Disclaimer: THIS POST HAS A TON OF PICTURES/VIDEOS!!!

For Christmas this last year I booked the fam a camping spot at Indian Creek on Priest Lake! I smell the start of a tradition coming on. Everyone had plenty of time to plan for time off, and it was booked so far in advance we had the best spot at the campground! We made our way there on Thursday and in true Lunceford style, didn’t hit the road until about noon! You know how it is though, clean the house, pack, hit the store, gas up etc… oh and this happened…

I bought a boat!! So of course, it took me forever to get that thing loaded up, as I know nothing about owning a boat…. YET! Thank God for Ray and Dan, I probably would have sank the thing without either of them! I just thought I would buy one and then figure it out from there!! YOLO!

Ray drove the Harley

We made it there even though the directions were misleading, my Mom may have gotten a little lost, and to top it all off she had all the kids in the back of the motorhome asking “are we there yet.” haha So, from Priest River, you take Highway 57 north 23 miles, take the Coolin exit, then from there, you take a right on Cavanaugh Bay Road, and go 12 miles to the campsite, seems easy when I say it 😉

The kids loved the beach there:

And so did Oscar ❤ he’s my buddy, he loves me so much he swims and finds me every time so he can shake off RIGHT next to me haha I still love him though

Friday was so rainy, but we made the best of it and stayed in the motorhome! Ray and Ryan play guitar and sing together. It is so adorable how much that little boy loves his Daddy, they look at each other while they sing and it melts my heart.  Ryan took his guitar the last night and performed at the camp talent show!

The pogo stick was a huge hit at the camp!

Nolan fell asleep like this haha

Once it cleared up, family boat ride time!

The Hike to the Slippery Rocks!

So, Sunday we got everything and everyone together, including the black garbage bags you sit on. To get to the trailhead, we hopped back on East Shore Rd and continued another 12 miles to the entrance at Lion Head. Instead of turning left into the campground, we made a right and drove roughly 4 or 5 miles up rocky dirt road. Where the road ends, the trail begins. Dan was obsessed with spotting a mountain goat, and finally found one(that little white dot).

Once we got to the trail head, it was about a mile and a half hike of beautiful scenery to the slippery rocks, here are some pics:

The first small stream/waterfall we crossed, you definitely want to be wearing your Tevas, or other form of dorky water shoes your friends make fun of you for wearing!

Some of the BIGGEST cedar trees I’ve seen in this area!

There was a section of stream that was a little deeper that we had to cross, but the water was so cold, which I’m not a fan of, but we had to do it! Most of us stepped on the boulders to get across. It looks shallow in the photo, but it was waist deep!

So good about wearing her hat, shades, and sunscreen all weekend!

We Finally Made It!

The rockslides are so beautiful! They are a big natural slab of granite where water trickles, or in some places, flows down. There are pools at the end that stop you, or if you’re like me, it doesn’t stop you and you have to grab the safety rope! I think I got this YouTube thing figured out, so here are some videos!

They are dangerous, freezing, and so much fun!

The bravest little girl I know ❤

The only one who got hurt was of course Nolan. Poor guy, he went to take a step up and slipped. His cheek hit the granite and his teeth made a pretty bad gash inside of his cheek. He was hurt, but he was a trooper! And Ray was a trooper too and carried him the whole way back.

Not sure he was happy about it haha

 

Yes I Do!! Hope you all are enjoying your summer!! I sure am!!

Love,

Sami ❤ ❤ ❤

I wanted to post some pics from the weekend to social media, but there are just plain too many! We did so much, saw so many loved ones, but yet still had time to relax and have fun! So I’m just going to post some pics and tell you all about it! And I’m going to apologize in advance because I didn’t get pics with everyone. Fail.

Friday night Makenna and I prepped for the weekend, A.K.A. we did mani’s and pedi’s, duh. Here is the final product ❤

Saturday morning we loaded the car up and threw the paddleboards on top and headed north to Pend Orielle River where my aunt and uncle have a beautiful place. It was so nice to catch up and see everyone!

Took a little boat ride with my Cousin Jake and his wife Beth to Newport

The next day we pontooned the other direction to the rope swing.

Geoff helping Makenna with the fish she caught!

Ryan and Kace

Nolan!

