Category Archives: Travel

Baby Brown Shower & BabyS2 Update

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My sister, Kelli, and I are having the fun experience of being pregnant together.  She is expecting her first baby (girl) in July.  Here we are at week 30 & 34 (and no, we didn’t plan our outfits for this pic 🙂

This past weekend our pal Rachel & I threw Kelli a shower.  Not too girly and kept it classy….totally Kelli’s style.

The food was soo delish!  On the menu: fresh fruit, my go to egg dish (I’ll post again soon), Rachel’s ice cream cups & banana walnut bread, and Marie’s raspberry Greek yogurt pie.

and of course, cakepops!  I am so proud of the lovely cakepop stand I made….with no help from Pinterest 😉  The vanilla cakepops came from D’lish D’serts.

Next up on the baby updates….The 3, I mean 4 of us headed to Puerto Rico for another prebaby get-a-way at week 28/29.

This time we took Trey and he LOVED his first splash in the ocean! 

He made sure to use all his senses while exploring the beach.

Family photo!
Some of our favorite places to eat while in San Juan…Mi Madres for Mexican and Tora Salao for tapas.

Other Baby S2 posts: Week 21 & Announcement

Until next time…
look good, feel good, do good
Sara B.

Baby S2 Update & other happenings

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Wow!  Where does the time go when expecting #2!? 

WEEK 21 (as of 4/3)!
The first time around J and I had a stack of pregnancy books we would read each week for updates.  This time I’m lucky if I skim it once/month.  However, I can rest assured that the baby is growing big and strong inside of me as we had our 21 week ultrasound last week and everything looks good!
He or she was pretty shy but did manage to stick its little tongue out at us 🙂
Weighing in at about 13oz he/she is the same size Trey was at this time. 
I am feeling more and more movement, but J is anxiously awaiting his first fist pump. 
I feel it most when I kick my feet up for a bit…which isn’t long as I still enjoy getting active doing Crossfit, running, swimming, and biking on the trainer. 

Trey is excited about the baby and likes to sport his “Big Brother” shirt every now and then.
He also suprised us with his first official word (other than “mama,” “dada,” & “uh-oh”)….BABY!
When I ask Trey: “Where’s the baby?” He walks over to me and lifts up my shirt to expose my belly button.  He then goes on to give it a good scratch while smiling.  However, sometimes when ask “Where’s the baby?” he proceeds to left his own shirt and show off his growing belly 🙂

Babymoon #2
J and I took babymoon #2 back in February to Kaui, HI.  We had a great time surfing, hiking, whale watching, and snorkeling.  What a beautiful island!




J and I spent an afternoon learning how to surf

while we both caugh some waves, J really caught on…

check him out after just 2 hours of lessons….wow! 😉

Dowling Track
The last big happening around here is I started coaching hurdles for Dowling Catholic High School.  I am very excited to be back coaching after a break last year.  Dowling seems to be a perfect fit (and yes, that’s coming from a former Valley girl)! 

Trey at his first high school meet

Happy Easter everyone!  He is risen!

Until next time…
Look good, feel good, do good
Sara B.

Crested Butte

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Christmas Day J, Trey and I headed to Crested Butte, CO to spend some time with my brother Matt and his wife Dorcha and daughter Luella Trout.  My parents, sister Kelli, brother-in-law Mike, and niece Emmerson drove the long 15 hr drive the following day. (I think we were the smart ones 🙂  Below are a few pictures from our fun-filled week.  Although, no food recipes or pics rest assured we had fabulous fixins with multiple chefs in the house.


Trey was a little tired from his early morning wake up call and took a snooze through security

He enjoyed his first flight…especially looking for santa!

We were so excited to see the Boisen’s (Matt, Dorcha, Luella, Harley, and Maggie) on Christmas!

Before we headed to Crested Butte we spent some time at their place in Montrose and took a beautiful walk around the neighborhood

Luella (71/2mo)

some cousin bonding time, Luella and Trey (10mo)

“please tell Trey to stop mooning me!”

we took the kiddos for a hike in the Chariot
we also went to the hot springs in Ouray for a relaxing dip, sorry no pics at the moment

Trey decided to make his own dinner

Not sure Luella was too fond of her new ride or maybe just the driver

Crested Butte!  The view out back the “cabin.”

Notice they didn’t have a lot of snow…but we managed to hit the hill behind the house with the sleds.  Have fun walking back up Mom!

Man that’s tough hiking back up at 11,000ft.

Time to hit the slopes…not the trees Mike!


a stop at the ice bar is always a must

Emmerson (11) learned how to ski!

Good times in Crested Butte!  Thanks Matt and Dorcha for hosting us all!

Until next time…
look good, feel good, do good
Sara B.

New York…the Sights & Cuisine

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J and I love to travel and indulge in local cuisine.  Here are some great recommendations  to check out your next time in the Big Apple! 

Of course, we headed back to Rice to Riches for some fabulous rice pudding!  You can see pics from our last trip HERE.  I enjoyed the coconut while J snacked on the banana walnut. 

