Legends of Summer

So I've been very MIA lately (big surprise). My life has been tied up into huge knots due to wedding planning, my job, freelance work and other family affairs BUT this past week was spent on VACATION....as in...no work. Let me repeat, I did not do ANY work for a whole week. I can't tell you how weird it was for me to do absolutely nothing. Every summer it is tradition for Josh's family to rent out a bunch of cabins at Johnson's Resort in Hayward, Wisconsin. It takes some time for me to get over being so disconnected from the outside world (no cell reception) but I love it. I can leave my phone in the cabin and head out to get my tan on without worrying about how many calls I've missed or how many emails I need to check up on.

This was my view for the majority of vacation and it was glorious.

 

It was extremely hot and sunny there all week which made for great tanning/swimming weather. The only huge bummer this year was that the resort's pool was out of commission so if we wanted to swim, we would just need to jump off that dock and into the lake. No biggie...minus the thought of leeches latching onto your bod.

When Josh and I traveled into town this time I was on a mission to buy some Minnetonka moccasins and they were everything I hoped they would be. They are the most comfortable pair of shoes EVER and I'm making it a point to wear them as often as possible for the remainder of the summer.

We also made the mandatory trip into the candy store. Peanut brittle and caramel apple suckers? Yes please. It's vacation and that means splurging just a little and I brought some kettle bells along for some strength training so I was set! Bring on the Grahm Central Station ice cream! Indulging in a waffle cone of that while dominating in Word Dojo with Josh is something that is another part of the tradition. However this year, we had some pretty good competition but ended up on top still. Word Dojo champs!

The dart tournament also proved to be victorious with Josh's Dad bringing home yet another Guenther fam win this year. I'm absolutely awful at darts and don't want to make anyone else suffer at my lack of dart throwing skills so I cheer on everyone else and enjoy a drink or two or three. It was the best waking up and not having to do ANYTHING. Want to go swimming? Okay. Want to read a little bit and play a round of extreme badminton? Okay, sure! Relaxing days fishing and hanging out on the dock were plentiful!

I came back from vacation refreshed and with a clear head which felt AMAZING. I've been so busy at work it was crazy! Although now, I faced the dreaded Super Spartan Race.

This was the first obstacle race I've ever done...8 miles and 26+ obstacles. It was a 95-degree day, went to a wedding the night before and I ended up getting heat stroke and having a hypoglycemic episode. I totally thought my body was shutting down. I went through horrid mud pits, climbed up walls and ropes, climbed up crazy hills and swam across muddy water while running in between and all of a sudden...my body just gave out on me.

 I started throwing up over and over again and was removed from the course by a medic. I was freaking out since they were insisting on taking me away in an ambulance and all I wanted them to do was find Josh ASAP. Once they found Josh (which seemed like an eternity) my blood sugar was back up from 40 to more of a stable level and they were working on getting fluids in me. I eventually was able to keep water down and went to immediate care with Josh. The two-hour car ride was the absolute worst and I couldn't tell what was worse, the bruises I saw forming on my body from all of the obstacles or my bruised ego from not finishing the race. Although I did finish more than half of the race and this was my first obstacle course ever, I eventually understood that I should be proud of what I did finish...but... it still really sucked not making it to the finish line after training so hard for it. Oh well, at least I didn't break anything like some people did or contracted this weird and unknown rash that started to appear all over people after the race! This race was INTENSE.

However the following day was the best pick-me-up. Ladies and gents...I give you Justin Timberlake and Jay Z's Summer Legends Tour at Soldier Field. I luckily made a speedy recovery from the previous day's events and was able to rock it out to the best show of the summer with my sister. The last time I saw JT was in his N'SYNC days with my sister. Apparently the whole city of Chicago was also planning on going to the show as well since it took a million years to get there, but oh my was it worth it. Can anyone think of anything better than hearing JT singing Sexy Back in person? No I didn't think so. I actually even knew every Jay Z song that was played as well. It was great how they collaborated at times and then switched off.

My inner pre-teen was thrilled. Can you tell?

Rocking out to JT and Jay Z with my sis was the best ever and definitely healed any ego-bruising  that happened the day before. We brought sexy back. Yes I said it.

It was like seeing two shows at once and it was totally worth being wallet-raped by Soldier Field. $40 T-shirt? Macklemore would not be proud.