Elk!

To continue to share our hiking adventure with you.... We saw Elk (we think that is what they are) on the side of the road. It was hard to spot them sometimes as some of them blended in so well to the ground. We even had to wait for one to cross the road. This was funny, because while he took his time to cross the road, he kept stopping and starring at us like "who are you?". The first picture is a view of the mountains near where we saw the Elk (see the white caps?), and the rest are of these beautiful animals that where right by us! Then, watch the video and see what I was talking about with the Elk Crossing in front of us.

Elk Crossing Road Video (below):

Hiking - Part 1

Last Sunday, we actually had a day off... and it was WONDERFUL! We dicided to pack a lunch, fill up our Camelback with water (thanks Micah!), and drive up the mountains. Our goal was to pull over at any brown government sign to sight-see, explore, and hike. We actually didn't end up going very far to enjoy amazing sights and fun adventures. Over the next few days, you will get to see posts and pictures of our day - visiting Buffalo Bill's grave, hiking at Lookout Mountain, seeing Elk, and watching buffalo. Surprisingly, we only live 30min away from all four of those things! Enjoy, and stay tuned to our blog to see our whole day unfold.

Pretty Day - a little brezey, but not too cold

Big Buffalo!

Us in front of Big Buffalo (self portraits sometimes don't work out... hence you not getting to see Big Buffalo in this picutre, haha)

How is this guy "Buffalo Bill"?

We got off the interstate for this?

Website

We are very excited that My Gym launched a totally new website today. Check it out at www.mygym.com and let us know what you think. It has so much new stuff on there that will hopefully help our business, and My Gym as a whole, grow even more. If you get a chance to watch the video titled "A special message from My Gym", you'll get to see Cory Bertish (the CEO of My Gym who we talk about a lot). He is such a funny, laid back guy who cares about us so much. We end up talking to him about once a week, if not more. Even after our Open House, he had us call him on his home phone on Sunday to hear how it went. 

My Gym Children's Fitness Center is such a great company! We are currently running My Gym's core programs for ages 6 weeks - 13 years old. We are now stretching out of the box and will be learning new ideas and programs to expand My Gym and generate more income: My Gym Mobile (taking a 30min class into schools), art class, drop off programs, sports class, and a even music class will be coming soon. Change sometimes is frightening because we have to learn a new program and come out of your comfort zones, but we are excited that the website and My Gym Corporate will be helping us through each step. Wish me luck as I get started on these new things today. First thing on the list: calling two schools to try to set up a My Gym Mobile Demo Day!!!

Parenting (what I've heard of it)

So, I know I'm not a parent yet, but I have heard two pieces of good/funny advice for kids lately. I also have five quick quotes about funny parenting moments. Hope that this brightens your day and makes all you moms feel like you are not alone on these things...

(Parenting Tip #1) Letting the young child pick out his/her own clothes: Safety-pin outfits together that match to your liking. When the child chooses what to wear that day, they are filled with self-accomplishment while mom is still happy that their shirt and bottom matches.

(Parenting Tip #2) Potty-training: We have all heard of giving the child a sicker, M&Ms, or raisin when they go potty on the toilet. A mom I know fills a basket with bigger rewards such as a trip to the zoo, a present, or an extra day at My Gym. When her daughter goes potty 10 times, she gets to choose her own prize from the basket. I like it when kids get to learn to choose for themselves and are proud when they are deserving of a reward!

(Quote #1) "My son was only about 4 days old when I got up form a nap and found that his dad had taken the nasal aspirator they give you at the hospital and given it to the baby to use as a pacifier. After I explained what it was, he looked a little sheepish before saying, 'Good thing I rinsed it off first.'"

(Quote #2) "The first time I fed my son 'ready-made' formula from a can instead of the powder, he started projectile spitting up. He seemed hungry after that, so I figured I would open another can. Then I saw on the label, 'Just Add Water.' I had fed him the straight concentrate. His stomach must have felt like it was full of cement!"

(Quote #3) "In the first couple of weeks after I had my son, I was absolutely exhausted and trying to recover from a c-section. I was taking pain medication, which made me tired and a little loopy. So, one night it came time for his 2 a.m. feeding. I always change his diaper before feeding him, so I followed my routine as usual and went back to sleep. When I got up the next morning to change him, I noticed he was wearing two diapers instead of one - his dirty one from the middle of the night and a clean one right on top of it."

(Quote #4) "When my daughter was a baby, I took her on a day trip to visit the women on my husband's side of the family - her grandmas, great-grandmas and aunts. I really wanted to leave them with a good impression, but I soon realized I had only one extra diaper in the diaper bag. However, I did have tons of nursing pads; so I slipped one into her diaper. As the day went on, I just changed the pads every time she wet one. They worked great, and nobody ever found out!"

(Quote #5) "The first time I used my breast pump, I boiled all the parts in a big pot to make sure they were sterile. My husband came home, and he thought he would help out in the kitchen. He says I never season the food enough, so he just lifted the lid and tossed in some salt and pepper. A few seconds later, he realized there was no delicious pasta cooking - just hoses and suction cups."

Open House Update

Hi there! Remember me? I haven't forgotten about this blog... just been a little (more like a LOT) busy with work. We have been planning and marketing our Open House for more than 3 months and it just happened last weekend. Friday and Sunday, we were able to have someone here from corporate to help, but Saturday was just Thomas and I, so it was crazy! Our goal was to sign up 40 new children (that would bring us to 120 kids total, our break even number). Here is how our Open House went...

Friday, Feb. 6th 10am - 6pm

• 35 new kids came through the door
• 7 new kids signed up for classes (20%)
• 1 Birthday Party booked
• 4 kids signed up for our Valentine's Day Parent's Night Out

Saturday, Feb. 7th 10am - 2pm

• 23 new kids came through the door
• 3 new kids signed up for classes (13%)
• 6 Birthday Parties booked
• 2 kids signed up for our Valentine's Day Parent's Night Out

Sunday, Feb. 8th 10am - 2pm

• 25 new kids came through the door
• 17 new kids signed up for classes (68%)
• 3 Birthday Parties booked

Weekend total:

• 83 new kids came through the door
• 27 signed up for classes (32%)
• 10 Birthday Parties booked
• 6 more kids for our Parent's Night Out

As you can see, we were 13 kids shy of of our goal. However, the Birthday Parties help with the break even number. Even though I wish these numbers were 100%, in Corporate's eyes, we ran a successful Open House! We still have more of a ladder to climb to get the gym where it needs to be, but last weekend was a huge jump start for us. Since the weekend, we have had 5 more people come in or call wanting to sign up with the Open House specials. Even though a little late, we are still honoring the specials for them to bring our numbers up even more. Marketing will continue as planned, but it helps to have a nice boost! I am just so encouraged how many people actually came through the doors to meet us (most of who had never been here before). We will follow up with all those families and hope to get them in soon for a free trial class to see it again. We are just excited that the word will finally start spreading now about us, and I hope our numbers continue to rise.

Thank you to my family for all your patience with me during this busy time of business. I hope to post more often now, and will add more pictures of Colorado when I get a day off to explore. This week we are just recovering from being over-worked this weekend, fighting off the colds we got from it, and getting ready for our Parent's Night Out Saturday for Valentine's Day.