Traveling with Kids: Gillis Hills Farm

Gillis Hills Farm is a really cute little farm just outside of Fayetteville! They have been around for a long time, and are full of adorable little animals for you and your kids to enjoy. Admission is only the price of a cup of their HOMEMADE ICE CREAM. I mean who is going to turn that idea down.

The kids got to enjoy a bunch of ice cream, get nice and sticky. And then pet all the animals.

We went out to visit the farm with a mom group, the kids loved meeting new friends and seeing all the animals!! It was such a great trip!

Here are some pictures from our trip to the farm!

Update on my Resolutions!

I don't know what it is about this year, but I haven't been very focused on reaching my goals. I know where I want to be, just haven't been taking the right steps to get there. But I guess its a good thing I am checking in mid way so I can use the last 6 months to figure out where I want to go from here.

I love blogging and journalism and anything to do with pen and paper, so that is perhaps why keeping up with my Blog is so difficult. I am not a fan of sitting in front of the computer writing out my feelings or my thoughts on a screen.

Anyways back to my Resolutions for today!!

Here is the list!

2017 Goals

*Personal*

1.Workout more

2. Read more

3. Work on my blog

*Business*

1. Work less, make more.

2. Make close to 12k by the end of the year.

3. Only work during specific hours.

*House* 

1. Declutter ALOT of stuff.

2. Organize more.

3. Create a perfect home in Oregon.

*Financial*

1. Save $100 a month.

2. Spend less.

3. Pay off debt.

*Family*

1. Eat out only once a week.

2. Be more active.

3. Try a new recipe every other week.

In the personal section I have been working out more, it isn't as routinely as it could be, but I try to get in a hard workout about 4 times a week, I have my lazy days. We all do tho don't we! I have been reading a lot this summer I have already finished 3 books this summer already :) You can see the reviews in here somewhere most likely! And well I have put some blog work in, but its not where it used to be back a few years ago...

Business section, I am not likely to be near where I need to be. I underestimated just how much work moving my business was going to be this time. However, I have been doing a lot of marketing, meeting new people, and I think I am getting closer to reaching a bigger goal next year. I can't wait to see things start going here!!

House, my have things in this goal department changed HAHA....no perfect home in Oregon but over the next few months we should be house shopping, and buying and settling into a home in North Carolina. Funny how its the opposite side of the country!! But I adore it here. Best place we have lived in a long time. Its beautiful!! We did get rid a of a bunch pre move and now 6 months without a lot of it, plan to get rid of even more soon :)

Our finances are a humble jumble right now...probably the biggest stress for me right now. We are working to get everything back organized but I assume it will take a few months to get there. We spent a lot on the move, and a lot since. Also getting used to a once a month paycheck is going to be another challenge.

Family could also use a little more help. However I am happy with our being more active, we have been hiking, camping, walking, parks, and lots of swimming!! We are a totally different family here than we were in Texas and I love it!!! We still spend too much eating out, and we aren't being very adventurous with our foods. But we are enjoying each other more when we have time together :)

This was a great little check in for me so I can see where I am and what I still need to do to reach the rest of my goal by the end of the year. I think the biggest thing will be buying a house and paying less on mortgage than we are on this apartment. I think once we do that and work on making a budget up everything else will fall into place.

Thanks for reading and listening to my rambling. More to come soon!

Book Review: The Unlocked

Guys guys guys, I am so excited about this one I bought the next two in the series minutes after I closed this one. We are talking its THAT GOOD!!! I was sent this one to review, and I am so glad she sent it my way!!!

This book is so good from the first page all the way through and ended on a cliffhanger that made me NEED the next book.

The main character Charlie is lovable and so real. You are immediately drawn to her and can't wait to see where her story leads. Finding out she has super powers and is likely not the only one is so exciting, and when she finds the school she belongs in the adventures just keep coming.

