Cherry Hill is a favorite family tradition that has lasted 40+ years. What’s the secret sauce to getting 100+ people together every year? Maybe it’s the delicious slices of pie on Saturday night, maybe it’s the races down Cardiac Canyon, or maybe it’s the campsite games and conversations. Whatever the reason, I am grateful to grandparents who have gathered us to together at Cherry Hill since I was a baby. And now I take my own babies!

This family-friendly place is nestled in Davis County. It’s grown from a campground with a pool to include a water park, rock wall, mini golf course, and more.

Seriously acres of activities to explore. I promise you will want to stay for more than a day. It seems to get better and better every year. I was content picking cherries there when I was a kiddo and playing tag on the playground.  Now there is so much to do, you may want a season pass to enjoy it all! 

Typically it’s tradition for us to close out our summer at Cherry Hill, but I’m thinking we need to sneak in another weekend in July! There’s brand new slides to check out and my kids are begging to go!

Cherry Hill is celebrating 50 years of being family owned and operated. To celebrate 50 years, they are giving away over $20,000 in prizes including Megaplex tickets, Lifetime products, ski passes, and much more every day of the 2017 summer season. Check out their website and follow them on Facebook for more information and to see a calendar of events.

Have you been to Cherry Hill?

What is your favorite part?

What are your favorite family traditions?

I’ve partnered with Cherry Hill and US Family Guide to let you know about their 50th Anniversary Celebration. All opinions are my own and I love sharing this fun, family tradition! 

The post Summer fun at Cherry Hill! appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

Photo by Wendy Santiano

Are you ready to Light the World? On December 1st, Mormon.org will be kicking off the Christmas season with a worldwide day of service. My friend Wendy and I got a jump start on serving with our families and I am so excited to share our experience with you!

Why participate? Because you have so much to give! This year I discovered that even in difficult times, I have something to offer.  Every year I prayerfully choose a few words to live by. For 2016 I was strongly impressed to “give more.” When these words first came to my mind, I laughed and then I cried. My husband had been laid off and I was working around the clock. I was tired, mentally and physically. I felt I was already giving all that I had to keep our family afloat.

So I humbled myself and accepted the challenge to give more. It forced me to be creative. Waking in the early morning hours, I began indexing more. We donated clothes and shoes to Deseret Industries and Tabitha’s Way Local Food Pantry South County. We collected toys and supplies for an orphanage in Italy. We prayed for daily opportunities to serve.

As we increased our service efforts, it was humbling to see our blessings multiply as well. Blessings appeared when we needed them most. Mentors, jobs, and opportunities came at just the right moments. It has been an amazing year and I have much to be grateful for.

For example, late one night there was a knock on our doorstep. Opening the door, I discovered grocery bags filling our small doorstep and spilling out onto the sidewalk. Bags overflowed with pasta, baking supplies, and more. Alongside them sat cases of soup and vegetables followed by large bags of flour and rice.

As we brought the groceries into our home, our 9 year old daughter danced circles around us singing, “We are so blessed. Somebody loves us. We are so blessed.”  This made me cry even more. This is what I wanted my daughter to remember during this tough time – that we were so blessed. That God loves us and will answer our prayers.

My heart bursts when I think of the many ways others have served us this year. Equally just as wonderful are the feelings that have come about as we have served others. Even tiny hands can make a big difference. My children know that they can work hard and do good things.

Photo by Wendy Santiano

One of my favorite service opportunities is working with Tabitha’s Way in Spanish Fork. Last week, we helped sort out cans for their Thanksgiving baskets. Earlier this year, we were able to go in for a family night to stock shelves. They do so much good for the community, it is fun to work alongside them! If you are in Utah County email them at info.tabithas@gmail.com to see how your family can help!

Photo by Wendy Santiano

There are so many ways to serve during this Christmas season! Check out the Light the World homepage to discover inspiration for 25 days of service with your family.

The post Light the World – Blessings from Giving and Receiving appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

Getting my family outside playing together and enjoying the sunshine is a top priority this summer. Our day at the Get Messy Get Clean Festival at Thanksgiving Point fit the bill perfectly.

Whether my children were creating and popping massive bubbles (you’ve got to see the video HERE) or planting an herb garden in pots they decorated themselves, they loved every minute and begged to stay longer. I had Annie’s cheddar bunnies and Justin’s almond butter packets to snack on, so I was happy to oblige!

What I loved most about the festival was the message that as a family you can get messy and get clean in a way that is healthy for your body, the planet, and even your pets!

