In with the New, out with the Old!

The New Year is very close to us, and so i have decided to start a new challenge. I will be attempting to go outside (purposefully*) with the kidlets every day of 2010. The main goals of this challenge are:
1) to continue the active lifestyle we already have, only with more consistency and dedication -rain or shine.
2) to teach myself and the kids about dressing for the weather, and the importance of having the appropriate gear to be comfortable.
3) to stretch myself by putting aside housework, cooking, etc to maintain a healthy outdoor lifestyle. Forcing me to restructure my time and priorities.
4) to eventually incorporate my own exercise routine with that of the kids: minimizing the time i need to take away from my family for my own personal fitness, and the money spent on separate fitness programs for all members of the family.


This challenge for the New Year of 2010 will be logged on this blog. I will try to do a weekly update of our daily activities. Since a daily update would be too demanding!

I started yesterday: we took a snowy walk through the woods for about an hour. Mercy rides in her stroller, sam and julia walked and ran and tried to slide, but the snow was not deep enough. There is a little island in the lake we walked past and Julia has always wanted to get over to it. So,we made plans to return when the cold snap had been here a little longer, and mommy would be able to trust the lake's ice. THen we will walk out to the island . Sooo excited!! :)

And TOday's adventure in the great outdoors:
we drove to Centenial park for snow sliding fun. :)

I love how TIRED everyone is after the cold fresh air!! Red cheeks. cozy cuddly times.

It is a lot of work to get everyone outside at this stage of life. Julia is self sufficient. As her teachers say, "She could run the class". But sam needs me to do everything still. I am working on him doing little parts of the process like his hat, etc. And of course, Mercy can't do a thing! But As soon as we are out of the house, it feels worth the struggle and half an hour of boots, mitts, hats, vests, jackets, snowpants, bla bla bla. :)

It's no wonder that as the warm weather comes back I feel like i've gained two hours of my day back!!! (no more hats, boots, mitts, neckwarmers, snow pants, jackets, etc etc )



* ~"Purposefully" - I want to make sure we are outside for the purpose of enjoying ourselves, nature and exercising. Walking to and from the van into the house/store/friends' home just won't cut it!! :)