My Happy Post

I'll start out by saying this... this post is going to feel really weird to write but i'm SUPER proud of myself so I decided I had to declare it to the wonderful world of blogger.

After I graduated and got married I started to notice that a few unwanted pounds started creeping up on me. In the four years since I graduated, I gained 10 pounds. Most people I would tell would say '10 pounds is nothing' but those 10 pounds, to me, made me feel like a whale. In early February I agreed to run a 5k on May 4th with my sister. I decided then that it was time for this whale to get back into serious shape. Since the beginning of February I have lost those 10 pounds... TEN POUNDS! Seriously, go me! I've done it by just cutting down my calories, less sweets :( (which is the hardest part since I love to bake), and exercising every day. Do you know what this means for me!? I again weigh what I weighed when I graduated high school. I'm not a whale anymore guys! I'm back to being a dolphin that feels good about herself! Ok, maybe the dolphin thing was pushing it a little too far but hey, i'm REALLY excited over here! A special thanks goes out to my constant exercising companion, my dog Bella. (please, don't judge my glorious selfies which normally i'm opposed to but I had to... you can't have a post about losing weight without a picture to prove it, right?)

The Girl Who Lost 10 Pounds,

Erica 

March 2013 Renaissance Festival

Renaissance Festival

We went to the Renaissance Festival on March 9th 2013 with my sister-in-law Sherese, niece Rayleigh and mine and Colton's friend from work, Chris. We had a BLAST! That was the most fun I have ever had at the festival, I've only been three times though. We watched a lot of the shows which we didn't do the previous times we went. Our favorite was the London Broil Show and Colton really liked the whip master dude. If you've never been before, you should go at least once to say you've been! I'm pretty sure if Colton lived in the old days he'd be a knight with a weapon choice of the axes. He's ridiculously good at throwing them. He sticks all the axes every time he's done it. Watch out people, don't get on his bad side ;) One of the highlights from this time though was when our friend Chris got called up to help out during the Barely Balanced Acrobatic show. It was awesome! They climbed all over him and stood up on his shoulders. Here's our pictures:

my favorite part, the elephants!

The Girl Who is Glad She Doesn't Live in the Old Days,

Erica

Lehi Days

March 2nd - Lehi Days, that wonderful time every year where my neighborhood is swarming with cars, people and animals to all have a great day at the Lehi Days Rodeo. It's always such a fun weekend around the area we live! Last year at Lehi Days, my mom and I were going to do the barrel race but we chickened out. Same thing happened this year, except I signed up 4 hours before the event and committed to do it, no matter what.  

Here's a back story on my horse, my parents bought a horse off a kill truck back in 2010 and he was in rough shape. He had huge open wounds around his eyes that looked like hamburger meat was hanging from under them, he was probably close to 100, if not more, pounds under weight, was super nervous and sweaty ALL the time, he had huge gash marks on his legs from where someone had whipped and beaten him. We actually called him Hamburger Head or HB because of his eyes until he got his official name of Tag. I didn't ride him for several months because he made me really nervous but I would brush him and help treat his eyes. It took a long time to get him healthy again and to put on some weight. In early 2011, my mom and I started to go riding a lot and I always had to ride Tag. Eventually, her and I started to take lessons from a horse lady named Darcy that has an arena in the area to get me more comfortable on him and to teach him some things. It took almost a full year of going to lessons once a week (usually Saturday mornings at 8am) for Tag to become a "normal" horse and not be so nervous all the time. He used to not be able to stand still, like at ALL. And now I'm proud to say, after all the "sometimes frustrating, hard-work", he is a completely different horse! I worked with him through so many obstacles and taught him so much but it was also a huge learning experience for me that never would've happened without Darcy's help. My mom always tells me that he's "bonded" to me and treats me better than anyone else because I took the time to help him and understand him. It probably sounds cheesy and hard for most people to understand but that horse means a LOT to me, he's part of the family. Since I'm the only one in my family that rides him other than easy trail rides every once in awhile, I've adopted him and my parents call him "my horse". When you put countless hours, hard work and early morning Saturdays into a horse for years, I think you earn the right to own him and call him yours. So here he is:

He gives "hugs"

Back to the real story, so he broke his butt bone before we got him and it never healed properly, which makes him stumble and trip every now and then. He also isn't the best at turning directions at a fast pace because of it either. Some people were a little nervous for me to try the barrels on him at a big event because they were afraid he or I might get seriously hurt if something happened. That held me back from signing up until the actual race day. He was the best of our 3 horses at Lehi Days. Even though we knocked down a barrel, which adds 5 seconds to your time, it still was one of the coolest things I have done before. I had family and friends that came to watch me and it was such a neat feeling. While most people out there didn't know how much hard work and dedication it took to get a horse like Tag ready to even go out there, he and I both knew. A year and half earlier, people would've told me I was nuts to ride a horse that crazy when I was learning myself. But, walking out of the arena that day, I felt like all those frustrating, long, hard days of working with Tag were all worth it. It never would've been possible without my mom and dad, Darcy, my supportive hubby who cheered me on the loudest and, of course, Tag. Maybe next year, we won't knock over the barrel :)

The Girl Who Rode in Lehi Days, 

Erica Walker

Babysitting and Valentine's

At the end of January, Colton and I drove up to Flagstaff to my sister's house to watch her two kids while her and her hubby went on an over-night vacation to Sedona for her birthday. We had a BLAST watching the kids, even though it was just for two days. We played Candy Land at least 20 times, watched a movie and ate popcorn, built castles, made dinner, played hide and seek, went to the store and read tons and tons of books. 

Cole and Ember (both in the shirts I bought them :])

He loves to "hold-ya" aka cuddle

Can't believe I got so lucky to marry such an awesome guy :)

They have their own rules...

Valentine's Day!

For Valentine's Day we had to work and then my little brother had a basketball game so we didn't go on a date or anything but... Colton surprised me at work with flowers, chocolates, and a really nice note (written on lined paper haha) and then he got me sapphire earrings to match the ring he got me. Can't have a ring without earrings, right? I have the best Valentine and I'm so lucky to get to have him the other 364 days of the year being just as amazing. I also sent my nephew Cole and Ember Valentine's cards because i wasn't able to give them the Valentine's I got for my other nieces, Rayleigh and Allyson.

Cole LOVED his card

My beautiful earrings to go along with....

My matching ring.

The Girl Who is Spoiled 365 days of the Year,

Erica Walker

Disneyland!

We went on our second annual "Disneyland over Martin Luther King day weekend" trip with my little brother Ryan and best friend Stewart. It was such a fun trip! Ryan likes going this particular weekend because it's always the weekend before his birthday. So it's a birthday bash at Disneyland and since Colton and I LOVE Disneyland, we couldn't say no.


Friday the 18th - We drove over in the afternoon and it took us a long time to get there because we shopped and ate yummy food but man, we laughed so much I'm sure we all have nice abs now.

Saturday the 19th - We went to Disneyland

Sunday the 20th - We went to California Adventure and church at a Tongan branch.

Monday the 21st - We drove home

Here are the pictures from that trip:

My favorite picture from the trip... Sometimes I wonder where we got my brother from. haha!

My favorite ride in California Adventure :)

We found a place you can take a drawing class

We also had never been inside Belle's library before

I could be a pro ;)

World of Color

The Girl Who NEVER gets tired of Disneyland,

Erica Walker