Life is...

  • HOME
  • a party
  • beautiful
  • an adventure
  • good
  • movement
  • delicious
  • a piece of cake
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ice castles

January 30, 2019 by Mandi McQuivey

There are so many fun things to do in Utah during the winter. We have had a great time exploring our new state and trying new things.

Last weekend we explored the Ice Castles! If you have never been to the Ice Castles in Midway, then you should go! They are beautiful. They have a bunch of different slides for everyone and it really is such a fun family outdoor activity!

Life is… good

Click the link below for all the info and to purchase tickets.

MIDWAY ICE CASTLES

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January 30, 2019 /Mandi McQuivey
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goodbye pool

July 02, 2018 by Mandi McQuivey

Saying goodbye to our pool/backyard was hard. I asked Dustin if we could find a way to take one of our palm trees with us! I think I will miss them the most.

We have created so many memories over the last few years in Las Vegas and we are sad to leave. I am so grateful that we get to take those memories with us and create more in Utah!

Thank you Las Vegas, it has been a GREAT thirteen years.

On to the next ADVENTURE!

Life is....good.

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July 02, 2018 /Mandi McQuivey
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ice skating

December 07, 2017 by Mandi McQuivey

Ice Skating is J and K's FAVORITE thing to do at Christmas time. They look forward to it every year and we try to go at least twice! They just couldn't stop smiling, unless they were skating on one skate, then they had to concentrate! I love how happy they are. 

We are at the Rock Rink at Downtown Summerlin!

Here are our favorite places to skate in Las Vegas:

1.  Rock Rink at Downtown Summerlin

2.  The Park

3.  The Ice Rink at Cosmopolitan

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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December 07, 2017 /Mandi McQuivey
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north pole experience

December 04, 2017 by Mandi McQuivey

The North Pole Experience at Tivoli Village is a MUST DO this Christmas season. My kids loved it, even though they were the oldest ones there! They have candy making, cookie decorating and Christmas magic making, to name a few.

Go to their website HERE and book your tickets. Your kids will love it!

If you are looking for more to do at Christmas go HERE for my list of Vegas Christmas Fun!

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December 04, 2017 /Mandi McQuivey
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happiness

November 09, 2017 by Mandi McQuivey
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"Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence." -- Aristotle

When people first meet me they think that I have a perfect, little life.  And I agree- I have a GREAT life…  I recognize how fortunate I am and we are as a family.  But… it isn’t perfect.  Far from it.  I am all too familiar with fear, discouragement, heartbreak, depression, anger, disappointment and all the other feelings on the spectrum of human emotion.  I choose to not focus or share those events (maybe someday) but instead FOCUS on happiness.  I firmly believe that happiness is a choice.  Happiness is a process not a product.  Happiness is not the result.  It is the method.  I’ve found 10 things that help me live happy.  None of them are passive.  None of them just occur naturally.  You have to CHOOSE and then you have TO DO.  I don’t have all the answers and I’m not immune to the blues, but this works for me… what works for you?  

10 WAYS TO HAVE A LIFE FULL OF HAPPINESS:

  1. Look for the good. I promise it is there. Find ONE thing every day that makes you happy.
  2. Get rid of negative thinking.  Just STOP IT.  Doubt your doubts before you doubt yourself.  Replace it with positive thinking.
  3. Help others… and let them help you.
  4. Realize you don’t need to have it all figured out.  Nobody does.  Just do your best.
  5. Go outside.
  6. Be thankful.  Someone somewhere is happy with a lot less than you have.
  7. Smile and laugh… a lot.
  8. Spend time with people you love.
  9. Be yourself.  Don’t compare your journey to ANYONE else’s.  Learn from them, but don’t be them.
  10. It’s your CHOICE.  Choose to be happy.  Choose to do things that lead to happiness… 

>Amazing, happy pictures taken by my sister... Sami Jo Photography!

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November 09, 2017 /Mandi McQuivey
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art is life

October 10, 2017 by Mandi McQuivey

Earth without art is just... eh.

When my kids are creating art, they are the happiest. Whenever they are driving me crazy I get the art supplies out! It saves us all.  I feel like it is so important for my kids to have a creative outlet that they can just... BE.  They need to be able to bring their imaginations to life.

We set up a HUGE roll of paper on the driveway and we used Crayola washable tempera paint. This stuff is the best. It is a must that it is washable.

It was so fun to see the painting come together. They were inspired by Jackson Pollack and I really think they nailed it. So many different and beautiful parts to the painting. J and K's favorite part was playing "find my hands in the paint". They had the best time doing this, but I think it had a lot to do with the fact that we could be outside. October is my favorite month in Las Vegas!

Make some ART today and feel better!

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October 10, 2017 /Mandi McQuivey
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lemon part two

August 31, 2017 by Mandi McQuivey

To me a lemonade stand just screams summertime! The kids are always extremely excited to get our lemonade stand LEMON up and running every summer. This year we were able to do it with cousins and it made it even more fun.

The kids sell strawberry lemonade, candy, and chocolate covered strawberries. This year my Mom added some sunflowers from her garden to sell and they were a huge hit!

I couldn't get enough of watching the kids waving, smiling and being the best salespeople ever. Cutest kids! Love my lemonade kings and queens.

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August 31, 2017 /Mandi McQuivey
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museum of ice cream and downtown la

August 16, 2017 by Mandi McQuivey
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August 16, 2017 /Mandi McQuivey
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ice cream crawl

July 13, 2017 by Mandi McQuivey

Just in case you didn't know, summer's in Vegas are a little warm. Finding ways to cool off are a must. Ice cream is the perfect solution! When we first moved to Las Vegas almost 12 years ago they hardly had ANY ice cream shops. Crazy right?! Now they are everywhere. It has been so fun trying different places and I am so happy Vegas has so many options now.

I got the idea to do an ice cream crawl from the oh happy day blog. It is the perfect way to "chill out" and get cool on a hot summer day. The point? To eat as much ice cream as you can and see which shop has the best ice cream! SO MUCH DELICIOUS FUN! We went to three different shops the day we did the crawl. Deciding on a winner was "the hardest decision we have ever had to make"-- Kyler

OUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM SHOPS:

  • Rita's
  • The Perfect Scoop (Get the Fruity Pebble Macaron with Fruity Pebble Ice Cream)
  • Nielson's Frozen Custard
  • Rolled Ice Cream
  • Recess Italian Ice

The kids voted and the winner for best ice cream in Las Vegas: (They obviously loved them ALL, but....)

NIELSON'S FROZEN CUSTARD

After the ice cream crawl we had an ice cream challenge. They had to see who could stack the most scoops of ice cream on their cones! This was my kids favorite part of the day. By the end of the challenge they were making towers, sticking their faces in the ice cream, painting with it and of course eating it as fast as they could. Who knew you could have so much fun with ice cream!

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July 13, 2017 /Mandi McQuivey
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family board game night

March 31, 2017 by Mandi McQuivey
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Our Top 10 Favorite Board Games:

  • Ticket to Ride- with expansion cards

  • Ticket of Ride Europe

  • Settlers of Catan

  • Settlers of Catan Seafarers

  • Tensie

  • Munchkin Legends

  • Ubongo

  • Camel Cup

  • 5 Second Rule

  • Wackee Six

March 31, 2017 /Mandi McQuivey
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