Ok Woah, I’m so sorry I’ve been MIA lately.
I don’t even think I remember HOW to blog. Holy moly.
In all seriousness, my life is insane guys. I know I say that all the time, but it’s reality folks.
AND, it’s not changing anytime soon! We’ve had so much going on, mostly good stuff, but MAN I’m feelin’ pretty fried.
We went on a quick family trip to St. George (Utah) and Las Vegas last weekend and we had a ball!
Life has just been so hectic lately and Kev and I felt like we NEVER even saw each other, so we decided to leave the craziness behind and skip town for a few days. It was so nice. I’ll talk more about it in a sec.
We’re also smack in the middle of birthday season at our house! Three of my kiddos have birthdays within three weeks. It’s always crazy, but always fun!
My daughter got a new bed last year (she used to use my old bed from when I was in High School) and she’s wanted “pretty bedding” and curtains for the canopy for a while now….so that’s what she got for her birthday!
My cute squishy SEVEN year old got a whole bunch of random things. He told me he wanted “a lot of Kit Kats and some surprises!” What a cutie.
Oh, and FYI, I decided I was going to stay away from treats EXCEPT for all of my kid’s birthday cakes. Well, guess what??? My seven year old didn’t even want a CAKE or any other treat for that matter!!!!
Say wha????
Who doesn’t want a cake on their birthday? I asked him what kind of cake he wanted and he said, “I don’t want a cake.” I then asked him if he wanted me to make a different kind of treat for him and he said, “Nah, I don’t what anything.”
I’m like….ARE YOU SURE?????
So ya, I only get to enjoy TWO of the cakes. Sniff, sniff.
**Secretly, I’m happy he didn’t want a cake though**
Oh, and BOTH of these two kiddos are going to have their birthday parties this SATURDAY! We were out of town last weekend and we’re busy this Friday, so they will BOTH be this Saturday; one in the day and one at night.
Insane.
Oh, and my oldest son is also going to PROM on Saturday as well! This is his first High School dance and he’s really great at organizing and planning ahead (insert GIANT sarcasm here), so we’ve been running around this week dealing with tux rentals, corsages, etc.
I am a tired lady.
Oh, not to mention that I have a sweet baby who doesn’t like to sleep too well at night. I wish I could say “Uncle” right about now.
Consequently, my workouts and healthy eating have been all over the place! I’m still sticking to my half marathon running schedule for the most part, but it’s been tough to fit my other workouts in.
However, I’m SO HAPPY to say that I’ve been loving running lately! I haven’t loved running in a long time! The weather has been perfect and my body has felt pretty good! I went on a wonderful five mile run with the baby last week and I loved it so much!
It was the first time I’d run five miles since I before I was pregnant and it felt SO GOOD to feel like a “normal runner” again. I’m hoping the rest of my training goes well and my body cooperates.
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Well I want to tell you guys about a WONDERFUL local farm that I’m so impressed with!
The Johnson Family Farm is a fourth generation farm located in Cache Valley, Utah. They offer their fresh produce at local retail markets and Farmers Markets throughout the growing season.
Their produce is available at the Cache Valley Gardeners’ Market (May-October) and the Downtown Salt Lake City Farmers Market (June-October) every Saturday.
They also offer a fantastic CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that I love! You can purchase a CSA share anytime from January-May and then you can enjoy farm fresh produce all summer long!
They offer several different share options. You can click here for more information and for pricing. If you enter in the discount code, Fresh Veggies at check out you can get ONE WEEK FREE! The discount code expires March 31st.
I will be enjoying their produce this summer and can’t wait to try it! You can check out the Johnson Family Farms website for more information about their farm.
Love it!
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Well, I thought I would share a few more pics from our fun little trip! FYI, St. George is about 4+ hours from our house and Las Vegas is about 6. It’s so nice to have warm, palm tree places that aren’t too far away!
I have to say that I’m not a huge fan of Vegas though. I’ve been there MANY times and I’ve never loved it. It’s a fun, exciting “town” with so many things to see and do, BUT I just really don’t love the overall feeling there.
Blah.
I’ll just shoot it straight; in Vegas it seems like every single vice or addiction that can plague man is advertised, encouraged and even celebrated!!! I also think the slogan, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” is brilliant from a marketing perspective, but extremely disturbing from a “trying to be a good person” perspective. It’s like it gives people a “green light’ to do whatever the heck they want and feel okay about it!!!???
The whole feeling there is carnal, hollow and evil. So, why in thee heck did we decide to go there on a FAMILY TRIP you ask?
Well, Vegas is a very fun, exciting place too! There are so may cool things to do as a family. It really is a FUN city, I just wish it wasn’t mixed in with so much crap. However, in a weird way I think it’s good for the kids to “see the world” and venture out of our little bubble from time to time as well.
