Happy 12th Birthday Sara!

Happy Birthday to my youngest sister Sara! I can't believe that she is already 12! I remember the day she was born oh to well as I was 14 when she was born. I walked and walked and walked some more with my mom around the hospital while she was in labor. I was even there when she was born, and then accompanied Sara to the nursery. I also was the one to name her (I also named my sister Kimberly when she was born!)

Today Sara is with our mom and her best friend Erica and Erica's mom in Las Vegas. Sara picked going to the production "Phantom of the Opera" as well as going out to eat. Tomorrow they are all flying up here to Alaska for a week before returning to Canada.

 This picture is Sara when we were at Walt Disney World in March!

Goodbye Steeple drive house

Well it is official - Hans parents house sold today. His dad was up here to sign the paperwork to sell it to the new owners. They lived in the house for 23ish years! Hans was the first and last person to celebrate a birthday in it. I know that it was a bittersweet day for everyone, but also the start of a new chapter for Mark and Diane. They already have their new house in CO, and I look forward to visiting it in November when Jacob and I go down.

Speaking of visiting and vacations...I have booked 2 more trips for us. So now between September and December we are going to 3 places! In September we are flying down to Seattle for Hans' grandmothers (Gummy) 90th birthday! While we are there we are driving down to Portland to see Brad Paisley in concert!!! Mark and Diane will be flying up to Seattle to be there are well, so we are looking forward to that. Then in November Jacob and I are flying to CO to visit Diane, Hans' oldest sister Jessica and her hubby Caleb and their twin girls! Then in December Jacob and I are flying down to Vegas to meet my mom, then a few days later Hans will join us and we will drive to her house in AZ. This trip is subject to change upon Hans getting a job offer and us having to be moving during the month of December. If we don't have to move, then we will be staying at my moms until January 1st and then flying back home. We both believe that we will have to at least cancel the return part of it, but made plans just in case. :)

Tonight after dinner, I finally was able to catch Jacob on video dancing to the music on one of his toys! I will attempt to attach the video as it is just so cute! Also today he started to pull stuff off the kitchen table. The thing about it is, we have a gathering table so it is much higher than a normal dinner table. It is 36inches tall! Needless to say, I was not expecting to see the mail on the floor after turning around. Jacob also got his first face scrap this morning. He was walking out to Hans SUV and he tripped and his chin scraped the ground. He was a really good about letting me clean it up. Poor boy now has a pretty nice raspberry looking thing on his chin :( .

I am so excited for this weekend as Megan is coming over to scrapbook! I got 2 new cartridges in the mail today for the Cricut!!! I almost felt like I was stalking the mailman waiting for my packages to arrive. The mail man that delivers the bigger packages came to the door and only had one box and I was like....um where are the rest of my packages and he didn't know. I then checked our mail and the other two fit in the box, so it was all good! I also got my rolling bag for the Cricut and it is nice! I am still waiting on 5 of the cartridges that I have won via ebay from last weekend to arrive. Hopefully they will come tomorrow so that we can play with them! I also got a new cartridge from my friend Chris for my birthday! Thanks again Chris!!!!

That is all I can think of today, so now for the video!

Hot Stone Massage

Yesterday I went to the spa that I received a gift card to from my dad for my birthday last week and had a hot stone massage! It was wonderful! At first I wasn't all that impressed, but by the end I was hooked. I have been fortunate enough in my life to have had many massages. This was the first time I have ever fell asleep during one! The massage therapist told me that my muscles responded very well to the hot stones as the heat from them allow the knots in your muscles to just melt away. The one thing that I noticed right away was that the therapist didn't have to press as hard while working on the areas that I have horrible knots. I also have not been sore at all since, and I normally am sore for a day or so after. I have another gift card to the same spa that I got this weekend from Hans' parents, so I will be going back sometime for another hot stone massage!

