Summer Bucket List 2018 | Camping in Utah

Our family enjoys being outdoors. We like to go hiking and take walks at the park. Jason and the kids like going on bike rides and as you know, I’m a runner. However, we just recently started going camping as a family. I guess you can say we are officially “outdoorsy” now 😉 To check out my 5 tips for camping with kids, go HERE!

Anyhow, we’d been camping twice and both times to the same place, Navajo Lake in Utah, so for this year’s camping trip we decided we’d try someplace new. We made reservations to a campsite in Central Utah called Kents Lake. We went with 3 other families, all of which had also been with us on our last camping trip. We arrived on a Thursday afternoon and spent 2 nights sleeping in tents and enjoying the fresh air. The weather was a bit warmer than our last trips, but we appreciated it at night. We had one afternoon of showers and hail, which put a slight damper on our lunch and made Elysse freak out, but it cleared up pretty quickly and all was well again!

The main highlight for our family was Diego catching his first fish on the lake! It was so special to see his face light up! Huge thanks to the family fishing next to them for sharing their secret weapon with us and helping him figure out what to do once he’d caught it.

The camp site was fine, but I wouldn’t recommend it as it didn’t have flushing toilets. Now, I understand we’re camping and all, but flushing toilets are a basic necessity for me. They had vault toilets, which is really just an outhouse. Also, compared to Navajo Lake, there wasn’t too much to do around the campsite or on the lake. Of course, when you’re camping with 13 other people and you are all good friends, you don’t need much more than that! We still had a really good time with lots of laughs and new memories were made. We can’t wait to go camping again together, just not at Kent’s Lake this time. We’re thinking of changing it up and doing some beach camping in Southern California next summer. What’s your favorite camping spot? Have you been camping at the beach? Let me know in the comments below.

Surprise Trip to Southern California | Summer Bucket List

The kiddos are on their 3rd week back to school and although it’s been nice getting into a regular routine and being able to work without interruptions, sometimes the school grind has me missing the lazy days of summer. The heat in Las Vegas has not let up, so carpooling and driving back and forth in 105+ degrees is the worse!! So, it make me so happy that we were able to squeeze in one more super quick trip before school started earlier this month.

Ever since Diego started school we’ve taken a beach trip to Southern California in August as our end of summer/back to school trip. We had such a busy summer this year that we just didn’t think the trip would happen. We told the kids and they were totally fine with it But, It’s been our tradition for years and I still wanted to make the trip happen! I decided to redeem some of our Hilton Honors Rewards points for the hotel and drive out to SoCal on Friday morning and head back Sunday!

Since the kids didn’t think it was happening, we thought it would be fun to surprise them! For the past few years we’ve added a “mystery activity” to our yearly Summer Bucket List and they’ve been simple things like mini golf with friends and driving out to get ice cream. Well, we totally surprised them Friday morning when we woke them up to our favorite California song! You can listen to it HERE 😉 Elysse got it pretty quickly and started jumping up and down and ran into Diego’s room yelling, “We’re going to California! It’s our mystery surprise!” It was a pretty funny moment! We had packed the car beforehand, so we had them get in the car in PJs and change when we got there. It was epic.

And just like that, 4 hours later, we were sitting on the beach under our umbrella in Crystal Cove State Park in Newport Beach, CA! The kids had a great time boogie boarding, building sandcastles, and just playing in the water. Once everyone started getting tired, we packed up and headed to our hotel to shower and grab some dinner. We were all beat after our long day on Saturday, so we slept in Sunday morning and took our time checking out. We decided to hit the beach again, this time making our way towards L.A. and hanging out in Venice Beach for a bit. Jason and Diego skateboarded along the boardwalk and Elysse and I hung out at the beach. The boys joined us after a bit and we stayed a little longer but we didn’t stay too long since we were driving back to Vegas.

