376 Girls Weekend 2010

Okay, so it has been a week since we loaded up the van and headed back from Destin, but I just had to share my Girls Weekend with everyone. Well, most of my Girls Weekend. You understand that inside jokes were created and confidences revealed that are locked up tight. And as long as you are satisfied with checking out some pics and hearing about what I am comfortable sharing then keep on reading.

Thursday. July 15th.
I didn't leave out until 3PM. I stayed until Chip left for work and then headed out. Jumped in the van, and Chip pointed out that my Inspection Sticker was expired ... And then he asked what my mileage was .... So, in other words I didn't really hit the road until 4PM. Freshly inspected (in Mississippi this means that all my lights and my horn works) and with new lifeblood in my car I headed south for my first pickup. I gathered up Tracy and Julie just north of Jackson, MS, and we headed on out again for our next stop.

(yes, I was at a stoplight when I took this pic)
A little impromptu karaoke in the car of Brick House and Total Eclipse of the Heart as we looked for Andrea's parents' house and then we were finally settled in for the night. Sitting around the kitchen table, eating some homemade ice cream and laughing our rears off. A great beginning to Girls Weekend for sure.

Friday. July 16th.

We started out bright and early for Destin. I must have been excited because I woke up at 5AM, and just lay in bed surfing the internet on my phone. (Have I mentioned how much I love my phone - and its not even an iphone *GASP*) We all managed showers and we hit the road. We had a quick detour in Mobile, AL to pick up a hitchhiker (kidding, a work friend of Andrea's), Tracy closed her eyes and prayed while we drove through the tunnel, and it was back on the road. Beach Bound!We would of course choose a weekend when there was a 60% chance of rain each day. The main point to our weekend was to visit though, and even had it poured the entire time we would have been just as happy. We talked and talked, and we laughed and laughed. It was truly wonderful to be surrounded by a group that really loves each other. We met in college and bonded over frat parties and beer (well, I didn't drink beer ... I mean, yeah Mom, I didn't drink in college) and we have shared years of our lives together. Some of those frat boys are still around, some are not, but we have gone so far past hanging in the frat house. We have bonded over weddings and babies and even loss. We may not see each other often, but I know that I have a group I can lean on. I have people who will catch me when I fall. And I have people who will laugh their asses off with me when they tumble down beside me.

Sorry, off on a tangent there, just wanted to put forth how much my girls mean to me.

The skies were stormy and it was hot and muggy, but we loaded up a cooler (overloaded a cooler as it turns out) and headed for the beach. Destin is on the Gulf so we weren't sure what to expect, but the water was clear enough. We only got in to our knees the first day, but my legs didn't rot and fall off, so SCORE!

It started to rain after we had been out for about an hour, so we dragged (and I do mean dragged, leaving a deep gouge in the sand) our cooler back to the car and headed home. We had talked about getting out on the town, but the truth of the matter is that we are getting old. We opted to hang out at the house, and barely managed to gather ourselves to go have dinner at a Mexican restaurant nearby. If I am not mistaken it was a restaurant called Fajitas. Pretty yummy. More time spent on the screened in porch of Amy's bungalow, and we wandered off to bed.

Saturday. July 17th.

We slowly emerged from sleep, and started getting ready for the day. I think I was the last to wake up (not surprising). We bummed around the house, just enjoying the day before we headed off for another day on the beach. More time sitting on the front porch, telling stories.

We brought the cooler with us again, but this time we had Keagan from the chair rental place drive it out on his 4wheeler. And he was probably the last cute guy we saw for the rest of the day at the beach ... That is a little unfair, Destin is a family vacation spot, so most of the men were fathers and grandfathers. It still would have been nice to have some man candy to look at!
We got out in the water a few times, but most of the day was spent lounging in our chairs, reading or listening to music or chatting. Clouds rolled in and out. It even sprinkled on us for a short time. Total relaxation. Sun warmed muscles and a happy heart. After a day on the beach what else is there to do than turn all decisions over to my friends. Tracy, Julie, and I headed to CVS and I let them pick out my new hair color (my roots were growing roots, it was time). I told them they could color it whatever they wanted, and Julie picked up a box of bright purple dye. I shrugged my shoulders and told her that was fine if that is what she wanted. When you know your friends won't make you look like an idiot you can say things like that. So, this is what they picked out. And I was moments away from being a redhead. Tracy was in charge of the dying process.She was much more thorough than I have ever been when doing my own hair. And I know better than to even attempt highlights on my own again. I get bored and just glob it on anywhere, it is not a good look.As we sat there looking at the box we all commented on how cute the models hair is .... so I told them they could cut it if they wanted. (I am so not a girly girl, and there is nothing you can do to my hair that would be too bad. I could always shave it) Katy was the one with the scissors and I enjoyed everyone else's reactions to the faces she was making. At one point she was behind me crossing herself before she closed the scissors on my hair. She was freaking out, and I was perfectly calm .... though maybe if I had seen this face I might have been a bit more worried. I think my hair is cursed anyway. It refuses to change too much. But with a little extra love from my stylist Katy, it was blown dry and perfected.And as usual, about an hour later it looks like it was never touched. Humidity is not conducive to good hair. We hit The Village on the San Destin resort. First we tried Rum Runners, but it was too packed for a table downstairs, so we headed off to eat dinner at Hammerheads. There was a band playing and people on the dance floor. The food was yummy and the company spectacular. Next we headed over to The Village Door, cuz' you know how much I love to dance. (okay, you probably don't know, but the answer really is almost not at all) But who am I to argue? I just wanted to have fun with my friends. The music was good. The floor was crowded, so most "dancing" was more of a shuffle, but it was still fun. Amy suggested we check out a place called The Funky Blue Shack, so Amy, Tracy and I headed over. Now this was our kind of music. The band is called The Burnin Smyrnans and we loved them. Loved that they all rotated on the different instruments. Very Impressive. They really made our night! Amy and I bought a CD and I have been enjoying them since.I did point out that it was hot, right? And small bas with lots of people only increased the temps ... and the amount of shine. Yes, we were GLOWING!