Jessica and I

My Mommy ❤

Her BFF Diana

Walker!

Ray and Warren

And of course, Oscar my little sidekick

We had so much fun and didn’t want to leave, but after this, we headed south to Twin Lakes to see Dan and his family.

The girls on the Hot Dog!

Kaylynn getting her ski on

Dressed up for the boat parade!

Dan and I

Kaitlyn’s Dad, Roger dressed up too haha

We got a hike in to the “bear caves” too

Hope you all had an amazing Independence Day XOXO

So, it’s been a while since I’ve posted…

I’ve been taking a temporary break from running due to a back injury. I have been doing physical therapy and it is working, just a little slower than I had hoped for. So once I feel better, training will be in full force, as I’m signed up for the Spokane to Sandpoint relay, which has been on my list of things to do forever!! I can’t wait!

So, here is what has been keeping me occupied

Seeing baby deer on hikes

Seeing moose at a Turnbull Wildlife Refuge hike

And coyotes too

Bowling with these Loves

Hoopfest Weekend!!

Some time at Fish Lake

Elkfest

Hiking Kendall Yards with these cuties

Obsessing over ridiculous memes

This is one of my favorite reads, I even had it on my Myspace page (just in case you thought I was super young ;).

Everything Happens for a Reason… Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there…to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be but you lock eyes with them, you know that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way. And sometimes things happen to you at the time that may seem horrible, painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would never realize your potential, strength, will power or heart. Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of luck. Illness, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test limits of your soul. Without these small tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere safe and comfortable but dull and utterly pointless. The people you meet, affect your life. The successes and downfalls that you experience can create whom you are, and the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact they are probably the most poignant and important ones. If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart…forgive them because they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but also because they are teaching you to love and open your heart and eyes to little things. Make every day count. Appreciate everything that you possibly can, for you may never experience it again. Talk to people whom you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you. Create your own life and then go out and live it.

But on a serious note, I have so much gratitude for the people in my life! Without you this life would be nothing. I love you all so much!

 

 

This Mother’s Day weekend was definitely my best one yet! Saturday, after shoveling a TON of dirt and lava rock out of the beds by the street, I decided to get cleaned up and head to my Mom’s house so we could take the Harleys out for a spin! I cannot even begin to express how much I love this lady! She is such an amazing person, she works harder than any person I know, she is kind, she would do anything at a drop of a dime for her family, she’s my inspiration and my best friend ❤ Love you Mom!

We had a pretty awesome ride planned out. First we stopped to watch my daughter’s soccer game, then planned riding  down near Downriver, followed by lunch at the Milk Bottle. Well, my cousin Jake ended up having his baby boy!! Everett Van Hamblen, so we cut the ride a little short to go meet the newest addition to the fam! He was perfect, and such a good baby, very relaxed ❤

These are SOOOO my Mom (in a good way of course):

At work, Brittany told me about Silverwood’s Mother’s Day deal, Mom’s got in free, so of course, I’m there! So Sunday morning, Makenna and I stopped by Nevada Street Brew, and headed out to ride some rides! We pretty much rocked out the entire hour there, she’s obsessed with the singer Daya right now, which is A OK with me , I ❤ her too!

Ferris Wheel

We got there, and I immediately wanted to ride the roller coaster, which she did not want to go on, so of course I had to play the Mother’s Day card and tell her she has to do whatever I want to do haha Well that was a bust, she was terrified and hated every second of that 90 second ride 😦 Maybe next year. So we decided to head to the kiddie land…

We ended up running into Brittany and her family as well as a girl who was on Makenna’s basketball team!

Being a Mom is the best, yet hardest, yet most rewarding thing in this entire world and I love every minute of it! I was telling my cousin, at the hospital, how I would look at my daughter when she was born, and I couldn’t believe she was mine, and the crazy thing is, I still do that sometimes. I am so proud of the little girl she is and I could have never imagined in a million years I could love someone as much as I love her ❤

***Shout out to all the Moms out there that put their children first and strive to teach them how to be hard working decent human beings. Who take time to show them that there is a big beautiful world on the other side of those tablets and video games that needs to be explored. To all the moms who teach their children to set their sights and standards high, and that with hard work and perseverance, that if they can dream it, then they can achieve it. And to all the Mom’s that make their children feel that they are worthy and give them ZERO doubts about how much they love them, their kids know because these Moms are ALWAYS there for them. (And this goes for all the Dads too!)*** 

I hope all my other Mommy’s out there had a fabulous Mothers Day!! And to all my friends whose Mom’s are in heaven, just know they love and miss you as much as you love and miss them ❤

GLOW RUN!!

