Viva Las Vegas Take 2 E49

Courtney & Shawn offer a more candid take on the difficulties of breaking away and entering the elusive "Vacation Mode." After a rather dull and disingenuous attempt to tell the story, they hit stop, regrouped, and began the recording again with the purpose of addressing the hard parts. 

If you have ever found it difficult to rest and play together, this episode will sound familiar.

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As always, thank you for listening!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Adventures in Marriage, Viva Las Vegas, take two. I think this is probably um what'd you say a more genuine take on the whole thing? I think the first one was a bland uh bland attempt to talk about our trip like a like a verbal slideshow instead of uh the relational parts that we really need to get into. What do you think?

SPEAKER_01 0:53

I think we'll do our very best.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

Boy, I hope so. I hope so. So we we didn't uh we we we scheduled the Vegas trip um late last year, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Mm-hmm. It's a place we've never been, just trying something fun and different.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

That's right. And and we we intentionally tried to schedule it after all of our major things. Easter, uh the the mayor's election, uh congrats, Stacy, another four years that worked out. And and then Riverfest, but in the mayor's election got moved to uh the day we flip flew back in from Vegas.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Right, got delayed uh because of legislative things. So the governor had moved the statewide election. So we actually were gone in the middle of that last week and flew in literally right as um results were being tapped.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Which which people gave us all kind of grief about because obviously you being chief of staff, like, how'd you get off that week? And everything was like, Well, we booked this first like months ago for the for the governor did his thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

So Right. And we were booking it trying to be intentional about spending time together. I haven't gone away on a vacation for days, just the two of us in several years. A one day here, maybe two nights, but not a distance, a flight, a big vacation. So uh, you know, we were excited about that, and then uh life the schedule didn't line up quite the way we imagined it to because of the election, but also your health, you've all you'd only been out of the hospital or through your process for a week.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

That's right. That's right. And and um I would say the the whole beginning of the the trip um leading up to like the night before, we were both really excited about it. And then um in in what has become um a familiar trope in the Sean and Courtney dynamic is we had a meltdown that night. And uh I certainly didn't help. And and I was not um uh gracious and helpful in some moment, and and uh I think uh and I'm not gonna try and speak for you, uh, that upset you, and then um I will say that upset me and and uh I acted poorly, and so it's like the night before while we're packing meltdown.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Yeah. Not to get into it, but I'd asked for help. You didn't want help. I got upset, got my feelings hurt, that made you mad that my feelings got hurt and I didn't get over it quickly enough.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

And meltdown ensued, and to be honest, I was at the point where I just didn't want to go. I could have taken it or leaving it. I'd like I can stay home. Like you go, enjoy, have fun. Right, right. I'll stay home. But obviously we we both went.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

Yeah, which is the which is the absolute tragedy of the whole thing, is like we're on the eve of the trip. And and and so if you're listening and and if you've never been there, praise be to God, I'm so glad that your your relationship dynamic. Uh but i if if this is familiar in your story, um then then I would say you probably go too long between vacations. It'd be one thing. Um because I think in the hustle of trying to get out and and and the whole thing, we we just I don't know. I it it was reminiscent, Courtney, it was reminiscent of last year when we went to Texas.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

Unfortunately, you're right.

SPEAKER_00 4:24

And and I I don't think we um you know, we even talked about it, and I I felt like we tried to learn a lesson from that in saying, okay, we've got to prepare for the vacation well, and we didn't. And we we we stumbled over that that like that starting line again. Yeah. Which is really sad because uh once we got there and we were able to relax, which took us the better part of a day, uh, we started to enjoy the place and and to enjoy the trip. And then um I think for you, correct me if I'm wrong, but for you, you had just additional work things. It took you another day to really like, you know, kind of relax. There were some there were some things you're carrying from that.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Just life in general.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

Yeah, life in general. That's right. I mean, the the whole the whole ambulance ride in the middle of the night, that was a big deal. I mean, there you know, there's been a lot going on. There's been a lot going on.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

There's been a lot going on in the first half of the year.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

