The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: St. George + Vegas!

As you can tell by the title of this post, we went on vacation! Except this vacation was a little different for us--we went with just us two! Which I'm pretty sure hasn't happened since, um... our honeymoon? Is that bad?

Before we left, Chris kept calling this vacation our "trial run" to see if we really could spend that much time together and not get sick of each other. Spoiler alert: we still love each other. However, there were a couple of times when we both would look at each other at certain moments and mentioned something along the lines of needing a "travel couple." Mostly when I wasn't brave enough to ask someone to take a picture of us. Hence the very poor quality of snapchat selfies...

Anyway, St. George and Vegas were so, so much fun and just what we needed + our way of compensating for not going to Hawaii with my siblings. Enjoy the highlights from our trip! Whether it's the good, the bad, or the ugly ones.

THE GOOD: 

-Stopping in Fillmore to golf (Chris' request obviously) + driving the golf cart

-Peter Pan at Tuachan Theater 

-Nielsen's Frozen Custard (ask me how my clean eating went while on vacation I DARE YOU) + proving Chris wrong after he doubted I could eat a whole pint by myself (does he not know me??)

-Zion's--so beautiful!!

-Seeing "Now You See Me 2" in St. George

-SWIG (always)

-swimming with the Robinson gang!

-Chris getting a massage

-The Vdara hotel in Vegas. Holy nicest hotel I've ever been to + the pool there giving me all the heart eyes.

-Shake Shack! 

-The Variety Show in Vegas--so last minute for us, but so fun. 

-The al pastor tacos at Yolos 

THE BAD:

-Not realizing that the person playing Peter Pan at Tuachan was a boy. Totally thought it was a girl until intermission when Chris corrected me. Woops!

-Chickening out on the last stretch of the Angel's Landing hike. Two words --> hell.no. I'm still having panic attacks at night thinking about how high up there we were! 

-Someone pooping at the pool while we were swimming with the Robinson gang.

-Walking into someone else's room at the Vdara hotel. Think CSI episode and that's what it looked like--silver briefcase opened on the floor + clothes scattered everywhere + one random strappy gold high heel standing up on the floor... awkward. 

-That it was 109 degrees in St. George the whole time we were there.

-Getting sunburned. 

THE UGLY:

-Seeing not one, but TWO students at the swimming pool.... while in my bikini... UGH. SO MORTIFYING!! I took that as a sign from God that I just shouldn't wear bikini's anymore. 

-Tears that were shed up on Angel's Landing. Straight up tears of fear. 

-Nipple tassels because Vegas. 

-Coming back to reality. 

...and that's it! Short and sweet. Just like our trip.
Viva Las St. George + Vegas!!!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Vegas Edition!

How in the haaaaiilll is it already April?! It's only the 8th and I feel like so much has already happened. For one, I finished student student teaching (post to come on being a big girl + unemployed woes), started looking for jobs, and the cycle of "I really need to quit diet Dr. Pepper" has begun ( + "Ah, screw it!"). Oh! And we went to Vegas with our favorite roomies Tom G and Martha! Even though it seems like we weren't there long enough to even have a shotgun wedding, I still think our time there deserves a "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" post. So, let's just jump right into it.

Ready...set....scroll!

The Good:
-The mini tacos from the gas station somewhere outside of Fillmore (+ eating them at 9:30 am)
-Martha bringing a 24 pack of Almond Joy creamer and a 12 pack of soda because, Dirty Diet Dr. Peppers!
-Having Jason and Deanna join us in Vegas!
-Mandalay Bay Hotel
-the huge pool
-Tom G and Martha getting to the pool early and saving spots for everyone
-Convincing Chris to ride the New York New York roller coaster! Probably one of my greatest life accomplishments hearing Chris yell "Hold on to your nuuuuutttties!" while going down each dip.
-SHAKE SHACK!
-Michael Jackson One show! + getting upgraded seats for no reason!
-Martha sweet talking the usher lady to get upgraded seats as well
-Chris winning $20 gambling
-Having a TV in the bathroom so I could watch Friends while enjoying a hot bath and a dirty diet DP
-Watching the fountain show at The Bellagio
-Fangirling/meeting the Jabbawockeez!
-People watching! (I'm convinced that people watching was invented in Vegas)

