Every year on Labor Day, we head to Starvation with aunts, uncles, cousins, and any other friends and family that want to join. We all make the hour-and-a-half drive out to the middle of nowhere, where this beautiful reservoir is located. It’s basically our “Mini Lake Powell.” Upon arrival, we all try to help set up canopies for shade and haul in various snacks and treats that we all munch on throughout the day.

My family brings our boat along with a tube, wakeboard, water skis, and kneeboard. My aunt and uncle typically bring their kayaks and occasionally someone may rent some waverunners for all to enjoy.

My favorite part of this tradition is getting together with everyone one last time before the end of the summer. My summer wouldn’t feel complete without our family Labor Day trip to Starvation. When we hang out at the beach, it’s fun to catch up with everyone. When we are boating, it’s fun to get whipped around on the tubes or take a turn wakeboarding or water skiing. We also like to take a ride out to some cliffs where we can go cliff jumping. The weather every year seems to be perfect in the morning, a little windy in the afternoon, with a calm evening. Although two years ago, my husband failed to put on sunscreen because it felt cold outside and ended up getting one of the worst sunburns he has ever had!

Last year we were able to bring Adelyn to Starvation for the first time. She was only 6 weeks old at the time and wasn’t able to do much, but this year she had fun riding on the boat and playing in the water with cousins!

Family get-togethers have always been very special to me. Growing up, my cousins were my best friends and we love hanging out together, especially because we don’t get to see each other as much as when we were kids. This is why Labor Day at Starvation is one of my favorite traditions!

What family traditions do you have on Labor Day? Comment below!

Running into Barriers

I have always enjoyed working out. In high school I loved running cross country and track. It was fun, and it was my way to deal with stress and push myself.

Fast forward a few years, and I was working to maintain a light-to-moderate workout schedule throughout my pregnancy while dealing with sickness.

After having my baby, I was excited to workout again, push my endurance and rebuild strength (and lose the “mommy pooch”). I was ready to start a more intense workout program and was so excited to see myself lose the weight and gain the muscle!

I would wake up early or stay up late to get my workout in everyday for the first two weeks, but somewhere in the third week I would hit a wall. Trying to be persistent, I restarted that workout program multiple times always to get stopped during the third week. It seemed like I would either get a migraine that would knock me out, or my energy would get zapped. One week I got a cold, and I tried to keep pushing through until it got worse and I realized I needed to take care of my body. “Wait, I thought I was taking care of my body?” Slowly, I started having “ah-ha” moments. One thing about me is that I often have an all or nothing attitude, and I realized this attitude was leading me to push my body too hard to the point where I was just wearing myself out.

Push Yourself, Not Punish Yourself

Last week I went to a Mom’s Day Out activity where we did a High Fitness class. I loved it and realized that I need to work out to refresh myself, not to burn myself out.

Though I want to workout to look my best, that is not my end goal. You should workout to push yourself not punish yourself! I’ve realized that it is all about finding balance. Find exercises that you love and enjoy!

Some of my favorite workouts that work for me and my current lifestyle are workouts that include my baby or can be done next to her:

• Dancing workouts almost don’t feel like a workout. I’m just having fun dancing! 
• Hiking while packing a 21 pound baby is a workout in and of itself. It is so refreshing hiking in the foothills of the Wasatch mountains. 

Finding Balance

Yes, these workouts are not super killer intense workouts, but I realized that this is what I need for now. I’ll switch things up in the future, but this fits me now. It’s all about finding balance physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Listen to your body and do what works for you! Your health should not be an all or nothing situation. Finding balance is about the joy in the journey and pushing yourself because you want to, not because you feel a guilty drive to. I love the excitement of pushing and stretching myself to achieve goals. However I feel cheated of that feeling when I am constantly putting myself down or working out just for the scale. You can do anything, but not everything.

Don’t be afraid to try something new. Find something that you enjoy and will refresh you to help you get over those workout barriers! Have fun!

Take Advantage Of What Is Nearby

It is important for us to visit what is nearby because we don’t know how long we will live in our current location. We want to make this time count and save money by not having to travel far. Living in Utah, there are so many national and state parks within just a few hours. This is great for those who love outdoor adventures.

A few weeks ago we visited Moab with Casey, Tara and their baby. We wanted to use this weekend getaway as a trial run for our big trip to Italy. For Jake and me, this was our first real family trip with our baby.

We left early on a Friday afternoon to avoid rush hour traffic and enjoy few hours in Arches National Park before sunset. We stayed Friday night in Moab and spent Saturday exploring the park before driving back home. There are so many fun hikes; unfortunately we didn’t have time to do everything we wanted. We went to Sand Dune Arch and Landmark Arch where we could also see Double O. We didn’t have time to hike to Delicate Arch, but we were able to see it from the lookout point. We wished we could’ve had time to actually hike to it, so make sure when you plan shorter weekend getaways, you know exactly what you want to do so you don’t run out of time.