Yeah, so let let me let me just say I love you and I'm sorry. Like, gosh, I I'd really like that whole day I was looking forward to it. I was getting things done at the office, uh, you know, went and bought that other little suitcase, so we just had carry-on, we have to worry about checking stuff, and and and it's like little stupid things got in the way and and became big things, and it's like, no, we we're gonna we're gonna figure this out. Like, and and so I would say that's that's a that's a realistic goal for us, is like, okay, how do we travel well? How do we go on a trip well? How do we take time away well so that we don't have to have a meltdown to break out of the orbit of work and family and household and and all the th all the responsibilities so that we can go and just really be together.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

And it is hard to go away for days far away when we have a business and work and children who who are mostly you know able to take care of themselves, which is great, but still making sure, you know, someone who's still in high school that he's got transportation, that he's awake, that you know, he's where he needs to be. Um the business is hard because, you know, sadly, every time we leave for days at a time, I mean, just just truthfully, something breaks or something happens and you know, the plane is about to take off, we're dealing with an issue, the plane lands, we're dealing with an issue. And you know, we were able to work through all those, but you still have to manage them. And so there's just steps. Gone are the days for us where we could just we're leaving, see ya, bye, not have to worry about anything. And those were you know, really carefree days that are you know long, long past. But um there's so much planning that has to go into taking days away, especially owning a business, because at least with work, they know you're leaving and there's other people who recognize that and you know can can deal with it. But when you own the business, that's it. You're the person and everyone is looking to you to make the decision. So there are a lot of steps, a lot of processes, a lot of thought, and sometimes that's exhausting trying to get to that point so that you can go and enjoy and and not worry that things will completely fall apart or burn up, essentially, because you know, we had had a little issue with that too. But you know, you just want to know that you can go away, take the rest that you need, because we believe you know, and we've talked about it before, rest is important, and rest isn't always laying around, that's a whole other thing. You know, what is recreation? What does rest look like?

SPEAKER_00 8:08

Recreation and rest, dinner together, whatever that's all part of that resting together and and but it's hard to get to that point so that you can enjoy that.

SPEAKER_01 8:17

And you know, I think we both have agreed we don't want to wait so long in between. We work hard, we give a lot to other people for other things. You know, we want to be able to give to ourselves, meaning one another and to ourselves for rest and recreation. And how do you get to do that and and not be miserable in the process of getting there? So, you know, it took us a couple of days, and there's a significant time change because we flew to a time change, then flew backwards in a time change, and and then you know, the climate's different. It's very dry, Vegas is very dry, very hot, windy, uh heat, uh, you know, a hot wind. Um and and so, you know, just a lot of things, you know, being on a plane for hours, all those things just take some time to recover from. And so by the time you get in a groove, it's time to go back. And that's always a little sad and disheartening because you feel like you finally got in a bit of a groove, and then you have to go back, and then you have to adjust to being back and all those things. And truly, we get off the plane and hey, there's an issue at the creamery. Hey, what about this?

SPEAKER_00 9:26

Yeah, I forgot about that.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

And so, you know, it rips you out of what we call vacation mode, and uh that's sad, you know, because you work hard to get to vacation mode. You mourn it, you know, you mourn that feeling, obviously. So, you know, I'd I'd like to know that I'd like to hope that we were thinking of where we can go next and how we can, you know, we're gonna travel with family, but like how can we dedicate that time to each other because uh it's easy to neglect one another when you get so busy or or you get so focused on one, like we're really focused on your health right now. How do we how do we turn that focus on each other and not just on singular focuses?

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Yeah, good point. And and I think um, gosh, you know, so we got a we got a family trip in July and and um in June everybody's scattered going to be. Yeah, we're we're so scattered in June. So maybe maybe naming that, you know, 72 hours out, 48 hours out, okay. Hey, we need to very intentionally sit down and say, okay, how do we leave well? How do we depart well without being stressed out? You know, that might be an easy thing for us. You know, what are the questions that we need to answer before we go out of town?

