Have yourself a Merry little Christmas

From our house to yours....

Merry, Merry Christmas!

 

My Little Pilgrims

 One of my Favorite Thanksgiving traditions is to dress up A and a and take some pics of my cute pilgrims. I worry this is the last year Big A is going to let me do a "Pilgrims" photo shoot. I decided to go all out this year and do it at Gardner Village. Big A kind of freaked out "I look like  DORK!" I assured him that is was Sunday and Gardner Village was closed so no one would be around. I did not tell him I planned on plastering the pics around the house and on line. The resulting pics turned out TOO cute and the Pilgrim pieces from last year still fit so no sewing for Momma this year (yea!) I hope next year Big A will think it's ironically cool and do it again but alas I don't think too man 8-year-olds get ironically cool....

My Little Ballerina

Our little A has taken Ballet at the Classical Ballet Conservatory in Gardner Village for a little over a year now. It is amazing how much she has grown and changed in that year. She pays so much more attention and is so much more focused (well for a 4 year-old). 

This weekend was the mini showcase "Breakfast with the Ballet" a chance for the dancers to perform a small piece for friends and family to see how they are doing (the full formal recital will be in the spring). 

Our little A did such and amazing job! I am so proud of our beautiful Ballerina! Check out the performance below (Little A is the one in the middle)

Big A is Lucky 7!

Big A is now officially a 7 year old. I say this every year but seriously, how is this possible? My little boy is growing up so fast it is crazy. In just the last year the changes in him are astounding. He is such a bright, funny, kind, playful, thoughtful little guy. I am truly the lucky one, this "7" is my Boy!

A thank you to FotoFly photography for once again giving me outstanding birthday shots of A!

A-Maze-ing times at the Crazy Corn Maze!

We decided that this was the year that we would venture into the fall fun of a Corn Maze. We thought A and a were both old enough to have a fun time in a maze. Having watched “survivor” since birth they are both totally familiar with the idea of a maze and were totally excited about tackling the challenge.

We decided to give the “Crazy Corn Maze” in West Jordan (8800 South 4000 West) a try for our first maze. It seemed like a good size. Big enough to be a challenge but not crazy huge like some in the valley. The Maze was done in the shape of a jester this year and you were given a basic map at the start as well as a “corn” trivia sheet. The trivia was numbered 1-10 and coincided with markers throughout the maze. The trivia was a true/false that gave you hints on going left or right as you went along. A took immediate control of the map and was our unofficial leader. It was great though he and little a conferred on which way to go, working as a great team (no fights!) The size was perfect, it took us a little over an hour to complete the maze; long enough to make it worthwhile but not overly long and complicated to bore or frustrate the kids.

It was a fantastic family outing that A and a gave “ten thumbs up” (highest marks in our house!)

You can score a coupon for the Crazy Corn Maze here:

http://www.utahmaze.com/coupon.html

 

Top 5 Family Fun Halloween Activities 2015 in Utah

I Love Halloween and all the spooky fun times that come with it. As the mom of two little monsters most of my favorite Halloween past times aren't appropriate... Haunted Houses, Horror Movies, but I don't want to let that stop me from celebrating the holiday with some family friendly Halloween fun!

Here's a list of the top 5 Utah Halloween adventures that are fun for the whole family. I searched out all the info and want to share, save you some googling time! So here they are (in no particular order!)

Crazy Corn Maze

Location: 8800 South 4000 West, West Jordan, UT 84088

Attractions: Pumpkin patch, Corn Maze, Haunted Corn Maze

Schedule: Maze Sept 24-Oct 31. Haunt Oct 2-Oct 30

Hours of operation
Mon-Thu 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Fri 6:00pm - 11:30pm
Sat 12:00 noon - 11:30pm
Sun Closed

Prices: Maze $7.50 ages 10+
Maze $4.50 child ages 5-9 (4 & under FREE)
Haunt $14.00 (No waiting in line VIP $18.50)
Combo (maze & haunt) $15.50  (VIP $20.00)

Website: http://www.utahmaze.com/visit.html

 

Gardner Village Witchfest

Location: 1100 W. 7800 S., West Jordan, UT 84088

Schedule: Mon – Thur 11am – 7pm Fri & Sat 11am – 8pm, Sunday closed

Attractions: Witch Scavenger Hunt, Witch Displays, 6 Hags Witches adventure

Prices: Scavenger hunt and displays Free, 6hags $6 ages 1 and up includes all activities

Website: http://www.gardnervillage.com/witchfest-calendar-of-events

 

Cornbelly’s at Thanksgiving Point

Location: Thanksgiving Point
3003 North Thanksgiving Way
Lehi, UT 84043

Schedule: Grand Opening Oct 2nd Ticket Booth Hours
Monday-Thursday: 4-9 pm
Friday-Saturday 10 am - 11 pm
Sunday Closed

Attractions: TONS! Corn Maze, Climbing Wall, Corn Cannons, Giant Slide, Pumpkin Patch, Cow Train, Insanity Point Haunts, Hayrides, Inflatable and much more!

Prices: Attraction Passes Ranging from $11.95 - $24.95

Website: http://www.cornbellys.com/

 

Pumpkin Point Farms

Location: 11900 S 3600 W

Riverton, UT 84065

Schedule: Tractor Rides (Mon, Fri & Sat 5pm-7pm) 

Attractions: Pumpkin Patch with 35 different varieties, Childrens Corn Maze and Tractor rides

Prices: Pumpkins from $.50 - $12.00 Maze and tractor rides Free with pumpkin purchase

Website: http://pumpkinpointfarms.com/index.html

Black Island Farms

Location: 3178 S. 3000 W, Syracuse, UT 84075

Schedule: Sept 25 – 31

Mon-Thurs 4pm – 10pm

Fri 4pm – Midnight

Sat 10am – Midnight

Sun 11am – 5pm

Attractions: Utah’s Largest Corn Maze, Animal Alley, Bonfires, Cow Train, Grain Shoot Slide, Straw Mountain, Pig Races, Corn Box, Bounce House, Pumpkin Patch, Farm Hayrides   

Prices: Corn Maze and Courtyard

Adults $11 Kids (Ages 12-2)$9

 Combos

Corn Maze and Courtyard + Hayride

Adults $16 Kids (Ages 12-2) $11

Corn Maze and Courtyard + Nightmare Acres

Adults $20 Kids $20

Website: http://www.blackislandfarms.com/

First Grader!

