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Vegas Work Trip

My dad had another convention (Shot Show) he was working at in Vegas in January, so I went down to help him for a few days. The show was pretty crazy, I’ve never seen or been around that many guns in my life, but it was really fun getting to spend quality time with my dad. Unfortunately, I had to cut my trip a little short because Finn had gotten sick and couldn’t go to his sitter. Of course, it had to be when I was out of town! Till next time, Vegas!

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Christmas in Kentucky

Sometimes it’s hard to have my parents live so far away, but one fun thing is that when we visit at Christmastime, it makes us feel like we get two Christmases! The kids and I flew to Kentucky the day after Christmas. The kids did pretty well on the flight and were excited to see the grandparents. It was a little more quiet than usual because my sister and her family weren’t there for the first time, but we still enjoyed being together. Some highlights of the trip:

  • Watching lots of Star Wars movies with my dad
  • Crafting and baking with Nana
  • Going to the aquarium
  • Puppet shows and play dough
  • Mickey Mouse Waffles
  • Going downtown to see the Christmas decorations
  • Skyline Chili, of course

It’s been six months since we’ve been home and we are feeling quite homesick! Miss you, mom and dad. Thanks for always making our trips back feel so special!

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Thanksgiving

We went to Arizona for Thanksgiving to visit my brother and his wife. My parents flew in, along with my uncle and aunt, and my other uncle who I hadn’t seen in about fifteen years. It was so great to see everyone and spend a few days in the sunny weather!

Thanks for having us, Sam & Ashley! 

Rest stop on the way down there!

Unfortunately, the first night we were there, both kids threw up through the night and the last night we were there, TJ threw up in the night. One of the reasons we left a little early was because I was so worried I would get it and just wanted to be home before it started. But I never did!

Dinner was delicious and the table looked beautiful!

Great weather!

Going topside at the park

We spent lots of time outside.

My Uncle Jeff! I cried when we saw him because it had been so long!

My dad with his two brothers. My other uncle has been very sick so it was such a miracle to get to be with him and see him so healthy! We love you, Uncle Tim!

In the evening, Sam would bring out the TV for us to have a movie night in the stars. They sure know how to throw a party.

My little monkey

Delicious burgers  My hotdog man

Eva overcame her fear of dogs (at least of the three dogs at their house) and LOVED walking them each day.

Movie night!

Eva loves her Nana!

Game night was hilarious!

Thanksgiving dinner outside 

Eva got a birthday present from her aunt and uncle!

Testing out the new toy

My cute parents

Uncle Sam all dressed up

Half of the fam

Got to see my BFF Ashley who was also in town visiting her in-laws! She is expecting two boys!!! I’m over-the-moon excited for her!

To Vegas and Back

You may or may not know that I worked for my dad’s marketing business. I just work part time from home and have done so since college. It’s a perfect little gig and nice to have my dad as my boss. Last month, one of our clients needed help at the Interbike show in Vegas so I got to meet my dad down there for a few days. I don’t know if I was much help, but it definitely was fun getting away for a couple of days and working alongside my dad. Thanks, for having me, Dad!

Kentucky Video

Kentucky Trip: Part 2

Once MB’s family came to town, we had such a great time catching up. Eva just adores her cousins and wants to be with them constantly. Finn and Spencer were really cute together, too. We swam at the pool a lot, went to the Cincinnati Children’s Museum, played in the backyard and did crafts together. One day we went down south an hour to visit my other sister Ashley and my uncle and aunt. The last day before we flew out, we took the kids to Coney Island for the rides. We had such a great trip with all of them and my parents, and can’t believe my sister’s family is half way around the world now!

Kentucky Trip

My sister who lives in DC moved to Switzerland last week, so before she and her family left the country, we met them in Kentucky to visit my parents. The kids did really well on the airplane, I even got Finn to fall asleep on the way there, thankfully. They were busy but happy, at least.

Before my sister arrived, we were pretty busy! We went downtown to the splash pad, visited Findlay Market, attended a concert in the park, and went up to Tower Park in Ft. Thomas for their birthday celebration-family night. Here are the pictures from the first half of the trip! 

Bear Lake

The last week of June, we headed up to Bear Lake with TJ’s family for a little vacation. It wasn’t warmest week up there so the water was still pretty cold, but that didn’t stop us from having a great getaway!

The first evening, we explored town a bit and spent time at the park right there on the lake.

Wednesday, we hit up the beach right away in the morning where the kids played in the sand and we kayaked some. At lunch, Finn loved sitting outside because he was able to watch all the trucks and cars go by. He called each of them out, obviously. Then I took Finn on a drive where he napped for an hour and I drove around the whole lake. It was so beautiful! That evening we went to the park again and then enjoyed s’mores on the beach. The wind was nuts, but the views made it worth it!