SPEAKER_01 10:37

And one of those is that, you know, I'm more of that planner, you're not, and sometimes it's hard to get you to focus on that because you know, it's not your priority. And so then, you know, it it's just trying to get on the same page so that you don't you can avoid meltdown, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

Yeah, for real. Uh we did manage to have some fun though while we're there.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

Yeah, not not this isn't meant to be completely negative. I mean it's meant to be honest, you know, that's right and transparent. So we have we have good times. We we laugh, and I think that was important. You know, that's one of the things that um I think that's important that we don't do enough. Uh said to somebody in my office the other day, I've never been accused of being too fun, you know, which is true. Um, but it is nice to be able to go away and have fun together. And you know, fun looks different to everybody, whatever your version of fun is. But um you know, finding ways to have fun and to laugh together, that's I think a healthy important thing to be able to do as a couple.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

100%. Um one of the the the we laughed the hardest the night we went to see Brad Garrett, the comedian, at his comedy club at the NGM MGM Grand. Um Lynn Coppitz, I think is her name, was the headliner, but you know, of course, Brad is is um from Everybody Loves Raymond. He's the brother, and um he was funny and he opened and closed and everything. But uh, you know, you laughed, and and and I told you several times that I love watching you laugh, like really laugh, not chuckle at something uh that was funny or a good barb or something, but like something that really tickles your you know your funny bone there. And uh it was good to see that because I'm like, okay, good, because I know that's I know that's not your everyday to do that, and and so it was exciting to see that. And uh we it was a it was a new experience for both of us. You've never been to a comedy show uh uh that I know of, right?

SPEAKER_01 12:35

Uh yeah, we actually have years ago in Dallas. I think my work Christmas party was a comedian. Did I go? I didn't go, did I? I feel like you did. Oh, did I? Yeah. It would have been twenty three, four, five years ago.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

Okay, so this one was different because we sat in the front row.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Literally, yeah. We could touch the stage.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

Yeah, we could touch the stage, and then um Brad Garrett actually touched my beard, which is you know kind of funny.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

It was from Everybody Loves Raymond, the TV show, if you're not familiar. So it was kind of neat to see quote unquote a celebrity. He's aged. Up cl but up close. Right. You know, that that was neat. And that was something you wanted to do, and so we we made a point to do that. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Yeah, thank you. It was fun. And um he he's a he's a he's pretty blue, as the comics say, you know, in his language and and all that kind of stuff. Uh but he will he didn't make me laugh, except for when he, you know, made the Trump jokes about assassination. I thought that was a little over the line, but other than that, I had a good time. Other than that. So um what else? What else like highlights for you, Courtney? What were some highlights for you?

SPEAKER_01 13:47

I think just seeing, you know, the different things. I mean, there's so many different sites to see that you don't even know are there, and trying to find those and um just seeing new things. I I I admit, you know, I wanted to go outdoor adventure. I wanted to see the Grand Canyon, and we didn't do that, and that that was kind of something I'd pushed a little bit for, but didn't push too much.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

And um Yeah, so I think you indulged my my thought of well, we're in Vegas, we should see Vegas. And so next time, uh whether it's Vegas or somewhere out west, I think we go do the the opposite. We we we go see the the sites, you know, the Grand Canyon, whatever else.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

I mean that was definitely something you you were in more into. And I just felt like we're just gonna be in Vegas a few days, we should see Vegas.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Right. And so, you know, that's another part of vacation, is like you kind of figure out who gets to do what they want. Like, do you serve one? Do you serve both? How do you serve both? You know, sometimes we have to figure that out, or sometimes you don't get what you want. You have to do what the other person wants. So you have to figure out if you're willing to do that.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

Right.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

So um, we're not gamblers. I'm de well, I mean, I'm not saying you're a gambler. I'm not a gambler at all.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

I have no desire for the experience. I put like seven dollars into the game. And I don't even want to do that.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

Like that doesn't appeal to me at all. I hate the gaming floors, I hate the way it's smoky. They're sad. It's sad. Yeah, I I don't enjoy that at all. I enjoyed seeing the architecture, seeing the opulence of the decorations. There's a beautiful garden in the Bellagio, and of course the fountains, um, you know, the Venetian architecture of that particular casino.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

The gondola rod at the Venetian.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