Last Friday was the Glow Run for Hunger! It was an awesome run for kids with a 1 mile or a 1.5 mile option. Glow for Hunger was created by Northwest Harvest to help fight hunger locally in the Inland Northwest. Every $22 registration provides 100 meals for local children and families in need. It was very well organized, and I could be wrong, but it seems to me like this was the replacement for Jr. Bloomsday… I could explain this, but I think the pictures do a better job:

Pre Race Party!

Dan and I

Start Line!

Mak and I:

The glowing Jelly Fish

The glow tunnels

The after party dance party

 

Bloomsday packet pick up, I’m pretty sure Makenna was thrilled to be there  haha

Well, Bloomsday started off with a bang. Met at my place and got a ride downtown from Dan. My brother Ray, my brother from another mother Libey, and I ran!

Here we are at the start line!

Things were going great, we were in the groove, weather was nice, were were actually sticking together throughout the madness… BUT THEN…. Libey hit the curb wrong and went down, we thought he twisted his ankle, so we headed to the medic station

Here we are waiting for him

He kept going for a bit but couldn’t, he was in so much pain 😦 We tried to get him a ride, but they were unable to get anyone out, so he walked back to the start, against the crowd, with a BROKEN FOOT!!! What a trooper! I’m sure I would have been in tears.

Yup, definitely broken…

My last long run before Bloomsday!

So, a week before Bloomsday, I decided to bang out a 5 miler (which turned into a 6 miler due to an important phone call I had to take). I headed toward Argonne, I love parking in the lot on Maringo, just East of Argonne and running east to Mirabeau Park for a nice out and back. Here are a few pics, it was gorgoeus! I love our city ❤

 

But, my absolute favorite part is the bridge…

This is the Denny Ashlock bridge. I’m not sure if the name Ashlock confuses people, or if the bridge is just so beautiful that people feel like they’re in Paris. There is a bridge in Paris called the Pont des Arts, where people put a padlock on the brige, and throw the key in the water, locking their love there forever, how romantic!

According to Huffington Post, “The Pont des Arts was the city’s (Paris’) first love-lock bridge. When the municipal government cleared the locks off the bridge in 2010, the tradition continued on the Pont de l’Archevêché (Archbishop’s Bridge), with its romantic view of Notre Dame.” Here is a picture of that one I stole from the net:

This is as close as it gets here in Spokane ❤

I love this!!

I finished the run slowly, I’m blaming the phone call haha

Then made myself a recovery protein shake. Have you guys seen this vegan organic protein powder at Costco? It’s only $23.99 and it tastes amazing!! My girlfriend Megan recommended it to me, and she was right, so good!!

Have a great week everyone, and remember to love where you live ❤

AMEN for the glorious weather we have had lately!! Well, you know what warm weather brings, and I’m not talking about daisy dukes, I’m talking about outside activities!! One of my fave things in life ❤

 

So I’m going to share a little of what’s been going down in my world 🙂

The Spokane River Run! This was a beautiful run in Riverside State Park. I carpooled with Natalie, Renae, and Dan.We opted for the 5K, and thank God we did, I forgot how much harder trail running is!

Start Line:

Such a beautiful run

Natalie and Renae crossing the finish!

This guy carried his baby the entire run! Then let him cross the finish ❤

At the finish!

This was moments after I ate shit on the final stretch, I mean, I could see the finish line, and Dan says be careful for these stumps, right before I tripped on one haha What can I say, I’m a klutz!

Centennial Trail Run @ Upriver:

Family Bike Ride:

Family Walks:

Clowning around with these fools

Flying Irish with Libey… “The Hill Run” killed me!

View from the top of the hill we ran to! Cliff Drive

Bonfires and Smores with Liana and Kaydence ❤

 

Have a beautiful week everyone, and get outside! Its good for you! XOXO

 

Has anyone run the trail starting at Kendall Yards heading west? Well, let me just tell you, it is beautiful, overlooking the Spokane River!

