Whoa back.

Do you know in "She's Coming 'Round the Mountain," when you sing: "She'll driving six white horses when she comes...  Whoa back!"  That's a bit how I feel right now.  I'm driving a few horses and I need to rein them in a little bit.

But, man, they are good horses.  The Sky Lakes Wellness Center has gotten off to a roaring start.  We have had unbelievable enthusiasm for our program and the first cohort of 30 people starts Tuesday with their group classes.  We are booked until July with individual appointments and are already making some appointments in September.  (I have an appointment booked on my due date, so I'll let you know how that one goes!)  We have had several cranky people come in for informational sessions (in which we explain the details of the program and they decide if they want to move forward or not) and leave with smiles on their faces.  (One woman said, "I thought that this was going to be like overeaters anonymous or fat camp!  It's nothing like that!  I would be proud to be a part of this program."  And this, of course, made my day.)

However, despite a year and a half to prepare, there is still so much to do, so the days are long at work.  We are trying to keep the momentum for our other projects (two new downtown parks, protected bike lanes (which got some national press here), the local health coalition, our GIS maps, our new trail that we're building, and of course, preparation for the Blue Zones Assessment kick-off).  We also just completed a three weekend tree planting event with the Klamath Tree League.   The Wellness Center became involved because we need to make sure that people water their tree with a gallon of water each week, since we live in the high desert.  This means that people have to walk to their trees regularly...  a good fitness incentive.  It was quite a fun and satisfying event.  There was a low turn-out the first weekend due to inclement weather, so Randal and I planted several trees (and took even more home).  We named them after ourselves, our pets, and or course, dear Skeletor.  

Skeletor's baby ponderosa.  May they both grow strong and tall!

Handsome arborist.  

And in the meantime, Skeletor continues to grow.  I hit 20 weeks on Friday and all is well.  My doctor, Wendy, said that I have a "very good baby," which is always nice to hear.  The 20 week ultrasound is tomorrow, so we'll see what's kicking around in there.

I did go on a big hike up Hogback Mountain last weekend with the pups and for the first time in my pregnancy, I really realized that my body doesn't necessarily love hiking a 5 mile trail with over 1000 feet of ascent and consequently, a very steep descent.  I did it, but I sure was achy the next day.  It could also have something to do with the fact that I harnessed Juneau up in a backpack so that she could carry her own water, which didn't go well, and so I ended up carrying their backpack as well.  Oh dear.

Skeletor and I successfully summit.

Tired dogs at the top of this beautiful mountain.  

But, let's not forget the biggest event of the week...  Dear old Beauregard turned 10 years old!  (His birthday is the same day as Earth Day, of course.  You all must have forgotten or his cards got lost in the mail.)  It was a low-key birthday as his recent diabetes diagnosis inhibited us from baking him a cake.  That's right, we are the proud (?) owners of a diabetic cat.  Who would have thought...

Our regal feline.

And so a new week begins tomorrow and I will attempt to rein those horses in a bit.  Despite so much going on, it's good stuff happening here in Klamath Falls.