Pura Vida

Pura Vida is Spanish for "Pure Life". It's the law of the land in Costa Rica. It's used as a greeting, it's used for good luck, it's used as encouragement, it's used as a so long.

Recently, Brian and I returned from vacationing in Costa Rica. People really do live a "pure life" there. It's ironic how often we talk about people in less developed countries and feel sorry that they are so poor. In many ways, we are the poor ones. We are tied down to our phones, our computers, our nice clothes, and fancy houses. The people we met in Costa Rica didn't seem to be tied down to much. They live free of the unnecessary items that so often turn us into slaves. 

I came home from our trip with a fresh outlook on life, realizing that a lot of the things I think matter so greatly, actually don't.

Brian and I felt so inspired that we are already planning our next trip. There are so many places to see in this wonderful world that are going to give me so much more life experience than having the newest iPhone ever would. Now it's just time to save up some money in the old bank account. Traveling might cost a lot but I feel like every time I do it, I come home feeling richer in character.

Hopefully over the next few days, I can do a recap of our trip (no promises since I've become the world's worst blogger). I have a plethora of sloth pictures that must be shared with the masses. 

Bear Lake Extravaganza

Every summer, my mom's side of the family gathers together at Bear Lake where we stay in condos for the weekend. Every summer since I was just a little kid, I look forward to that weekend. It's always a joy to be surrounded by aunts and uncles, cousins and my sweet grandparents. We picked the one weekend of the summer it decided to not be 100 degrees, but we still enjoyed ourselves despite the rainstorms and cloudy skies.

Highlights of the trip: Jace's girl surf shorts, that time I ate it hard on my skim board, painting my little cousins' and my grandma's toenails, hours of volleyball, tandem bike riding with my sister, playing night games, and watching the whole family try out the slack line (even baby Flora gave it a whirl). 

I sure am blessed to have such great family. Can't wait to see you rowdy bunch again soon!  

Let's run away to red rock and water

I'm longing for some exploring in a land where I am not required to shower. I want to wear my bathing suit 24/7 and not get odd looks from my peers. It also sounds pretty enticing to run off somewhere with no amount of cell service. 

Sounds a lot like Lake Powell. Has it seriously been over a month since we went with the Weller fam? My, this summer is flying. 

Also, BWell is kind of weird. Good thing I love him . . . 

Lost with Friends

A couple Saturdays ago, I met up with some of my longtime friends. We were kind of attached at the hip in high school and have still stayed close. Granted, Shayla was my roommate after high school and we still hang out often, but I'm still proud of the fact that I've stayed so close with my high school chums. They were even bridesmaids at my wedding (tender). 

I love that we can go for months at a time without seeing each other or talking much but as soon as we meet up, it feels like we've never been apart. It's also great that so many different personalities can come together to form this thing called friendship. Shayla is the sweet one. Catherine is the funny one. Abbie is the happy-go-lucky one. I'm the quirky one. Friendship is wonderful. 

We set out on a hike which we expected to be only a couple miles long. Needless to say, we got very lost and ended up covering much more ground than we planned to. There were lots of comments like: Are we going the right way? and Which direction is the car? and That bee is huge! But it was a hoot and we all made it back to the car eventually, so that was good.

Four girls lost in the wilderness is a scary thought, but we didn't mind. We wandered around aimlessly and laughed about how ridiculous our situation was, all while reminiscing, eating Twizzler Pull 'N' Peels, playing Truth or Dare, and deciding how we would ration out our PB&J sandwiches if things went real sour and we ended up lost for days.  

Love you long time, girls. Let's get lost somewhere together again soon. Maybe next time at the lake or movie theater since Abbie aint a hiking fan. 

A Thing For Spring

An early Easter in our neck of the woods means we need to prepare ourselves for the worst. We've trekked through snow for Easter egg hunts. This year though, the sun was out and not a cloud in the sky. Easter is always better when it actually feels and looks like spring outside. We've been loving this springtime weather. The smell of fresh soil, cut grass and the sound of chirping birds, and kids outdoors is definitely a formula for happiness as of late.

We split our Easter weekend between our families. On Saturday, we found ourselves in Idaho where we dyed eggs with my family. We also explored the outdoors with my baby sister, Chloe. We played with the puppy and bunnies (until the bunny clawed my face, that is), Chloe took me on a four-wheeler ride up the canyon, and Brian even managed to make us all a bit nervous when he stole Chloe's bike and took it on a joy ride. Just so you know, it's quite amusing to watch a grown man ride a girly bike made for a ten year old. What a sight.

It's true. I've got a thing for spring. I am thrilled to be spending my days outdoors. Now if I can just survive my last month of classes. Sitting at a desk indoors while it's so delightful outside is killing me. But the end is in sight. And then it shall be summer in Cache Valley (which is a magical time). I am ready for hikes, canyon trail runs, bonfires, and camping. I am ready to just smell like outside 24/7. Don't worry. I'll work too. Come May I'll have a diploma and stuff. Gotta put that shiz to good use. But I don't know if you can call my field of work "work". It's almost as much fun as playing outside.

Weekend Escape

I am no quitter, but occasionally I will run away from my problems. But only for a little while. And then I come back to reality. A few weekends ago, just before the snow started flying, Brian and I ran away for the weekend. We stayed in his parents' cabin and I think it's just what we both needed. School had just about done us in that week. We both had several tests to take and assignments to hand in. I basically felt like I was crawling on my hands and knees by the time Friday rolled around. So we packed a small bag and ran away to the mountains. We ate a glorious dinner, played card games, watched movies, snuggled, and munched on Toblerone chocolate. And we didn't think about school, work, or any of our responsibilities not once.