I must also say that it’s fairly easy to avoid a lot of the crap in Vegas if you’re careful. There are definite “family friendly” places to go and plenty of “non family friendly” places to go too. However, as we were leaving the Wax Museum there was a small group of random people dressed up in Vegas attire who were charging people to have their picture taken with them. Well, ONE of those people happened to be a topless lady only wearing pasties!
Um ya. In the middle of the day…in the middle of the street! Thankfully, Kev and I saw the lady before the kids did and we asked the kids to look the other way as we walked by. Crazy.
Soooo, we took the kids to Container Park, which is a cool place! The kids played on the giant playground there…
We also took a pic in front of the giant metal Praying Mantis (he apparently shoots out fire balls, but we never saw it….maybe it’s just at night)…
And a big heart covered in messages that were padlocked to it. It was very sweet.
We also took the kids to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. I’d never been to a wax museum before and it was a lot of fun! The wax figures are unbelievable and look so real….it’s creepy.
I took my pic with Elvis and Brangelina.
Sadly, the quality of the pics didn’t turn out too great. Oh, and supposedly the wax figures are exactly life size. They are the same height and weight as the celebrities in real life. Soooo, I felt like a giant next to Angelina. Ha ha. She is teeny.
I took some pics of the kids with Nick Fury and Babe Ruth. So fun.
Kev and my oldest son (and baby!) even got to golf with Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer.
There was also a replica of a Wedding Chapel there and we couldn’t resist…
It was a lot of fun. At the end of the museum, we saw a short 4D Marvel Avengers movie and it was fantastic! We all loved it!
Later on, Kev took a few of the kids on the giant roller coaster at New York, New York. I didn’t take any pics, but here’s a pic I found on the internet.
Kev said it was quite a rough roller coaster ride, and he got “beat up,” but they still all loved it!
That night, we watched a couple of the water fountain shows at the Bellagio and it was wonderful (and free!) I’d never seen them before and it was so beautiful! The fountains are all synchronized to music and it is so fun to watch.
We had so much fun in Vegas, but we were all worn out! We pretty much went non-stop from 10 AM-11 PM! The baby did amazingly well too! Kev kept track of how far we walked on his phone and it said we walked 9.6 miles! Wow.
I couldn’t believe my cute little kidlets didn’t even complain.
Oh, and we stayed at my sister’s condo in St. George and it was so nice. I loved visiting Vegas, but I was happy to get away from that city and stay in a quieter, happier, safer place. I took ONE picture of the kids on the deck overlooking the pool and palm trees..
It was the perfect little getaway. The weather was in the upper 70’s the whole time and it was heavenly.
Well, that about sums it up! I need to head to bed. I will try to blog again soon and about more healthy things!!!! Oh, and I promised to post my Cauliflower Pizza Crust recipe last week and I didn’t!
So sorry.
I really shouldn’t promise anything with the way my life is going lately! Geesh. I will TRY to get that recipe on here ASAP! Have a wonderful night!!!
Wow Melanie! What an adventure y’all had in Vegas! I have never truly been there except a 10 minute drive thru in a rental car one time when we had a layover on our flight. We never even got out of the car. I have always felt that the whole idea of going to a place called “sin” probably wouldn’t make me feel too good there either….glad you found some positive things to enjoy. I wouldn’t like the nudity and the disgusting message that you can do whatever you want without a care or conscious. People are lying to themselves…ok enough ramble about that.
You have such a beautiful family and I’m amazed you were able to take your baby on all that! You’re such an adventurous inspiring mommy!
I agree with everything you said about Vegas! The amount of filth in that city is frightening. We did have a good time, but I’m in no hurry to go back!
Looks like a fun trip! I’ve only been to Vegas once and it’s not really on my list of places to return. We did have fun though – we celebrated our 11th anniversary by having a renewal of our vows with Elvis LOL.
And I hear you about being busy…
Oh, that’s awesome that you renewed your vows with Elvis! Love it! I really don’t love Vegas too much, but it is fun to visit!
My husband ran the Las Vegas Marathon a few years ago. They started off in the dark running down the strip and set off fireworks – at 6 am. I loved it, but I’ll bet the rest of the strip was just getting to bed. We’ve been there tons (birthday celebrations, getaways and running events) and I’m with you on all counts. I am generally worn out by the excess and debauchery by about the end of the first day. The most fun I’ve had there was when a few girlfriends went down and shared a hotel room with a huge pool. We’d get a spot by the side first thing in the morning and hang out there all day, having food brought to us, reading and talking in the sun, then we’d go out to dinner and a show at night. It was heaven.
I mean, you should have driven 4 more hours and come to Los Angeles but of course!!!!!! I WOULD HAVE WELCOMED YOU WITH OPEN ARMS! 😉 And then let you take a nap at my place since you’re lacking in the sleep department! lol
The kids were saying we should just drive the rest of the the way to Disneyland!! You’re so lucky to live in LA….I would have loved to have crashed at your place. I’m sure you would’ve loved to have our crew visit too…ha ha!
