Over Christmas break, I had had a couple glasses of wine at my mom’s house. All the girls were downstairs crafting and enjoying each other’s company. I was working on my bullet journal and Amanda showed me some new dinosaur washi tape she had bought. I was so excited and said I wanted to use it to plan a trip. So because I was pretty tipsy, I planned a weekend to dinosaur land in Vernal UT. I even booked a hotel!
Well when I booked it it seemed a lot further away than it really was. Before I knew it it was time for Amanda and I to head out. We left Saturday January 13th at around 5:30 pm. It was an easy trip to pack for and only a three hour drive. Once we really got on the road it began to get super dark outside (darn winter) and it made the drive seem miserably long. There was even a point where we missed an exit, had to turn around on the freeway to go the other way to make the exit, but missed it again. It was pretty funny although it did add some travel time. Amanda was a good sport about driving the whole time, but it was a big relief when we arrived at the hotel. The hotel was also a good surprise. I only paid $44 for the night and was expecting a cheap motel type place. Instead we found a nice, well kept hotel that was totally a great deal for the price we paid. Since we didn’t get to the hotel until 8:50 pm, we didn’t do much around town that night. We picked up some Arby’s and just went back to the hotel room. It was a tough night for me because I struggled to fall asleep without Tyler there. I managed to finally fall asleep though and even slept pretty well. In the morning I was up before Amanda and got her up for breakfast. We ate breakfast at the hotel and it was nothing too special. The only mentionable part was that I went to get a cup of coffee before Amanda and they were out of creamer, disappointed I just used milk and sat down at our table. But just a couple minutes after me, Amanda went to get a cup of coffee for herself and they had refilled the creamer. We seemed to think that was really funny and giggled about it for a while. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and stared our one day tour of Vernal. We started by driving out of the town to the Dinosaur National Park. It was a short 30 min drive away and was deserted when we got there. We first stopped at the National Park sign and took some photos. Then we drove up to the visitors center and started our tour there. I was disappointed because I was hoping to find a shot glass souvenir to add to my collection, but no luck. Instead I found a sticker and a collectible token. We even watched a short video on the park. After the visitor’s center we took a short drive to the quarry exhibit. This was the coolest part of the park. There was a wall dinosaur bones that had been exposed but otherwise left untouched by paleontologists. It was cool to see how all the bones were left and how many different dinosaur species were that close together. The display was really cool and it was really awesome that Amanda and I were the only visitors there. The ranger working at the quarry was really nice and really taught us a lot about the exhibit. I loved the bones of the long neck dinosaurs and it was cool to see the ones native to Utah. We even got to touch a real dinosaur bone. After we had our fill at the quarry, we went on a short scenic drive through the rest of the park that was open during the winter. It was beautiful, but short. Once we got out of the park, we headed back into Vernal for lunch. Because I planned this trip while I was intoxicated, I didn’t plan it very well. We had hoped to eat lunch at Betty’s Cafe. A cute little mom and pop shop. Turns out this cafe only stays open till noon. We arrived at 12:02 and were unable to enter. So instead we went across the street to a restaurant that was similar but not as cutesy. I don’t even remember the name of it. It was not really noteworthy. I am pretty disappointed that our eating adventures on this trip were subpar. Guess we live and learn. Next time I will plan out food better and be sure to check the hours of operation. Next on the agenda was to visit the natural history museum on the main street in Vernal. I had done my research here. I knew the inside of the building would be closed since it was Sunday. However we were still making a stop since I had read from a travel blog that they keep the outdoor walking path open. I was so excited because this outdoor path is where the model dinosaurs were. This was going to be the best part of the trip. Well unfortunately my source was wrong. The outdoor path was NOT open. I was really disappointed as this is what I was most looking forward to. We even debated hopping the fence. But we ended up cutting our losses and decided to just visit the little roadside attractions all along the town’s main street. First up on the roadside attraction list was Dina. Dina is a large pink dinosaur that is proudly holding a sign labeling Vernal as Utah’s Dinosaur Land. After a photo with Dina, we drove to a totally instagram-able wall that has a dino skeleton with the words fossil avenue. And our last stop on the roadside show was the most popular photo opp. Rex is a big green T-Rex that they dress up for holidays. In our photos Rex is dressed up with cupid with wings and a bow and arrow. We took some photos in front of him and even pulled out the polaroid. After our quick stops we decided we had come and saw everything we wanted to so we started to head out at 2 in the afternoon. We filled up with gas, got some starbucks and were on our way. The drive home was much better and seemed to fly by. I taught Amand how to use cruise control on her car. Overall it was a great trip and a bonus night of fun last night.