It was definitely a whirlwind trip but it was still a good time and we made some fun memories together, which is always the best. The kids were so appreciative of their surprise trip and kept thanking us. I’m so glad we made it work and didn’t break one of our family traditions. Now, I hope the kids don’t expect us to top this “mystery activity” next year! LOL

What traditions do you have with your family? Have you ever had to break a tradition? How do you keep them going year after year?

Summer Family Vacation Part II: Portland, Oregon

Here’s Part II of our Pacific Northwest family summer vacation. We left Seattle in the early afternoon and headed to Portland. As soon as we were out of the city, the weather started to clear up and we were happy to see blue skies and sunshine!

We arrived at our rented apartment from AirBnB, unloaded our suitcases from the car and freshened up for dinner. Our AirBnB was in a great location close to so many of the best food spots in town! We met up for dinner at the Country Cat with some good friends who’d moved to Portland a couple of years ago from Las Vegas. The restaurant was small and cozy and we had a great table right up against the window and not in the middle of the restaurant. That was great for us with the kiddos! Afterwards we made our way to Salt & Straw on SE Division St. for ice cream. The ice cream shop had a long line and we probably waited a good 30 minutes before we had our ice cream, but it was worth it! Plus, time went by fast since we were chatting and catching up! Thank goodness our apartment was just around the corner, because we were stuffed and ready for bed.

Before heading out to explore on Monday, we grabbed breakfast at one of the awesome food truck pods that are all over the city. We chose Fried Egg I’m in Love because they had great reviews on Yelp and with breakfast sandwich names like Smells Like Protein Spirit and Free-Range Against the Machine, we knew they’d be good! They did not disappoint. Bellies full we took off on our day trip to the Colombia River Gorge area and got to see the famous Multmonah Falls and drive along the river and visit the countryside. We were a little early in the season for berry or cherry picking but we got to feed and pet some alpacas so that totally made up for it! Plus, the craft beers and gourmet food truck at the Gorge White House really hit the spot after our long day. Once we were back in Portland we picked up some groceries at New Seasons Market. It’s a local(ish)grocery store chain in Portland/Vancouver areas that is similar to Whole Foods. We were beat after our long day but so happy we got to spend some time in nature and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

We planned to stay in Portland on Tuesday. We started our day with a cool make-your-own-pancakes place called Slappy Cakes. The food was ok and the pancakes weren’t amazing, but the kids really enjoyed making their pancakes into different shapes! It’s a nice place for kids, but don’t expect an amazing meal. We did lots of walking and sightseeing in Portland and visiting a lot of the major attractions, such as the Japanese Garden, the International Rose Testing Garden, Voodoo Donuts, Powell’s Bookstore, and eating from yet more food trucks. We met up for dinner with our friends again at Deschutes Brewery and Public House, which was another not-so-great place. The wait was long, the food was mediocre, and the service was poor. We were disappointed, especially since there are so many other good places to to eat at in Portland. I don’t recommend it.

We took another road trip on our 3rd day to visit the Oregon Coast. Seriously would love to spend a full weekend out there! The coast is so beautiful and we really enjoyed Cannon Beach and Astoria! We got back to Portland just in time for dinner and we chose to visit another food cart pod, this one was on SE 28th Pl and Division. We were totally diggin’ the vibe there and we all ended up picking up our meals from different carts! Diego had pizza, they actually had a brick oven! Elysse chose mini corn dogs (not so adventurous this day) Jason had sushi, and I chose Indian. We were pretty tired from our trip, so rather than eat it there, we took it with us and enjoyed a nice quite evening at the apartment. I also took advantage of the washer and dryer and ran a load of laundry. Not exactly what you want to be doing on vacation, but it was just 1 load and it made packing easier. Plus, it was one less thing to do when I got back home!