I’ve never been to Vegas, but it looks like a crazy place. Nice that you showcase in this post that it can be a place for children too.
Vegas is SO crazy! There are so many fun things to see and do though!
I’ve only been to Vegas a couple of times – I always have fun – so much to see. I don’t really want to take the boys. One year we spend a summer in New Jersey and we went to Atlantic City to the beach – the only place to park required walking through a casino with the boys – stressed me a lot (they were 4 & 6 at the time).
Glad you are loving running right now.
It is a little frightening to be in Vegas with teenage boys!! I’ve never loved casinos, but I do love all the lights and excitement.
Wow! You have been busy and it doesn’t like your weekend will be any different. Good luck with 2 parties in one day.
Having grown up in St. George, I think it’s one of the best places ever. Looking forward to doing a little vacation of our own there for Spring Break in a couple of weeks.
I think St. George is one of the best places in the world too! My husband always says that he would more there in a second if he had a job there.
Wow, 3 birthdays in 3 weeks is insanely busy.
Great job with half marathon training.
Thanks so much! Yes, we’ve been so crazy!
I love your daughter’s bed! I’d feel like I was sleeping in a fairy tale each night.
So I met my husband when he lived in Vegas. We loved so much about Vegas while there (there are a lot of good and religious people local), but now when we go back, I see so much filth. It’s amazing how perspective changes! Last time we were there, there was a girl taking pictures topless, but without pasties. She had some white paint on. It was pathetic. But all the filth aside, it’s a pretty exciting place to visit. Looks like you guys had fun!
I have some friends who live in Vegas and they say it’s a great place to live too! It seems like if you get away from The Strip, it’s a very nice, more conservative place to live! I can’t believe you saw a topless “painted” lady! Crazy. It seems like people are a lot more daring and “adventurous” in Vegas. It’s a little frightening.
So many fun things! I love picking up our CSA every week and can’t wait for it to start.
Have a wonderful weekend Mel!
I’ve never done a CSA before, but I can’t wait to try it!!
Wow, you have been busy ! I am also training for a half marathon which is in 2 weeks, AND I was in Las Vegas a week ago for a conference ! I had never been and it.was.insane. No place like it in the world. I have a lot of the same pictures as you, too funny ! But it is definitely something to experience in life. I felt it was like a giant pinball machine. By the end of 5 days I could not stand the stimulation. Too much music, too many lights. But I am glad I went.
When is your half marathon ?
I agree, there is no place like Vegas in all the world! It was a lot fun, but definitely overstimulating!!! It’s almost a surreal, out of body experience feeling. Ha ha. Good luck on your half!
Johnson Family Farm sounds wonderful. When you buy into a CSA, do you automatically get certain items each month, or does the membership just allow you access to purchase what you want?
I love your daughter’s bed!
How wonderful that you were able to go to a place called Sin City and still have a wholesome, fun family vacation. If only the mantis had spit out a fire ball, too!
Your sweet baby’s face looks like he’s as happy with you running the 5 miles as you were!
I think you just get certain items each month in the CSA depending on what is in season at the time.
We did have so much fun in Vegas! It was nice to take a short road trip and see so many fun things!!
Hi Melanie,
I love that I stumbled upon your blog (from Top Mommy Blogs) and I’m looking forward to reading more posts! You have a beautiful family. And WOW about 3 birthdays in 3 weeks! My husband, his two brothers and their mom all have birthdays within 12 days of each other so September is crazy for us! Congrats on the new addition to your family too! 🙂
Thanks so much Mindi. I’m so glad you found me! I love “birthday season” at our house, but it IS nuts! It sounds like your September is crazy/fun too!
What a great trip you had in Las Vegas! I would love to go to the wax museum, we have one here r/in New York but I still haven’t gone. I am going to make it a must do for this summer.
I really loved the Wax Museum! It was a little pricy, but it was the only expensive thing we did (other than feeding all the kids! Ha ha.)
I’ve never been to Vegas! Can you believe it?
I wish my baby would sleep through the night too. He used to and now he seems to be regressing. It is awful. I’m soooo tired!
I AM actually surprised you haven’t been to Vegas since you are an amazing traveler! I can’t say it’s one of my favorite places to visit, it just happens to be a short-ish car ride away and is fun to see! I’m sorry to hear your baby is having sleep issues too. I’m SO tired! I just remind myself that he will sleep someday!
I’ve never been to Vegas, but if I go I will do things like this. Daytime touristy things, the night scene is sooo not for me ha! Awesome job on the running!! I LOVE it.
I love the daytime scene in Vegas too! The nightlife is beautiful (love all the lights), but SCARY!