Las Vegas Celebration 2016

A friend and I went to Las Vegas last week for a conference with the health and wellness company that we work with. It was an interesting experience!

Overall, I enjoyed my time-- but Las Vegas itself isn't really my kind of place. I think it'd be ok if I just stayed at a nice hotel and hung out by the pool the entire time without venturing out. 

We stayed at Harrah's because it was inexpensive and close to the Venetian, which is where the conference was being held. It was the perfect location!

We didn't have a fancy room or anything. It was comfortable. We were able to eat most meals right there in the resort. The Fulton Street dining area had amazing LavAzza coffee-- which, of course, is very important for a coffee lover.

The Venetian was beautiful and was obviously a much nicer place than Harrah's. We got lost plenty of times so we were able to get a good look around.

The conference itself was very high energy. We learned a lot.

I've always heard that the food is very inexpensive in Las Vegas-- but we found the opposite to be true! It was really pricey. We ate some delicious food though.

Yes, this is how we ate while attending a health and wellness conference. But in our other meals, we did enjoy good nutrition! lol

We did a little bit of exploring. One night we took a shuttle over to the Rio and we ate dinner at Guy Fieri's El Burro Borracho. It was delicious! 

After that, we just walked down the strip-- which was kind of disgusting, but there were some interesting things to see too-- like this woman posing as a statue in a sitting position.

We had some time before our flight left on our last day, so we spent it at the pool! That was so nice.

It was nice to get home after it was all over! I feel like I'm still recovering. It was just sensory overload there-- the crazy flashing lights, the smell of smoke everywhere, loud music, the heat, crowds and crowds of people. It was a little exhausting!

I enjoyed getting to know my friend, Kim, better. We had lots of laughs and we each took lots of naps-- which was nice for us mamas!

Have you ever been to Las Vegas? What did you enjoy, or not?

Mini-Vacation to Nebraska

We took a long weekend and headed to Nebraska for a mini-vacation. Hubby's cousin graduated from high school so we took it as an opportunity to get away and also attend her graduation party.

{A beautiful ombre sky on our drive.}

It was great to get away and just spend time together as a family. We spent the night in Sioux City and did a little shopping the next morning before heading out to the graduation party.

Little Miss Sunshine was super excited when she spotted this carousel at the mall. So of course I had to take her for a ride while daddy shopped at Scheels. She loved it.

She doesn't like having her picture taken and will turn her head away if she notices me taking a picture...

After the graduation party, we headed to Omaha. Fun fact--I was born near Omaha, Nebraska. We didn't have a lot of time to do any exploring, but it looks like it could be an interesting place to visit and spend some time in the downtown area. 

The next morning, we headed to the Omaha Zoo. Hubby and I visited the zoo shortly after we were married and that has been almost 10 years ago! It's a really nice zoo and rated one of the top zoos in the world. Little Miss Sunshine was so excited about going to the zoo.

The mom of the year award goes to me--I packed everything we would need for this trip and then left most of the essentials at the hotel. Way to go, huh? 

So we ended up having to spend $10 for sunscreen at the zoo and to buy Little Miss Sunshine a hat too! It was a really sunny day and I didn't want her getting burned! I felt so unprepared! As you can see, she didn't like the hat and wouldn't keep it on--so more money wasted.

We got to see the two baby elephants at the zoo--they were so cute!

I didn't get a lot of pictures, which is fine because we've all seen zoo animals before.

It was super busy the day that we went. I heard one person say, "I haven't been in a line this long since Black Friday at Walmart". Hahaha. Yep, pretty much explains it!

One of my favorite parts of the zoo is the butterfly exhibit. You walk into a greenhouse type environment and there are all different kinds of butterflies flying around. There are these beautiful bluish purple butterflies that live in South America. It's so pretty in there!

We made it through most of the zoo, but not all of it. There's only so much that a two year old can handle before she's ready for a nap! We did a lot of walking, but would you believe that I didn't even get credit for it on my fitbit? Ugh--I hate that it doesn't track when I'm pushing a stroller and I forgot to put it in my pocket!

I guess the trip to the zoo really tired me out too because we went back to the hotel and I took a four hour nap. Whaaaattt? I felt great when I woke up though.

We stopped at Jethro's BBQ in West Des Moines on our way home. I've always wanted to give it a try but we're usually in the Des Moines area on the weekend and the wait is too long. It was pretty good, but nothing spectacular. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if Little Miss Sunshine wasn't being so naughty! So is the life of a parent...