On Thursday, TJ’s brother’s family arrived and we had another beach day. The kids loved collecting little shells and splashing in the water. We rented jet skis that afternoon for a few hours and we all took turns taking them out. I was so happy Eva loved it (Finn tolerated it). We enjoyed raspberry shakes together in the afternoon, then went to the pool for a bit, and that evening we all went out for pizza.

Friday, we rented RZRS and took them out all afternoon. I had to take dramamine, but it was such a blast! We saw a moose and were able to explore up in the mountains a bit. While we took turns taking them out, my mother in law helped them make necklaces and do other crafts. We wrapped up the trip by having a big BBQ with all of TJ’s extended family and had a big Hillbilly Golf tournament. The weather was perfect that evening, thankfully so it was such a pleasant night outside with everyone.

I can’t write the whole post and not write about how Finn experienced, what we think was, night terrors for the first time. Of course, it happened while we were on vacation and sharing a condo with our family. Honestly, I’ve never seen him like that and it was terrifying. He was up screaming his head off for hours for the first few nights but by the end of the trip did better. It made us all really tired but I kept telling myself we’d just sleep when vacation was over. It definitely wasn’t ideal, but he was happy during the day making us be able to handle it enough.

We had such a great trip and sure hope we can return again!

 

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HIGH Fitness Instructor Certification

A few months ago, my good friend, neighbor, and High Fitness instructor Holly and I started discussing the idea of me getting certified to teach High and possibly team teaching together. I went back on the forth on the idea for a while, unfortunately I waited too long and the Utah one filled up and passed by. Then I realized there was one in Arizona right around our anniversary, so I decided to sign up for the training and make an anniversary weekend out of it with TJ!

It was the first time TJ and I had left the kids together before; the first trip without kids we’ve ever had since having kids. We did leave Eva for one night when I was in the hospital having Finn, but that’s it. So, I think it was time! We left out of Provo on Thursday, and I couldn’t get over how easy it was to fly with my kids! It’s been FIVE YEARS since I’ve flown sans kids. I literally had a small carry on (which TJ carried) and my book. BTOML. I read 100 pages on the airplane and didn’t have to change a diaper in the teeny airplane bathroom. I still can’t get over it.

Thursday night we met my brother and his wife for dinner, then relaxed outside for the evening. Friday we spent the entire day being incredibly lazy. Well, TJ worked a lot. But I laid out by the pool and read for hours. Take me back! Friday evening we met our good friends Ryan & Kacy for dinner and stayed up way too late talking about our funny college memories.

On Saturday, moms got free French toast at Kneaders so we headed there for breakfast (Kacy & I gave the toast to our husbands lol… I wasn’t about to eat unlimited French toast before working out all day long), at which point I headed to the gym for the High Fitness class before the training. The class was amazing. A packed house taught by Amber, one of the creators of the class and a bunch of other great instructors.

My friend Natalie got certified with me so it was really fun having her by my side the whole day, it really took away a lot of the nerves! Fun fact: Natalie and I were in the same Stake back in Kentucky, so we kind of grew up together and we sang in a children’s choir together for a bunch of years. We both moved out to Utah and have done 21 day fix together this year and now are both doing High! Yay!

After the class, we had a lunch break so Natalie and I went back and took a quick shower and changed (we were soaked after the first class). Then from 12-7 we were in the training learning choreography and pretty much what it takes to become an instructor. We then broke into groups and had to teach the rest of the class songs, while we were being graded. I passed with flying colors… hurray! It was a nerve-wracking day but one of the best ever. I literally held back tears several times because I was just so excited and happy for this new stage of life!

To celebrate, Natalie and I headed out to dinner right after at Grimaldi’s (I really wanted to eat at Shake Shack, but their grill was down… WHAT?) and split a pizza and canolli (we were starving after working out all day)! It was a perfect ending to a perfect weekend!

It was Mother’s Day when we came home, and I was so happy to see the kids! We sure missed them but were so grateful they were safe and happy with their Uncle & Aunt (who sent me lots of snaps per my request!). I definitely cried a lot when we left, it was so hard to leave Finn for some reason. But the weekend away with TJ was so needed and the training was an incredible experience!

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Disney: Snapchat Edition

I love snapchat. It’s just so casual and fun. Such an easy way to document the regular part of your day. So, I snapped some at Disney and put it all together. I love rewatching the part about what Eva packed in her bag for Disney. Too funny!