This past week has been pretty uneventful after my birthday. I went out shopping with my friend Brooke and she got me a new cartridge for my cricut for my birthday! I love it. I have been playing with the cricut everyday. I have had it set up on the kitchen table since I opened it up. Hans finally asked me if we were ever going to be able to eat at the table again.....so I was a good wife and put it all away. This past weekend I searched all over ebay for some cricut items and was fortunate to get some really great deals. I can't wait for my packages to start arriving. I will try and make sure to take some pictures in the next few days of some of my creations that I have made in the past week, as well as the stuff that I have bought over the past couple of days. :)

Jacob has been teething lately, and finally his incisors (yes all 4!) have come through the gums! He is also just exploding when it come to new words. The past few days when he hears Hans come in the door from work he runs over to it and says hi dada! He also says bye bye all the time when he sees someone head for the door, or he will run to it and say go! go! When we leave to go somewhere I will ask him if he wants to go bye bye and he will start yelling it and run to the door, then will run down our hall (we live in a secured apartment building) to the elevator. He then likes to knock on the elevator door until it opens up! He likes to try and step on his tipy toes and try to reach the floor buttons (thankfully he can't yet reach!), then when we get to the bottom he runs to the door until I open it, then runs to the secure door for the garage (don't worry this is still inside, so he isn't in any danger). We then walk over to the car and he tries to climb up to his seat even though he can't quite get up yet so I get him in and all buckled.

Happy Birthday to me!

Well as you all know today is my birthday! I had a pretty easy day. When I left home this morning it was just beautiful outside! This was so nice since we have had such crappy weather lately. Once I was done at my clients office, I picked up Jacob and we came home for nap time! I love snuggling with him! I then did some more work and then broke out the Cricut and started playing with it and making stuff! Megan came over in the evening and we played some more with it. She made some really cute stuff with it for some scrapbook pages. :) I have started on making a card for a friends birthday that is next week. I will try and take a picture when it is done and post it in the next few days.

My last day as a 25 year old!

So tomorrow is my birthday and I will be 26! I don't know why that seams like such a weird idea, or even why it seams like it is such a difference from 25, but to me it is. I guess that maybe it is because it brings me that much closer to 30 (not that I think 30 is old by any means).......but I am sure that I will enjoy it as much as I have every other age. I am excited to see what the next year brings for my family. I know that we will be moving to an unknown location at this time most likely by the end of this year. With that move, Hans will be changing careers and we will possibly be buying our first home. Then will come the time to expand and add baby #2 (No I am not pregnant, nor are we trying to get pregnant at this time!)

Tomorrow night Hans has to work until 9, so we went out and celebrated tonight. Megan and Mike were going to go to dinner with us, but Mike had to switch schedules so Megan just came with us. We enjoyed a really yummy meal at The Glacier Brewhouse and then came back home for some icecream cake from cold stone! YUM YUM!! My friend Chris watched Jacob for us while we went out to dinner, so she was here to enjoy the cake with us. :) After cake I got to open my presents from Hans and Jacob and I got the Cricut Expression that I have been drooling over for months now! Megan got me a Disney cartridge for it! I also got a gift certificate from my dad for a spa and my mom bought me my Nook that I got last month! Tomorrow night Megan is going to come back over while our hubby's are at work and we are going to play around with the cricut!!!! I can't wait to play with it!!! (If you are wondering what a Cricut it...this is it!)

 

Monthly Weight Check-in!

So today I met with my personal trainer and it was time to do my monthly weight and measurements!

Height: 5ft 4in (on a good day!)
Weight: 182
Chest: 39.5 in
Waist: 42 in
Hip: 46.25 in
Bicep: 13.5 in
Thigh: 22 in
Calf: 15 in
Body Fat: 37.2%


So since June 22 I have lost 2 pounds, 5.25 inches, and decreased my body fat by 1.10%!!! I met all my goals except weight and waist measurements, but am at least on the right road to loosing the weight. Melissa thinks that my waist measurement could be off because of wearing different clothing when being measured. So because of this and being that it was 1/2 inch off, she was not to worried about it. I am also not to worried since I feel great and my pants are all starting to feel loose on me. :) 

July Update

Well once again I have not updated this blog the way I should be....sorry readers! To catch you up on the happenings in The Sickles Family since my last post.

On July 5th, Hans' parents Mark and Diane (AKA Oma and Boppy) pulled out and left Alaska for Colorado. :( The same day their house was listed for sale. Their realitor told them to not expect the house to move fast because the market has been flat here in Anchorage. (I kept telling them that I thought that it would go fast because it is a great house, in a great location etc.) Well on the 11th (yes just 6 days later) they had an offer in on the house! Since they were still on the Alaska Highway driving through Canada the offer came to Hans and I and we got in touch with them to give the details of the offer. They were actually going to be making it into the States that night, so they went to a RV park that had internet and looked at the offer. After a counter offer was drawn up and presented to the buyers, they accepted and the house is now under contract and is set to close on August 13! I am so excited for them and that their house doesn't have to sit on the market for months and months.