So that was our trip! Nothing too exciting, but it was so nice to get away.

Our Annual Trip to the Apple Orchard

This year we decided to try an apple orchard at a different location, although it is owned by the same family—we were really happy with it and will probably go again next year. Plus, they had apple cider slushies—how delicious!

The one we usually go to gets so crowded and it can be difficult to look at everything because there are so many people. This other location had all of the things that we like to buy (apple cider donuts ha), also had a petting zoo, and wasn’t crowded at all.

There was a lovely selection of squash and pumpkins. They were selling an “apple gourd” which I had never seen before. I didn’t think to take a picture of it, but you can see one that was dried and decorated in the background.

There was a nice selection of gift items. All we bought was a little book for Little Miss Sunshine. It’s always fun to browse though.

It was a beautiful fall day—sunny and just the right amount of chilly. It made for beautiful scenes of colors beneath a bright blue sky.

There were two beautiful dogs on the property that were very friendly. I’m not sure what kind they were. As soon as we sat down to enjoy our apple cider donuts, one of the dogs came and just stood in front of us staring at our donuts. At one point, I looked away and he grabbed the donut out of my hand and ate it!

It was a little awkward because we had two dogs and a cat sitting there staring at us by the time we were done. Little Miss Sunshine loved it though. And I miss having a mild mannered dog like these ones so it was fun to pet them.

These traditions are actually getting more fun now that we have a little one. Looking forward to many more, God willing!

A Trip to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines & Mini-Vacation

Every year around my birthday time we go to Des Moines to go shopping. I miss having local access to a lot of my favorite stores and the good selection that you can find in a bigger city. Oh, and there’s a Cheesecake factory. Enough said.

Little Miss Sunshine loves animals. Most of the books we have are about animals and she loves to see all of the farm animals at grampy and grammy’s farm. I knew she would absolutely love going to the zoo—so we made plans to do that!

This was my first visit to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines but hubby had been there on field trips are a child. It’s the perfect size zoo—it took us about 2 hours to walk through which was the perfect amount of time for a one year old. Although we didn’t go through the indoor Discovery Center. She was getting tired and cranky towards the end.

We took a train ride through the zoo, which cost less than $5 for all three of us. Overall, everything was very reasonably priced. Admission was $12 each and Little Miss Sunshine was free (as are children 2 years old and younger).

Aren’t Little Miss Sunshine’s sunglasses adorable? She actually kept them on most of the time!

She really did love the zoo! She would get so excited to see the different animals. She thought anything furry was a cat and would meow, of course.

How brave this child is never ceases to amaze me. She isn’t afraid of much of anything—although she didn’t want to touch this llama.

There was a nice playground located in the Kids’ Kingdom. Little Miss Sunshine was a little too young to use the equipment, but we did find this cow to take a quick picture with!

It was so fun to see her look at the animals with wonder. It’s like being able to relive childhood through the eyes of my child.

We really needed to go on a vacation and just spend a little time together as a family with no interruptions or real responsibilities. We really enjoyed it!

By far, Little Miss Sunshine loved the carousel the most. She cried and cried when the ride was over and we had to get off!

Such a beautiful carousel!

I had some record breaking steps earned on my Fitbit over the weekend! On this particular day (Friday), I earned 13,396 steps—which was a personal record at the time, but I blew that out of the water on Saturday with 17,043 steps! Whoohoo!

I earned the Urban Boot badge on Fitbit. It has been a long time since I’ve earned a badge—so that made me happy!

On Saturday, we started our day out with a walk at Gray’s Lake Park—a beautiful spot for a walk!

The rest of the trip was filled with shopping (mostly just walking around malls), swimming at the hotel pool, Starbucks, and good eats…maybe too many of those!

I can’t wait to take our next mini vacation!

 

What’s your favorite vacation spot for a quick getaway?

6 Amazing Places You Need to Visit in Central Iowa Every Fall

Fall is a beautiful time in Iowa. From the clear blue skies overhead miles of golden fields of soy beans and corn ready to harvest, to the rolling hills covered with trees in hues of red, orange, & yellow—it’s nature’s artistry at its finest.

If you’re looking for places to visit in Central Iowa this fall, here is a list of six of my favorites:

Scratch Cupcakery

A picture is worth a thousand words, but I will tell you a little about Scratch Cupcakery anyways—although if these cupcakes don’t have you running to the nearest Scratch location, I don’t know if we can be friends. Kidding, of course.