Yeah, that maybe as close to Venice as I ever get. So I was like, I may as well do it. It's kind of it's a little cheesy, but you know, that's I think that's what Vegas is. You know that going into it because it's all recreations of stuff. And uh it was cleaner, you know, and heck of a lot cheaper than going to Venice, Italy. So we rode the gondola and it was an experience, you know. It's a you you learn. I think while we're someplace, we try to kind of like dig a little bit, like ask questions and understand. And so the kid, uh college kid who's on our gondola ride, which I doubt that's his real name, right? Yeah, studying opera at the university there, and so you realize this place is a mecca for hospitality and tourism uh individuals. So, you know, those who are in theater or you know, music, whatever, this is like where they make their living. It's like like being on a giant cruise ship, you know. And so, you know, that was cool getting to understand that. And you have a little experience of your own, and you can talk about in just a second, but uh, you know, so much of it is recreations of stuff like the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty and all those things. And so, you know, you understand to some degree all that's you know, you're you're you appreciate it for what it is, right? And uh, but I mean I always, you know, I always enjoy exploring new cities. Of course, that's because I'm in that that field and how are they laid out and the transportation and how they operate versus other cities. So, you know, we we take time to figure out transportation and whether we've gone to Cape Cod or we've gone to uh DC or wherever we've gone, we've always taken time to explore alternative routes and not just, oh, here's a cab, let's take a cab because it's easy, you know. So we actually uh like if I'm gonna go somewhere, I want to see it. I want to see it and I want to experience it. Even if I don't really like want to stay there or like it, um I wanna I want to be able to see it, especially if it's a landmark or you know, like one friend said, you just need to go to Fremont Street. Even if you don't stay there and do anything, you just need to go see it. Well, it was the original downtown Vegas. Yeah. And so we went. We didn't go at night because we've heard it's pretty wild, like bourbon times, you know, a hundred or whatever. But, you know, just the way it's laid out, some of the old signage, the architecture, some of the historic markers, you know, that was cool getting to see. It wasn't definitely an experience, but we saw it and I wanted to see the Vegas sign, uh, because it's historic too, the that welcome to Vegas sign. And if you don't know this, it's on one far end of the strip, and you've got to, there's nothing there. You have to get there. You've either got to take a cab, walk a long way, bus. We tried, we tried to take the bus there, but it's hot, you know, it's desert heat, and there's again, there's nothing out there but the sign.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

So yeah, it's a long walk. Um there were some trams between hotels, so we took one of the trams. I don't remember what the first hotel was, but it led us to the Mandalay Bay, and then we watched walk through Mandalay Bay to the Excalibur. Yeah, Excalibur, that's right. That's what it was. Uh so yeah, lots of lots of little transport uh hacks that you can do to kind of cut down because it's just a ton of walking.

SPEAKER_01 18:47

And some of that can be really expensive if you're taking an Uber or a cab everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

Oh, that's right.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

Yeah, there are plenty of them, but it's a very expensive way to do it.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

Yeah, so if you uh if you do if you do go, um just consider if you've got the time, consider the bus. Uh we rode the deuce. That's the bus that goes up and down the strip.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

Double decker bus.

SPEAKER_00 19:05

Yeah, it's a double decker bus. It goes up and down the strip. There's actually probably like six or seven of them or more, I don't know, going up and down all day long. And uh it was great. I mean, so we went from we we went from uh We were at the sign and then we walked back towards the strip. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:21

Actually, just we're we were really hot and sweaty. We were went to McDonald's and got a drink and we caught the bus there.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

And we rode it all the way to Fremont to Fremont. So from south part of the strip all the way up to Fremont Street, which is basically all of the strip.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

And then rode it back.

SPEAKER_00 19:38

And then we rode it back to the middle part where our hotel was. Yeah, so that was kind of a neat experience.

SPEAKER_01 19:43

It was like eight dollars.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

Yeah, eight dollars each uh to get the 24-hour pass, and it was great. And you know, it's just another experience, another adventure along the way. Um the cab driver, we went to how do you pronounce that Italian place? Magioni's or Maggianos?

SPEAKER_01 20:00

Maggianos.