It was just what the doctor ordered. Because when Monday came along, I was ready to put on my game face  once again.

I believe in taking breaks from responsibility. It's important. So all you hard workers out there, remember to take a break and relax. Let your hair down and find some 'you' time. It's perfectly perfect to run away once in a while. As long as you always come back.

My First Encounter With a Naughty DVD

After Brian and I got married, we didn't rush off on some crazy honeymoon. We decided to put it off a week and just spend the first week of marriage in Logan. Work on getting our feet underneath us a little bit. But that doesn't mean we didn't find time that first week to have some fun.

We scored a free night stay at Anniversary Inn. We decided to book our room for a Wednesday night because we thought, "We'll be able to choose from any room we want. It won't be busy on a Wednesday night." 

Good thinking, right?

Wrong. 

There was only one room left. La Hacienda. But it turned out being an awesome room. We were fans.

When we first made it through the door and set our bags down, we decided to explore every bit of the room. I started going through all the drawers because, I dunno, I thought maybe they left us something nice there to find. I didn't find anything nice left behind for us, but I found something that was hidden and left behind accidentally. I pulled the drawer open to see a DVD tucked clear in the back. I reached back for it and began to examine what it was. It wasn't a Disney show. It wasn't any kind of show I had ever heard of. There was a big breasted blonde girl wearing a very small, very blue bathrobe. Her hand reached inside the bathrobe, ready to pull it open at any moment. 

"Brian? What IS this?" 

Brian took it from my hand, examined it for a moment and then started laughing, "I think it's a porn." 

I was disgusted. I knew people watched porn, but it's one of those things where you think all the people that watch porn don't really exist. Like I know there are murderers in the world, but I don't expect to walk into some room and find a freshly murdered body on the floor. Get what I mean? I then broke the DVD in half and threw it in the garbage. Because people that come to a themed room hotel shouldn't have to waste time watching porn. Why pay $300 for a room and then waste time watching that stuff when you could just stay at home and watch it? I don't understand. But whatever floats their boat I guess. So, whoever you are, sorry I broke your DVD. Except I'm really not that sorry. 

Besides the nasty DVD, we really enjoyed our room. The bathtub was huge and had flashing disco lights in the bottom. Dance party in the bathroom, sure thing. Chips and salsa also came with our room, so we decided to be rebels and eat chips and salsa in the bathtub. It sure was liberating. Oh, and there was a hammock. And bathrobes. But the bathrobes felt sandpaper-like. Like I was nervous it was going to peel my skin off. The cheesecake was also delicious and boy, I love having breakfast brought to my door in the morning.

One day, when we're rich, staying in cool rooms like this must happen on a regular basis. For now, I'll just keep trying to win free night stays from random drawings.

 

Scooters, Tacos, and Flea Markets

Day 3. Monday.

Monday. A day of excitement. We woke up early to prepare for our departure from the ship. We had made it to our first stop. The beautiful Cabo San Lucas. It was strange to walk on deck and see land around us, since I had grown used to being surrounded by nothing but sky and water.

The time finally came for us to get on a ferry and head for land.

Reaching land resulted in being bombarded by Mexican folk, wanting us to give them business. We tried our best to walk past and ignore them as they shouted prices our way. There was one man who was very persistent with us though. He had a deal on a boat tour and snorkeling. When he announced his very reasonable price, we all stopped in our tracks. We had wanted to go snorkeling our second day in Cabo, so this seemed to be perfect. Lucky for us, Brian speaks fluent Spanish. He went to the man and started speaking to him in words we couldn't understand. After a moment, Brian turned to us and said that we had a deal with him to go snorkeling tomorrow. Brian then asked the man if he knew anyone that rented out scooters.

Lucky for us, again, the man had a friend that rented out scooters. So we followed him a couple blocks to his friend. Within minutes, the scooters were ours for five whole hours. I even got hooked up with a fancy helmet. Pink with a unicorn on the back. Riding the streets of Cabo in style.

I felt so free and cultured just roaming deep into the heart of Cabo. Away from the extreme tourist part of the city and into the authenticity of it. Rushing through traffic, my arms tight around Brian, as we passed colorful shops and smells of spicy food, I couldn't help thinking I was the luckiest girl.

Before finding some good flea markets, we hit up the beach.

After washing the sand from our feet, we hopped on our scooters and headed back into town. I picked up a great amount of souvenirs. Boy, do I love Mexican shopping! I started out not doing my own bartering. When I was in China Town in NYC a couple years back, I found out I was lacking in the bartering area. So for a while, Brian spoke in Spanish and got me some deals. After a while, I decided to stop being pathetic and try my own bartering. Turns out, I'm not half bad. Brian lost track of me (or I lost track of him) while bartering for some bracelets. Once the man wouldn't go down any lower, I just started walking away. Then he called out for me to not leave and gave me the deal I wanted. Brian showed up shortly after and the man told him,

"She's a tough customer."

Is it bad that I was proud of myself?

To say the least, I already miss the way you shop in Mexico. A lot. No more of this:

"Hey pretty lady! I offer you good deal! Twenty dollar. That a good price."

"Um, how about twelve dollars?"

"Fifteen."

"Twelve."

"K, k. Twelve dollar."

I picked up five bracelets and a gorgeous amber ring. Plus a Mexican Coke. . .which I enjoyed very much.

Before turning our scooters in and heading back to the ship, we made sure to eat some authentic Mexican food.

Best sweet pork taco I've ever had in my life. Sorry Cafe Rio, you were put to shame.