cabin fever

there's something about that old,

olive green, 

A frame,

old school cabin

that really tugs at my heart strings.

maybe it's the rainbow carpet,

or the heat from the fireplace,

or the smell of aspens and pines. 

whatever it is,

it's the definition of nostalgia.

i've spend every summer since i was born at this little slice of heaven.

every time i'm there,

i'm taken back to being a little kid.

i close my eyes and remember...

taking long atv rides with my dad,

building forts with my cousins,

watching a mama moose and her babes at the salt lick,

our big brown lab chewing on a giant stick,

munching on salty popcorn,

swinging at the "blue mans" house,

hearing my grandpas laugh,

eating at dairy keen,

and playing uno late into the night.

as much as i love and cherish these memories-

making new cabin memories with win is just as amazing.

we enjoy the drive up parleys canyon,

napping on the mismatched furniture,

shooting the bebe gun, 

taking walks in the cool evening air,

drinking a coke in the sun,

and cruising around in the newest russon purchase- the maverik.

i love this place.

and look forward to many,

many,

many years of memories to come!

explore.

a couple weeks before we moved from SL,

it hit us-

we needed to take advantage of the amazing neighborhood we had been living in for the past year and a half.

we went to new restaurants,

walked the aves,

and of course took the jeep on scenic drives.

 one of my favorite date night activities is exploring.

and as much as i loved wondering around sugar-hood,

i can't wait to explore our new neighborhood.

i get excited thinking about all the adventures
just...
around...
the corner!

grads.

is this real life?

did winston and i really just "walk"?

after 5 and a half lonnggggggggg years,

3 different majors,

and approximately 14 finals weeks later...

i'm happy to say that i am officially a COLLEGE GRAD.

i have to say,

it's a good feeling knowing that i never have to do homework,

go to an early morning class,

do summer school,

or take another final again.

but the best part,

was graduating with my babe.

and jill.

and gavin.

and nakita.

neither of us were stoked on the idea of going to commencement,

but after both our moms gave us the

"you'll regret it for the rest of your life" speech,

we decided to do it.

mom's really do know best.

i guess being a college graduate means
we have to start acting like real adults,
and working real adult jobs.

and stop having fun.

just kidding!
this just gives us more of a reason to make life one big party!

goodbyes in grand turk

they say

'the last the best of all the game'

and boy,

were they right.

Grand Turk was the grand finale.

so of course,

we had to do it big.

and by big,

i mean we rented scooters,

cruised up and down the 7 mile island at least 7 times,

played on 4 different beaches,

and were in complete awe of the hundreds of wild assess running around.

and by asses,

i mean donkeys.

getting back on the boat after spending the day in Grand Turks was rough.

knowing that our fabulous,

once in a lifetime,

#thisisfriends getaway was coming to a close.

lucky for us,

we all have the 10 lbs we gained,

500 photos we took,

and thousands of amazing memories

to remember our adventures on the Carnival Glory.

cruise life

living on a floating resort isn't so shabby.

food all hours of the day and night,

free entertainment,

a creep free dance club,

mini golf,

a steam room,

a maid constantly picking up after you,

"the cave" cabin rooms

{perfect for the mid-afternoon naps}

 where ordering 3 desserts is totally normal,

limbo contests,

a chocolate on your pillow every time you come back to your room,

pool parties,

the cruise director being the coolest person you've ever met

{although the husbands weren't so fond of him...

*cough cough* jealous much? *cough cough*

the dive in movie,

oh,

i almost forgot...

eating at least 10 soft serve ice cream cones a day.

basically,

it's like a really fancy summer camp.

for adults.

adults who like to drink a whole lot of alcohol,

and gamble a heck of a lot of money.