The Bad:
-Martha not getting mini tacos from the gas station somewhere outside of Fillmore
-Jason and Deanna getting lost and ending up at Mandalay Bay apartment complex
-Having bad dreams/anxiety every night about being on the 28th floor
-the cold wind at the pool
-Tom G thinking the Michael Jackson hologram was a real person
-Chris gambling
-Not being able to escape the smell of cigarettes
-The service at Outback Steakhouse
-Nobody listening to Martha about the tram
-Not taking enough pictures (or getting a picture of boob lady-see below)
-Only spending 3 days in Vegas

The Ugly:
-Reaching full-blown meth addict status the night before leaving. Packing really brings out those meth addict tendencies in me like plucking/picking my face for hours + scrubbing and cleaning my house like a mad woman at 3am. Truth: I got more cleaning done that night than I have all semester.
-TMI: Not being on a regular pooping schedule--vacation mode is the worst
-BOOB LADY! This was one of those things you really just had to see it to believe it. Picture two watermelons down by your bellybutton and only slightly covered by a pink tube top and you have boob lady


I'm sure there's a lot more I could add to this list, but I'll just keep this like our trip--short and sweet.
Viva Las Vegas!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Caribbean Cruise Edition!

We're baaaaaack! Don't mistake that exclamation point for happiness though...we would much rather be back in the Caribbean. BUT it is good to be home and not feel short of breathe walking up the stairs and suffering from the meat sweats every night ;) We had a blast on our cruise! Especially with our favorite "roomies" Tom and Martha! They're the best. Anyway, I've tried my best to keep this post as short and sweet as possible, because lezbehonest, nobody REALLY cares that you went on Vacation. Amirite or amirite?! (try to) Enjoy some pictures and highlights from our cruise!

The Good:
-the Sweat's came with us! they were so fun and always had snacks on-hand for us :)
-steak + chocolate cake every night! (which called for a strict chest-and-above photo policy)
-snorkeling in Cozumel! looking at that water will never get old
-kissing stingrays in Grand Cayman (sadly, not pictured on my camera)
-bobsledding & climbing the Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica
-no problems in Jamaica, just "situations"
-the huge bowl of extra butter our waiter brought every single night
-the shows every night! everything from singers and dancers to jugglers on unicycles! + Christina Bianco... if you don't know who that is, YouTube her! I've never heard a better Celine Dion impression in my life!
-the burgers and fries by the pool
-our nightly ritual of getting in the hot tub and then going up to the cafe to "just get a drink of juice" which quickly turned into pizza (are you sensing a pattern of our eating habits on the cruise yet??)
-Martha asking for two chocolates on her pillows
-getting towel animals (we discovered that we had to straighten up our room really good to get one)
-TomG winning the free slot pull tournament (it doesn't count if you didn't put any money in the machine...right?!)
-Bernie celebrated his 90th birthday with his family! who, according to their matching t-shirts, "put the "fun" in dysfunctional"
-Chris wearing his vest to formal night
-Bekah doing a cartwheel on each island :)
-Chris actually considering buying me diamonds in Grand Cayman
-playing card games up in the cafe
-Tom G at the front of any and every line :)
-getting a free pair of earrings and a necklace because my birthday is in September

The Bad:
-we don't know who Bernie is
-the stairs that got harder and harder to climb every day
-being on the ship for 7 days and still getting lost
-not being able to keep up with our olympic swimmer snorkeling guide
-no Dr. Pepper on the ship... me and Martha settled for Mr. Pibb at the airport
-the man in Jamaica who followed us all the way to our bus so we could "tip him" for the wooden Tiki men that we didn't ask him to carve our names in but did it anyway
-the boat rocking and everyone getting sea sick
-the wind in Haiti + the hot dog I ate there
-me not taking advantage of Chris when he wanted to buy me diamonds
-the back scratch I owed Chris after he wore his vest for formal night
-the "other Mormons" who found us--Chris got to hear all about the lady's favorite creamery ice cream flavor ;) nobody wore anything with BYU on it for the rest of the cruise...
-coming back to freezing cold Utah and wearing shorts and flip flops

