The Year of Living Actively

Aside from setting a lofty goal of 2,000 miles for 2012, I've also made it a goal this year to be a more active family.

Now, it's not that we haven't been active in the past - my girls have played soccer since each was four, plus have done karate, ballet, gymnastics - but this year I really want to focus on it. They are still very young and very impressionable and they get excited about fitness-related activities so I want to foster that.

So what will we be spending our time doing this year?

Santa was kind and got them each their own tennis racquet. I think this actually got me started on this whole fitness kick. Tennis is a difficult sport to master, and it's even tricky to get started in, but the girls had been saying for a while that they wanted to learn to play tennis (thanks, Wii Sports) so Santa must've been listening. We've been once and, well, I have to do some research on helping them get started. They did have fun and all but they were frustrated, Kennedy particularly - she wasn't making contact with the ball well and it got to her.

Anyway, tennis is definitely something that will help them be more active but it's not the only thing.

Kennedy is starting to become a strong bike rider. She was very tentative to ride her bike but lately I've been pushing her and she's responded. Now, in the spring we rode our bikes often (Kennedy's had training wheels) but then there was a problem with her bike and it was out of commish for a while. Once we got it back, we rode sporadically. I got a flat on my bike sometime in late summer and that hurt our excursions. Now, though, with both of them being able to ride on their own I can run as they ride their bikes. So that's another way that I will be able to get my runs in when they are out of school. And best part of that is we can go to the beach more often now with our bikes. Oh yes, I anticipate a lot of beach trips not just this summer but in general.

Another thing we can and will do - and perhaps the toughest of all - is climbing Mt. Rubidoux. On Wednesday we rode bikes first, then climbed Mt. Rubidoux after and we were all beat afterward. I've run up that thing many times but walking up is much more of a chore. I hardly ever feel sore after a run but after every hike up there I'm sore, and this time is no exception.

I kept the elevation for this but stupidly forgot to start the app after I paused it  when we rested for the last time, but we gained more than 400 feet elevation from the bottom to the top, over the course of one mile.

I'd hoped to use this as a gauge to see if the girls would be ready for a proper hike, somewhere off Mt. Rubidoux's paved path. I'd even prepared the girls before going up Mt. Rubidoux, telling them different things about hikes and what we'd do when we go on them. It was a tough hike and they were tired so I think a few more trips up there would serve us all well before we go trekking in nature somewhere.

We did have a good time though.

Yvie was excited once she got to the top.

So between tennis, cycling and hiking we've got plenty to keep us busy. The girls also have been wanting to run so that is also in our future, as is soccer of course. Yeah, that's a lot to keep the LB girls active.

But there's also one other thing that will compete for our active minds and bodies.
 

Disneyland consists of a lot of walking, as evidenced by our trip there Tuesday. The girls were worn out by the time we left, and we left early. Got to the park at 7:40 and left at about 2:30. Heck, I was worn out so I can imagine them.

Tennis, cycling, hiking, running, soccer, Dinseyland...

This is the Year of Living Actively indeed.