{our waiter, Alex, was astonished when he found out we didn't participate in either of those activities.}

i was giddy from the second we stepped food on the carnival glory just knowing it would be our new home for a week.

she was a real beaut.

and she treated #thisisfriends to the best week of their lives.

thanks glory,

for the wonderful week full of laughter,

friendship and food!

loco americanos

número de puerto tres :

Puerto Rico

i didn't really know what to expect when we got to Puerto Rico.

but i quickly learned that it was charming,

gorgeous,

and full of adventure!

we started out the day visiting Castillo San Felipe Del Morro.

translation: some fort the boys wanted to go to.

  

so like the amazing wives we are-

we obliged. 

and like the amazing wives we are-

we listened to our husbands talk about how fun it would be to play football on the perfectly manicured lawn.

and how awesome it would be to play paintball in the fortress.

and like the amazing wives we are-

we smiled,

and nodded,

and then asked our husbands to take more pics.

and like the AMAZING husbands they are-

they obliged.

 after the boys were done daydreaming of football games and paintball wars we headed to,

you guessed it,

the beach.

 contrary to popular belief,

the beach isn't where Puerto Rico shines...

it was actually on the way home.

after about an hour of waiting for the public bus to take us back to our ship port,

and still no bus in sight,

we were starting to get nervous.

the time we had to make it back to the ship was starting to wind-down,

and if you've ever been on a cruise before,

you know that the ship waits for no one.

luckily for us,
a local man named Edwardo who owned a fruit stand noticed us continually checking our phones for the time,

and looking down the road for the bus.

so...

like any good samaritan,

he offered us a ride.

at first,

we hesitated.

but after assuring us he could get us back to the ship quicker than any cab,

{and after saying a quick prayer}

it was decided.

we were going to let Ed chauffeur us. 

after taking a quick walk to the parking lot were Ed was parked,

we couldn't believe our eyes.

Ed drove a tiny car.

correction-

an itsy bitsy, TINY, car.

but once again,

Ed assured us we'd all fit,

and we'd make it back to the ship with "no problemo".

and after seeing a LDS missionary pass along card on Ed's dashboard we felt fine about it.

we squeezed all 7 of us,
plus our bags
 into the car.

the car was literally bottoming out,
screeching and grinding the whole way to the ship.

Missy was convinced we were going to die,
my head was out the window the entire drive due to lack of breathing room,

and Nicole was "chatting" in "spanish" with Ed the entire way there...

"ohhh, si si si. loco Americanos!"

"you're our home boy Ed. chico Ed!"

 {notice dawson and winston have disappeared under the sea of people}

turns out chico Ed was a great guy.

and he was was right...

we made it to the cruise ship just in the nick of time.

tushies in St. Thomas

next stop.

St. Thomas.

if i had to pick a favorite port...

i'd have to say this one was it.

it was B.E.A-UTIFUL.

it was green.

 it was tropical.

and the beaches were amaze-balls.

we started our day exploring those amazing beaches by stopping by

Emerald Bay.

we laid out on the resort lawn chairs.

which was fab.

{until we got kicked off.}

we goofed around in the water and the boys watched us play

"who can enter the water the coolest".

{our husbands weren't impressed but i thought

nicole's belly flop and jill's 360 were pretty damn cool.}

then of course...

we took some more photos.

after we were all sunned out

{which in my book isn't possible}

we took the sketchiest taxi ride...

ever.

the locals weren't happy with a fellow taxi driver...

who happened to be our taxi driver.

long story short.

we almost witnessed a St. T homicide.

but all's well that end's well because once we got the H outta there we headed into town.

we ate at a delicious cafe,

hooked up to some much needed free wifi,

and walked up the "99 steps" to blackbeards castle where we had a panoramic view of the island.

 but the best part is yet to come...

after our adventures in town,

we took an old school escalade cab to the other side of the island in search of Megan's Bay.

and boy,

did it live up to all it's hype! 

i'll let the pictures do all the talking.

St. Thomas was so picture perfect.

i felt like i was in a James Bond movie or something.

{is that weird?}

one day i'll go back to visit the big St. T.

until then,

i'll be missing him every. single. day!