The Ugly:
-Chris' fannypack
-Tom G's socks + sandals
-Chris' Hawaiian shirt
-my top knot that managed to make an appearance every single day
-the numbers on our bathroom scale right now
-Chris and I doing the Macarena on our way back from Cozumel:

Friendship and Fitness: Bridal Veil Falls

It's Saturday. I'm blogging. I feel like I only blog on the weekends. I can assure you though, it's not because I'm incredibly busy on weekdays. Unless you consider sitting at work and looking at pinterest all day busy?  No. Maybe I only blog on the weekends because I love putting off cleaning my house, or laying in my bed bra-less while I type stories that involve me being productive and posting pictures where I look semi-socially acceptable? That's not a maybe, that's a definitely. Anyway, enough of my excuses for not blogging very much. Onwards to my adventure with Whit today!

---------------------

Me and Whit have been going on bike rides once a year since high school. Once a year mainly because that's about how long it takes for my crotch to recover from biking. Woof. After today, I'm almost thinking it's worth investing in some padded shorts. Anyway, me and Whit decided to ride to Bridal Veil Falls. I honestly don't think I can get sick of that trail. It's so beautiful. 

On the way up to Bridal Veil everything was going fairly smoothly. We were going at a decent pace and only got passed by one group of bikers. You know, those groups of bikers that all wear the same outfit and take up the whole road when you're driving up the canyon and you kind of hate them for a minute? Yeah, we only got passed by one of those groups, which made me feel better about myself and my biking skills. 

As for on the way down the canyon.... not so smooth. First, let me just tell you that I already really struggle on bikes(hence, the reason I'm a runner). Apparently, I had forgotten that and developed new confidence in my biking abilities because I became so confident that I took one hand off my handlebars and was able to fish around in my sports bra for my phone that was sliding everywhere while zooming down the canyon. Side note: it's a sad realization when you have enough room in your sports bra for your phone to wander around and get lost. As soon as I had retrieved my phone and looked up, Whit had pulled off to the side of the trail to get a drink, so I immediately slammed on  my breaks. More specifically, my front breaks. Oops. The next thing I know, I'm flipping over the front tire and yelling out curse words while the world around me is spinning in slow motion. It's too bad that Whit wasn't looking when I crashed, because I'm sure she would have had a good laugh. Luckily, it was only my shin that really got scraped up. Seriously though, I'm lucky.

Once I washed up my cut a bit, we started biking back home again. Except my bike started sounding weird and I was still a little shaken up after experiencing what the guys in Jack Ass and Nitro Circus do. So I made Whit pull over and look at my bike, which was actually Whit's bike, that's named La Tigra--awesome right? So Whit, being the best friend that she is, got down and started working on that bike like my own personal grease monkey. I just let her do her thing while I was the designated bike holder. After a few twists and turns, Whit had fixed the chain and had La Tigra  up and goin' again and we were able to make it home without anymore spontaneous pit stops ;)

Besides the whole crashing thing, I loved our bike ride. It was so fun just getting to be outdoors and catchin' up with my best friend. The only bad part about it was that it made me that much more sad to see Whit leave for Jerusalem in a couple of weeks. Who else am I going to complain to about my sore crotch muscles and talk Gossip Girl with while stuffing my face with chili cheese fries?! Oh, Whit. You will be missed.

Friendship and Fitness: to be continued...

Gone Fishin'

this just melts my heart every time i look at it.