Scratch is an ever growing local business with four locations in Iowa—Cedar Falls, Waterloo, West Des Moines, and Coralville. The business started in a tiny little shop just off of Main Street in Cedar Falls and quickly won the hearts (and taste buds) of nearly everyone who tried their decadent treats.

It’s really a great place to visit all year, but in the fall they have wonderful seasonal flavors (in addition to the regulars) like Apple Pie, Apple Dumpling, Harvest, Maple Donut, Pumpkin Cheesecake, and Sweet Potato (depending on the month).

 

Bloomsbury Farm

Located in Atkins, Bloomsbury Farm has something for everyone. Whether it’s pumpkins you’re after, a corn maze, petting zoo, a pumpkin cannon, pedal carts, a hayride, or paint ball—they have all of that and more.

It’s a good place for families to have a lot of fun and spend time outdoors. Just don’t get lost in the corn maze!

 

Wills Family Orchard

Wills Family Orchard is located in the beautiful countryside just outside of Des Moines in Adel. The Wills family is environmentally conscious and all of their orchards are Certified Organic.

There is no admission fee, but you can pay a small fee if you want to find your way out of a corn maze or take a hay wagon ride. The orchard sells organic apples, has a u-pick pumpkin patch, a barn yard petting zoo, plenty of delicious foods like apple cider donuts for sale in their shop, and gourd painting.

 

Volksweg Trail

With all of these delicious fall treats, you may want to spend some time biking, running, or walking along the Volksweg Trail to burn off some of those calories—so you can eat another apple cider donut and sneak some of your kid’s Halloween candy.

Volksweg Tail connects Pella with the Red Rock Dam. It’s a nice, short 13 mile trail with lots of hills. The best part? Surrounded by a heavily wooded area and with beautiful lake views, it is the most beautiful bike trail I’ve ever seen. While biking, I saw fawns hopping across the trail and numerous beautiful butterflies fluttering around. Simply peaceful.

 

Des Moines Farmer’s Market

Des Moines Farmer’s Market

Strolling through the Des Moines Farmer’s Market is a fun experience. There’s fresh produce, a delicious variety of foods and drinks, flowers, pumpkins, art, you name it. It’s open Saturday mornings May through October.

 

Cabin Coffee Company

Cabin Coffee Company has six locations across Iowa in: Waterloo, Mason City, Forest City, Clear Lake, Osage, and Lisbon. They sell coffee that is locally roasted and fresh—it really is some of the best in Iowa!

You’ll have a hard time deciding what you want when you take a look at their menu. But if you’re looking for flavors of fall, you might want to go with the Cinnamon Latte, Caramel Apple Cider, or Chai Tea—just to name a few! Enjoy time with friends in a cozy atmosphere.

 

What’s your favorite place to visit in the fall?

Visiting Jane

When baby girl and I visited my parents last week we had quite a bit of fun. When my brothers, sister & families arrived, my parents treated us to a visit to the Burpee Museum of Natural History. We have become such a big family that we got the group discount!

It’s hard to believe that I grew up in Rockford, IL but never went to this museum, not even on a field trip! Burpee Museum is most known for its Jane display. Jane is “the world’s most complete and best preserved juvenile T. rex”.

It’s pretty incredible that these creatures once roamed the earth!

I would have loved to have spent more time reading the information, but hubby and I kept pretty busy chasing around the one year old. She had so much fun exploring a new place and wasn’t afraid of the giant creatures or dinosaur noises.

We saw the Savage Ancient Sea: Dinosaurs of the Sea exhibit, which is a traveling exhibit.

Here is my SIL, myself, sister, and mom.

The kids had a fun time “digging for dinosaur bones”. The one year old played in the area too but she is always moving and hard to get a picture of.

I told the kids to pose like they were about to get eaten by this monster, but only one obliged. lol

This little guy seemed to enjoy the experience and having grandpa answer questions.

I think what I found most fascinating was the GeoScience display. I’ve always been intrigued by rocks, ever since I was a child. I had never seen fluorescents before—pretty cool! And of course I loved looking at the gems.

There was this neat display that showed what a mine looks like underground. It made me anxious just to look at it. I can’t imagine how miners go down that far into the earth! Eek!

Sadly, I didn’t get pictures of either.

Eventually we had to put the little one in the stroller to keep her under control. She was tired by that time so she was content. Here we are by the mammoth.

 

We would love to visit again when the little one is older. It was a great escape from the torturous heat outside!

I recommend visiting if you’re ever in the area!