On July 8th Megan came home from being in Kodiak for 6 weeks for work. I missed her so much and am so happy for her to be home! We went out for dinner the night she came home, and then went to see her and Mike's new condo, and boy oh boy is it nice! I know that they already really love it and it was worth the move while she was gone.

On July 9th, Hans, Megan, Mike, Jacob and I all went camping down at the Kasilof River (this is down by the Kenai River). We left on Friday afternoon and made the 3 hour drive down to the campground. This was going to be our one true test of camping with Jacob, as we were tenting it! We got there and started to set up, and then the rain started to fall :(. Once Megan and Mike got to the campground and got their tent set up we sent the guys back into Soldotona to buy a canopy to put over the picnic tables so that we at least had a place to sit and eat out of the rain. Thankfully shortly after they left the rain stopped and Megan and I were able to get dinner started. The rain came back multiple times that night, thus making it a little on the cold side in the tent. I am so tankful that I packed one of Jacob's heavier blankets along with the sleeping bags. While we were camping, Jacob got his first ride on my bike with his new seat! He really enjoyed it once we got him in and situated.

Please excuse the sweatpants....they were warm!

The main reason to go down to the Kasilof was for the boys to dipnet for salmon. They headed to the beach around 4 am to catch the incoming tide. However after a few hours they came back empty handed. They went back out Saturday mid-day when Megan, Jacob and I all tagged along to the beach with them. However this time also didn't produce any fish as it seams that run of fish was running late. So with that we packed up and headed back to the campground and Hans, Jacob and I packed up our stuff and headed home. Megan and Mike stayed Saturday night and were still not successful with catching any fish. Even with returning with an empty cooler, we still had a good time and have some great memories....well except for me burning my finger and getting a blister it was a good trip.

Hans is on the left and Mike is on the Right as you are looking at the picture.

Jacob trying to take off with the Dipnet

Jacob playing in the sand! 

Megan's birthday was the 15th (Happy Birthday Megan!) and we went out to dinner with her and Mike (Jacob went to the baby sitters!). We went to a wine bar Crush that Megan really wanted to try. Hans and I are not wine drinkers, so we enjoyed other drinks, but the food was absolutely fabulous! We were all glad that we didn't try and take Jacob with us as it was a pretty small restaurant. After dinner we went to a little bakery type place for desert and man oh man was that good as well!

My Nana came up to visit on the 12th. She lives in Florida, and comes up to Alaska every summer. Even with her coming in the summer, she is still freezing every year. This past Saturday I took her with me to my niece Kaylee's baby shower. We had a good time, and she got lots of presents!

This picture has 4 generations in it! My Nana, Dad, me and Jacob! 

My Niece Kaylee with Jacob

Nana with her Great Granddaughter! Kaylee's son will be Nana's first Great Great grandchild!

This coming weekend, Megan's parents will be up visiting from Minnesota and her dad Walt, Hans and Mike will all be going out on a Halibut charter out of Ninilchik (just outside of Soldotna). So on Friday we will all make our way down to the area where we are staying in a cabin! Yea for not tent camping!!!!!

Well that about catches everyone up on all the happenings of the Sickles Family....I will try and update once we are back from our weekend with pictures and an account of all our fun!
  

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! We spent today relaxing and getting ready for our camping trip next weekend with Megan and Mike. I am so excited to take Jacob camping for the first time! I did make ribs in the crock pot (they were really yummy!!!) and twice baked potatoes. Oma and Boppy came over for our last "Sunday dinner" as they are leaving tomorrow :(.

This past week we have been helping them as much as we we able with the packing of all their household items. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Hans went over and helped Mark load the 28ft Semi-Trailer. They worked very hard and long days and got all but the really heavy items. Then on Thursday the professional movers came to pack their piano and some other things. Then Friday morning the trailer was picked up to be taken down to the docks and loaded on the barge for Seattle. Once it reaches Seattle, it will be trucked to Colorado and delivered to their house there for them to unpack.