Target brought together so many of my favorite brands – Mrs. Meyers, Justin’s, Ella’s Kitchen, KIND, Hyland’s, Annie’s, and Yes To – and introduced me to a few new ones as well – Ecoscraps, Paddy’s Bathroom, Freshpet, and Angie’s. All the brands believe products should be #madetomatter and that is something I can get behind as a mom.

Here are a few of the the things that we learned (or relearned!) at the festival that I am excited to make even more of a priority in our home.

1. Get in the garden. The Ecoscraps play tables made from recycled materials were a huge hit with my three year old. He dug in the tables for at least half an hour while his siblings were at the bounce houses.

Kyler is exactly the same way in our garden at home. Whether he is planting or harvesting, this boy loves to be in the dirt. Added bonus if he finds grasshoppers or roly poly bugs! Here’s my secret if you have picky eaters like me, they are much more likely to eat the fruits/veggies if they have grown them themselves! Plus this study is food for thought, playing in the dirt could help children be smarter – check it out.  Gardening is the perfect skill to teach your little ones.

2. Know what you are eating and where it comes from. This goes hand in hand with the gardening. Help your children make the food choices that are best for their bodies. At our house we adore Annie’s macaroni and cheese. It is a staple!

3. Start ’em young. Kids gravitate toward what they are used to. Start when they are young with habits that are good for their bodies and the environment. For example, my daughter loves eating what we call “Mac and Peas.” I make up a box of Annie’s White Shells and Cheddar and add frozen peas in while the noodles are cooking. She will not eat macaroni and cheese any other way now! Score for veggies!

4. Make it fun. Mary Poppins has it right – a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down! My kids loved the Mrs. Meyers hand-washing stations throughout the festival. Lemon Verbena and Lavender were the favorite hand soap scents from our family. When we are washing up, we like to sing the ABCs. It’s an easy way to know that we are washing long enough (and hopefully thoroughly enough, too!) Combining good-for-you products with sustainable habits and fun activities is a win for the whole family!

5. Do it together. My children watch EVERYTHING I do. And that means that they are often repeating the same actions. If I am out in the garden and enjoying the fresh air, my children are most likely right by my side. Whether it is blowing bubbles or visiting the local animal shelter, do it together and make healthy habits as a family! When my daughter was in kindergarten, we declared the school break our “summer of service.” We had a blast picking up litter on hiking trails and collecting pop cans to recycle.

This year was the first Get Messy Get Clean Festival by Target and I hope that there will be many more! Find out more about the Made to Matter brands here. 

This post is sponsored by the #GetMessyGetClean Festival. All opinions and fun are my own! 

The post Five Ways to Raise a Sustainable Family + #GetMessyGetClean Festival appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

This is the niche of bloggers I want to sit down with a cup of hot chocolate and quiz the most. The mommy bloggers! Of course, many bloggers in other niches are also mothers and in similar situations. Where is the line drawn between blog and family or is it all jumbled together in a mutually beneficial heap of fun and hard work? As a blogger and a mother, this is the reason I started the A Day in the Life of a Blogger series. My curiosity at how a mom and a blogger juggles both roles lead me to teaming up with over 25 bloggers to give you this sneak peek.

1. If you live in Utah, Kim of UtahValleyMoms.com, SaltLakeMoms.com, and DavisCountyMoms.com  is a person you want to follow!  She’s my go to girl for events and if there is something fun happening in Utah, I can typically find out more about it on Kim’s web-site or her facebook page.

I had a blast participating in her instagram challenge for Chalk the Block at the Riverwoods last year. Utah Valley Moms doesn’t just tell you about the events, they give you great tips, too! I’ve always been too scared of the crowds on free zoo day so I was thrilled when Kim posted a video of the crowds to her instagram. Shhh … best time to go is in the morning!

Kim is one of the first bloggers I talked to about balancing mom/blog responsibilities while we were carpooling to an event. Not only does she give you an indepth look into her day, there’s a video, too! Find out what meal of the day Kim and I feel absolutely the same about and how she keeps her social media running smoothly throughout the day here.

2. Next up is Alicia from Crazily Normal. I love her perspective as a mom, a blogger, and a nurse. I’ve been brushing up on my instagram skills with her 10 Tips for Using Instagram More Effectively. There’s no time to waste so I am always up for tips that will make me more productive! Find out more about what a day looks like for a working mom and blogger here.