Katy & JulieJulie & I (yeah, horrible pic, get over it)Julie, Amy, and ShannonThe whole crew:

back row: Me, Amy, Tracy, Julie

front row: Ashley (our hitchhiker), Andrea, Katy

We stayed out until the bar closed and headed home for one last chat around the table. Wandering off to bed as we couldn't take anymore.

Sunday. July 18th.

The drive home. It was sad to leave Amy and Katy, but we did have a good ride home. More talking and laughing. Reminiscing. Rehashing. Another trip back through the tunnel. Three drop offs and 13 hours later I pulled up in my own driveway. Exhausted. Happy to be home, ready to leave again. I miss my girls like crazy, and I can't wait until we can do this again. But it was good to hug my hubby and eventually my babies when we picked them up on Tuesday.

367 Homeward Bound

The time had finally come for The Great Kitchen Renovation of 2010 (those pics will come when it is totally complete) and I decided it would be best to take the kids as far away as possible ... or at least to Atlanta. So two Saturdays ago we loaded the van up and headed East. Thank goodness for in-car DVD players. I know we would survive a trip without it, but it would be three times as painful ... at the very least. I usually am making the trip alone so I need all the help I can get to insure harmony and my sanity. They watched Alice in Wonderland, which I have still only heard from the front seat (27 times). They watched My Fair Lady, Katie loves it and sings along. And some Barbie fairy movie. After a quick hug from Grammy, Katie took off and almost never came down from the old swing. Shedid periodically stop long enough to make me feel her muscles from all the "extracize". Connor never slept much when we were in Atlanta, but when he did sleep he slept soundly... and he was so CUTE! Dontcha just wanna kiss him until he wakes up! But don't! I would have serious problems with you and might cause you physical pain if you woke him up. And by "might" I mean I would .. and you would require medical attention or a morgue. But he sure is cute, huh?!On Sunday my brothers and their families came over for dinner. I just love watching the kids play with their cousins. Austin had foot surgery recently and he is stuck in his wheelchair for now, but I have a feeling he didn't miss having to try to keep up with our little hooligans. It was much cooler in the house (and no vampire mosquitoes to contend with). And as usual it is impossible to get kids to sit ad ALL smile at the same time. I am obviously planing to torture them later from the expressions on their faces.Mom does have some of the prettiest hydrangeas. I won't bore you with too many pics, but I had to share a few. These flowers remind me of my gradparents like no other.And you know I had to find a dandelion. It just wouldn't be complete without a few wishes.Monday I headed off to the art heaven known as Blick Art. I have only shopped online with them, but I just love their store. Looking for reasonably priced fine art supplies then you have to check them out! I should have gone alone though. I spent most of my time beating my head against a wall and trying to keep the kids from destroying the store. I couldn't look at what I wanted to look at because they would not stand still long enough. I gave up and decided to give myself a small online shopping spree soon. Katie got her first set of real watercolors, watercolor papers, and a few other little things. Connor got a 99 cent eraser and he was perfectly happy. We headed for the car, Katie running ahead. She jumped in and hit the button to roll the doors shut. One problem, Connor was right behind her and trying to get in. His little fingers got caught in the door. Luckily, there is a slight gap when the doors are shut and his fingers weren't broken. Of course in the first instant he was screaming and I was screaming. The language was quite colorful. If you were outside of Blick at that time I apologize. The sweet people of Blick brought a bag of ice for us to put on his fingers. He just needed some love and cuddling, and he was right as rain. I had forgotten to buy paintbrushes, which I hear are quite important for, you know ... painting, so we stopped into Hobby Lobby. Katie also got a paint box that she had to, you ... paint. It was a good little project though. Tuesday we managed to meet up with some friends. We usually meet at a Mexican restaurant so the kids can make as much noise as they want, but Julie suggested a little place called Stevie B'sthat has a pizza buffet and a blessedly small game area. It also has the much coveted prize counter. And even better than that there was a guy behind the counter who was ready to deal. Kyle got a big stuffed dragon for 400 tickets. The 12 inch Batmans were 1300, so I am just guessing the dragon would have been at least 2000. Katie chose the actually stick close to her 300 tickets and got a few little things. It all ends up in the trash within a few weeks, so I was fine with that. We also got to meet Kyle's little brother Kody for the first time. He is absolutely adorable!!As we were leaving dinner that night we had decided to have more of a staycation. To hit the cool places around Atlanta. Maybe head out to Lake Lanier for some water and