Without giving away too much story line, you will be drawn in from the very start and the author gives away nothing as far as where the story will lead next. There are so many exciting twists and turns!!!

If you love a little sci-fi, and mystery get this book now. While it is still free for Kindle!!!

Kid's first trip to the Beach!

One of the most exciting things about our move to North Carolina has been knowing we will be close to both mountains and the ocean!

So it didn't take us very long to pack up supplies and make our way the 2 hours away to the beach!

We were all really excited, Dustin and I hadn't been to the beach since Hawaii, and the kids had never been at all!! The drive out just couldn't go faster!

We first tried to go to Wilmington beach, but since it was a Saturday we drove around for an hour and couldn't find any parking less than a mile away, so we decided to drive up the shore a way to Carolina Beach. We spent far too much time driving around there also, before finally finding a spot by a house a couple blocks from a beach entry spot!!

We scurried to the beach in a hurry, all so eager to feel the sand between our toes. We set up camp, and everyone ran to the water.

The kids were ever so eager to splash and play, or so they thought. It took Darren all of 3 seconds to realize he wasn't a huge fan of the waves, and HATED the feeling they gave him when he looked down as they went back out. His over enthusiastic run away from the ocean was a sight to see.

Kyra was also not too enthused with the ocean at first. Maybe it was too cold, or just to strong, but she wasn't sure about it. So we set up camp in the wet sand to makes some sand castles.

Darren was in heaven, what boy wouldn't be, given permission to sit in dirt and play for an hour. He enjoyed his beach time and we only tried one more time to encourage him to go in the water, which ended in tears. Maybe next time. Kyra on the other hand, along with a trusting hand of Dad was more willing to play in the water and enjoyed racing the waves, looking for seashells and helping Dad catch a little crab.

We all had so much fun, and after a couple hours were ready to head for a snack, and ice cold drink and head back home!

We can't wait until our next trip to the beach!!

Traveling with Kids: Air Balloon Show in Fuquay-Varina, NC

This was such a fun festival to be a part of. We got up at 4 am (way to early for me), packed for the 45-60 min trip, woke the kids, and we were on our way. In case you are wondering, very little is open that early in the morning so we headed to Fuquay-Varina empty bellies and eager minds.

The drive was actually really fun, there wasn't a trace of traffic, and we got to enjoy the sunrise on our way there. After arriving and finding a place to park, we raced off to the event before the balloons took off without us.

The kids were so excited once they realized what was going on and we got a close up view of the Re-max balloon being taken out and blown up. It was a really cool learning experience and the man holding one of the ropes to the balloon was super awesome telling us how things worked, and exactly what the Air Balloon Competition was and how it worked.

So the race was, in the field we were standing in there was a target and a lead balloon. The lead balloon had a banner hanging off of it. The other balloons were set up in a field behind some trees. Once the lead balloon was up the others were able to start blowing their balloons up and take off. They had to then proceed to our field, and drop "dart" for lack of better word, onto the target. They would be awarded points for accuracy. This brought some of them very close to landing to get their aim right.

After dropping their dart they had to follow the lead balloon to the next target, and proceed to do the same thing. I am unsure how many targets there were. But then they were also awarded points for being the quickest to finish the course.

We watched them all drop their first darts, but since the rest was located further away we adventured to check out the stands. Unfortunately, nothing else opened for a few hours, and I knew by then the kids would be too tired to walk around. So we made our way home, but we all had so much fun going to the show! And can't wait til next year.

The guy in the yellow was the helpful guy from Re-max.

The lead balloon.

My favorite balloon!

So funny story here. The Re-max balloon was tied down as they were a sponsor balloon. When they tied it down at first Kyra freaked out she thought it was going to be lifted up by the balloon. haha.

Cool view from right below :)

All the balloons coming down to hit the target.

So bumping balloons isn't dangerous, only if the baskets bump.

#spotthewonder

For a fun video that goes along with the story check out this video we made for our Youtube channel also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFv5nmwKSoc