Our last day started off with a quick breakfast in the apartment while we, and by we, I mean mostly I, packed everything up to check out. We then met up with our friends for lunch at Lardo. Do yourself a favor and go there for lunch next time you’re in Portland. I crave their Korean Pork Shoulder sandwich and the Pork Meatball Banh Mi! So so good!! The rest of our day was spent at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry! I didn’t think we would spend the entire day there, but there was so much to see and do that it really did fill up our whole day. Then it was off to PDX to head back home to Las Vegas! One worse thing about the flights back home to Vegas is that they’re usually filled with folks ready to party, while we’re always tired and grumpy our vacation is ending and theirs is just starting! LOL

Seriously though, it’s hard when vacations end but I’m always so grateful we got to go! We visited some amazing places, enjoyed cool weather, ate some delicious food, and made lifelong memories together. What more could we ask for?!? What are some fun places you’ve visited this summer? I’d love to hear some of your favorite vacation spots ever too!

Our Trip to Peru: Sacred Valley, Cusco, and Lima Days 5-7

Waking up the next morning after getting to cross off one of your major bucket list items sure does feel good. However, waking up after walking for miles up and down uneven stone steps made by the Incas hundreds of years ago sure does hurt too! Jason and I were so ridiculously sore the next day we were pretty much waddling instead of walking. Not only were we sore, we were so sun burnt! Our bodies were tired and weary but we still had one more thing to see before we left the Sacred Valley and that was the Archaeological Park in Ollantaytambo, the town we were staying in.

I will be completely honest here and say that we didn’t spend as much time here as we originally anticipated. We were seriously beat so we cut it short and found ourselves a colectivo and got our ride back to Cusco. We got dropped off at a plaza not too far from our hotel, but we were so tired, we got ourselves lost – seriously going up and down the same street the hotel was on! We needed naps. After we settled into our room and rested a bit, we had to go back out for our last night in Cusco and grab a few souvenirs for family and say goodbye to this amazing city.

Next morning we were refreshed and ready to fly out to Lima and spend the day exploring Peru’s capital city. Avianca Airlines, however, thought we might enjoy spending most of our day at the airport instead! Our domestic flight was delayed and we didn’t leave Cusco for about 4 hours later. Nobody was happy about the situation, but I was just glad we didn’t have to catch our flight home that day.

Once we finally made it to Lima, we got an Uber and made our way to our hotel in the Mira Flores district. At this point, it was mid afternoon and we didn’t have much time for sight seeing. We ended up checking in to our hotel and simply grabbing some appetizers and drinks at a restaurant in the nearby Larcomar Shopping Center. The shopping center was right on a cliff overlooking the water and had tons of American stores, like Gap, Victorias Secret, and restaurants like Chilis. It felt like we were at an outdoor mall in Miami! We walked around there a bit after we ate and then walked some more around town. We ate at a Chinese restaurant, which is popular in Peru and called Chifa, fusing both Peruvian and Chinese ingredients and traditions.

We arranged an Uber to take us to the airport the next morning and off we were to make our way back home. At this point, we were pretty exhausted from all the traveling and ready to sleep in our beds and enjoy the first world comforts we take for granted, such as clean water and toilet paper!

Thanks for sticking around and ready all about our adventures in Peru! In the coming months I plan on sharing a few useful tips on planning your own Peruvian trip, like the best time to see Machu Picchu, transportation, and must-haves. Let me know if there’s something specific you’d like me to share and I’ll be sure to do so!

The best greeting from our little one when we got home!

Our Trip to Peru: Sacred Valley Day 3

By day 3 of our trip we were feeling great! We did find ourselves way more winded than usual after a few flights of steps due to the higher elevation, but other than that we didn’t suffer from altitude sickness. We got up early to check out of our room in Cusco and make our way to the Sacred Valley. We knew we wanted to find a colectivo to take us all the way to our hotel in the Sacred Valley’s small town of Ollantaytambo. A colectivo is basically a hired van that fits about 10-12 passengers (it won’t leave until it’s full) and makes a few stops along it’s route. The cost for a colectivo is significantly less than a private car. The only problem was that everything I read was super vague about where to find them, although they all suggested and recommended them. During dinner the night before we asked where to go to catch a colectivo and were given two cross streets that were about a 10 minute walk from our hotel.