sand. So, it was a bit of a surprise when Mom woke me up on Wednesday saying "if we want to go to the beach we need to load up and leave soon." Katie had talked her ear off the night before about the beach, and about collecting shells. Mom did not want to disappoint her. We planned on heading to South Carolina to visit my grandfather's family anyway, so we just combined them. About six hours later we cecking into our room at the Avista Resort. We had no reservations, but the lady at the rest stop had suggested this hotel/condo. Our room was on the 17th floor. Mom is terrified of heights! Everytime Connor went near a door or window Mom had a mini-heart attack. Especially because Connor had a penchant for playing against the window. I am sure the windows are built for hurricane force winds, but Mom did not think they could stand up to Captain Destructo.
So, anyway .. we got all our crap (and we packed way too much for a three daytrip) up to the room and immediately changed into swimsuits for our first trip to the beach. It was slightly windy. In fact, the beach was red flagged, but since were mainly wanting to get our toes in the sand we decided to head on out anyway.This was Connor's first time to see the ocean. I ran ahead to try to capture the look on his face. I just love the excitement! Katie hasn't been to the ocean in about five years, so she was every bit as excited. The beach was wonderful. It was more crowded during the day, but not by too much. The sand was pretty, but the shells were few. Mostly just shell chips, but Katie didn't care. She managed to bring home about ten pounds of shell chips. The Avista also had indoor and outdoor pools. On the way in that first night we hit the indoor pool. Both areas had a Lazy River, and we floated around a bit. The water on the inside was WARM! Thursday morning we were up fairly bright and early. Mom and I insisted on enjoying a cup of coffee before we hit the beach again for the day.We hit the beach for a few hours before we went inside for lunch. Mom came down for the first round. We managed to secure our beach umbrella to the rolling cart by tying it with a towel. HINT: buy one of the corkscrew umbrella things and boogie boards on the first day. Connor LOVED the sand. No seriously, he loved the sand. He would roll around until he was completely covered. Quite annoying as he usually did it just as we were headed inside.Thursday night we got out, and Mom bought the kids boogie boards. We had to leave pretty early on Friday, so I took the kids to the beach while Mom got ready. Katie loved her board, Connor not so much. I put him on it and held him in place while a few waves went by, but he was competely untrustworthy of the sea without his feet in the sand. Katie would have stayed out there all day. ... but we needed to head out to spend some time with the family. We sat around gabbing and laughing. My cousin Patricia took the kids out to see the chickens. By the time I had grabbed my camera and headed out Katie was walking back to the house with a prize.And we HAD to make the trek out to the pond. I love this walk. Even in the blistering heat it is beautiful. You walk back through the years. At least six generations of my family have walked these grounds. My grandfather and his brothers and sisters were raised here. The boys dug a pond with just shovels and wheelbarrows. This land is going to be sold. My uncle passed and his will specified it was to be sold. The idea of this land not being in our family makes me so sad. The history that will be lost. Bulldozed under more than likely. So, if anyone reading this would like to give me a million or so to purchase this land, please let me know. A few hours with family and we were headed home. The kids amused themselves by harrassing each other. You would think being in separate rows of the van they would have a hard time driving each other (and us) insane, but they managed.Mom was allowed to choose two quilts made by our family to bring back from South Carolina, which put us on a quilt kick. We pulled out the old quilts around the house. I won't bore you with all of the pics, but a few of my favorites.Did I mention that Connor hates to sleep when we travel? He literally ran himself until he fell. I was in the shower, but Mom said he had bumped his arm and tried to come find me. He tripped and decided to lay his head down and sleep instead of continuing on. Mom grabbed an old sheet and covered him. Sweet little man.Sadly, I eventually had to wake him up so we could go to my brother's house for a quick visit. The kids had a blast playing with each other, as usual. It just makes me wish we lived closer. They all just play so well together!
It is practically a requirement to have a picture taken on the bench. The kids were not very cooperative, and I was ready to hit the road. It took longer than expected to load the van, and then I manged to misplace my keys. It was a very stressful departure on top of us all being sad to wave goodbye to Grammy. Hopefully we can head home again before the end of summer. I hate being away from home for so long, and the older I get the more I hate it.
Soon we will be back Atlanta, and hopefully with more time to spend with friends and family.
Promise :)