Sedona and North Pole Experience Recap

Happy Friday Foxy Friends! Last week I recapped day 1 of our mini vacation, to Bearizona and the Polar Express. This week I'm finishing up our long weekend with day 2. Don't worry, I'll try to keep the pictures to a minimum again.

Sunday morning was a lazy start. After we got going we ate a quick breakfast and headed out to Sedona. Mr. had found a good easy trail for the kids. It was about an hour and 20 minutes away from where we currently were, so not too bad of a drive, and super pretty! The town of Sedona is the cutest ever! A LOT nicer than a lot of the other National Parks we've been to. So it was a surprise how many shops and restaurants there were. We ended up at a Whole Foods of all places (yes they have one of those!) for lunch on the go. We all grabbed something and then headed to the hiking trail. As luck would have it, there was a picnic bench for us to eat lunch on at the beginning of the trail.

Such a fun hike, called Fay Canyon I believe. It leads to a boxed canyon which was pretty cool. It was mostly shaded, not that it was hot outside, but it would be nice if it were mid summer and hot.

Of course we went right past this sign and kept going.

I mean how can you not walk past this sign when you see this?

We hiked/climbed up it and it had a spectacular view. Totally worth it!

After our hike we drove back to Flagstaff to hit up the North Pole Experience. But wait, I saw these tress on the way in and wanted to stop to grab a picture on the way out. Mr. wouldn't let me take a picture of us because it wasn't in the safest of spots to get the shot.

We ate dinner and headed to the NPX,  which if you didn't know is a bus that takes you to the North Pole via Portal (they do a really good job convincing the kids). And suddenly you are at Santa's workshop and you are helping make bears for kids,

 eating cookies with Mrs. Claus and Grandma Claus

and going to elf school. It's all so magical.

And at the end you get one on one time with the Big Guy.

This is where the kids asked Santa for a bell from his sleigh. Click here for the perfect bell if your kids ask too. Santa is telling me what the kids have asked for and asking my help to wrap it, since he won't have time when he stops at our house, so I'll have to wrap it for him. It was all super cute and Santa did a wonderful job!

Two very happy kids.

We had another great trip. We're trying to talk some friends into going with us next year. We'll see, but the kids most definitely want to go back! Hope you all had a great week! Next week I'll be back to my Friday favorites!

Head on over to The Blended Blog to link up your Friday Loves post!

Sentence A Day: November Edition

1 -MNO with a friend I hadn't seen in a while, although we didn't take a picture, does that mean it didn't happen, hehe, j/k.

2 - Making a sign for my friend and teaching her how to do it, I love sign making.

3 -20 year high school reunion, so much fun seeing people and catching up!

4 -Lazy, lazy day, driving home then trying to get stuff done between being lazy.

5 - Ran/walked for 2 miles then did a HIIT class, hard workout, but I needed that!

6 - Hardest workout class, she is a robot, I don't even think she's human, that was hard!

7 - Yay, favorite workout class!

8 - Dentist appointment for both kids, no cavities, woo hoo!

9 - Tried to finish the signs I made for a friend, but realized I didn't buy enough border wood, oops!

10 -Day filled with soccer and errands getting ready for the family party tomorrow!

11 - Family Thanksgiving party with tacos, my kind of party. (I can't believe I forgot to take pictures!)

12 - Gym with the whole family, that's never happened, then off to dinner, good thing we went to the gym.

13 - Baby Fox got another stripe on his belt, woo hoo!

14 - Back in my workout class and it feels good.

15 -I might be crazy, but took the kids to the Chinese Lantern Festival (more driving), but they loved it and it was super fun.



16 - Driving, driving, driving....

17 - Feeling thankful for my brother who drive 7 hours (round trip), to see us for the day, go to Bearizona and the Polar Express with us.

18 - Sedona hike, followed by North Pole Experience makes for a pretty great day.

19 -Drive home was LONG, but the kids did great.

20 - Working from home isn't too bad, I could get use to this.

21 - Do I have to work...at least it's from home!

22 - I love Thanksgiving, spending time with family and friends.

23 - Forgot to Black Friday shop, oops...was busy meeting a friends new baby, lunching with a friend and then heading out to LACMA in LA for the free jazz concert.

24 - Lunch with the bestie turned into lunch and a Hallmark movie and hanging out till way later than I thought, totally worth it! (forgot to take a picture, darn it!)

25 - Mr. is off for the next week, I can do this!

26 -Feeling under the weather, stupid allergies, walking on the treadmill is better than nothing right?

27 - Cheesecake factory for dinner is always a good evening.

28 - Just feeling tired, so skipped the gym today.

29 - So many packages arriving...oops!

30 - Dinner with friends, we haven't had our Friday night dinner in a while, then they took both kids for the night, with Mr. gone I of course went to Target at 10pm.

Next year we are going to start doing sentence a day on the first Tuesday of the month. So join in on the fun next year!

An InLinkz Link-up

Sparkle and Shine for New Years: 24 Outfit Ideas

Hi Foxy Friends! Today is the first week that The Blended Blog is doing themes, today's theme is Sparkle and Shine, take it how you want to...that's the beauty of these prompts, today our lovely Whitney is heading this up. Head on over to her blog, or over to The Blended Blog to link up your Sparkle and Shine posts.