So, Saturday morning we took off in that direction. Not really knowing what we’d find, I was hoping for a sort of bus staging area or even a bus station. Boy was I wrong! First off, the walk took way longer than 10 minutes with our big backpacks and steep streets. Then, when found the cross-streets there was no actual sign or building, just a bunch of vans and cars parked alongside the road, so we assumed we were in the right area. Either the drivers or their assistants were walking up and down the sidewalks asking you to come with them, where were you going, practically taking our backpacks off our backs to get us on their vehicle and not the next guys. It was very overwhelming for me and I speak fluent Spanish. I can’t image how it must feel if you don’t speak the language. So, just be prepared to be bombarded by drivers! We found a van that wasn’t full yet, ensured the negotiated rate, and sat inside. We got 2 seats that were together and by a window, YAY! It didn’t take long to fill the van and off we went. Most were locals from Cusco traveling to the Sacred Valley, but there were a few other tourists like us.

Once we made it to the town, we dropped off our luggage, found a place to eat in the small plaza, then it was off to find another van to drive us to the sights. Again, we didn’t know exactly how we’d find a driver, as we weren’t part of any actual “tour group”. But, drivers could figure out we were looking for a car, so they mostly came to us to try to negotiate a rate. This is how we found our driver for the day. He was looking for 2-4 other passengers to fill his van. We negotiated our rate (always negotiate beforehand) and off we went for our adventure through the Sacred Valley. We shared the van with 2 other guys and along our stops picked up another person. Keep in mind that doing it this way, saves you money but it is not a tour and the driver is not a tour guide! He takes you to your stop, parks, and we settle on a time to come back to meet up at the van and go to the next stop. Totally no frills and this is how we like. We aren’t big on waking with big groups of strangers and following someone around. We prefer to do our research beforehand and have the freedom to go explore the sights ourselves. If you want a tour guide, you can definitely make arrangements in Cusco or in the towns of the Sacred Valley.

Our first stop was the ruins of Moray just outside the village of Maras. This place was so impressive! There are several terraced circular depressions, the largest is about 98 ft deep. Although the exact purpose of the site is unknown, like most Incan ruins, it’s believed to have been a sort of agricultural test lab. Due to the circular shape and depth of the terraces, they could study who different temperatures, wind, and sun direction, affected the crops and they were even able to create various types of potatoes!

Our second stop was the Salineras de Maras, salt mines located along the slopes of Qaqawiñay mountain. There are nearly 3,000 salt pans, shallow pools that are filled by a hypersaline underground spring. It is believed these salt mines have been around since before Incan times and are still active and hand-harvested by local families to this day. We even saw some men tending to their plot. This was my favorite from all the sites we saw in the Sacred Valley and of course, we brought some salts with us! I loved that we could walk on the edge and get up close to the pans, careful not to disturb them of course 🙂

The next stop was at a local artisan shop where we learned how the alpaca wool was cleaned, dyed, and turned into beautiful blankets and scarves using ancient techniques. I’m sure the ones we purchased were not made this way, of course! But they were still beautiful and made great souvenirs to bring back home.

Our final stop was to Chinchero, a small town with more ancient ruins, terraces, and a adobe church built by the Spaniards in the 1600s. As you can imagine, by this point we were exhausted from our long day of traveling and sight-seeing! The views from the hillside were beautiful, but we were pretty much done! After grabbing some snacks from a vendor, we made our way to find a bus to take us back to Ollantaytambo. And so began another adventure in public transportation! The sun was about to set, we were cranky, hungry, and tired at this point and just wanted to get back to town to rest. We managed to figure out which bus to get on, but it only was taking us as far as Urubamba, from there we had to figure out what to do. By the time we arrived at the bus station it was dark and we weren’t sure what to do. I asked and was pointed to the side of the station I needed to be in to catch a bus to Ollantaytambo. We ended up in a small van cramped with too many people. We were the only tourists in the van but we didn’t care. The ride took a lot longer due to the many stops along the way but we finally made it and couldn’t have been happier for the fresh air!