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I HONESTLY DON’T HAVE A PLAN FOR WHERE THIS POST IS GOING OR WHAT EXACTLY I WANT TO SHARE. THIS TOPIC HAS JUST BEEN SOMETHING ON MY MIND RECENTLY. I WANT TO SHARE A VERY REAL VIEW OF A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU GUYS. I KNOW I HAVE BEEN PORTRAYING THIS BEAUTIFUL PERFECT LIFE, BUT THAT'S WHAT EVERYONE DOES ON SOCIAL MEDIA. I’M HERE TO SHARE THAT IT IS TOTALLY FAKE. I LOVE TO HAVE A PERFECT LOOKING LIFE AND I DO THAT JUST BY SHARING THE GREAT PARTS. WHAT YOU DON’T SEE IS THE UNHAPPY TIMES. SO BECAUSE I WANT TO BE REAL WITH YOU GUYS (MY LIKE 3 READERS) TYLER AND I DON'T HAVE AN EASY RELATIONSHIP. IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK TO MAKE IT THROUGH. THERE ARE FIGHTS AND ARGUMENTS AND HURT FEELINGS. NONE OF THESE THINGS ARE FUN OR PRETTY, BUT THEY ARE IMPORTANT IN A RELATIONSHIP. YES THATS RIGHT, ITS IMPORTANT TO FIGHT AND ARGUE IN A RELATIONSHIP. IF YOU AREN’T THEN YOU ARE HOLDING BACK FROM YOUR PARTNER. IN MY EXPERIENCE IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO SAY WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND OR WHAT'S BOTHERING YOU INSTEAD OF HOLDING IT IN. WHILE IT MAY CAUSE AN ARGUMENT, AS LONG AS BOTH PEOPLE COMMUNICATE OPENLY, YOU’LL FIND THAT YOU CAN USUALLY COME TO A SOLUTION QUICKLY AND THAT YOU’LL FEEL CLOSER AS A COUPLE. THIS IS SOMETHING I’M STILL LEARNING. I TEND TO HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS IN A RELATIONSHIP, LOTS OF WHICH AREN’T FAIR TO EXPECT OF TYLER. BECAUSE I HAVE THESE EXPECTATIONS (WHICH I DON’T EVEN MENTION TO TYLER) WHEN I FEEL LIKE HE DOESN’T MEET THEM I GET UPSET. I KNOW IT’S TOTALLY UNFAIR. IT’S SOMETHING I’M LEARNING TO CHANGE ABOUT MYSELF AND ACCEPT THAT TYLER IS JUST AN IMPERFECT PERSON THAT I LOVE. WITH THIS VIEW IN MIND, HIS IMPERFECTIONS ARE SOMETHING I LOVE AND GIVES ME COMFORT THAT HE CAN ACCEPT MY IMPERFECTIONS AS WELL. I FEEL LIKE THIS IS STARTING TO GET TOO CHEESY AND I’M BEING TOO NEAT, SORRY. IN REALITY I GET MAD A LOT AND AM THE START OF MOST OF OUR FIGHTS. NOW THAT WE’RE A COUPLE MONTHS INTO OUR MARRIAGE I CAN TELL YOU THAT BEING MARRIED IS SO SO SO DIFFERENT THAN BEING IN A DATING RELATIONSHIP, EVEN IF YOU WERE COHABITING BEFORE YOU GOT MARRIED. I THINK THERE’S JUST A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF COMMITMENT AND IT’S A HARD THING TO ADJUST TO. IN FACT BEING MARRIED FOR TYLER AND I HAS BEEN A BIG ADJUSTMENT AND WE’VE STRUGGLED IN FINDING HOW TO ADAPT. WE’RE SURVIVING IT. I THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR ME TO SHARE BECAUSE LOTS OF OUR FRIENDS SAY THAT TYLER AND I ARE #GOALS. THIS CAN NOT ONLY BE A LOT OF PRESSURE TO PROVIDE A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A WORKING RELATIONSHIP, IT ALSO MAKES ME FEEL LIKE WE CAN’T HAVE STRUGGLES. SO I WANT TO LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT MARRIAGE ISN’T PERFECT OR EASY. IT’S HARD AND IT’S NOT PRETTY. NO MATTER HOW YOUR RELATIONSHIP WAS BEFORE THE MARRIAGE, IT IS GOING TO CHANGE. THIS CAN BE A SHOCK AND CAUSE A STRUGGLE. I CAN TELL THAT THE REST OF THIS FIRST YEAR FOR TYLER AND I WILL BE A LEARNING ONE. BUT WHEN I MARRIED THIS AMAZING MAN, I PROMISED TO BE IN IT FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE. THIS COMMITMENT KEEPS ME STRONG AND MOTIVATES ME TO FIGHT FOR THIS AMAZING THING I HAVE. SO REALLY GUYS MARRIAGE IS AWESOME! SORRY FOR THE LONG RAMBLING POST, I JUST HAD TO SHARE MY THOUGHTS ON “PERFECT” RELATIONSHIPS AND HOW WE LOOK ON SOCIAL MEDIA VS REAL LIFE. THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO ACTUALLY MADE IT THROUGH MY JUMBLED MESS OF THOUGHTS AND I HOPE YOU CAN FIND SOME VALUE IN IT. I really love to throw parties, it’s one of my many passions. I really enjoy having all the people I love come over for a fun night that we’ll always remember. So to share the joy I have found, I’d thought it would be nice of me to share some of my tips I follow when creating a party. Just remember that party planning is a creative process and not everyone has to follow the same rules.
Party planning doesn’t (and shouldn’t!) need to be stressful, just enjoy the creation process and the love of those around you. Happy partying! Man I HATE New Years Resolutions. They’re always the same, and no one ever completes them. Of course we want the next year to be perfect, to finally feel like we’re eating well, working out, healthy, and financially secure, but as we all know, the year to come doesn’t work out quite that smooth. So instead of writing a bunch of stereotypical and unattainable resolutions, I’m taking a new approach. As the new year begins, I get excited for all that lies ahead, so why not make the most of it. Instead of resolutions, I wrote a 2018 bucket list.
This is so much more fun and will actually be things I will accomplish throughout the year. My 2018 Bucket List
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AuthorHi! My name is Kylie. I'm 21 years old and am married to my best friend! I love my wonderfully normal life and hope you do too. Archives
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