As I was thinking about this post, I got to thinking, I don't own anything with that much sparkle. But then I thought, you know what? Anything that you wear can make you FEEL sparkly and shiny. That counts right? Then I remembered the dress I bought in Hilton Head, and I thought that would be the perfect dress to wear to New Years and make me feel good about myself and oh so pretty.

*Some of the links are affiliate links and I will  either receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you click on it or if you make a purchase from one of these links, I may also receive a commission on the sale of the product. Click here for my disclosure page.

Dress / Heels

I love the strap detail. It makes the whole dress and I felt that simple studs would be the best way to go.

This dress has the same chain straps but in maxi length.

So back to New Years...let's find something that will make you all sparkle and shine. I've put together fancy dress option and more comfortable options, hopefully you'll find something that will work for you!

Dresses: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 

Some outfit ideas for you.

For those that aren't comfortable with dresses here are some tops that will work too!

Tops: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Here are 18 outfit ideas for you, mix and match as you please.

Outfit Details: Skirt /  Jeans / Black Jeans / Heels / Necklace

So any fun parties these outfits might work for you?

Join us for our next two prompts, and next year we have a whole new set of fun Wednesday prompts.

Head on over to these other ladies blogs to see how they are sparkling and shining and then go link up over on The Blended Blog or over on our host Whitney's blog!

Kellyann. Sarah. Andrea. Deena. Carrie

Lana. Vanessa. Whitney. Abbie. Shelly

Linking up here

Amazon Prime Purchases: December

I saw Andrea post her favorite Prime Purchases, and she was linking up to Tayna who hosts the link up. I mean how fun is that? We all purchases stuff from Amazon, might as well share the wealth of knowledge of the goodies! Click here to see my past purchases. Okay let's get started!

*Some of the links are affiliate links and I will  either receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you click on it or if you make a purchase from one of these links, I may also receive a commission on the sale of the product. Click here for my disclosure page.

If your kids have asked for a bell from Santa's sleigh like my kids did, get these jiggle bells. It comes with 6, so share with friends if you have to, just make sure the kids aren't around when the package comes because it does jingle. They are 2" and are perfect for what would come off of Santa's sleigh. So glad that my search is over! Now to find the perfect box!

I bought this shirt and it's so super soft! With it being lace overlay, I thought it was be itchy, but it is soft and you'd want to wear it all night long. And it stays off the shoulder which is always nice. I sized up one and for me it was a little too tight (but for those that like tighter size up one), so I would personally size up 2. Going to return to get the next size bigger to wear more comfortably.

I also bought this top, also a GREAT SUPER soft top. Shoulders stay down, looks great with a skirt. I also sized up from my normal size. I got a medium and it fits great!

Mini Fox is going to do Little League this coming Spring, so she needed a baseball bag...of course we got it in her favorite color. This bag is perfect, and fits everything and comes in a ton of other colors and patterns.

We also bought her, her own helmet, of course pink.

What have you been buying lately from Amazon?

TBB Asks: December Edition

Hi Foxy Friends, it's another first Monday of the month, which means we ask the questions and you answer! Easy post for a Monday morning. So lets get started:

 

1. Candy Canes? 

 Yes all the way! I like the traditional ones but I really like the flavored ones, like cherry.

2. Christmas morning early riser or sleep in?

I'd like to sleep in, but my kids have other plans! Growing up we weren't allowed to bother our parents until 7am, haha.

3. Did you shop on Black Friday?

Oops, no! I forgot? We got so busy with other things that I forgot. Right before bed I tried to jump online to pick some stuff up, but didn't find anything, I was too late. Darn. But I did get some good stuff on Cyber Monday!

4. Christmas tree up in November?

Yep! I'm a decorate Thanksgiving weekend kind of gal. It takes so long to put everything up, I want to enjoy it for as long as possible! 

 

5. Do you get Holiday ideas from Pinterest?

Not usually, although this year I'm doing some wreaths on my kitchen cabinets because of Andrea... I went to 3, yes three Targets (all within a 30 minute time span) to try and find her same wreath, it was a no go, but I think I found an alternative that I'm going to make. I hope it turns out! So I guess I take inspiration from others around me. Oh speaking of which, I should put these up now, since it's Christmas time!

 6. Christmas Glam or Ugly Sweater?

 I prefer Christmas glam did you see my Christmas attire post? Although there are some pretty cute "ugly sweaters" out there.

 7. Stocking Stuffers: Wrapped or Unwrapped?

 We do a mix of both, mostly unwrapped. We pretty much only wrap movies that we give. Everything else, just throw it in!

8. Traditional or Modern Christmas Songs?

I like both. I like when people take traditional songs and make them more modern.

 

9. Fruitcake?

I've never had it before, so I"m not sure? But from what I hear it's not good, so maybe that's why I've always avoided it.

10. Is your Christmas shopping finished?

Nope, wish!

 

11. Is there snow in December where you live?

Nope, not even close. Although if you drive a little over an hour away you can find some snow. 

What it looks like where I live...sort of. I drove about 15 minutes to get here, and pulled off on the side of the freeway to snap this. Don't worry it was a lookout point, so it was safe.

12. Classic Show: A Charlie Brown Christmas or Rudolph?

I'm going with  A Charlie Brown Christmas, but it's been ages since I have seen either one.

 Answer below or go link up your post over on The Blended Blog!