Once we were back in Ollantaytambo we found a small restaurant for dinner and enjoyed a nice! After we picked up some waters and snacks for Machu Picchu the next day, then took some much needed showers back in our room and got to bed! I was so excited to finally be heading to Machu Picchu the next day. Stay tuned….

In case you missed it, here are Day 1 + Day 2 recaps!

Our Trip to Peru: Cusco Day 2

Our second day in Cusco was jam packed. The day was unseasonably warm and sunny! We actually had amazing weather the entire week we were there, no rain at all! Considering we went during rainy season, we really made out great!

After breakfast, which was provided by the hotel, we went out to purchase our Beleto Turistico. It’s basically like a CityPass here in the states. You pay one fee and it includes admission for a lot of the archeological sites and attractions in and around Cusco and the Sacred Valley. Once we got our ticket we started our walk to Sacsayhuama citadel. It was not a very long walk, maybe about a mile from the city center, but it was a very steep walk uphill and there were lots of stairs. Thank goodness for coca leaves, which helped with the altitude sickness!

Once there we were greeted by the impressive Incan construction and massive walls! It was also here we stalked some poor llamas for selfies and I even got to hold a baby llama – cuteness overload!!! *Be sure to tip the women with the llamas for the photo 🙂

After a couple of hours at Sacsayhuama we took a taxi to Tambomachay, another archeological Inca site. This one was not as impressive as the fortress of Sacsayhuama but it had interesting water ducts and waterfalls. More of the impressive Incan architecture. We were pretty hot, hungry, and tired at this point so we took a local bus (quite the adventure!) back into Cusco. Unfortunately, we got off too early and ended up walking a lot more than we expected and maybe got a little bit lost but we found our way back to our hotel thanks to the awesome app CityMaps2Go. This app was super helpful during our entire trip. You can download the maps ahead of time, so it’ll work even without an internet connection. WIN!!

After lunch we went back to our hotel room to rest up and freshen up for the evening. We walked around and did some shopping, visited the Coricancha museum and then got kicked off the grass. But, not before we took our selfie 🙂

After that and a stop at Starbucks, we grabbed a bite to eat and then made our way to the Museo Del Pisco Bar. We tried a variety of piscos, which to my surpise are made from grapes like wine, but taste more like tequila! There was a live band playing everything from Bob Marley to local Peruvian songs. It was such a perfect way to end our night! I didn’t want to leave, but we had to get up early the next day to make our way to the Sacred Valley. We’re getting closer to the main part of our trip: Machu Picchu!

In case you missed it, here’s Day 1 of our adventure!

Our Trip to Peru: Cusco Day 1

Back in November of 2016, Jason and I took an epic trip to Peru as part of our 20th wedding anniversary celebration (our anniversary is Aug 28th). The trip was pretty impromptu for me, as I like to plan way ahead and we only had about 4 months to plan once we decided to go for it! Visiting Machu Picchu had been on my bucket list for a few years now, so when Jason suggested we take a trip there instead of remodeling the bathroom, he did not have to ask me twice! Planning a trip to South America definitely had it’s challenges and there were plenty of things we just had to figure out once we got there. But with doing tons of research, some major planning, and with tips from a friend who had recently gone, we were able to plan a great trip!

I’ve been wanting to blog about this trip for a long time now, but I’ve had a hard time figuring out how to get started. There is SOOO much I want to share, from all the planning that was involved, tips for altitude sickness, to how and what we packed! Ultimately though I’ve decided to begin by breaking it down into 5 parts, each highlighting the main areas we visited in Peru: Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Piccho, and Lima. This way the posts won’t be too long and boring. Plus, I plan to share more details as mentioned above in a later series with tips and tricks for traveling to Peru, but for now, here is part 1 of our Peru adventure: Cusco Day 1!

