birthday party! Everyone is coming to celebrate YOU because they love YOU!!! You gave me the biggest grin over and over.
Mommy decided to do it at the pool because you liked it there when we went before AND so I didn't have to entertain all the kiddos! ;) We had pizza and mostly just had a ball talking and playing with all your friends! You are one loved little boy Dakota!! Your friend Zach even handmade you some special birthday cards and couldn't wait to give them to you! You gave some sweet smiles at your party too!

(Thanks to everyone that took pictures for me...I didn't get a chance to take even one! If you have any good ones I didn't get send them my way!! Didn't get pics of a lot of you that came. :()








Getting ready for the madness!!


Uncle Ry and Aunt Lindsay and Tater

Gorders

Jones

Hadleys

Brechbills

Weeks

Massons

Hutchins

Smiled for the Gomez Family!!

What a cutie pie!!!

Holding cousin Tate

Aunt Jenny, Tate, and Poppy

Cousin Houston was so brave down the slide!

So were you! ;)

You and Daddy


Sitting in the pool with mom talking to Jake and Hadlee

Hadlee is such a sweet girlfriend and held your hand!

Birthday cakes

All your little friends that came...or most of them!! Thank you everyone for making his day so special!!! We love and appreciate you all!


When we were about to leave you will never believe but the Rasmussen family showed up...after driving 3 hours just to bring you a present and mostly just to hold you and love on you! It was their very first time to meet you (although they know you so well and have sent you presents in the mail before) but they loved you so much...you, mommy, and daddy all felt it! They even got one of your sweet smiles that you don't freely give. :)

You are a very special boy Dakota and I hope you know how much you are loved not only by mommy, daddy, and your Heavenly Father...but by SO many people!! I pray every day that you feel that love!!

Happy Birthday my sweetest, most handsome, little angel boy!!!

I LOVE YOU!!

Mom