Travel Destination: Moab

Posted on by JC Rizk

Well, I am late in posting this, but it’s been a week: between a sick baby, both babes going through a mama phase, and getting ready for friends and family to visit, there’s been a bit of chaos! However, I am extremely excited about this post and wanted to take my time to do it justice.

We had an amazing long weekend in Moab! Hubby, babies, and I traveled three hours to Moab, Utah, and goodness, it did not disappoint. Saturday morning, the hubby picked the activity: a 9.4 mile long, 4×4 trail, called Fins and Things. On this trail, we saw a lot of Jeeps, many UTVs, and we decided not to rent a vehicle, but to instead take our Toyota 4runner. Oh my…

Let me begin by saying that I tend to get motion sick — even riding a fast, only several minute long roller coaster {with no flips} can give me a headache and feeling of nausea for the rest of the day. If you are in the same boat, maybe this is not the trail for you. Check out the following clip – it shows one of the many times we lost sight of the trail – terrifying and gorgeous!

The trip took us about 3 hours {with a half an hour stop to feed Lulu and let Bird run around} and although I felt slightly nauseated, the views were absolutely stunning. Also, I am thoroughly impressed with our Toyota 4runner; we kept a slow pace and definitely took our time on the jagged and steep areas, but we were able to complete the trail with the whole truck intact, albeit very muddy!

  • Snow dusted red rock
  • ^ Line of Jeeps ^
  • Look at this view! Stunning!

We then spent the afternoon in quaint downtown Moab with the dogs; our AirBnB was only several blocks away from the center of town – Bird started in the hiking backpack, but decided she wanted to walk back to the apartment on her own two feet. She recently started playing her version of the “red light, green light” game. She says “Freeze,” “Slow,” “Fast!” However, let me say there are a lot of “freeze” commands that make walking home a tad tedious, but adorable!

On Sunday, we drove to Arches National Park, which was only ten minutes away. Our goal was to hike the Delicate Arch, which starts at the Wolfe Ranch Parking Lot {for the 5k trail}. The drive to the parking lot was breathtaking, with many other stone formations that seemed just as iconic as the Delicate Arch. I really enjoyed the formation pictured above; it looked to me that it was greeting us on our arrival into the park. Absolutely remarkable!

We then started our hike up, up, and away the trail. Reviews of the trail are not joking when they say it climbs steadily upward! My hubby carried Bird in the hiking backpack and I carried Lulu in the Ergobaby; we started walking during his morning nap, but he was quite inquisitive at the beginning of the hike, as you can see from the picture above. He did eventually fall asleep and slept through the ascent, waking up exactly when we reached the Delicate Arch.

  • ^ That is our family!

The end of the hike seemed the most treacherous, as you climb along this narrow path up and around the formation, but truthfully, even though I have a slight fear of heights, this was feasible even with two small children. At the end of this path, you turn the corner and there is the Delicate Arch! We used the app AllTrails for this hike (and for our off-roading experience) and hubby and I were very pleased. Easy to use, tracks well, even in locations where cell service is not readily available, and provides the statistics at the end. If you’re looking for an app for your future hikes or off-road adventures, I recommend AllTrails.

I am extremely happy we hiked this trail in the winter. There were others on the trail, but definitely no massive crowds. The sun is warm even on a thirty degree day and I cannot imagine the heat in the summer. Lastly, we were able to take pictures relatively quickly, so we could hike back down before the kids’ lunchtime. Reviews I read advised that this hike can take 2-3 hours, as it is a moderate trail, there is no respite from the sun, and if there are crowds, I can only imagine trying to clamber up some of the rocks with others on your tail. It took us a little under two hours, hiking time, not including our time taking pictures under the arch and along the trail, as well as letting Bird out as we neared the parking lot, so she could get her fill of walking and rocks!