It’s important to note that there are no direct International flights into Cusco. We flew out on a Wednesday from Las Vegas to Lima, with a layover in Dallas and then took a domestic flight into Cusco. I knew I didn’t want to spend too much time in Lima, so I planned our flight out of Lima just a few hours from our arrival. We had plenty of time to grab our luggage, take a bathroom break, purchase some water and snacks, then head on over to the departure gate. We took the short 1 hour flight and arrived in Cusco early morning (local time) on Thursday. Knowing that we would be tired from a full day of traveling and that we would have to work on acclimating to the higher elevation, we took it easy this first day. The original plan was to purchase our train tickets from PeruRail for Machu Picchu at the airport when we arrived in Cusco, but their computers were down so, we had to go to their office at the main plaza in Cusco. We took a taxi from the airport and dropped off our luggage at our hotel, since it was too early to check in when we arrived. Since I already had our entrance tickets for Mach Picchu for that Sunday,I was anxious to ensure I had our train tickets securely purchased for the date and times we needed. Can see why I was anxious?!?

Here's the hubs at the entrance to our hotel when we arrived at Cusco. I loved the courtyard and we had the cutest room! — Here’s the hubs at the entrance to our hotel when we arrived at Cusco. I loved the courtyard and we had the cutest room!

On our way from the airport to our hotel, we noticed a lot of traffic. Although traffic is common in Cusco, this was more than usual and our driver explained that streets were being closed off for a sort of parade. Turns out, the primary schools of the entire town were out and students were dressed in traditional Peruvian dance costumes and were lining up on the streets waiting for their turn to perform in the main plaza, Plaza de Armas, for their graduation. The party-like atmosphere was a great welcome to Cusco and we just loved the bright colors and music! I was still pretty anxious though, so I couldn’t enjoy it too much until we finally made it to the office and we purchased the tickets. We’d spotted a Starbucks in the plaza (the only one in the city) that promised WiFi so clearly that was our next stop! We got some much needed coffees and enjoyed the scenery from the second story window. At this point, with our train seats secure on the date and times we wanted, I felt like the vacation was finally beginning.

Not a bad view from Starbucks, huh?

We ate lunch at a highly recommended sandwich shop called Pankracio and then made it back to our hotel to freshen up, take a nap, and get ready for dinner. We walked around and checked out some artisan shops and took in the sights before making our way to the dinner restaurant. Again, we based our dinner choice off of a recommendation, Marcelo Batata, and again it did not disappoint. Jason chose to be adventurous and ate alpaca steak (YOLO) I stuck to foods I knew, like empanadas and salad. The food and service were delicious and I had my first pisco sour of many more to come!

After dinner, we went to our room to rest up! We had a busy day and although we prepared as best we could for the altitude sickness, we both got slight headaches and felt super tired! We knew rest is what we needed because I had lots planned for the days ahead. Our next day in Cusco will consist of getting up close and personal with llamas, checking out Sacsayhuama (pronounced Sexy Woman), getting slightly lost, and drinking more pisco sours. Don’t miss it!

Have you been to Peru or any other country in South America? What’s your favorite memory from there?

Wanderlust…

Traveling is my absolute favorite thing to do and this year we have had to slow down on the travels and focus on another type of adventure, home buying. With summer in full swing and so many families and friends going on trips, I too am longing to get out and explore. I am an adventurer! I live for experiencing new things, going to places I’ve never been, and expanding my horizons. It’s in my blood. It’s who I am. It revitalizes me. It keeps me feeling alive and creative. I find inspiration when I travel. I feel at peace. No, I am not complaining because I cannot go on a summer vacation right now. I am not going to throw myself a pity party. What I will do is show gratitude and appreciate everything I’ve seen and all the places I have been. I do not take it for granted. Our life has been full of some pretty awesome adventures and travels and we don’t plan on stopping, just taking a break to focus on “adulting”.

We’ll be back traveling soon enough, but staying put is not easy for me. To pass the time, I should really start packing up our house, huh? I am so grateful for the opportunity to purchase a home, as stressful as it may be. We’ve worked hard, made sacrifices, and we’re excited to (hopefully) soon be in a home of our own. So, in the meantime as we deal with house hunting stresses and packing, I will live vicariously though everyone else’s epic travel adventures.

