HEALTH AND SURPRISES:

 I'd like to through in a little surprise for you guys. Each one of you guys will get a surprise at the very end of this healthy journey together. Some will have the same surprise because of what they love and some will have different surprises. I can assure that each of you will get a fun surprise besides MAYBE going to Hawaii for the Christmas of 2017.

Hello, fellow family members!!!!!

 Sorry, that I have not posted in a while. I hope you guys are progressing well. Make sure to eat lots of fruits and veggies. My opinion is that you should set a goal for how many miles you should get in before Christmas. You should set little itty bitty goals for the time being. Like setting a goal for each week or even a few days. If you can, try going for run in the morning to get you warmed up for the day. Don't forget to compliment at least 1 person each day. It will always make someone feel good. It might not mean anything to you, but it will probably mean a lot to the person or people who got that compliment. It could be as simple as "I like your shirt." Btw, writing letters to each other can be counted as miles. Each letter counts as 2 miles. Texts do not count as "letters."

Make sure to email me your miles so I can keep track. You guys are doing fantastic! Keep up the good work! Just to remind you, my email is sara.graceanna@gmail.com (without caps or spaces)

                        Love, Gracie  :) 

The Steps to Our Journey: A Great journey starts with a single step...

The Steps to Our Journey:  A Great journey starts with a single step... 

Step 1:  Travel Partners

Everyone likes to travel with a buddy.  Your partner in the journey will be very important.  You will share your goals for health together, and encourage each other to STICK TO IT!   You will check in with each other AT LEAST 3 TIMES A WEEK.  You will make sure each other is doing all the important things they need to do to stay healthy and you are going to be their BIGGEST fan.   

Step 2:  SET GOALS

The journey around the world things will help you stay on track and keep to the plan but all of have specific needs.  For example, my MOM WORRIES TOO MUCH AND DOESN’T TAKE TIME FOR HERSELF.   She needs to work on this.  She also drinks more coffee than water.  I, on the other hand, lost a lot of muscle this year and I need to build my muscle back for gymnastics and so I can be stronger than the boys.  ALL boys.  :)   

Step 3:  Follow the Healthy Checklist and EARN MILES to add to our journey:

This is starting to sound like A LOT, BUT IT IS NOT!  You just need a checklist and that makes everything doable.  My mmm made me do the math.  My journey around the world in 480 days is approximately 20,000 miles.  20,000 divided by 480 days is about 41 miles.  Divide that by 10 travelers and we have about 4 miles a day to get to our goal.  STOP LAUGHING!  We are going to earn miles using our awesome checklist.  So, here is your daily checklist:

____ 1.  Eat 3 healthy meals a day (you know you can’t eat cookies ALL the time Grandpa) EARN 1 MILE

____ 2.  Drink your 6 glasses of water a day!  (Emma, you are too little for that many. )  EARN 1 MILE

____ 3.  Take 1 hour of happy healthy brain building, heart filling time a day.  (worship, read, do a puzzle, sing, take pictures, write a poem)  EARN 1 MILE

_____4.  Take your needed vitamins, supplements, Carrot juice and medicine  every day when you are supposed to!  EARN 1 MILE

_____5.  EXERCISE:  Run, jump, dance, walk, swim, do gymnastics or bike.  It doesn’t matter, but count your time, steps, or miles you completed.  You will report this time to me and I will calculate it into to miles.  EARN at least 1/2 mile a day, but try to do more!!!!  The more you do, the farther we travel!!!

Step 4: RECORD YOUR JOURNEY  

Record all your AWESOME daily progress on my blog.  Every day I will be posting an update on our journey, telling you where we are (not everyday), giving props to everyone, and keeping track of our progress with a mom forced math assignment (bar graphs…grrr).  I will also be sharing fun facts you cant find on Google.   You can record your daily progress in that day’s comment section or if you want to call, text me or tell your travel partner, that works too!  

Your Travel Buddy!

Everybody needs a good travel buddy!  When I was little, my travel buddy was Bear Bear!  He went everywhere with me.  I talked to him everyday and he talked to me.  Don't make fun!  We went on our adventure TOGETHER!  We all need a buddy to share adventures with.  I thought long and hard about who to match with whom.  So, below, are your travel buddies in health and happiness.  You need to talk together, encourage each other and be nice to each other even when you aren't doing your healthy habit miles.  

Matthew (my dad) and Uncle Mark

Nana and Auntie Andrea

Gracie (me) and Grandpa

Marca (my mom) and Auntie Rose

Emma (me too) and Gramsy

I know this year has been a very, very stressful and weird year for all of us that has been full of tears and blow out meltdowns, but I have to say something....... We are the Ages/ Moores/ Wilsons! that is a combination of names that stands strong in all of this, in my opinion ;) . We've pushed through a lot of tough times and we are still in one whole piece. This journey will help us with healthy relationships and build more memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. I am very proud of you guys for pushing through together and encouraging each other to keep going until this job is done. In my opinion, either it's a good thing or a bad thing, things must come to an end. I think family is the strongest bond there is. There will always be a someone who picks you up no matter how many times you fall in the mud. When you fall in the mud, that is just a learning experience that we have to remember. You know the saying "forgive and forget"? In a sense you never forget and that's actually a good thing, because you can take that experience and use it for good measures like getting someone out of a sticky situation before it gets too bad. Keep up the great work!!!!!!! Go Family!!!!!!!!!

Day 2: Check out the Challenge Page

Hi Everyone!

I am so excited you are doing this journey with me!!!  The challenge page tells you all about how we are going to log our miles for this awesome adventure!  Please go there to read all about it!  Come back here and post any questions you have!  Or, you can just comment that you actually are reading my blog!!!

Day 1: A Journey Begins with a Single Step

"Every journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a single step." ~Lao Tzu

In this quote, Lao Tzu is saying that great things start from humble beginnings.  In its original language it refers to "1,000 li journey". A li is an old Chinese measure of distance which converts to 360 miles or 576 km.e. Little is known about Lao Tzu's life.  When you think about how far it is to travel around the entire world it seems like a really huge task.  But every journey starts something and that means even getting off the couch, opening your front door and taking that first step can be the beginning to a really great journey.  If a little humble hobbit can do it, so can you.  And me.  So let's go!!!!!!  

Stay tuned for more stuff!