We also had brunch at Pastis where you can sip on the best Bloody Mary and possibly see a celebrity!  Again, a place we visited last time but could keep away.  I dined on the eggs Benedict and J the pancakes. 


Post marathon we were really looking for a down home, full-fledged meal to fill our aching bellies….tapas just weren’t going to cut it.  Tipsy Parson was the tickets!  Down home Southern cooking…need I say more?  Stepping into the restaurant is like entering Paula Dean’s house in Georgia (does she live in Georgia 🙂  To start I ordered the cocktail, Tipsy Palmer which is a blend of firefly sweet tea vodka, iced tea, lemon, and fresh mint.  It certainly lives up to its name and took me to a nice sunny field or maybe a hammock on a beach.  As apps we had the Mushroom Spoonbread and Mission Fig Salad.  Entree’s included the Dayboat Scallops and Short Ribs.  I don’t even like ribs but these were AMAZING!  They came with a cool twist on parsnips…parsnip puree similar to mashed potatoes.  And finally, desert. This had to be ordered at the beginning of dinner because it had to bake…talk about straight out of the oven Apple Cobbler for two!  What a great post marathon meal!

Other tasty places we checked our were Slice (a farm to table type place) and Zucca.

We didn’t do too many of the sights as we had to remind ourselves we were there for the marathon and lots of walking was not in our agendas.  We did get a chance to visit the 9/11 Memorial.  What a beautiful setting.  The waterfalls drown out all the city noise and create a very peaceful place where you can respectfully remember those who passed.




Until next time…
look good, feel good, do good
Sara B.

New York Marathon or Bust!

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After weeks of training, miles on the pavement, and 9 months after giving birth….J and I are off to run the New York City Marathon! 

We are both very excited and ready to run!  Unlike Boston, where I hadn’t ran for a month before the race due to an injury, this time we are healthy and happy.  You know how they say you get faster after giving birth…I’m ready to test that out 🙂

This will be my third marathon, after each one I have said it’ll be my last.  Then I saw this list printed and taped above J’s computer:

Without further ado; the world’s top 10 marathons:

1. London Marathon, April
2. Berlin Marathon, September
3 New York City Marathon, November  check
4. Chicago Marathon, October  check
5. Boston Marathon, April  check
6. Stockholm Marathon, June
7. Rotterdam Marathon, April
8. Paris Marathon, April
9. Honolulu Marathon, December
10. Amsterdam Marathon, October

oh jezzz!

What races have you competed in, recommend, and why?  It can be tris, road races, adventure…would love to hear from you!

See you at the finish line!
Until next time…
look good, feel good, do good
Sara B

Riviera Maya – Playa del Carmen

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Arriving at your destination is great, but traveling there can be quite the drag…

many people battle getting sick, hungry, and stressed while traveling
to help combat this I come well prepared with healthy food that not only helps me stay bug-free while vacationing but also saves me money as I don’t have to purchase sub-par airport food
food list:
homemade turkey jerky
Kind, Cliff and Odwalla bars
dried fruit
almonds
chocolate bites for my sweet tooth
protein powder
and…..
my breakfast pack:
steal cut oats, raisins, honey, protein, PB, multi-vitamin
don’t get me wrong though….I love checking out the local fare…
La Buena Vida was right on the beach in Akumal
you could even eat and drink in these sketchy, but cool treehouses
we opted for the “ground-level” table
lots of ceviche
and guac!
fish tacos are a fan favorite
our first night in Playa at a very authentic eatery. It was literally right on the sidewalk

we could not figure out what this was, turns out it is a giant hanging thing of meat…kinda looks like a bee hive

We did do other things besides enjoy cervezas (well not me) and guacamole….
here are some of the highlights
Jeremy and I and Kelli and Mike
Playn‘ and relaxn‘ by the pool

J tried his hand at these giant water balls
it gave us a good laugh

work it boys
We headed to Cozumel for a day trip
and rented scooters to make our way around the island
does this remind anyone else of “Dumb & Dumber”

the scooters allowed us to see some less populated and beautiful places
however, about 15 minutes till we got back to town Mike’s scooter gave a startling pop and died….
notice Mike pushing his scooter as J joyfully rides away
waiting & waiting for a ride
maybe if I flash my baby bump that will speed things along
maybe we should have gone with one of these

trying on some of the local attire
Catamaran ride and snorkeling


we stopped at a beach for burgers and got to play on all these fun water toys!


the Cozumel Ironman just happened to be the previous weekend…J was in heaven. We even ran into people we knew from Des Moines!
J spent the entire afternoon building his beach front property
where’s the nursery?
Tulum beach with Mayan ruins in background

Dive shop, pool….where else would you need to go!?
Akumal beach

Sunrise on our last morning

Hey….let go!

do we look like movie stars!?
now we’re back in 10 degree weather and snow…at least it feels like Christmas!
Until next time…
look good, feel good, be good