We knew this day was coming for about 10 months, however it doesn't seam like it should already be here. I held it together when they had to leave and then quickly email some pictures to Diane that I took tonight (see below!). I am sure that it will really hit me tomorrow when I get the call that they are pulling out of town, and then later in the week when I might normally go and hang out (yes I am weird and actually get along with my in-laws and have a pretty great relationship with them). However, I have to keep reminding myself that we will see Mark next month when he comes back to AK and then we will see Diane when we all travel to Seattle for Hans' grandmothers 90th birthday. (That is the trip that we are also going to go and see Brad Paisley in concert! )

In other news my sister Kimberly got her drivers license this past week! I can't believe that she is old enough to drive! She is enjoying her new freedom (well so is my mom, as she can now send Kim to the store to pick stuff up for her).

Well that is all I can think of for now....so here is a picture of Jacob with Oma and Boppy!

Kohl's trip!

On Tuesday we headed out to Kohl's to get some much needed items! When we got there, I noticed that they now carry Big and Tall clothes! (We don't have many places that carry big & tall up here, so when I find a place that I can get clothes for Hans makes me like that store even more!) We found him some new work shirts and then headed over to the bedding section as we needed to get a new set of sheet. To our surprise when we got to that section the sheets were on sale buy one get one free! So we picked out two sets and continued our way over to pick out some new gym shoes for me and then some workout clothes. After we checked out, I said to Hans "the only thing that would have made this trip nicer was if they had Kohl's cash going on." Well we got home and while we had been gone, I received a email from them saying that Kohl's cash started the next morning! So I called the store and asked them if there was any way that I could get credit for my almost $350 purchase (as that would be $60 in KC). The lady that I spoke with told me oh this happens all the time, just bring the items back and we will return them and then resell them to you! She also told me to make sure that I brought a 15% off coupon with me as I could also reuse it!

So on Thursday night we headed back to the store to return and re-buy our items.....After ringing everything up and being short we realized that when we had checked out on Tuesday we were charged twice for an item, so after fixing that we were able to then start re-ringing up our items. Well the sheets sale had changed, but get this....they were now more on sale than they had been before! We ended up paying $10 less for them than we did 2 nights before. Not only were they cheaper, but so was everything else except my shoes.

So after everything was said and done, we left Kohl's with the same amount of items but $50 cheaper and with $60 in Kohl's cash!!!! As we were walking out, Hans turned to me and said jokingly "You want to come back in 2 days and see how much more we can get back?" I laughed at him :).

So now you know, if you buy something from Kohl's and they start a promotion soon after that, take it back and get the better deal!

Happy Friday!

Today was a pretty good day! Jacob went to Mrs. Jamie's house and then Oma picked him up for the afternoon so that I could work all day. I made the decision yesterday to hire someone to come and help me with one of my work projects and within 20 minutes of posting the position on my local moms group I had a call from one of the moms that was willing to take on the challenge! She came over to my office today and I showed her what needed to be done! As soon as I posted asking for someone to come help, I felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders.

This morning, I got up and headed to the gym to have my personal training session with Melissa. Today she was going to bring my personal plan that she was working on that is specific for my goals. I will be alternating working upper body and lower body with her (each workout includes core). Today we did upper body and let me tell you it felt great! There was one exercise that she had me do that I did tell her she was torturing me...but that was ok, as that is what I need to get my butt in gear and into shape!

This evening Hans had to work (and was able to work some overtime! $$!) so we are just having a relaxing evening. I am not to sure what we will be doing for the weekend as Hans has to work. I am sure that at some point Jacob and I will go spend some time with Hans parents as they are leaving for good a week from Monday. :( I have a feeling that we will be spending a lot of then next week with them, which is fine with me! I know that I will really miss them and all our Sunday dinners that we have shared over the past 6 years.

I noticed that I forgot to list in my last post what I was able to do in my fitness test that Melissa had me do on Wednesday. She will retest me every month to see how I am doing and to make sure that I am improving.

She tested me on:

Push-ups - I had to do as many in 1 min and I did 18
Crunches - I had to do as many in 1 min and I did 23 or 25 (I can't remember)
Squats - I had to do them until I felt fatigue - I did 25
She then checked my balance. I was able to stand on my right foot for 1:32 and on my left for 1 min.

Here are some pictures that we took last night and tonight....

The next 3 pictures are of Jacob in one of my new work-out shirts. He pulled it out of the bag and got it on! He thought that he was hot stuff running around the living room in it, so we couldn't help but pull out the camera!