City Church

Almost 1 year ago today, Cody and I finally found a church that we loved..The City Church. We went to quite a few different churches, trying to figure out which one we liked best and thanks to a good friend, we were introduced to City Church last November. We absolutely love this church. We usually go on Saturday nights (never thought that would be me) so we can just totally relax on Sundays. There were many reasons why we chose this church. We knew people that came, it was a good environment and didn't seem over the top, but the main reason was Pastor Judah. He is an AMAZING speaker. We love just about every message he has and always leave with a good feeling, but this weekend's message was just out of this world. I left feeling as if God was talking to me and instead of leaving and thinking about myself and all my stressors, I left feeling like I wanted to help others and how blessed I was.

There are so many things that go on in life and it is easy to forget just how good you have it. I feel so blessed for the life God has given me and this weekend I feel like I was grounded again. Too often I focus on things that don't truly matter and I get caught up in myself as we all do. Pastor Judah brought it home by saying that Jesus is the point of life and without him, we wouldn't be here. It is important to focus on this and be in aw of God. I know that God has been speaking to me and I just haven't really been listening. I am choosing to listen to God and it really does make everything better. Yes, I still have my stressors but knowing that God is behind me and I have his strength when I am weak makes me feel good.


The reason I wrote about this isn't because I am trying to preach..no, that is not it at all. I am not super religious but I am a christian and I have felt alone before and prayer worked for me. I wrote this because I want people who have been feeling lost and/or alone to know that all you have to do is pray. You don't have to go to church, you don't have to go do x number of good deeds, you just need to sit and pray and listen to God. Even if you don't know how to pray, it is easy, just talk to him like you would any other person. So, I encourage everyone out there to say a prayer for yourself for whatever situation you are in and just listen. You might not get the answers overnight but prayer really does work.

30 day Paleo Challenge

One of the MANY things I love about fall is that it seems like a fresh start. No, I no longer get to go on summer vacation but in a way, I still feel like when fall comes around, it is a time to regroup and refresh. Cody and I had a very busy and fun summer and September flew by with a Seahawks game, fashion show, Husky game, my fundraiser (which I got 5th out of the girls), and numerous other activities. With October coming up, I began thinking about goals and where I have been and where I want to go. Along with this, I realized that I have sort of stalled in my progress to become more fit. I have had a few to many cocktails and cheat nights over the last few months so I decided that October would be my month of eating clean. By eating clean, I mean following the Paleo Diet.
Now, this diet I have sort of been following already for the past year or so. It is definitely more of a lifestyle choice for me because I like eating this way but I definitely haven't been hardcore. I would try and stick to this during the week and being mindful of what I am eating on the weekends. With stalled progress and the holidays just around the corner, I figured I should try and challenge myself to eating strict paleo for 30 days. This means no grains, dairy, sugar, alcohol (this one will probably be the toughest with football season), and basically processed foods. The one thing I will have that is dairy is whey protein after a workout.

So, I have been going at it from September 26th so I am on day 11 and I have to say, I can't believe I have made it this far without a cheat. We even had family in town and I passed on the wine, cocktails, bread, all of it. I actually feel pretty good right now and learned that if it is good coffee, it is good black with just some cinnamon. The first few days were easy because I was motivated and the next few days were tough with having family in town and lots of chances to just eat crap. Now, it seems easy and I don't even think twice about eating something processed. I feel like my performance is improving in the gym, I am sleeping better, and I have a lot of energy during the day. I am not sure how much weight I can actually lose, but that isn't really my goal. I just want to lose fat so if I can notice a difference in the way my clothes fit then I will be happy. I also have to say that I feel like I am noticing a little more muscle in my stomach than before which is good.

So, almost halfway done with my challenge and I feel pretty good about it.

I encourage everyone to pick 1 area in their life that they can improve on, set a goal, and complete it. It can be anything from eating right to organizing your closets!

Welcome Lily Jean!!

