Another Year Comes To A Close...

This Halloween weekend brought happiness and sadness. I found happiness in Katelyn being the most beautiful Rapunzel ever for "Trick or Treat 2011 at Big Bear Lake Family Resort." Sorry "Real Rapunzel" but you don't hold a candle to how beautiful Katelyn looked! Absolutely I'm a proud father! Also special thanks to Shad Wooten for making such an awesome costume! Also to Stephanie and Nicole for making the hair, you girls are definitely crafty.

Katelyn received quite a few compliments on her outfit during her time trick or treating. Like every year, for the past 4, she came back with two grocery bags full of candy. I'm sure most of this won't be ate and will mysteriously disappear no longer to be found. No kid needs that much candy!

Big thanks to her big sister Nicole for taking her trick or treating. She isn't able to go Monday and wanted to be a part of the festivities so how could we tell her "No she couldn't take her?"

The sadness unfortunately came knowing that when Halloween comes the camping season comes to a close. I'll definitely miss the comfort of a campfire, friends, riding the trails, and sleeping under the stars every other weekend for the next five months. All good things come to an end though ....I suppose. This year just seemed to fly by so fast! I've always heard, "The older you get the faster time travels." I'm beginning to believe this to be true. It seems like yesterday Katelyn was just walking around the camper getting into everything and anything possible while a petrified dad chased behind her. My how she's growing. Here we are five years later and I'm already beginning to see her become her own, from learning how to operate the 4-wheeler and taking dad on rides to helping me chop wood and stack it. These are the memories I want her to have forever. I hope someday if God blesses her with children she can enjoy the times with them as I'm having with her.

We had a great weekend! Well, I should say just Saturday, seeing how the rain put a damper on things and caused us to stay home Friday. We finished our last meal at the camper with nothing else but a pot of chili. Definitely a favorite to any true American Camper! I also whipped up some Paleo Pumpkin Pie which was absolutely delicious! My wife however said it had to much of a pumpkin taste? So me being the loving husband I am I quickly reminded her that ....IT IS PUMPKIN PIE! I still get a chuckle thinking about that.

I had a great weekend and great year at Big Bear Lake Family Resort and I'm definitely going to miss it, but we will be back sooner than we think.




Here's another Paleo recipe for my family at PSKC. Hope you enjoy it!

Paleo Chili

7-10 Celery Stalks, Diced
1 White Onion, Diced
6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2lbs of Ground Sirloin
1lb Spicy Italian Sausage
1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
2 Tablespoons Dried Oregano
2 Tablespoons Dried Basil
1 Tablespoon Cumin
3-4 Tablespoons of Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
2(14 1/2oz) Organic Canned Dice Tomatoes
16oz Chicken Broth

Cooking
Sauté all your veggies in the oil. After that's done throw in the meat and brown it. After the meat is browned throw in all the spices. If you DON'T like spicy DON'T put the Cayenne Pepper in. You can thank me later. Add the Diced Tomatoes and Chicken Broth. Now simmer that awesome goodness. That's right, "Awesome Goodness," for 35 minutes. After that's done, taste it and if you think it needs more seasoning ....well put some more in it son!

4-H Community Service

One of our own feeding the hungry

Today was a busy day. Our 4-H club, Feedlot Friends, helped out the hungry at All Saints Episcopal Church for a few hours. We fed over 50 individuals with Marzetti, Salad, Garlic Bread and Cake. It was nice to see the kids with a smile on their face and instill in them how much we need to support those, who do to difficult circumstances, are unable to eat a hot meal. Some of us for the first time in our lives found out what "Giving Back" truly means and it was a great experience for the kids and leaders to be a part of. I can only hope that they learned a lesson today like I did and realize that we should never take for granted having a hot meal on our plates.

I found something else that supports our community and I want to get this out there, as it is truly important! You might have or might not have heard of "Tartan Times" that East High School has started. The program sends bags of food, clothes, household items home with students that need it most every weekend. They also, two times a week during the summer, cook hot meals and send food home to these students. The program was started 3 years ago and they started with supporting 27 kids. To date they now have 179 kids they support. The teacher who runs the program requires her students to do a certain amount of community service every year. My wife and I were nearly brought to tears though when the teacher told us both, "My only goal, my wish, is that it teaches each one of my students to give from the heart." I think is a wish every parent has for their children. This program needs support from our community. Even if your kids don't go to East, even if you don't live in the city of Portsmouth, I urge you to support the cause. After today our 4-H club will be supporting this program accepting canned food donations and other items that you think these families might need. I also urge you, no want you, to contact East High School and find out how to support this program too. If you own a business or work at a business that is big in helping the community then put a box out for donations. I'm sure your boss isn't going to mind and if you do. If they do, in my opinion, you're working for the wrong person. If you know of any other schools in the county that do this type of program contact them too. This is would be a great program to support as it helps out our own.

