Spring Break Staycation

Travis just recently had his Spring Break. He started it off with a bang by breaking his ribs the Friday that school got out. Good thing we didnt have any big plans to go on sweet roller coasters, surfing, or mountain climbing because he wouldnt have been able to go.

So here is what we did on our Spring Break. Its pretty exciting so be prepared...

Swimming at the indoor pool. We actually did this twice and it was lots of fun. Lorelai loves the water and swimming was easy on the broken ribs. 

Visit the Hoover Dam.  It was really neat but the water level is really low which was quite depressing. Anyways, they have a cool little bridge you can walk up to and overlook the dam. Of course, I had to carry the baby the whole way since broken ribs man couldn't. He was sure to casually mention it to everyone we passed. "My ribs are broken. That is why I am making my wife carry the child in the blazing heat on this steep trail."

Went to Costco and ate some samples and shared an ice cream with a cute baby. Deluxe I know...be jealous.

Went to China Ranch Date Farm. "What the heck is that you say?" You can read more about our trip there...here.

Bought a very LARGE souvenir cup from Hot Dog on Stick. That Cherry Lemonade stuff is good. You can never have to much. 

Watched Wheel of Fortune.

Went on a much needed mini golfing date with the hubby. 

Watched Lorelai learn to walk. I cant believe it. Yes, she is walking at 9 months....slow down girl.

Walked to the park. 

See I told ya it was exciting...So much fun can be exhausting. 

Cheap Living Room Updates

Decorating a house for cheap....like foam, duct tape, fabric, and hot glue cheap :) That is what I used to make this cornice box for our window in the living room. We have a small living room with not many furniture arrangement options. So our couch has to be in front of the window, which meant no long curtains. I still wanted to dress the window up a little though so this is what we decided on.

 (Yes, I realize the couch is not centered below the window. I'll fix that.)

Then use hot glue to wrap the fabric around the foam. Cheap I know but super easy and it works :)

INSTAGRAM DISPLAY: I actually did this awhile ago. I got the idea from my friend who made one like this. It's a fun way to display a lot of pictures and to be able to easily change them out. I used tacks with jewelry wire wrapped around them. Then used small Ikea curtain hooks like these to hang the pictures. Super easy!

Lastly, putting some religion on the walls of the home...The Family Proclamation. If you have never heard of this you should read it here. It is an amazing document put out by the LDS church about what we believe about families. I have had my eye on this one, but the Etsy shop where it is sold was closed. 

So I found this one and I am really liking it. I got the file for it here and then printed it for super cheap at Costco. 

China Ranch Date Farm

Travis heard about this place from one of his professors and since we didn't have much planned for Spring Break we decided to go check it out. It is a date farm (like the fruit) in the middle of Death Valley. It's an oasis of green in the middle of rock mountains with NOTHING growing on them. As you turn off the main road you drive in between two huge rocks on both sides of you. 

I don't know what it is about driving between to big rocks on a one lane road, but man Travis was all hyped up about it. We could have just turned around and went home after driving through these and he would have been satisfied. 

Then when you come out of that you see the oasis of green among all the rock. I wish I would have gotten a better picture. If you look closely though you can see the green. Or just look at this photo from their website:)

When we got there we checked out the little store that they had and then we went on a hike/walk along a small trail. 

We didn't really know where we were going but luckily it ended up making one big circle so we didn't get lost.  

We tried dates for the first time and had a date milkshake. It was actually really good and apparently it's what a lot of people go there for. 

 She enjoyed them too. 

Coming over to have some more with mommy. 

There was a little creek with lots of hermit crabs. Travis tried to catch one on a stick.  

Oh ya and there was an alligator in the water too. Can you see it?

Then we walked around the date orchard. They grow on palm tree looking plants. They had so many different kinds of dates. Who knew right? 

Should of brought the stroller...but that's okay she loves shoulder rides:)

 

Fun times! If you are ever in the area stop by and have a date milkshake...which I don't know why you would ever be in the middle of Death Valley... but if you are stop by, its pretty cool.