Lily Jean Kovis was born September 13, 2010 and came in at a whopping 7.8lbs and was 19in long. She looks so precious and from what I hear momma and baby are both doing well. From the looks of it, Jaxon is LOVING being a big brother. Here he is holding his baby sis...when they are older guys are going to have to go through him before dating Lily so they better watch out!

I cannot wait to meet Lily and hold her! She is perfect! Here is one more pic of this adorable baby girl!


Our family just keeps on growing!! Congratulations Kovis family!!

Labor Day

This summer went by WAY to fast! I still can't believe it is September already!

Cody and I have been so busy this summer that it seems like we haven't really seen our families so we decided to head over the mountains to TriCities and Yakima to see everyone. Well, almost everyone!

We left on Friday afternoon (which with a Dave Matthews Band Concert, Ellensburg Rodeo, and Labor Day, this was not a good idea!) It took us 1 hour to get from North Bend to Easton which is right outside Colfax..so a 2 hour drive to Yakima was more like 4. We stayed with Cody's parent's that night and had a delicious dinner of BBQ'd ribs, grilled veggies, salad, and grilled peaches with honey on top. On Saturday we headed to Tri-Cities around noon and pretty much spent the whole afternoon with my nephew Levi. Last time I saw him was at his 1st Birthday in April and he is SOOO big and DOES NOT sit still! I have to say, it made my day when he went to me right away from my mom..couldn't believe he left her arms for mine when he just woke up! :) We took him to the playground and then just hung out with him at my moms and then my dad's. While we were at my moms, we had a great surprise...my Uncle Bill, 2 of his girls, and my grandma were all up from Arizona, which meant that the rest of my family was at my mom's having a BBQ. It was so great to see all my cousins and catch up with everyone!! That night we went to Cedar's with my dad and Audrey and then attempted to watch a movie with them (I was exhausted from Levi so I fell asleep early).

Sunday, my dad and Audrey had a family get together to celebrate their remodeled home and I was able to see most of my family on my dad's side which was nice since I haven't seen them in a year maybe?? That is crazy!The house looks AMAZING by the way! It isn't quite done but it should be this week! They are so excited to FINALLY have everything done! It has been nearly a year long project for them between the inside and outside!

We were planning on coming home Sunday night but when stopping to say hi to Cody's parents real quick in Yakima on the drive through, we quickly decided that one more night with family would be the best way to go and decided to just get up super early on Monday morning for the trek back. We visited and watched a movie that was supposedly supposed to be good but wasn't in my opinion. We got up super early Sunday and made it home by 10am and were able to clean, relax and watch Harry Brown for the remainder of the weekend. This movie I recommend seeing. I really enjoyed it.

All in all, it was a great weekend. We definitely were busy with traveling but seeing everyone was worth it and it was something I think we both needed!

Oh, if you haven't yet and decide that you still want to, I am still taking donations for Fight Gone Bad! The link is here: https://rapidgiving.com/fundraising/page/4440/fight-gone-bad
Come on, you know you want to and it is for a great cause!! :)

Fight Gone Bad

Fight Gone Bad is a charity event that Cody and I's Crossfit Gym is competing in. Crossfit gyms everywhere do this every year. Here is a little bit about it:

Fight Gone Bad began as a fundraising event in 2006. From those humble beginnings and with the support of the CrossFit community, we’ve proven what a small, totally committed group of people can accomplish. The first four editions of Fight Gone Bad have raised a combined total of more than $2 million.

Fight Gone Bad 5 opens its arms to benefit three charities this year: LIVESTRONG, Wounded Warrior Project and the CrossFit Foundation.

The event format is the Fight Gone Bad CrossFit format:

In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. The event is in the 3 round format. The stations are:

* Wall-ball: 20 pound ball, 10 ft target. (Reps)
* Sumo deadlift high-pull: 75 pounds (Reps)
* Box Jump: 20″ box (Reps)
* Push-press: 75 pounds (Reps)
* Row: calories (Calories)

The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of “rotate,” the athlete/s must move to next station immediately for good score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

Awards are given on Individual, National, and Regional levels.