We started celebrating Pioneer Day before the sun was even up.... but it was totally worth it (is that sunrise amazing or what?!) Papa Gourley rented us a pontoon boat up at Strawberry lake. It was so fun.... freakin' cold.... but so fun.  Going fishing with Chris is the best. Mostly, because he's so giddy and happy the whole time, even after waking up at 4:30 in the morning + he does all the dirty work and gets my fishing pole ready with the stinky bait while I sit back and enjoy my chocolate donuts (yes,donutS...sorry swimsuit season) and then I get to reel in the fish like a hero--pure bliss. 

Hope you all had a fabulous Pioneer Day, too!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Mexico Edition (and pictures!)

Ever since we got back from Mexico, Chris and I have greeted each other every morning with frowny faces, with the mutual understanding that coming back to reality, simply put, sucks. Mexico was AMAZING to say the least. So amazing, in fact, that I'm already plotting ways to earn money so that we can go back someday. While the overall trip was amazing, there were also some not-so-amazing parts, like with every trip. And what better way to tell you about our trip than in list form?! (What can I say, I'm a lazy blogger)

 So without further adieu, Mexico! 

the good:

::Drinks! drinks! and more drinks! Pina coladas, mango coladas, mango-pina coladas, mango tangos (all virgin, of course)--you name it, we drank it. Several times... a meal, or in between meals, or just whenever a drink tickled our fancy. There were times that I swear the drinks would just appear out of thin air, and of course, we would drink them without question. So yummy, and so not healthy for you in any kind of way despite the excuses we tried to make for ourselves.  I bet they aren't too bad... they use real fruit in them, right?!

 ::The upgrade in our rooms. Footsteps away from the beach and pool. Complete with a Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom! (Thanks mama and papa Gourley!)

::Getting to know my in-laws even better. The conversations get a lot more interesting when there are no kids present ;)

::Mexican night! Nothin' better than those street tacos and fresh pico.

::TOUCHING A SEA TURTLE. Hands down my favorite part of the trip.

::Pass the pigs! Oh goodness, just play with the Gourley family and you'll understand why I love it so much.

::Chris winning the ping pong tournament at the resort! He even got a medal for it.

::Casino night! I understand now how people get hooked. You really do believe that you are special and there's no way you're going to lose this time.

::The photoshoot Chris won at casino night. HA! A photoshoot. The last thing Chris would like to win is a photoshoot. I'm so grateful he did though, because they actually turned out pretty good! I like that we got to bring home a souvenir from Mexico that we can keep forever. Chris was such a good sport throughout the photoshoot, too. What a keeper.

Behold:

You like, no?

the bad:

::My abrupt kiss with a pool boy! Just kidding. It was the water aerobics instructor, but he really did kiss me. The little trickster indicated with his index finger that I should kiss him on the cheek, so as soon as I puckered up and went in for the cheek, he turned his head! Did I mention that this was in front of a huge circle of strangers? Did I also mention that we had to kiss everyone in our circle on the cheek at the end? All I wanted to do was enjoy some family-friendly water aerobics with my mother-in-law! ...What happens in Mexico?

::Sushi. 'nuff said.

::My bargaining skills. Just don't take me to a Mexican street market. Unless you like to be stared at with a "What the hell should I say?!" look. Also, I don't know how to say no. 

::Mosquito bites and then more mosquito bites. At least they were tan mosquito bites, right?

::The fact that there was one couple missing from our trip. We missed Jason and Deanna! 

the ugly:

::Humidity. More specifically, doing Zumba in the humidity. At first I thought I would be lookin' all hot like the girl in Step Up 2, you know, when she's dancing in the rain? Yeah, no. Just hot and sweaty. Exercise and humidity is not a good look for Shayli.

::The aftermath of Mexico. I'm STILL making constant trips to the bathroom (TMI? Probably) and suffering from what I can only assume are pina-colada withdrawal headaches.

And there you have it! The good, the bad, and the ugly of our Mexican experience! I'm sure there's a lot more I could add to the good list, but like I said, I'm a lazy blogger. 

Cue picture dump!

 never again.

 Pure joy.

 Proof that Chris can make friends no matter where he goes... Thanks Pablo for letting us pet the turtles!

 "salad"

 It never gets old.

El Fin.