August.

August always hits with a vengeance and she doesn’t loosen her grip until the end.  Whew! It’s been a ride thus far!

Let’s rewind to the very last week of July when myself and the wives sent our boys to surprise Shaun in California.  Clint and Shaun have been best buddies since they were kids and having him move away earlier this year was a little more tough then I think even they anticipated.  What a fun process it was pulling this off.  I think it’s safe to say they had an incredible time.

.

.

So of course while the boys were away, the girls did play!  Dinner, drinks, Kipp Moore and a little Miranda with these wild cats made for a pretty stellar Saturday evening.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

#twinning

.

.

And then came August, along with my whirlwind month of on the road work.   From August 1st through August 18th I was only in the office for two full days.   My role takes me into my High Schools and our Center’s to meet with College Early Start students and parents.  This is the only time of the year that my role puts me in direct contact with students and it’s most definitely a nice contrast to the procedures and processes my role brings the rest of the academic year.

This first week of August I was out every single day which made the mornings early and evenings late.  Thank goodness for laptops that give me access to my desktop and processing system otherwise I’d have far more grey hair then I already cover! 😉

.

Moving along…

Friday, August 5th gave way to a Country Heat Live pop-up class at the YMCA to allow folks to try out the new format, give feedback and win some sweet prizes.  We had a blast dancing our way through some good music and cheesy, but awesome, moves.  Next one is this Friday, August 26th at 5:30pm if you want to give it a go!

.

Friday evening was a scheduled double date with Trasa, but work and tired husbands gave way to just a girls date to a quiet tucked away bar in Gretna followed by a few hours at Office West tavern catching up with Heidi.   My heart strings were pulled a wee bit when I rolled home several hours later then anticipated to a garage door open and light on.   It’s always the small things, folks.  Always.

.

It should come as no surprise when I tell you I got back on the road on Saturday, August 6th.  This day had me road tripping to Des Moines as a guest instructor for the Iowa Beachbody Coaches Network for their Super Saturday quarterly event.  What a BLAST we had!   First time they’ve ever had a LIVE workout during the event, so they definitely soaked it up.  It gave me a great opportunity to meet some folks who are interested in becoming a certified instructor, and I am looking forward to seeing those relationships continue to grow.   I LOVE seeing new instructors in the field.

.

.

.

This event also got me connected with Angela again who was one of the first gals to go through a Country Heat Live Certification with me.  She’s KILLING it in her community with this offering.

Just love watching people take on new challenges and rocking them.  Makes my heart so happy to watch them bloom.

.

Once the event wrapped up mid-afternoon I high tailed it back to Omaha and straight out to Clint’s new shop to close out the night with him, our friends and their kiddos.   Perfect ending to a great weekend and whirlwind travel week!

.

.

And then the fury that is August continued.   Monday, August 8th, Kayla and I boarded an 8:30pm flight straight to Denver for a 36 hour fly by the seat of our pants trip to hang with Megan and Eric Church.

Ya.  You read that right.

It all started with a joke on FB between Kayla and I about going to Red Rocks to see Eric Church.  Fast forward a few weeks and we received a text from Megan stating “I have your tickets, now book your flights”.

And so, we did!

Now, I need you to know a little about Kayla and I.  In High School, we liked to go on road trips together and like clockwork, we’d get “lost”.   Legit, don’t know how we got here, type of lost.  So, it came as NO surprise that when we landed in Denver, we got separated on the underground shuttle that takes you to baggage claim.

I got on, she didn’t.  We stared at each other through the glass for a split second in disbelief, and then I lost it.   I was laughing, the people next to me were laughing, she laughed, and off we went.

.

We reunited and off we went to Megan’s for some late night beers underneath the Denver sky to close out a pretty great Monday night.

We had a low-key start to our Tuesday before heading out to Red Rocks with Megan’s friends Kelsey and Kelly for some incredible tailgating with the most insane views I have ever seen.  Breathtaking.  If you’ve never been to Red Rocks, please go.  Book it, experience it, hike it, enjoy it.  I can’t wait to go back!

Those lights in the background are what makes up downtown Denver.   Obviously poor quality iPhone pics don’t allow you to see the skyscrapers, but trust me, this view of Denver is incredible.

And that little cutie on stage known as Eric Church ain’t half bad either.   😉

.

.

.

.

And then Wednesday morning came and we were on our way back to the airport for our trip home.

36 hours.

Whirlwind trip.

Worth it 100 times over.

.

Once back home, it was back to work for two solid days of traveling before a double certification weekend.  Like I said… in like a Lion that month of August is!

Saturday, August 13th I traveled to Knoxville, IA to certify 5 new instructors in Country Heat Live.  What a FUN crew they were and what an incredible facility.  Knoxville always takes care of me.

.

Sunday, August 14th sent me to Clarinda to host a TurboKick Live certification at the Lied Center.  This was a full circle moment for me since Clarinda is my hometown and where I began my group fitness instructing so many years ago.

More to come on these certifications later. 😉

.

The week of August 15th had me on the road again for the first half of the week, but we managed to squeeze in a double date Wednesday night with a Harley ride down to Classic Cafe in Malvern, IA for dinner.   If you’ve never been and you live around us, MAKE THIS TRIP!  You will not be disappointed in this little gem of a Cafe/Bar/Restaurant.

.

Friday, August 19th Tyree, Claire and I were to go to River Riot concert, but, due to pending bad weather it was postponed, so we went to dinner at Perry’s Place before calling it an early night.  A nice little catch-up session with the girls.   Saturday, August 20th had me working at IWCC from 11-8pm for Welcome Week activities and Reiver Fest.  Back to COLLEGE time for students!

.

And we managed to close out Saturday night with Seth and Jen in Malvern for his 40th birthday, complete with confetti!

.

Is August up yet?  Nope!  Sunday, August 21st sent me over to Omaha Blue Waves Fitness  to work through some TurboKick certification items with a few ladies in the morning and then I literally crashed on the couch the rest of the day with a few beers.  This chick was WHOOPED!

.

 I admit I sometimes have no idea if I am coming or going, but I am living in the moment, soaking as much of it in as I possibly can.  Stress?  Smile.   Irritated?  Laugh at it.   Choose to make the most and the best of every situation when you can.

And with that, August continues…

Cheers!