Last Saturday could not have been more perfect there for a run. And the superhero run was also going on, seeing everyone in costume made the run that much more fun!

I know I haven’t posted in a while, so here are some other things I have been up to!

St Paddy’s 5 with Angie

Driving Range!

Treadmill!

Continue reading “Getting Deep, and Staying Active” →

Last weekend I met with my friend Ileia to discuss this Keto “white powder” she has been doing. Apparently it puts your body directly into ketosis, which is when your body uses fats for energy rather than carbs or stored glucose. On diets such as Atkins, it takes roughly 3 days of extremely low carb to get to this state.

I have always been a believer in a lower carb lifestyle. Not simply for weight loss, but I find when I follow a lower carb diet, I eat so many more veggies and so much less processed shit and sugar.

I have been doing this for about a week, and have not been as strict as I should. Alcohol is my weakness after all! When I drink an entire scoop in one sitting, it does make me a tad nausious, so I have been doing a half in the morning and a half in the evening. So far I do feel like I have a bit more energy, but nothing crazy. I purchased the one month supply and I will keep you guys posted!

It tastes amazing! The main ingredient is MCT, according to WebMD:

Medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) are partially man-made fats. The name refers to the way the carbon atoms are arranged in their chemical structure. MCTs are generally made by processing coconut and palm kernel oils in the laboratory. Usual dietary fats, by comparison, are long-chain triglycerides. People use MCTs as medicine.

MCTs are used along with usual medications for treating food absorption disorders including diarrhea, steatorrhea (fat indigestion), celiac disease, liver disease, and digestion problems due to partial surgical removal of the stomach (gastrectomy) or the intestine (short bowel syndrome).

MCTs are also used for “milky urine” (chyluria) and a rare lung condition called chylothorax. Other uses include treatment of gallbladder disease, AIDS, cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and seizures in children.

Athletes sometimes use MCTs for nutritional support during training, as well as for decreasing body fat and increasing lean muscle mass.

MCTs are sometimes used as a source of fat in total parenteral nutrition (TPN). In TPN, all food is delivered intravenously (by IV). This type of feeding is necessary in people whose gastrointestinal (GI) tract is no longer working.

Intravenous MCTs are also given to prevent muscle breakdown in critically ill patients.

How does it work?

MCTs are a fat source for patients who cannot tolerate other types of fats. Researchers also think that these fats produce chemicals in the body that might help fight Alzheimer’s disease.

Will it EVER open????

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m getting really antsy waiting for the new Trader Joe’s to open. Not only do I LOVE that place, but my daughter does too. Kids get a prize when they find “Sassy,” their mascot. AKA their stuffed sasquatch animal they hide in a different location daily. It makes grocery shopping fun for them!

So close!! The new location is 2 minutes from my house. Here are a few gems I just discovered there:

YUM!!

So, last weekend I saw an ad for a cat show here in town where they have all kinds of exotic house cats! I’m not a huge cat lady or anything, but my daughter loves kitties so I thought we would check it out!

We seriously saw the cutest cats! Makenna ALMOST had me talked into adopting one, but I’m still a tad on the fence about it. I mean, I want her to have a childhood pet, but pets are a lot of responsibility, so I want to make sure she’s ready to take on that responsibility and help with feeding and cleaning, and most importantly helping with the litterbox ewww.

This baby was HUGE! Probably the biggest cat I’ve seen!

He looks evil, but I like that!

Some words of inspiration for your weekend:

Have a great weekend everyone! Peace & Love, Sami ❤

 

This past week and a half has been so crazy packed. Last Saturday I ran the Partners In Pain 5K with the Sis in Law. We have done this 3 years in a row now, the first year there was so much snow on the ground, this was by far the nicest weather.

Yes, I take photos when I run!

And the finish!

Who else is over the cold and ready for summer??? …Or at least spring anyway!

I missed out running with Steph this week due to this race. But I’m a huge believer in running buddies.  It’s one of those things that push you to run on those days you might otherwise convince yourself of some dumb excuse. It’s accountability.

I met Beto for a couple miles at Franklin Park. I love running here because one lap is exactly 1 mile, so it’s easy to keep track.