Honestly, I think Bird’s biggest take-away from this trip to Moab is that it re-affirmed her love of dirt and rocks! Hubby and I already decided we will come back to Moab to experience more hikes, beautiful scenery, and maybe, one day, another off-road excursion! On the way out of Moab, we stopped at Moab Giants for its outdoor Dinosaur Trail {there are other parts to this attraction that are indoor, but we had a long drive ahead of us and it was almost nap time for the babes}, where Bird wandered around, staring wide-eyed at the full sized dinosaur replicas. It was quite impressive and when we come back to Moab, we will definitely stop here to experience more of their attractions!

Can you tell that we are fans of Moab and all that it has to offer?! If this isn’t on your travel list, and you’re a fan of outdoor activities, whether you have children or not, this area has plenty to keep you entertained. We highly recommend it and it is an awesome place for children to explore nature.

What are some places that you traveled to that you recommend? What did you experience? Look forward to hearing from you as always!

Food for the Soul

Posted on by JC Rizk

Let me start off by saying “Happy Valentine’s Day!” I decided to talk about something I truly love… food! All jokes aside, food can transport you into a new, or familiar, culture and can bring people together. Food makes me think of gatherings with family and friends, traveling, and exploration of all that is new.

Another, more important, love in my life is my hubby. He and I share responsibility in the kitchen, but absolutely have different methods of cooking. I love to try new recipes, but when I try something new, I stick to the recipe. Hubby, on the other hand, might glance at the recipe, but will cook his own take on that recipe. He is amazing at this and I am secretly {okay, now not so secretly} jealous of this talent. My favorite things that he makes are stir-fry and tacos – yum!

This is a picture of the last tacos hubby made: fish tacos! We tend to use lettuce a lot more than actual tortillas; a few years back we did The Whole 30 for the first time and loved using romaine or endive as the tortilla. Such a simple twist on a classic, simple meal and it is absolutely brilliant. This fish taco includes red cabbage, avocado, tomatoes, and spice – lots of heat if my hubby is cooking – these tacos were super fresh and delicious.`

Deer Valley – Park City, Utah

The hubby and I recently had some date days to go skiing – yay to finding a babysitter in Utah! On our second ski date, we went to Deer Valley, which was stunning. We took a full day and skied all over the mountain; I am a novice and ski only greens and single blues, and it was nice having so many trails available for my level across the mountain.

Afterwards, we returned to Sandy and found a Thai food restaurant right around the corner from where we are staying {hidden gem!}, called Thai Mango. The food was absolutely delicious and was reminiscent of our trip to Bali. Brief side note: hubby and I traveled to Singapore, Bali, and Australia when we got engaged – we call it our honeymoon – and it was one of the most amazing experiences. We even took a cooking class in Bali and learned how to make the infamous peanut sauce that you have with something like chicken satay; that was the appetizer we ordered and was what made us think about that amazing trip. Don’t worry, I’ll post about that trip at another time!

Here’s a picture of my Pad Thai and jasmine tea. I usually refrain from caffeine because it completely messes with my body and herbal tea is one of my favorite beverages. This jasmine tea was so delicious that I am going to try and track it down and keep it in my tea collection! Overall, this restaurant pick is what hubby and I do when we are eating out; we bring our sense of adventure and do some research. We like to search out the “hidden gems” in the area and, when abroad, try to eat like the locals. Thai Mango was a delicious and I would highly recommend if anyone is in the Salt Lake City area!

Now, tell me: what are your favorite places you visited and what restaurant/food did you try that made you do your happy dance?

Yoga and Emotions

Posted on by JC Rizk

Namaste//


The divine within me honors the divine in you.

I absolutely love this word. I hear it at the end of every yoga class and I think it is profound and moving. Essentially, namaste means that we are all equal — I see, and honor, the light and divinity within you, with all the light and divinity within me. It truly fills me with happiness and a feeling of acceptance, which, let’s be honest, is what yoga is all about – accepting yourself exactly how you are throughout the practice, and life.

Love this yoga mat by Gaiam!