Proud of my step-daughter for her contribution

I just want to close with one final thought I really want you to think about and that is this. If it was your child, your brother, sister, father, husband, wife, etc. wouldn't you want somebody out there to support them like our 4-H club and East High School is doing? If you even hesitate to answer I'm taking that as a yes. So make an effort. Support those in need!

Audri and Justin Supporting The Cause

I love this picture above. Justin is my nephew and like many kids did today he gave up his Saturday morning cartoons to do some good. Proud of him and all of our kids!



Periodically I'm going to post a Paleo recipe every now and then on this blog for my family at PSKC. Here is my first.

Paleo Pumpkin Pie


Crust
1/2 Cup Macadamia Nuts
1 Cup Pecans
4 Tablespoons Organic Butter(Melted)
Pinch of Sea Salt


Preheat oven to 350. Process the nuts in a food processor until they are a flour like consistency. Place them into a mixing ball and add the melted butter and sea salt. Mix to a thick dough. Spread evenly into a pie pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Filling
15oz can of pumpkin(I used Libby's 100% All Natural Pumpkin)
2 Teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
2 eggs(I use cage free vegetarian fed eggs from a local farmer)
1/2 cup organic honey
1/2 cup coconut milk


Mix all the ingredients together. Pour into the crust after it's baked for 10 minutes. Spread evenly over the crust and bake for another 45 minutes. Enjoy, but most of all be thankful you are able to have something hot to eat. If you have kids involve them in this! Something about getting to mash stuff up with their hands is intriguing!

Finding Strength Through Family

"I should have stayed home!" That was my first thought this morning when I walked in through the doors of PSKC and saw the infamous whiteboard. Today's workout titled "Lactic Acid."For those of you who endured this "brutality" did it suck as bad as I thought it did? I thought so. If you missed today's workout here is the fun you missed:

5 Rounds of Each Exercise(30 work, 30 hold/rack, 30 rest)
1. Pushups/Plank/Rest
2. Front Squat/Hold In Rack Position/Rest (RX 95/65)
3. Flutter Kicks/Hold/Rest
4. Burpee Pull-ups/Dead Hang
5. Push Press/Hold In Overhead Lockout (RX 95/65)

See all the fun you missed? If you didn't make it you missed some kick-ass sweat angels!

When I'm going through workouts like this and feeling the weight and reps beginning to take it's toll on me and "The Wizard" creeping up on my back this is when I'm at my best. I know you're probably sitting there right now saying to yourself, "Seriously Grizz? Come on?" but it's true! Why? Simple, I FIND STRENGTH THROUGH FAMILY.... Today I was reminded how important family is when I wanted to drop my legs to the floor after that third round of flutter kicks, when I had to lockout 65lbs above my head and hold it for 30 seconds and when I was dead hanging for my life like Sylvester Stallone in Cliffhanger. Awesome movie by the way! The best part about all of this is I couldn't have made it without thinking about my wife and kids or hearing people who are right there beside me holding or locking out saying, "Fight bro, keep it up, hold on, don't give in!" It doesn't end there though. That's what I love about PSKC. The family that we've all created for ourselves by bonding with one another day in and day out stretches far beyond the compound walls. Just let me give you an example. Here is a message I got from an individual this evening hours after the workout while I was having dinner with my family.

"Hey dude! I just want to tell you that you have been absolutely kicking ass at the gym! I've been thinking about your post you made earlier this week and the recent blog. It seriously tore me up! It has made me want to eat better and try harder. It's not supposed to be this way either.... You would think I would find inspiration from people that have been there for a year, the way you did with Troy. I just couldn't get it off my mind and I really wanted to share it with you and tell you that you're killing it! You make me want to do so much more and do it even better!"


See what I mean about family? That's the perfect example of family. They're there to pick you up, cheer you on, stand beside you in your weakest moments to help you succeed. I just want you to make me a promise and it's easy to keep. The next time you see someone struggling with a rep, fighting off the wizard, or absolutely slaughtering a workout ....cheer them on! Keep them going at the gym and away from it. I know most of you are Facebook and it doesn't take much to send a positive comment to someone. Just be that family we all want and need! Can't wait to see you guys soon. Hope you enjoyed my thoughts for the day and I only hope I can be there for you when you need it most. Also to the individual who sent me this message, you continue to inspire and push me through when I feel my shittiest. I'm glad that YOU inspire me to work harder. You are definitely family to me.