My FAVORITE spaghetti squash recipe of all time!:
This is one of the easiest things to make. First, bake your spaghetti squash. I just throw mine in the oven whole, bake at 375 for an hour. Then cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and use a fork to get the “noodles” out. Then you simply saute the shrimp in pesto sauce (I added scallops this time too). Then dump the shrimp/pesto mix on top. It’s amazing!!

A nice little low carb dinner 🙂 And speaking of food, my boss ordered us lunch from Ambrosia out in the valley. I chose the seared ahi Asian salad. Highly highly recommended, it was cooked perfectly and so delicious!

So, we checked out the Led Zeppelin tribute band last Friday, it was like we were at an original concert! So much fun. My mom got down on some fireball haha

Love me some Arnold!! Have a fab week everyone ♡

First off, can somebody PLEASE invent this like NOW!!

This last week has been so crazy busy, which I love!! Bring it on! So, not sure if you guys have heard of The Union, but it’s a yoga/spin studio that just opened up a new location on the North side across Division from Costco, next to The Onion.

s

Last weekend was their grand opening and they had free classes. I have heard so many AMAZING things about this place but don’t get downtown too often… unless I’m eating good food that is. So I signed up for the Saturday 10am yoga and the Sunday 12 o’clock spin. I mean this when I say it, this was unlike any other workout class I have ever taken. The studio is very nice, and everyone there is super friendly and helpful. The studios are lit with black lights, their playlists are on point, and once we got moving in the spin class, they bump it up a notch and turn on the laser lights! The instructor had so much energy, the whole class rides to the beat of the music, and it really is a full body workout! So much fun!

They keep the yoga room at 80 degrees, and the spin didn’t need any help in that department. Once the class was done the mirrors were so steamed up you couldn’t even see your reflection! I would recommend this to anyone that has some type of baseline fitness level, as it was very intense!

Also, the click in type of shoes are required, but the rent them out there as well as yoga mats if you need 🙂

Overall, a great place, I will definitely be back ❤

Well I don’t know about you guys, but there have been so many times where I’m half way to work and I start yelling profanities not only because I forgot my lunch, but also because I know that beautiful meal I spent all morning preparing is about to sit out all day and is going straight to the trash when I get home… UGHHH!!! So I want to share this little trick that has been saving me:

Keys on top of the lunch, BAMM problem solved! Genius right?! I made spaghetti squash (my obsesh I know) with chicken italian sausage, onion, pepper, no sugar added spaghetti sauce, and a splash of parmesan on top.

I swear it tastes better than it looks HAHA

I’m loving this weather! There have been a few outdoor runs the last week. Saturday at 8am I met Steph and Melissa for 3 miles from Kendall Yards

I love this area so much. I literally can’t stand when pessimistic people say they hate Spokane. Whats not to love? We have some of the most natural beauty here!

Bridge near Gonzaga.

Spokane Falls are crazy pretty too ❤

Have a beautiful week everyone!!

I’m beyond ecstatic the the snow and ice has finally melted enough to get outside and run!!!!  Saturday I met up with my running bud Steph. Steph and I trained for the full marathon we ran together. It was awesome to chat and catch up. We did 3 miles, Mission Park to the carousel and back.And thank God we met at 8am, because shortly after we finished, it was pooouuuuriinngg!

It felt so good to get back out there! Treadmill running pretty much = torture for me haha

OK, so maybe not the fastest, but who cares!!

Has anyone seen/used one of these?

Well, it’s called a Veggetti, pronounced like spaghetti (not like something that you use on your lady parts haha).  Anyway, it’s my latest obsession! You twist a zucchini in it, and bam, zoodles!!

They are great mixed with veggies, chicken and some balsamic vinaigrette, or used instead of noodles with spaghetti sauce. I personally don’t like them cooked, they get too soggy.

Last week’s workouts:

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 3m am treadmill, 4:05 spin class at the Y
Wednesday : PM yoga at the Y
Thursday: 1m TM, bicep curls, overhead press, teacups
Friday: rest
Saturday: 3m outdoor run

Makenna insisted we watch Martha Stewart hahah
GTL:

I’ve given up coffee, but I just can’t seem to give up my green tea latte, with soy! They are so good!

Have a great week everyone ❤