3. Katelyn from What’s Up Fagan’s keeps it real for us.Working on a blog from home with the help of our tiny assistants can get messy sometimes and this blogger is not afraid to share it. That’s life! She shares the Chore Chart that helps whip their house into shape and keep her on track. Find out what camera and back drop from Staples that she uses and how the rest of her day goes here.

4. This next  blogger is one of my good friends and we just so happen to be related! I am excited to introduce you to Heidi of  A Lively Hope. Heidi and I are second cousins who grew up going to family gatherings together, but lost touch a little in our teenage and young adult years. Through our blogs, we have been able to get back in touch and have been able to get together more – I love it! Heidi has so much to offer – she is a homeschooling mom of three with an etsy shop and a blog that details their adventures. Her journey with infertility, foster care, and adoption is a beautiful and inspiring read. See what a creative and family-filled day looks like for Heidi here. This is one mom I look to for modeling my families day!

Photo Courtesy of TheThrifty Couple.com

5. Wonder what it is like to run FIVE businesses from home while simultaneously homeschooling five children under the age of 8? This mom from The Thrifty Couple does and she’ll give you a minute by minute breakdown of a day in their life. I’ll give you a hint – early hours and lots of multi tasking! Head on over and see how she keeps it all running. From the family’s favorite recipes to the genius container gardening ideas that I will be using this summer, the Thrifty Couple shares tips and tricks that I am excited to apply in my own life.

Photo Courtesy of TheProverbialHouse.com

6. KT from The Proverbial House says so well what so many moms and bloggers feel. We’ve got big plans, but we don’t want to miss the precious moments of childhood either. I like what she shared about her schedule – she sets certain tasks that must happen each day. I tend to do this as well – tasks to accomplish works better for me than time slots. Click on the link or picture above to read her poignant thoughts and see her day!

7. I love the title of this blogger’s post:  A Day in the Life: Leigh Ann (A Work-At-Home Mom Relying on Grace). Leigh Ann blogs at Intentional by Grace. I have her post about planning tools pinned and I am excited to look over them more.  Click on the picture above or go to this link to read more about how grace plays a role in her daily life.

I hope you are loving these behind the scenes looks at bloggers as much as I am! Tomorrow will be Lifestyle Bloggers! Be sure to check out a day in the life of the rest of our blogger niches here:

A Day in the Life of Craft Blogger

A Day in the Life of a Travel Blogger

A Day in the Life of a Food Blogger

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The post A Day in the Life of a Family Blogger appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

Last year I shared some of the ways we are saving for our Disney vacation. With our vacation coming up next month, it’s time to update with more ways to save for Disney!

1. As I mentioned in my last post, saving for a Disney vacation boils down to determining the amount you need to save, dividing it up into monthly achievable amounts, and working toward it each month (my next tip will help you with that!). Some months I do great earning money with freelance writing and yard sale groups; while other months I concentrate more on coupon savings from our monthly budget. Find out what works best for your family and stick with it! I’ve listed a few of the coupon and cash back apps I use below as well as some more ways we’ve been able to bring in extra cash.

2. If you are new to planning Disney vacations, well-established Disney gurus like Get Away Today are invaluable! They can help you with all the details and take the stress out of vacation planning. Get Away Today is the leader in Disney vacations and since several of my blogging friends rave about them – I just had to check them out! Here’s what I found out:

• Get Away Today offers the great deals on hotels including free night specials and exclusive offers like free breakfast, free parking and waived resort fees at select hotels. (cha-ching – love those savings!)

• Discount Disneyland tickets

• Free gifts with package purchases (your kids will love this!)

Get Away Today currently has a Layaway Lock-in plan that allows you to hold your vacation (Southern California only) for as low as $125 down. Lucky for the Disneyland fans! Here are more details about the Layaway Lock-in plan:

1. $125 fee includes non-refundable $50 Layaway Plan fee.

2. $125 down payment for each room if multiple rooms are purchased. $50 fee

only applies once if rooms are booked together.

3. Make as many payments as you’d like prior to travel.

4. Vacation must be paid off two weeks prior to travel.

5. Layaway Lock-in plans may be set up online at www.getawaytoday.com or over

the phone at 855-GET-AWAY.

This Layaway Lock-in plan works perfectly with what I mentioned above about saving for a vacation. The earlier the book, the more you save. You determine the amount and when you make payments up until two weeks before the trip when you pay it in full. Start planning your summer vacation and get $10 off with this exclusive code for my readers (KeepMoving). Stay tuned into Get Away Today on Facebook for the heads up on more deals!

