Japan right in the middle of town.

Davis and I have been trying to find local spots (food and activities) for a while now that won’t break the bank.We definitely found the first of many this weekend. We visited the Japanese Friendship Garden in downtown Phoenix.

Yup that's a waterfall amazing right?

We went on Sunday afternoon since we were having amazing Arizona weather; cloudy and no hot sun. Upon arriving we were greeted by a few sweet volunteers and the founder of the garden Masako Takiguchi. They were very kind and gave us all the information of what to do once we entered. We bought a little bag of fish food so we could do some feeding and went on our way.

The first thing we noticed was how breathtaking it all was.

I found it hard to believe that we were in Phoenix. I felt as if we had just been transported to Japan. It was just so peaceful and serene.

Seriously it was just so beautiful and tranquil. With the freeway being so close I couldn’t hear it at all. We took in the over seen and continued on our tour. There was a sword demonstration going on.

We stopped for about 15 minutes to check it out mostly because that's how long Charles can stay quite. It was interesting and it was crazy to see the age range of the people practicing.  I swear that the youngest kid was just a little older then Charles.

 

Kenjitsu and Japanese Sword by Dana Abbott

We left because my kid of course wanted to go get the sword. We/ I made an executive decision that we would check out the rest of the garden so that the rest of the crowd could actually hear what was going on. For more info check out  www.facebook.com/shihanabbott

 We then went to feed the koi fish and ducks. When we got to the bridge the fish knew what was coming they started swimming towards us. 

Davis and the baby started feeding them and they went nuts.

 They were swirling around the maniacs.  The picture does not do it justice. We got some amazing shots. This would be an awesome shot to take pictures for a wedding or just a photo session. 

The garden is a non profit organization you can check out more about the history and fees at www.japanesefriendshipgarden.org/.  They opened almost 12 years and offer a traditional tea ceremony. You can call to set up a reservation.

Once we left we headed over to Pita Jungle which is in walking distance. But we drove cause that’s how we roll. 

We hung out on the patio and had a few drinks and hummus. The margaritas were definitely on point. Charles made a couple new friends by running off and trying to sit with other couples. They were all so friendly and made our outing extra special. 

We topped of the night by watching a few movies on the couch and going to bed at a descent time. Oh how our life has changed since having a baby. No more late nights out and crawling into bed by 6 am.

Did you do anything new this weekend? 

Frame worthy.

A little about us

                   This is Davis & I on our combined bachelor and bachelorette party in the woods. 

This will be a blog about our Financial and Fitness story. My husband Davis who is in communications our son Charles Davis the V. The fifth yes you read correctly. More on the name later I promise. Our puppy Chloe and her craziness and myself a stay at home momma and new beachbody coach. The adventures that we will get into in our first home and figuring  out and navigating our life as a ever growing family our fitness and financial  freedom. It's something we are extremely passionate about and want to inspire others to change their lives and get in shape physically and financial.

 Baby Charles  was born on my 25th birthday. So amazing to share the same birthday as my little baby boy. He was 6 lbs 10 oz. and 19 3/4 inches. He might have been little but was born with a great name Charles Davis V. 

This is a current family picture minus Chloe. 

My reason why

I am a momma of a one year old little boy. Charles is my life. Words cannot express how much I love him or my husband. After the birth of my son on my 25^th birthday via emergency C-section I was in the worst shape of my life. I am 5’4 and a half.  When I got home I weighed 224 lbs. I went in weighing 212. I spent the first 2 months of his life feeding him and making sure he was taking care of. I am still breastfeeding and he is almost 13 months. I completely forgot to take care of myself. I would eat anything. Because well, with breast feeding the weight will come right off. MYTH. It does not it takes work, hard work to get it back. I didn’t start getting into shape until July of this year. Our birthday was only a few months away and I didn’t want to look bad at my one year mark. That’s when I found Kati, she is my Beachbody  coach. She is amazing super supportive and helped me get where I am today.  I started eating better and then started P90X then Shakeology. In just four months I had lost 30lbs. Then I joined a challenge group and am down 40lbs. I am not where I want to be yet but I am getting there. I want to be your coach and help you get your dream body. Here I will be blogging about our family and our lifestyle. You can expect honesty and accountability. You will be finding recipes, financial tips and how we are getting out of debt we just finished Financial Peace University the Dave Ramsey class. Fitness info galore, and fun with family and friends.  Now my reason behind my motivation is my family. I want to be here for them for a long time. I want to keep up with my son. He is already a bullet and so smart. I need the best chance to keep up with him and I intend to give this my all. 100% on my part are you ready to give your all? What is behind your drive? I would love to know.  Here are some photos  from my life and my current progress.