The summer seemed to just fly by for us. It seriously feels like Big A's Kindergarten Graduation party was last week. Now First grade is here; Full day at school; Lunch at school; Really getting down to learning, not the fun of Kindergarten.

I am the first to admit I was a complete basket case about Big A starting Kindergarten. I couldn't imagine my little buddy leaving every day. It all turned out fantastic. We all got into a groove. A loved school and made tons of friends. The class really bonded and the parents all seemed to mesh into a great group. His teacher was AMAZING and it was so fun hearing all about his day and seeing all the new things he was learning.

 I thought I'd be good with first grade but I have struggled with the idea of him being gone ALL DAY. I will literally get a few hours with him after school before it's bedtime. I know that we will get into a groove with this too. I know that he will love 1st grade; new friends, more recess, lunch! His new teacher seems really good and I'm excited to see him flourish this year. I know all this will happen but I still stand with a heavy heart as I watch him enter the doors to first grade.

 

Big Vegas (Birthday) Fun

My Dad wanted to spend his 75^th birthday in his favorite place in the world… Vegas! I have been going to Vegas since I was six and My Dad has instilled a great love of the glitz and glamour of Vegas in me. Traveling to Vegas with my Mom and Dad is one of my very favorite things to do. It’s always a fun vacation and we have been so many times that it actually kind of feels like home away from home in a way.

We have always had such amazing times in Vegas. When I was little I loved all the lights and excitement but my favorite thing was Circus, Circus. Now that Big A is old enough to come with us he loves all the lights and excitement but I think Circus, Circus is his favorite. I love that I can share this with him. I love that he loves it too. (Secretly I love letting the kid in me out a little while I play with him, I can still kick butt on the “horse races”!

We had a fantastic Vacation. We lounged by the pool (with a Celebrity sighting! Zac Efron!), we had decadent food (Hello Serendipity! So Amazing). We can chalk up yet another amazing Las Vegas vacation.

Room Service!

The Parade of Homes with HGTV Raised Kids

When I think about the Salt Lake Parade of Holmes I am filled with nostalgia. I have wonderful memories of going through these amazing Mansions with my mom as a kid. Awestruck by the pools, tennis courts, kitchens. I have wanted to share this with my kids but I thought they were still a bit too young.

 Then a few months ago we were visiting some friends way out west in the Salt Lake valley in an up and coming area. Their neighborhood was surrounded by new developments all touting open model homes. On a whim we stopped by one to see what it was like. A and a were great, nicely looking through the house, examining the fun new features. When we left Big A said “Mommy do you think we’ll be on TV?” laughingly I asked him “Why would we be on TV?” “Well on “Love it or List it” of course! I didn’t even see David there.” (FYI “Love it or List it" is an HGTV show about remodeling your house or buying a new one). We obviously watch enough HGTV that it has filtered down to A and a. As we were headed back home A and A both begged to go see more houses. That was it, I knew the Parade of Homes would be a fun family adventure.

We got our passes, loaded the Parade of Homes app on our phones and off we went. The Parade is a scattered site event but the App provides you perfect turn by turn GPS directions to all the houses. To not overwhelm the kids we did 5 -6 houses at a time. The houses are located in general “clusters” and made breaking up our visits really easy.

My worries about the kids being too small were quashed on the first site we visited. They loved exploring the big houses, checking out cool features (Movie Room!, Waterfall Glass Hallway floor!, Hidden Pantry door to the garage!) and pointing out not so cool features (Glass walled showers in the front of the house!, Tiny kids rooms!, a Bidet! EW!).  They have picked up way more HGTV than we thought “Mom doesn’t this look like a wall the “Property Brothers” would have done?” Big A said of a cool reclaimed wall.

Of all the houses though the kids only claimed one was a “List It” (meaning we’d sell our house to buy that one) and Jeff and I actually agreed... if we had $1.5 million to spend. It was heartening that of all the other cool houses they still liked our house better.

After we had hit the houses we’d planned and were headed home both A and a were  whining in the back seat of the car “We wanna see more houses!” For all the parents who think that the Parade of Homes isn’t for their kids, reconsider.

Thank you to the Salt Lake Home Builder’s Association for providing us passes to the Parade of Homes. All views and opinions are my own.

 

 

"Hike" at Silver Lake ... Perfect for the kiddos

We are so lucky to live in a place so full of beauty. I'm sure every one thinks this of where they live; be it the ocean, the desert, the bright lights of the city. But to me few things can compare with the beauty of the mountains surroundung Salt Lake City.

I have heard about this wonderful family friendly hike at Silver Lake just up Big Cottonwood Canyon and have been wanting to check it out for awhile now. This Saturday we had the rarity of nothing planned and the weather was gorgeous so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to check it out.

About 30 minutes away right outside of Brighton ski resort is Silver Lake. It is a breathtaking spot nestled in the mountains. The "Hike" was a super easy and consisted of an even boardwalk for about 2/3 of the way around the lake. It was pretty and fun, long enough to make it worthwhile but short enough the kids weren't complaining at the end. We packed a picnic and ate first. It was a perfect day playing in the beauty of our "backyard"!