Countdown begins!

Every year...Mama and Papa DeMann along with Big Brother Bryce plan a wonderful trip to Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico! 2011 is no different, we are all planning our flight info and preparing for the trip! Last year was a wonderful experience since it was my first time to Mexico, and now I am married to the man of my dreams! This year, I've decided I need to get into shape! From today, there are 116 days til our flight leaves, and I plan on losing at least 25-30 lbs! With this, I need help! Please give me any guidelines you have; what has worked for you; diet recipes you might have! Anything and everything is welcomed! I know I don't have much time before Disneyland(which is 21 days from today), but I can at least have a good start! So I would appreciate it greatly for help and motivation on this venture I am about to embark on! I plan on starting today by, HOPEFULLY, getting to Costco to get some healthy snacks and weightloss shakes that I really enjoy! Then I'm hoping to do some sort of work out 5 days a week(Taking weekends off of course!) And for those who know me, I LOVE SODA! This is always my hardest thing to give up! But I will try even harder and I will only be drinking Diet Coke and/or Coke Zero(REALLY love it!) when I do drink soda!

A few weeks back, Devin purchased P90X, which neither of us has yet to try! But I think that will be my workout tonight, since he will be at work!

I'm going to keep track of my progress on here, so you can ALL read about my struggles! Today, I am starting out at

• 150 lbs
• between 8-10 pant size
• and WAY to much body fat!

Grandma Lou memories from Feature Films for Families

The other night, Devin and I settled in to watch a movie at home, (which is what most our nights consist of, and we LOVE it!) and we ended up watching "Rigoletto". This is a movie from both our childhoods and I don't know what he was thinking while watching it, but all I wanted to do was build a fort and roast mini mallows over candles while it was playing! This urge came from when we used to spend the night with Grandma Lou and watch movies. Before we would start the show, Rigoletto, the Sparrow and the Buttercream Gang included, we would get ready for bed with all her face creams and masks! (She would ALWAYS make us laugh when we had a mask on!) It got me thinking of all the fun things we used to do with that wonderful lady! Besides roasting mini mallows, building forts and sliding down her stairs in our sleeping bags, we also would cook and bake everything and anything we wanted! I love potato and whole wheat pancakes(with her award winning cherry syrup) cause we would have them almost every morning after sleeping over! And when we weren't cooking actual food, we were making messes on her cookie sheets with flour, water, and food coloring! Then we'd clean up and go sew in her sewing room, or she'd teach us a painting technique! My grandma had so many talents, it amazes me more and more everytime I think about it!

A few years back, Grandma Lou introduced the "Big Red Stretchy Thing" ( I believe that is its actual name...) Now this is some serious fun for all ages! She bought some stretchy material and sewed it together in a HUGE circle! We could spend hours sling shooting each other, or objects at one another, tying little Jeffrey or my cousin Noah up! My family was lucky enough to get this when sorting through all her stuff these past couple of months, and last Sunday my mom brought it out when we went over to my Uncle Dale's house! (A little bit of background...my Uncle Dale and Aunt Becky recently adopted 2 Ukranian teenagers and we were getting to know them a little better) Well Pasha and Lena had a blast with it! They sling shot bocci balls at all of us, and tied Noah up and just had a blast, especially with my dad! (Who is amazing with kids of all ages! Seriously love that man so dang much!) They are having the time of their lives over here and to watch them with my Aunt and Uncle and their other kids, its amazing! The love they already have for each other is awesome! (And yes, I already love them too) Well, after we put the big red stretchy thing away, we sat down to have some pie! My cousin Andraea told me a secret about how her mom suggested a game we all love and hate at the same time!

Another wonderful gift from Grandma Lou! We always played these games ("This is a Spoon" and "Mrs. McGinny") with her whenever all of us got together! Ever wanna play, ask me about them sometime! So I said something outloud about This is a Spoon, and Aunt Becky made us all get in a circle and play, teaching Pasha and Lena this game from Grandma Lou.

I love her still so much and wished she had been able to make it to my wedding! But I know she saw all of it from her front row seat in Heaven, next to Grandpa Lee!