SPEAKER_00 20:01

Maggianos. Great Italian. Um I got a uh a seafood dish and and and so it had mollusks and clams and it and the shells were you know in there. I had to separate all that. It was delicious. Um finished it the next day for breakfast. That's how good it was. But uh the cab driver, Daniel, Daniel from Ethiopia, um, that's another thing. You're gonna meet lots of people. Uh he was from Ethiopia. Several uh our our first our first Uber driver was from Cuba. Uh we heard Spanish, we heard Portuguese, we heard French, we heard German. Uh multiple uh Asian dialects were were spoken, you know, or Asian languages were spoken. And then, of course, uh Daniel from Ethiopia, he he's an he's an uh Orthodox Christian, and we get to talking. Uh he tells me the story of his father, who who was um uh I don't remember exactly what his position was, but he was he refused to renounce his faith as the kingdom of Ethiopia was subsiding to the socialist and the communist socialist government that was rising decades ago. And and so his father spent time in jail and was persecuted for his faith, and man, I I just while he was born. Yeah, yeah. So he was actually born while his father was in prison. Is that is that yeah. And so Daniel's kind of telling that story. It was just fascinating to hear that. And it's like, wow, now this guy's in America, you know, his father's passed on, and and it's you know, it's um it's this whole this whole thing of like hear these people come uh to this great nation. He can practice his faith. He's pursuing, you know, this this uh pursuit of prosperity and providing for his family. It was just a really neat thing. And and so I'm like, man, thank you for sharing your story. Uh from a faith perspective, I'm thinking you just really bless me in that regard. So I I enjoyed that. And and for you know That was not a Vegas, that was nowhere on the Vegas bingo card. Yeah. You know, so I I would say take time to get to know some of the people. The foul mouth dude we met that we got a ride from when we were coming off of Fremont Street the first time.

SPEAKER_01 22:15

Um at the souvenir shop. Yeah, yeah, yeah. At the souvenir shop.

SPEAKER_00 22:18

He picked us up there. He was a cabbie, and we're like, dude, are you going, you know, are you taking a fair? He's like, Yeah, yeah, hop in. So uh he had just dropped some people off for the EDC, which was a whole other thing, man. The what was it electric daisy chain?

SPEAKER_01 22:32

Yeah, it's like electric dance or something.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

Yeah, it's like the dubstep DJ weird stuff. So if you saw anybody dressed in vinyl or dressed like Hello Kitty, or dressed like Hello Kitty, you're like, oh, they're here for EDC. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:43

And just all the subsets of culture, you know. I mean, you know it, but you don't realize it until you're there. And then you're like, wow. There's a lot of different people.

SPEAKER_00 22:52

Yeah, Marquise was his name. We we mentioned the podcast to him, and he's like, Oh, what can I find you on TikTok? And so, no, you couldn't, but now we're like we're trying to get there. We're gonna get there.

SPEAKER_01 23:04

He he amped it up so much that we're like, okay, we're gonna we're gonna spent the whole ride giving us tips on how to like become bigger, get more people to listen, yeah. Uh what we should be doing. Right. Uh so we do have a TikTok, so like there's one post. I don't even know if anybody even knows it's there, which is okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

I mean I'm sure it's got like ones of views right now.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Right. So I'll have to figure out what the TikTok is to tell people. Let's see if it'll tell me.

SPEAKER_00 23:28

I'm gonna do what I said I wouldn't do, and I'm gonna probably have to create my own TikTok. Or I'm just gonna use the Hornsby Marriage one.

SPEAKER_01 23:33

Well, we have one, yeah, we have one created, so we'll have to figure out how to like get that word out. Um, I don't use TikTok ever, and so I'm sure our kids are gonna be, you know, Oh yeah, they haven't discovered it yet that we have it out there yet.

SPEAKER_00 23:46

That's funny.

SPEAKER_01 23:47

Yeah, I don't think anybody's like looked at it ever.

SPEAKER_00 23:49

But Marquise does uh Madden football leagues on TikTok, and so he's given us all this, you know, all this like information on how to how to do it, which is uh again, uh I think the point is, uh, and you said this in in in the first draft when we were just really weren't being quite as transparent as we we should be. Um you said something about like you know, decide why you're going. I think that that was a really good thing. Uh because there is so much to do there. So are you going to rest? Are you going to sightsee and be a tourist, which was, I think, more of what we did. We did take some time to rest. Uh, are you going for the outdoor adventures? Are you going as a foodie? Are you going as a gambler? And and so we definitely um thank you for agreeing to be the tourist. I think we got to check off a lot of things and and uh see some things. I will definitely acquiesce and say we're gonna do whatever trip it is, like even if it's this summer and we go to San Antonio, if you want to go hit an outdoor adventure, we're gonna do it.

SPEAKER_01 24:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

Even though it's gonna be hot in July in Texas.

SPEAKER_01 24:56

So you're already prep, you're already setting the stage.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

I I'm I'm like I'm willing to go do it, you know. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:02

And just like new experiences, and like I don't know if I'll ever go back to places.

SPEAKER_00 25:05

So, you know, just to be able to say I think there's gonna be around two of Vegas, so I really do. Okay. I really do.