I think I found my favorite yoga classes at Cradle Your Soul and they couldn’t be more different! After trying out a bunch of classes, I am now going to the Sunday Vinyasa Flow class, which is challenging, nonstop, and helps unite breath with movements. In addition, I tried a new class today and plan to go weekly for the rest of the month, called Living Lighter Yoga, which is all about slow movements, taking your time in the discomfort of certain positions, and allowing your body to breathe through the pain to find a natural release. The idea being that when we are upset, instead of hiding our feelings away, we can sit in them and work through them, allowing our body to release them naturally rather than holding emotions hostage.

This really resonated with me this week especially as my hubby and I work with our daughter on her tantrums and meltdowns. For a while we would try and calm her down, but the more I read and the more we discussed, we realized we want her to understand a healthy range of emotions and to work through it, knowing that we are here to support her and comfort her with hugs and kisses when she is ready. Is it loud? Yes. Is it sometimes frustrating because we are trying to do something fun and she freaks out because she’s overwhelmed, confused, or unsure? Definitely. That being said, letting her take some alone time to cry it out, or scream, really seems to help her work through it quicker than us hovering and telling her that she is okay. Big surprise there, right?

I do not have to imagine my response when I am upset and someone tells me to calm down or that I am okay — completely invalidated and even more upset. Also, when I push my emotions down to make others more comfortable, it always leads to a blowup, which is always much bigger than me just working through my feelings then and there. I found the above children’s book called, In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek, which mirrors this thought — it is super sweet and goes through all the emotions that we can feel in a language that speaks to children. Plus, the art is super cute too!

How about you? Any favorite yoga classes or books or anything that is really speaking to you lately? Let me know!

Duality of Parenthood

Posted on by JC Rizk

To all you mamas out there… congratulations! You’re doing terrific! Why do I say this? Simply because I know you are even if I do not know you – first, you’re reading this in the little spare time you have – and because oftentimes we, as mothers (parents), internalize guilt and overthink the choices we make in our children’s lives. This week the duality of motherhood has been in the forefront of my mind.

I am a stay-at-home mama to two children under the age of two. I love having the kids so close in age; however, currently having a 22 month and a 7.5 month old, we are getting into a tricky phase. The baby — we call him Lulucito — needs more attention now that he’s somewhat mobile — I think he will figure out crawling quicker than I expect, but he cannot yet move to keep up and interact fully with his sister. The toddler, we call her Bird, is now realizing that Lulucito needs more attention and that this requires sharing — something that is a work in progress.

If you’re like me, I am always on the lookout to learn something new and being a parent is no exception. I continuously read magazines, articles, and books on parenting, as my husband and I try to figure out what style we like best for our children. I recently found the following quote on social media posted by Raised Good (blog and website), which is a page that really mirrors how I would like to parent.

This quote especially resonates with me, because Bird’s personality is really presenting itself lately – she’s daring, extremely active, and supremely independent. She wants to explore, experience, and devour all that she sees! I absolutely adore this about her and I love that I get a front row seat to watch her enthusiasm for life unfold as she grows.
I let my kids explore life, nature, food, etc. because I think it is vitally important to their growth, physically, mentally, and emotionally. However, sometimes we need to run errands, leave the grocery store, or share with others — here is where the duality comes into play.

I struggle some days to make decisions: do my children have too much freedom or am I holding them back from their potential? Am I scheduling too many activities into their days or should I get them more involved? Am I coddling my children or pushing them to grow too quickly? These, and more, are the daily thoughts I have and I am working to find what comes naturally.

My overall goal is to be a calm parent: to listen to my children and their needs, not worry about the unwashed dishes and clothes, and focus on their growth and development. My goal for this week is much more humble: I want to remind myself that I am human and I encourage you all to do the same. Impatience and voice raising can sometimes win over, so my goal is to continue my self care routine with meditation and yoga. These practices help me to breathe in times where I feel overwhelmed and frustrated; this breath sometimes gives me the time I need to access the situation logically and to be proactive, rather than reactive in situations.

These are my goals for this week, what are yours? I am always searching for additional resources … please share anything that works for you and your family! Look forward to hearing from you!