Independence Day

We were all bright eyed and bushy tailed at the crack of dawn on the 4th of July, kicking off our Independence Day celebrations. We decked out the pipsqueaks in patriotic flare and headed to Boulder City for a red, white and blue parade.

After a yummy yummy breakfast at Egg Works the littles laid their sweet heads down to rest and prep for the fireworks fun ahead of them.

We went to our family friends (The Potters) house, as tradition has always been, for the Dave Bradshaw Fireworks Extravaganza!

Happy Birthday America!! xo

Bonnie Springs Ranch

While we all should have been sitting in a swimming pool, or even in the air conditioning somewhere we chose instead to brave the heat and venture into the ole west at Bonnie Springs Ranch. They have lots of things for the littles there, from a petting zoo to a wild west show.

We started our day by taking in a good old fashioned hanging. Tara's friend Jenny and her two pipsqueaks joined us for the day. Little did Jenny know she was going to be called out of the crowd to pull the lever! I don't think Bonnie Springs will ever be the same for Jenny again! The kiddos were a little freaked out by the cowboys hence why all the adults were in the photos first.

Next we ventured into the petting zoo. Now I'm going to be perfectly honest here and let y'all know I hate hate hate goats. Anyone who really knows me knows that I'm actually TERRIFIED of them!!! So this was going to be a parenting test for me.

After Ethan had a full-on meltdown about the animals, which Trevor later blamed on my irrational open fear of goats, we decided to just take some pictures of the littles in the little town then head off for naps.

Just a little slice of wild west history. I can never learn enough about our amazing state!

xo

Friends and Food

Anyone who knows us (me) knows that we (I) love good food! More importantly I love to eat good food. When Tara invited me to attend her friend, Jackie's birthday party at an Italian restaurant I was not going to turn it down! Brio was a delightful and delicious little bistro in Town Square.

With that being said, I had the pleasure of meeting up with some fabulous girls that my sister-in-law is good friends with. We had a delightful evening of great food, fun times with friends and ohhh ...mojitos. With husbands and pipsqueaks and all the extraneous things that come with being grown up, I truly treasure nights like this where I can sit back and have girl time.

"Good friends are like stars...You don't always see them, but you know they are there." - Unknown

Thanks Tara for inviting me!

xoxo

Road Trip Family

One of the many, many things I adore about having family elsewhere is ROAD TRIPS! It's the excitement of packing up the car and just going that is so thrilling to me. It's becoming a tradition in the Bradshaw Nook that we venture down to Las Vegas for the 4th of July. July 1, we packed up the pipsqueaks and set off for our second annual trek to the magic land!

Can't wait to meander back there in just a few short months! xo

Mommy Ramblings: Perseverance

I hope you are all ready for a plethora of blogs coming your way! I have really missed blogging and sharing with you all what the Bradshaws have been up to! I hope this finds everyone well!

We spent the majority of last week in Las Vegas visiting family. Normally I anticipate packing on a few pounds while we are on vacation, but I think from all the sweating we did last week in the 115 degree weather made me lose some weight. Heaven knows I didn't eat super healthy while we were there, even though I did try! That little vacation was just what my heart and sole needed, my head is finally clear after a horrible June! I'm in a good place now and ready to get back to the grind, I started a new work out regimen this morning and yesterday I planned out super healthy meals for the rest of the week!

I have the opportunity to workout with a crossfit trainer for free, but I decided I want to do C25K first...hopefully Chris will still let me train with him after I get my behind in a little better shape!! My plan is to do weight training 3 days a week and run 3 days a week. Once I get the C25K mastered then I'm going to conquer the half marathon training schedule that has lived on my refrigerator for the past oh 4 years!

Yesterday Ethan woke up with his eye swollen shut and all puffy and swollen. Oh yes...PINK EYE! We started drops right away and he is much better today. Staying home with him yesterday allowed me to get the rest of our trip put away, and really get focused on organizing my time while I'm home. It really paid off because I was so productive today at the office.

That photo sums up how I feel like I've been going through my days. I read a quote today that just summed up how I have been feeling. "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." (Hebrews 10:35-36) We are not a super religious family but when I happened across this passage it touched me, so I hope it touches and encourages you for the days to come.

Mommy Ramblings: Get What You Put in to Love

Over the last six years Trevor and I have been to s several weddings for our friends and family. Each time we attend a wedding I find us returning to that cozy honeymoon phase that so many people forget they can go back to. Lately we have been missing our weekly date night because things with the kids and schedules have been so crazy, but each week when we take the time to reconnect I find us getting back to that butterfly, new love feeling even if we've been fighting over stupid things like dishes in the sink or laundry on the bathroom floor.

Marriage can be an intense commitment that from the outside looking in can appear to be easy. The energy and nerves of steel that go into making a marriage successful run rampant at times. The decision making process as a couple and parents seem to be a constant give and take for us. It seems for us, it's an opportunity to show case our true feelings on certain issues with the kids and high stress issues like money.

I remember my wedding like it was yesterday. Trevor and I laid it all out on the line and have been giving it our all from day one. I have to admit that at times we feel like we have nothing left to give. Nobody is perfect, right?! But everyday we make an effort to work on creating a harmonious relationship with one another and the kids. I believe in life you get what you put in, and it's no different in marriage and love.

Mommy Ramblings: 30 Day Challenge and More

It has been a rough week and a half! Carter had his tonsils out, and needed me by his side every minute! Turns out he is one of those kids who will NOT take medicine no matter how bad he feels, and when we don't give him the option, he spits it out. Totally defeats the purpose, hence why we have been having a long week and a half.

I'm really excited that summer is beginning! We have some really fun family outings planned as well as some home improvement projects that will hopefully have us making the most of of our summer. I wish I was one of those moms that could say that summer means constant entertainment, scheduling camps and play dates, but I still have to work, so Ethan is going to be doing a fun summer camp called Camp Unique. I feel like this past year we have been so over-scheduled, that I'm looking forward to a quieter summer where we can all just spend some quality time together.

Summer also means short shorts and bathing suits (insert crying face)!! I started really trying to lose the baby weight back in March, which to my credit I have to say I've lost 27lbs., but I still have 13 more to go...if you're trying to add that up quickly you're right I gained 40lbs with Daxton (insert another crying face)! As a buy mom it's challenging trying to carve out time to work out let alone eat healthy on the go. Although Trevor and I have been semi successful at making a point of not making excuses not to get in better shape, I know I need to do more to get rid of those last clinging pregnancy pounds.

So after reading some pretty inspirational blogs, I decided to try the 30 Day Paleo Challenge. I've actually started and stopped this dang challenge I think 2 times before now, but after reading a friend from high schools' blog about raising her kids paleo and just the whole lifestyle I decided I should get serious and try it. If you are wondering what the heck I'm talking about you can find it at robinssweetconfessions.com.

I'm on Day 5 and I seriously have noticed a difference. I probably started noticing a difference after Day 3, but honestly by Day 4 my pants were fitting me differently! I'm hoping by the end of this month I will at least comfortably fit into the majority of my jeans. You all should challenge yourselves with me!!

*****

As if being a 24/7 mom isn't enough, I have been dreaming of an entreprenurial empire as well. The flexibility and creative control that comes with entrepreneurship is its own reward, but launching a business takes a ton of work, and a taste for smart risk taking, and since I have to work a day job I don't have the time to really delve into my "must have" list right now. So, over the next few months I'm going to slowly be building my Creative Mommy resume so that hopefully around Christmas time I can start my own Etsy store!! Stay tuned and fingers crossed that all my crafting pays off eventually!!!