SPEAKER_01 25:11

Yeah. So I'm uh Adventures in Marriage is the TikTok handle. So sadly, we don't have anybody who's liked anything, but we're gonna try to work on that.

SPEAKER_00 25:21

Uh we'll put some more comments.

SPEAKER_01 25:22

This is episode 49, so we're trying to get, you know, push out to get to 50 this summer at a minimum, and uh looking at even doing our own Facebook page for the marriage podcast so that we can go back and reference those 50 episodes, put clips in them and things like that, and follow our Cabby's advice and really trying to get it out there more.

SPEAKER_00 25:42

So yeah, encourage more people, uh, excite more people. He's like, Yeah, man, uh you're over there trying to do good work, and I'm just out there playing football on TikTok. I was like, I got you, brother. I got you.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

Yeah. So um uh we did go, you know, again, trying even even though we know some of it's kind of cheesy and things like that, we tried to see all the little landmarks in Vegas, uh, including the chapels that are there.

SPEAKER_00 26:06

Little chapel, the flower was the first one we saw, right?

SPEAKER_01 26:09

Yeah, which has so thank you, Claudia. I think you think of people I mean, we think of people as eloping to Vegas. Like that's kind of the cliche you think of, but asking questions. I mean, I think a lot of people make it a destination, they're planned. In fact, they may already have bit you know gotten married in their home state and they have their ceremony there. People fly in, they now live stream it, you know. So, I mean, it is a valid chapel facility with multiple rooms, multiple venues. Uh, of course, we saw one or two with Elvis, and then we saw one that was a drive-thru uh that I thought was kind of funny that you could drive through and do like drive-thru chapel. Yeah, but they but you really had to go out to see them. I just kind of were thinking, like in my mind, they're all right there in the middle of Vegas of what is called the strip, but they're not. You have to go out a little bit to get to them. So they've got a theme and a not not not just the chapels, but the restaurants, whatever. They have a theme for everything. So there's uh there's a a theme, a gimmick, uh novelty, whatever you can imagine.

SPEAKER_00 27:09

Yeah, nationality and taste of food. I mean, they there were all kinds of things. Um you can find Cuban food, Ethiopian food. Uh our cavvies told us so. We didn't go look for that. Uh we we stayed pretty, pretty um with familiar stuff, or at least familiar adjacent. You know, we tried new things, but they were somewhat familiar to us. But it was good. It was a good time.

SPEAKER_01 27:32

Yeah. Yeah, it was different, uh different for us, and I think that's part of you know what we push ourselves to do is do something, even while we're there, let's do something we would never do. You know, let's spend the money and go to a comedy show. Yeah. Let's spend the money and go on a gondola ride or take the city bus and and view the city from the double decker top. You know, let's let's stretch ourselves and walk further so that we can see the historic sign instead of just sitting out by the pool, you know, which we could have done.

SPEAKER_00 28:02

You could have just sat out by the pool all day, every day while we're well not all day, because uh crazy enough, these pools close early. And I guess that's so they can get you into the casino or they can get rid of their lifeguards or whatever else, but it's like um they close a lot earlier than than at a traditional hotel. So we were kind of surprised by that because we were wanting to chill out in the evening and um have a late dinner and just sit by the pool and they're like, no, we're closing up soon. So kind of a disappointment in that regard.

SPEAKER_01 28:32

Yeah, yeah, it was. Um, I guess they want you to go out and do nightlife.

SPEAKER_00 28:36

That's right. Right.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

That that wasn't what we were thinking.

SPEAKER_00 28:38

Yeah, the pool's there for the heat of the day, and then then you know you go out and enjoy the and I think that's something we learned.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

It is so hot during the day that people I mean, there's still the streets are still full, but I think they they're infinitely m busier at night. Yeah, you know, and and people certainly were dressed up and lots of short outfits and sequins and heels, and we were not very dressy, and and then, you know, um continuation of your health journey. Oh, I know, I know. I was thinking about that.