3.  Sponsored Tweets. If you are an avid tweeter and have followers who like to click on your links – this money-maker is for you! You set a price to be paid per advertised tweet based on your number of followers. Last August I started at .50 cents a tweet and I am up to $2.00 a tweet as my followers have grown and more people have clicked through my links. I only select tweet ads that are applicable to me and then I can personalize them. People won’t click if they don’t relate! If you are social media savvy or a blogger – this is a simple way to make a few extra bucks. I’m almost up to $100. Sign up and tweet away!

4. Shopmium.I love the new coupon apps available on your smart phone! I use several and every little bit helps. They are simple to use – see what products are available, purchase them, save your receipt and click a picture, submit, and see the moola! Right now Shopmium has Fage yogurt, toothpaste, Heinz ketchup, Mini Babybel cheese, Smuckers fruit spread, and more. If you use any of those products – you need to sign up and save on your groceries!

Just download Shopmium on your Iphone or Android and sign up with my referral code: GFCEAFVU. When you sign up, you get a Lindt chocolate bar … for free! My favorite thing about Shopmium is that there is not a minimum payout. The coupon amount goes directly into your paypal or bank account – no waiting! In the spirit of full disclosure, this is the first time I have referred Shopmium and the other coupon apps so I have not made any money from referrals – just the coupons! If you do choose to sign up, it will give me a referral bonus and you will help me on my way to Disneyworld!

5. Ibotta – Another great couponing app and the first one I signed up with! A feature that sets Ibotta apart is that it also gives cash back for restaurants like Chili’s and Quiznos. They have a larger database of coupons including ones that are specific to certain stores. Ibotta also has bonuses that are fun and will save you extra money. When you sign up for Ibotta, you can earn a $2 bonus right away. You can cash out after $5 to paypal or get a Starbucks or iTunes gift card. I’ve been using Ibotta casually and have a balance of $20 – that’ll pay for snack time at the Disney parks just by couponing and buying products that I would have bought anyway.

6. Checkout 51. I downloaded the Checkout 51 couponing app the beginning of March and have received $6.25 cash back in my account. This app has a smaller amount of cash back offers that are updated weekly, but it includes products like milk, apples, peanut butter, and bacon. They didn’t have a link I could pass on, but if you search for it in the app store, it will come up. Their payout level is $20 and they mail you a check.

7. Shop At Home. Shop At Home is similar to Swagbucks and Ebates in that you get cash back from any of your online shopping. I take a quick peek at whichever has the highest cash back rate and then shop through that site. If I am going to be shopping online, I may as well be getting money back! For example, this week I am shopping for a wedding gift at Target – I can go through Shop At Home and get 4% cash back.   If I want to do some early souvenir shopping, I can shop the sales at the Disney Store  before the trip and get cash back by going through Shop At Home as well! Get an Easter dress from Kohls (because they are doing a fabulous $10 off $30 in children’s apparel and shoes) and receive 4 percent cash back. You can see how it slowly starts to add up!

8. Watch for good credit card offers. Disney teamed up with Chase earlier this year and had a fantastic promotion. We signed up for a Disney credit card and were able to get a $200 Disney gift card after we purchased a certain amount. We put our Disney vacation package on the credit card which easily met that amount. We paid it off right away from our vacation savings so there was no interest and now have $200 for dining at Disney!

9. All of my extended family knows we are going to Disney this year. While I don’t go around asking for Disney gift cards and cash, if someone does ask what we would like for our birthdays – we tell them Disney gift cards or things for the trip. We’ve tied many of our birthday and Christmas presents into necessities for the trip. My children may find a few trip essentials in their Easter basket this year, too!

10. I am still entering giveaways as much as I can! I spend about five minutes a day entering giveaways from blogs and occasionally win helpful prizes! Since I last posted I’ve won a $50 VISA gift card, tickets to local events, and several Amazon.com gift cards that have helped with groceries.

I hope you find these tips helpful! What are other ways you save for a Disney vacation?

I’d love to pay it forward to one of my lucky readers! I’m giving away a $20 Disney Gift Card to help get you started on your savings!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support! 

The post More ways to save for Disney + $20 Disney Gift Card Giveaway appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

A phrase that keeps going through my mind lately is, “every journey begins with one small step.” We’ve got lots of journeys in the works at the Parker house and that means lots to do! I’m hoping by participating in Money Saving Mom’s weekly goals that I will keep myself accountable and learn from the other ladies participating as well!

Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking 

1. Turn in my son’s preschool application.

2. Deep clean the bathroom

3. Make special items for my husband’s lunch this week

Goals Blog/Business Goals  

1. Set up e-mail RSS subscription (I would love any tips!)

2. Blog about the yummy KIND bars we just tried

3. Change my Pinterest Board Covers and add board descriptions

Personal Goals

1. Pray morning, noon, and night – Starting this week, I am taking the challenge to complete goals from the book Joyful Mother of Children: The Magic and Mayhem of Motherhood by Linda Eyre. I’ve heard this lovely lady speak several times, as well as her daughters, and they’ve got brilliant and practical ideas straight from the trenches of motherhood.

2. Finish reading Joyful Mother of Children: The Magic and Mayhem of Motherhood (just a few pages left!) and read the first two chapters of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. Discuss with my husband over dessert after kiddos are in bed.

3. Exercise at least 10 minutes a day 5x a week

Service Goals

1. Finish Primary birthday gifts

2. Make Proclamation on the Family packets for the teachers

3. Set up Visiting Teaching appointments for the month.

Hopefully this will help keep me accountable for next week! What are your goals for this week?

The post Goals for the Week – March 3rd appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

For the Parkers fall means football and family time! I can’t wait to surprise my family with the theme of this year’s corn maze at Thanksgiving Point on Friday.

Cornbelly’s Corn Maze & Pumpkin Fest is paying friendly tribute this year to the time-honored rivalry between BYU and the University of Utah. Featuring a new design each year, Utah’s original corn maze will open October 4, giving guests the opportunity to show whether they bleed red or blue … in both the cornfield and on the football field. My readers can save $2 off with this coupon.

My children come from a long line of BYU fans on both sides of the family. Their great-great Grandpa Eddie Kimball was instrumental in starting the football program at BYU. We have just enough Ute fans sprinkled into our family to keep it fun, though. No matter what team we cheer for, I know everyone is going to have a blast at the maze! We have been going there since Lily was a baby – six years going strong!

Cornbelly’s currently has 40+ attractions including the Pumpkin Princess Pageant, Scary Tales & S’mores, and – my children’s favorite – the pig races! With gemstone mining, inflatables, hay rides, and more, there is enough to keep my entire family busy!

Be sure to print off your coupon and come have fun at Thanksgiving Point! If you are outside of Utah, don’t worry! Last week I posted a list of corn maze and fall festival coupons for all across the country.

Have you been to Cornbelly’s?

What are your favorite fall traditions?

The post Family Fun at Cornbelly’s #coupon appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

I scrimped and saved, graduated from college, and was almost on my way to serving orphans in Romania when I had the distinct feeling that I needed to change my plans. It broke my heart and I cried all the way home from the department office. Two months later I met my sweetheart and now I have three little ones of my own to serve every day.

But my heart still yearns for a Mother Theresa-like experience. Traveling overseas is on my bucket list, but for now I am making a difference at home. I am always thrilled when I discover local businesses who feel the same way. Last month I had the privilege of devouring some delicious, gourmet pizza at Malawi’s Pizza while learning more about their mission with the United Way. Along with some of my favorite bloggers from the Connective Circle, we celebrated Malawi’s giving 250,000 meals to a village in Africa (now it’s closer to 300,000).

Now that’s a cause I can get behind – talk about pizza with a purpose! For every meal bought at Malawi’s, a nutritious meal is delivered to a child in Africa. I was beyond touched when the Chef and Owner told us that last year was the first year that zero children died from starvation in the village they help. I wanted to give the man a standing ovation!

I loved that my family was invited to the celebration. You can tell by the look on their faces that my family are big fans of the gourmet pizza! We’ve been to Malawi’s in the Riverwoods before and their BBQ pizza does not disappoint! Still craving the berry dessert pizza, too, so yummy.

After dinner, the children made tambourines and read the best-selling book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom together. It was a big hit! The activity was just one of the many hands-on activities promoted by the United Way to stimulate children’s imagination. Be sure to stop by their web-site to see the many wonderful classes available to the community!

We’re believers in hands-on education at our house! Just that morning, we had practiced writing where we were going that night and predicted how many yummy sliced of pizza we were going to eat!

So grateful for the opportunity I had to gather with friends and celebrate a worthy cause. When a gourmet, but affordable, dinner out with my family can benefit a child in need – it’s a win-win situation!

What books inspires you?

What is your childhood dream? Have you accomplished it?

The post Malawi’s Pizza Celebration appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.