So tell me, where are you going this summer? I can’t wait to here about it!

Visiting Death Valley National Park | Super Bloom

I love to share about our family travels! Big or small, they are all adventures and a fun way for us to be together as a family and hopefully reconnect and disconnect from so many electronics 😉

Our kiddos go to year-round school, so they are currently on their Spring track break for 3 weeks and then Spring Break, so they’ll be at home for a full month without school. We’re not planning an out of town trip this year, like we have in the past, so we want to be sure to have lots of fun activities and nearby adventures!

On their first weekend of track break, we decided to go on a little day trip to Death Valley. Death Valley National Park is having a super bloom this spring. The conditions were just right with the perfect amount of rainfall and light winds so what is normally a few spring flowers popping up here and there became into a field of yellow wildflowers blooming all over the desert! Apparently this is a pretty rare occurrence, so we packed up our car with lots of water and a picnic lunch and took the 2 hour drive from Las Vegas to check it out. We were not the only ones with this idea! The park was full with people wanting to take a look and photograph this phenomenon!

We had a great time and we’re so glad we got to see a different side of Death Valley than we had before. If you’re in the area and have some time to go out there, check it out. It’s not like a full field of wildflowers to run through or anything like that, but it is pretty neat to see so many flowers blooming in the desert!

Wanderlust | Let’s Travel the World

Wanderlust: a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world!

Yup, this is so me! I love to travel. I love to get away and explore new places. I love to break free from the daily routine and say yes to adventure. When I was little, my family always traveled. We’d travel for weeks on end. I blame my parents for my traveling spirit. Going on family outings, weekend getaways, road trips, vacations…these are all my favorite! I’ve been pretty lucky and we get to travel often. We make it a priority. We budget, save our pennies, and look for good deals! Being in Las Vegas, we’ve got lots of awesome destinations within driving distance, which is great because airfare for a family of 4 adds up pretty quickly!

Our last family trip was to Texas in early November. It was a really fun trip where we got to see family, reconnect with old friends, and make new ones! In December Jason and I got to travel to Orange County, CA with my sister and brother-in-law for a friend’s wedding and we made a nice weekend getaway out of it! Oh and let’s not forget our trip to Temecula, CA in January for our Spartan Beast & Sprint Races! Sadly, that trip didn’t end to well, which kinda leads me to the point of this blog post. Wanderlust.

I’m really itching to get away and I know that is not happening any time soon. First of all, Jason has a broken ankle. He’ll be using crutches for another 4 weeks and another 8 weeks wearing his boot and going to physical therapy to recover. I think just knowing this is making me want to travel even more. Why does that happen? It’s like when you’re on a diet and all you want to eat is doritos and brownies! Ugh, the struggle is real, folks! Plus, we’re planning a big trip to Florida in November and did I mention airfare for 4 is expensive? So, we’ve got some saving up to do to make that trip happen.

So, what to do in the meantime? I’m not sure, exactly. But, I think I will day dream. I will dream of the places I long to visit and the adventures I know we’ll have someday. I will remember. I will look back at all the adventures we’ve already had and the wonderful places we’ve been to. I’ll look at all the photos and relive those memories. I’ll reminisce and feel all warm and fuzzy thinking of all the fun we’ve had. I’ll be grateful for the life I have, my healthy, beautiful kids, and an amazing hubby. But most importantly, I will live in the moment. I must be present in the here and now. I don’t want these days and months to pass me by. I don’t want to only live for the next big thing or next big trip. I want to live every day of my life like it matters. Because every day I spend with my loved ones, is worth something. I need to remember to live with intention, to make every day matter. Not every day will be amazing. But every day we have the opportunity to be present and I don’t want to miss out on the present because I’m daydreaming of what’s to come.

Do you have a wanderlust spirit? Do you have a pinterest board of all the places you want to visit (I do!)? What do you do when you’re wandering spirit wants to run away but you can’t?