SPEAKER_00 29:08

Uh dragging my foot along at the end of the first day, because you know, we did well over 20,000 steps. And um so sometime right after the whole heart thing, thank you for listening, by the way, if you're a new listener um who kind of jumped on because of the uh emergency room trip. Uh after the whole heart thing, I you know, I started jumping rope and and trying to do some sprinting. Um, and apparently I aggravated an old injury in my foot doing that, uh sprinting on the blacktop out by our house. And and uh so my foot was in a lot of pain um if I walked on it a lot, and and sure enough in Vegas you walk in a lot. And uh strike two against the hotel, strike one was the um pool closing early, strike two was the ice machine on our floor didn't work, and so I couldn't ice it down at the end of the day. But uh basically as of today when I made this recording, uh I have a boot to slow me down. Uh praise God, I don't have any fractures or anything like that in my foot. It's just um an old injury that apparently is is um in inflamed, and so I've got some pain, and so I'll be wearing a boot, not every day, like I'm not gonna wear it in church on Sunday because I have steps to go up and down and things like that. Um, I just can't do any high impact sports or anything like that.

SPEAKER_01 30:30

So we're still following I'm aging, I'm aging.

SPEAKER_00 30:37

I gotta do a sleep study.

SPEAKER_01 30:40

Yeah, he named it.

SPEAKER_00 30:41

I I named it, I know, and and you're you've been very patient. Um I went to the ENT's office, uh, checked in five minutes early, and I waited till 30 minutes after my appointment time, and then I left because they didn't call my name. And I'm like, I'm not gonna do that. So I'm stubborn that way. Um, but you know, I did appreciate that when I went to the ortho this morning, I saw a sign in the waiting room that says, if you're not seen within 30 minutes, please let the uh front desk know. I thought that's the way it should be. You made an appointment, we agreed to the time, uh weeks in advance, then why am I waiting 30 plus minutes? So but again, Sean's stubborn.

SPEAKER_01 31:23

Well, you know, I don't have a good response to that.

SPEAKER_00 31:27

I've been to Vegas, I've gotten the real the real hospitality. Why would I accept anything less?

SPEAKER_01 31:33

We're just gonna keep moving forward and uh hope that you know he continues his health journey. Uh obviously it's been a big part of the story um this past few weeks that we haven't anticipated. And I guess that's always part of the adventure or the journey, is that you know there are things that we don't um plan on and have to adapt and react accordingly. And um I I found this I don't know how good we are at it. I found it as we were getting on the plane and we were leaving Vegas because it's always hard when you finally get to vacation mode and then you have to leave and and you realize you know that all the real life is gonna be waiting for you when you get there, and that's hard because you want to stay in this little bubble, you know, just a little bit longer. And and we talked about maybe you know, ex going on a little bit longer vacation may actually work better for us. Of course, you've got to plan for that because you have to take care of all the things you know that are missing while you're gone. But maybe if we were gone just a few more days, that would get us right where we needed to be. We'd finally, you know, be be in a good groove, I guess. So this was a little marriage prayer that had popped up on my phone actually as we were getting ready to leave on the plane, and it said, help us to live, laugh, and love without reservation. And I think that's hard for us sometimes. For us as a couple. Um life just gets in the way sometimes. Uh don't let us hold back words of encouragement and don't let us miss opportunities to connect because we are sidetracked or distracted. And I felt like that certainly was part of our story getting out of Veg getting out of Louisiana to Vegas and you know, knowing what was coming for us when we got back home. But I think that is uh that's something that that's something that affects us a lot. I just think that's something that we can work on.

SPEAKER_00 33:40

Can you read it again?

SPEAKER_01 33:42

Help us to live, laugh, and love without reservation. Don't let us hold back words of encouragement. And don't let us miss opportunities that you connect because we are sidetracked or distracted.

SPEAKER_00 33:54

Yeah, I think um the sidetracked or distracted, you know. I I brought up maybe it was was it in Vegas or since we've been back, the four burners.

SPEAKER_01 34:05

Uh, you started and I thought that I yeah, you brought brought it up in Vegas, and I actually thought, you know, that may just end up being a whole topic of its own.

SPEAKER_00 34:13

Right. And and it probably should be. Um but you know, there's and I don't remember who said it first, um, one of those high performing CEO um types, you know, but the four burners theory is is family, friends, health, and work. So imagine at like a stovetop, you've got four burners, and and the the truth is uh to achieve success you must cut off one burner. And then it says to be truly successful, you must cut off two. Well, when you think about that, family, friends, health, and work. Uh we the I would say that our work burner is wide open. I mean, it it's it's the gas is fully on, right? There's we're cooking over there. Uh family has been a um a burner that that burns pretty hot. Uh friends, not so much. And health, I don't know. I would say sometimes, you know.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

Yeah, I think it's a whole uh a whole a whole topic. I think it's a good thing. Right, right, but um discussion for a podcast. Maybe the next one.