Individuals who raise $150 or more will receive an Official FGB 5 Event T-shirt after the event.

There are two divisions eligible for awards on the National and Regional levels:

* Affiliates with 25 or less Team Members.
* Affiliates with 26 or more Team Members.

National: The highest fundraising Affiliate in each division will receive a Grand Prize Package from our sponsors.

Regional: The highest fundraising Affiliate in each region in each division will receive a Traveling Trophy with their Affiliate name, the event name and the year they won on the plaque.

Last September Cody and I had only been Crossfitting for about 3 weeks when this was going on so we are very excited to participate this year.

Like I said, I am trying to raise as much money as possible. If you want to help a girl out and donate to a great cause you can go to my donations page and donate money. It is here: https://rapidgiving.com/fundraising/page/4440/fight-gone-bad

2 Years!

2 years ago today I married the most AMAZING man. God has truly blessed me! Cody and I met on a blind date in 2004 and we started "officially" dating that next week. Who knew getting dragged on a blind date would turn into this! We went to a friends house party that night and then left early to watch a movie and talk. We ended up talking until 4am and the only reason we had to stop talking was because Cody's friend was calling him to let him know he would be ready for duck hunting in about 15 minutes! So, he left, and then that next day we went on our "first official date" to a hockey game in Spokane. Here we are on our first date:








Cody is such an amazing person. He is my rock. We have been through so much together and a lot of it happened after we got married 2 years ago today. We seriously are best friends. We do EVERYTHING together. We definitely try to do our own thing too but the truth is, if I am going to experience something fun, I want him with me to experience it too!

I don't know what I would do without him in my life...God definitely knows what he is doing and I am so blessed! I thank God everyday for bringing him to me! Here we are walking out of the church:



I had to look down because I was fighting back tears I was so happy! I lost it the moment we went through the doors!


I Love You Cody and here is to many more years together!

Relieving stress

It is 3:45 and I am literally at the end of my rope at work. I don't know why exactly. I just have little patience for stupidity today. I think part of this is the fact that Cody and I have been going nonstop all summer and I am just tired. We spent the past 2 weeks painting and packing and there is still a TON of work to do for the house. We are OFFICIALLY moving this Saturday with the moving truck. I am excited about this but I also know how short this will make the weekend. Still lots to pack up and then we have to clean the apartment. It will be SO nice when we get all settled again!

We did manage to find some time to relax this past weekend. This last weekend was Seafair and we went with some friends on a boat on Sunday. The weather wasn't the best but we managed to have a good time. I will definitely post a few pics soon!

I am just itching to get out of the office right now! I have found that whenever I get super stressed, the only thing that makes me feel better is usually working out and this past year, this has been Crossfit. I don't know who all has heard about this, but it seems to be all over now. There are a million reasons why I love Crossfit. For one, you go in and you don't have to think about what you are going to do. The WOD (workout of the day) is posted and that is what you do. The workouts are usually between 15-30 minutes. There have only been a few that took me longer than that but trust me, the short WODs leave you lying on the ground and tired. I love this. I also love the camaraderie of everyone. I am not sure how all crossfit gyms are, but Cody and I have become friends with most of the people we workout with. Part of the reason I look forward to going besides working out, is to see friends. We also push each other and encourage each other. Everyone wants to get the best time, but we are always cheering each other on to push hard and beat their goals. I love this. It reminds me of when I played sports and keeps it interesting. For example, when I got my first unassisted pullup, so many people were excited and congratulating me, and yesterday when a girl did RX for the first time, I was right there to congratulate her and super stoked for her. Oh ya, RX is doing the prescribed weight of the WOD...sometimes it is too much weight and you have to do a modified version (which I still do on some WOD's).
Lastly, even though I could probably go on and on, I love that when I leave, I literally have no stress. My body is so tired and I am just ready to go relax. THIS, is why I love Crossfit. I think that everyone should have something that allows them to relieve stress whether it is working out or reading, etc...it is important to do this so you can be sane and ready to take on the world.

So with that, I am going to finish up my last hour of work and then head to Crossfit.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!