The Best Staycation - Making Memories

This past week and a half has been one of the most amazing weeks of my life. I am a strong believer in vacations but have never tried a staycation. My cousin Susy, her husband Michael, his cousin Stephen, and my cousins baby Timmy came out to Utah from the 18-25th. Originally, I was only going to take a few days off of work to go out with them, show them around, and spend time with them. I am also a HUGE believer in the importance of spending time with family. Taking off of work and spending time with family was one of the best things I could do.

Thursday February 18th : Stephen's flight was delayed two hours due to rain and wind. Nana and Papa and I went and picked him up and met up with Sus, Michael, Timmy, and my brother at Texas Roadhouse. That night was super chill with playing pool and darts in Mom's basement. Mix a little bit of alcohol in there, and it was quite the experience.

Saturday February 20th: The guys went snowboarding all day and so it was just Sus, Timmy, and I. I love that little baby. He is five months old and just the happiest thing! Sus and I went and had a ladies day. I forgot how much I have missed those! We got pedicures and then went and saw How to Stay Single. Such a great few hours with my favorite cousin! We went to Grizzlies game tonight which was a blast like always! There was a fight in the first few minutes and the ice rink was Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness. After the game, I took the guys out to Liquid Joe's to watch Spazmatics. I haven't been there since early this year when I went with Angie and met Jared. I forgot how amazing they were. We had SO much fun and Stephen had video that may or may not have turned out. We stayed until 1 or so and it was SO much fun to just chill and dance. Since meeting Jared, I haven't really gone out dancing or clubbing (by choice) and wanted to focus on different and better things. It was good to have a night of just having fun with the fam.

Sunday February 21: I won't even lie. Today was a tough day. The morning after a long night of dancing, I feel so lazy and don't want to do anything. My Mom suggested going to a speedway and racing. I wasn't too excited but I have been trying to step out of my comfort zone so I decided to go with everyone. I did one race which was way fun and look forward to using my other two races at a later date. It's a new experience for me and I took advantage of it. 

Monday February 22: I have been snowboarding one time in the last 15+ years. Dad used to take us skiing and snowboarding when we were younger but since he passed, it's not a desire anymore. Last year Susy and Michael were here and it was fun to go snowboarding with Michael. Of course I fell and of course he got that on video, but it was a blast. This year, I decided to stay at the lodge with Susy and Timmy. Even though we were there for 5 1/2 hours (I accidently typed "years" at first, it definitely felt long!), we still had a nice time. We brought coloring books, I held and walked around with Timmy, had some lunch and just talked a lot. I finally had some time with Susy to get to know her and we had some good conversations. I have learned so much from her the last few weeks. She is an amazing person and I love being around her. She organized my pantry and closet and helps me with life decisions. She is so great. 

Tuesday February 23: This morning was scary. At first it was just a regular morning doing errands - Sus, Timmy, and I. We drove to the post office and Susy ran in while I sat in the car with Timmy. We waited about ten minutes which was awfully long for just running in to send some mail off. All of the sudden, I see an ambulance and fire truck pull up to the post office. I was hoping it wasn't my cousin. I grabbed Timmy in his carseat and ran inside. As soon as I walked in there were 5-10 paramedics/police officers/firefighters around this lady. Phew. I was SO happy to know that it wasn't my cousin. The older lady on the ground. Apparently she had a cane and when she walked in, she tripped over the rug right in front of the door. Susy rushed to her aide (I'm telling you, my cousin is beyond amazing!) and helped her and talked to her until paramedics arrived. My heart was beating so fast and I have never been this worried (besides my Dad's accident, of course). On a happier note, we all went to the Jazz game tonight. SO fun! It was even better that we went into Overtime and won by two :) We all know how much I love the Jazz. I also did well with not eating at the Arena so I woke up and was only a pound over my lowest weight in the last six months :)

Wednesday February 24: Today was a relaxing day for all of us! Between the guys snowboarding so much and all of the activities in-between, this was the one day that was just for relaxing. We ended up watching two movies - Trainwreck and Paper Towns - and ordered pizza. The family left early Thursday morning and I have to say, this was one of the best weeks I have had with family in town. I miss my cousin and family already and can't wait to see them again! I tried to focus 100% on spending time with them as life is short. I know that is extremely cliche but there was a day this week where I went on Facebook and five friends had friends/family pass away. It's sad to think about but it makes you realize that time is valuable. Memories are valuable. I tried to make sure that this week was focused on my family and memories. So amazing. 

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