SPEAKER_00 35:24

And I think it yeah, it's a segue. It this is the segue. We're not gonna explore this entirely today, but it's the segue to say uh that's probably why the transition to vacation was so hard. Again. Again. Because um we we're putting too much too much into the wrong places at times. And and and it's fine if you've con consciously made that decision that this is going to be the thing that burns the hottest. And and we have said, no, it's not. Uh at least we've said that, but then we don't practice it all the time. So but again, that's a that's a great topic for next time. Um I I think for us, uh, in the whole Viva Las Vegas episode here, uh, the idea is um, you know, we we we made a plan to get away. Uh we we didn't execute really well at the very beginning, uh, but we took time during to recover. And and so it's like, okay, well, wow, what have we learned from that? And how are we how are we growing from that? That's that's where we are today. And so uh I can't say that we have any great insight on that other than say, um we're we're still growing, we're still learning, we're still loving and trusting and apologizing and and bearing our soul to one another, and in that process, um praying that God will do a good work in in in this marriage and in this relationship.

SPEAKER_01 36:57

And hopefully looking forward to another adventure, another vacation.

SPEAKER_00 37:01

Another vacation, another work project, whatever, together. Uh this one just happened to be a vacation.

SPEAKER_01 37:07

No, I'm I'm you know, I mean specifically, you know.

SPEAKER_00 37:09

You think about San Antonio?

SPEAKER_01 37:10

Or uh no. Uh I mean that that'll be with family, but you know, what's next?

SPEAKER_00 37:15

Like a weekend getaway or something. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:17

What's next for us? What's next? Amen. I got you.

SPEAKER_00 37:19

I follow you. Okay, so uh there were lots of other things. Um I we're not gonna go through all of them, but we saw lots of sites, we ate good food. Um I I think we were I will just say this uh on a more comical note, Courtney. Uh we were we were surprised folks by the uh street talent. Okay, and that's not code for anything, that's just like there's a lot of people busking, uh doing business.

SPEAKER_01 37:49

Hustling hustling to make money, you know, uh in whatever way that is.

SPEAKER_00 37:53

Yeah, some dude, some dude dressed as Spider-Man, he had a Spider-Man outfit on, and um I swear we he's like, Hey man, you want to take a picture? And we said no, no, thank you, and we walked away. And then this guy behind us, and I didn't really look, I just listened to him. Uh he said, Hey, you want to take a picture? And he said no, and he said, So I guess Spider-Man was black underneath there. I couldn't, you know, we couldn't see him. He said, Oh, come on, man. Uh, don't you want to take a picture with me? Don't give your don't give your money to these white people. And I I just laughed. I'm like, okay, all right, he's going there. So you have people who are pretty aggressively hustling, you know.

SPEAKER_01 38:30

There's monks that kind of hustle the girls who are kind of the showgirls. Yeah, who aren't like real showgirls. They dress like showgirls and they want you to take a picture, and then um the even the Chippendale dancers.

SPEAKER_00 38:42

Oh my gosh, those guys. Yeah, they were little.

SPEAKER_01 38:46

Didn't want any part of it.

SPEAKER_00 38:47

And he made it sound like I was the one keeping you away. And I'm like, dude, do you not see she she moved away from you because you're skeezy, you know?

SPEAKER_01 38:54

Yeah. So you you know, you have to know you have to just know that that's part of it. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 38:58

It's all it's all different, you know, eyes wide open, man. But it's fun, and I pray if you uh make a trip like that, have a good time, enjoy the sights, uh, stay together. And I don't mean just like physically, but like stay on the same page. Start that beforehand. And uh that's definitely uh easier said than done sometimes when you're really busy, but uh love each other and enjoy the adventure together. Alright, so thank you for joining us for the Viva Las Vegas episode. Uh we'll be back with more, we'll talk about four burners next, and then we've got a couple of uh folks that we want to sit down with. It's been a while since we've done that, so we look forward to continuing the adventure with us. And if you're a new listener again, thank you. Um we we will be sharing more content throughout the summer, especially as we get ready to episode number 50.