With our first trip with a baby, we learned that we need to travel at a slower pace to accommodate our baby’s needs. We’ve also had to learn how to change diapers and nurse in small spaces. We are progressively getting better at this though! However, naptime is starting to make travel more difficult. Our baby was fussy at the beginning of a longer hike, but she was finally able to relax and sleep in her carrier as we hiked. We are working on these little things to help make traveling with a baby more convenient both around home and when we go out of state.

We ended up spending more money on our Moab trip than we had originally planned. We found a hotel room that was not too expensive by going during the off-season. We spent more money on food because we didn’t plan our meals very well. As a nursing mom it was hard to find the least expensive option when all I could think was “FOOD. NOW.”

Overall, this trip was a good reminder that you don’t always need to go far away to have a great vacation. There are so many places in every state to visit! It’s important to take advantage of what’s nearby. For us, Moab is about a 3 hour drive, but you can vacation even closer to home if you want!

Staycations

My first staycation was when I was about 9 or 10 years old, my family and extended family planned a small family reunion in Salt Lake about 45 minutes from our homes. This was my first memory of actually seeing Salt Lake. It was so fun to stay in a hotel, go ice-skating and visit historic sites including Temple Square.

Staycations are a great way to see and enjoy some places without breaking the bank. You can find inexpensive places to stay for one or two nights. You can also make a day trip to a cool city nearby or a fun place to explore. Creativity is your best resource when planning a staycation.

Don’t Wait To Travel

If you really want to travel, don’t wait until you have time or can afford it. Look for travel destinations near you. You could spend the weekend away, or just a few hours. Don’t look for excuses; instead look for opportunities to see the world starting in your own backyard.

We are planning on documenting more of our weekend getaways and staycations. What are your favorite weekend getaways?

In a world where most people ask, “what is in it for me?”, why is it important to give? And how can I give?

Why Should I Give?

As a child my parents taught me to give 10% of my increase as a tithing to the church. I was taught that the money I had was a blessing from God and paying a tithing was giving back a portion of what I was blessed with. I am grateful for this habit I have of giving that was established at a young age.

When I was in college and barely able to pay for both food and gas, I got to a point where I was no longer paying tithing. After a few months of not giving, I decided that I wanted to start again and make up the money during the time that I had not been giving tithing. It took some time of saving and tight budgeting, but once I was paying tithing again, I was amazed at how much easier it was to pay for the things I needed without receiving a raise at work. Between budgeting and making an effort to give, I was blessed with the ability to pay for both my wants and needs. Giving helps us to look outside of ourselves and have a greater appreciation for our gifts and blessings.

In the book Smart Money, Smart Kids by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze, they explain how money, and all we have, are gifts from God and that we are stewards entrusted to mange and improve upon those things which we have been given. Therefore, everything I have including my money, time, talents, etc. are not my own. I am a steward over these things and it is important that I learn to manage them and improve upon what I have. I have not always been willing to give generously because I work hard for everything I have. However, this paradigm shift of viewing myself as the steward instead of the owner has helped me become more generous.

How Can I Give?

There are so many ways to give, but often the hardest part is just getting started. I would say the first step is to express gratitude for what you have. Then get creative!

Giving and having an attitude of gratitude go hand in hand. Gratitude creates feelings of joy and contentment. This helps me to look outside of myself to spread those feelings. I think it’s interesting that Thanksgiving comes right before Christmas, the time of giving. We have a season to reflect and show thankfulness for what we have preceding a season of joy and giving.

For many years growing up, my parents along with aunts and uncles would find a family in need. All of us would gather together food, jackets, other necessities and toys that we could give to the family. We would try to deliver these gifts anonymously. I always wanted to see the look on their faces when they received our gifts, but my parents never let me be there when the gifts were dropped off. I didn’t like that at the time, but this practice of anonymous giving taught me to enjoy the act of giving without the need to be thanked or recognized. It just felt good to give.

How can we continue the attitude of gratitude and spirit of giving throughout the year?

• keep a gratitude journal
• say prayers of gratitude
• look for the good in bad situations
• plan service projects
• offer help

If “[you] make a life by what [you] give”, what kind of life are you making? We can all be better at giving and being generous. If you are struggling to start, try this: sometime this week, go out of your way to give generously to someone without expecting something in return! You can give somebody your time, or you can donate to a good cause, or do anything that makes someone else’s life better. Whatever it may be, start ASAP! Giving is the most fulfilling part of wealth building and it is something we should be doing along the way, and not just when we have “arrived.” If you can’t give now, how will you be able to give later? The more you give, the easier it becomes and the happier you’ll be.

How have you found happiness in giving? Please comment below.