10 days in the sun.

via 80smusicvideos.

woo! it has been quite the adjustment going back to the whole working thing after my vacation. i think i could probably stand living in st george; a thought that wondered through my mind a couple of times during my stay. although it was quite the scorcher >>>

with a pool and working air conditioner, i'd live. here are a few pictures from my days in utah's paradise (imo):

^^^ this was my monday. i worked hard to save up a week's worth of vacation, and this is exactly how i pictured using it.^^^

^^^ we went to vegas on tuesday, after a lovely brunch at the egg & i. paige and i usually have to talk our parents into driving down there just to go shopping. this time my tactic was to find exciting things to do and those activities would do the convincing. i found a neon sign museum online that seemed just our cup of tea ... but i couldn't figure out if you needed an appointment. then i found a lion habitat at the mgm ... but found out that it has since closed (only after walking from caesar's to mgm in the 115 degree weather). instead we ate at cheesecake factory, did a little shopping, walked to the mgm, stopped at the coca cola and m&m factories on the way. we picked up some personalized m&ms to send to paige. as you can see from the picture, it was a blast!^^^

^^^ here's a glimpse of the swimsuit that took me ages to find! and my book ... yes, i'm still reading the same book i was reading in november. but hey! at least i was reading it on my vacation (if only for like 10 minutes).^^^

^^^ for the fourth we woke up, caught the last half of the st george parade and got breakfast in the park. we tired of that pretty quickly and stopped at swig before heading to the lone ranger. then we swam and lounged, ate at texas roadhouse, and ended the day with card games and fireworks. just what i always wanted in a holiday. oh, and i bought this festive shirt.^^^

^^^ we went on a few hikes during our stay. first to red cliffs; i've heard this is a great hike ... but not in the middle of summer. all but two small, allege/creature infested pools had dried up. best to see it in early spring, now i know. second was this ^^^ falling man petroglyphs near mesquite. what a bizarre area this was. on the twenty mile stretch from the exit on i-15 we saw (mind you, in the middle of the desert): a white pyramid atop a mountain, a deserted (it seemed) oasis-like resort, a little house, and a dam with some stairs up to the top. huh? yeah, it was fun.^^^

^^^ another hike we attempted, were the lava caves in snow canyon. it's like a refrigerator in there!^^^

^^^ the last night we were there i just wanted to soak in all the goodness. we ate at cafe rio and somehow i managed to down a whole burrito. eating outside on the patio was just perfect and the light was just gorgeous! after dinner we watched the sunset on the red hill (and on our trip). i just love these two ^^^ sometimes i feel silly going on trips with them at 25, all by my lonesome. do 25 year olds do that? but that feeling lasts a split second cause they are the most fun, adventurous, nicest, lovingest, bestest travel companions and parents i could ever ask for.^^^

^^^ on the drive home i realized (thanks to my timehop app) that was the day, 4 years ago, that i got my mission call! what a great day!^^^

^^^ and here's a selfie for the road.^^^

happy weekend!