Wii RAN!

We (the children and I) have been wanting a Wii for a while now. Robert finally made a deal. The kids, and I, were to do a certain number of laps around the house (or equivalent miles in the neighborhood) - 11 laps is one mile. Jake - 165 laps, Natalie - 275 laps, Alyssa - 330 laps, and me - 440 laps.
To help encourage the kids, each time they finished 100 laps they got to pick breakfast for the next morning. When they finished they got to choose either breakfast OR dinner. When I finished 100 laps, and when I finished, I didn't have to make breakfast the next morning.
We made a chart to keep track. We called it the "Wii Run."
(we also started this about a month before soccer started for the kids - our ulterior motive . . . condition them for soccer)

Robert was sell bench(es) in order to pay for the Wii.

Last week all the laps were finished!
A grand combined total of 1210 laps (110 miles)!

The Wii was ordered and arrived!!

Mii-s were created and the games began.
We have had a blast!

Robert has yet to take down his children in boxing. Alyssa knocked him out in round 1 - the first time they played.

Jake was already trash talking his dad when he played him - "the old man is dying! the old man is dying!"

I love seeing the kids playing together and encouraging each other. Robert takes time when he is home or even when he has a few minutes before heading out, to "take someone on." I need to seriously work on my bowling technique (I have to granny bowl to make it go straight!)

The ulterior motive was successful as the girls did much better going into soccer this season than in seasons past. Alyssa's coach mentioned one practice that she wasn't winded when everyone else was huffing and puffing. Alyssa has come to love running so much that she entered a 5K (see post 3/22/09). And during Natalie's first game I saw three other players holding their sides and Natalie didn't (she had been cramping up on our speed walks through the neighborhood - a good 2 mile, hilly loop).

There will be a continued requirement of "laps per week" in order to play the Wii the next week - everyone got those in today when we went to Stone Mountain (to be posted later).