I'm a Lucky Girl!: Girls Getaway 2010

So, yes, my August was incredibly busy...lots of traveling and it was all SO fun! We had our bi-annual Girls Getaway weekend this year and it was my year to plan (which only means that it wasn't as awesome as it could have been I'm sure) and to try and make it easy for all those involved, I chose Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. For those of you who don't know, I grew up in North Carolina. My parents and young siblings live there still; it was me who moved away and found my hubby and settled down in Utah. So, it was easiest if only 1 or 2 of us had to fly across the country instead of the 3 who already live out there in the east. We really missed our big sis, Becky, this year, but the way things turned out it was a blessing she was home instead of out of town with us.

Before the Girls Getaway began (for my mom's side of the family), I was able to make a quick day trip to my hometown. It was only for a few minutes, but I was able to see an Aunt, some cousins and all of my Uncles on my Dad's side. And because I know you are all wondering, yes, a few minutes is plenty time to get a heart warming. :) I even got to eat lunch with my Dad and spend some time visiting a family friend.

My quick trip would not have been complete without getting to see my adorable little nephew, Benji!! He really doesn't know who I am since I live on the other side of the country, so I had to keep my crazy Aunt antics as calm as possible (which was darn near impossible!) or I would have really given him the heebie-geebies! And I probably did anyway, but seriously, how could you not want to hug and kiss and squeeze and cuddle this stinkin' cutie?!?!?!

The whole point of my little pre-girls-getaway Day Trip was to have a Girls Night Out dinner with my Stepmom and sisters. Even though Krysten, Kara and Becky couldn't make it, we still had fun eating and laughing and driving and eating! We ate dinner at a great restaurant in town called (Thaifoon?) Here are my little sisters, HA! Kylie hasn't been "littler" than me for eons and I'm sure McKenzie will be outgrowing my shortness any minute now...everyone always does, lol!

Christy and I had a little too much fun attacking the flies near our table...but in our defense, we couldn't have them around when our food arrived!

SOOOO much food and it was delicious...thank you Kylie for suggesting it!

Oh, and after dinner we thought we'd get a special treat for dessert and headed down to the beach for some Britt's Donuts! How crazy is it that I was born and raised in the neighboring town and I have never myself been to this delectable establishment?!? I have NO idea...so we thought we would remedy that. And of course, once we get there, it's CLOSED!! And not just for the night, but for the season! (Well, I think they've barely started opening for weekend operation during the non-summertime, but STILL!!) So...as we were driving home as sad and despondant as we were, we happened by a Krispy Kreme with the HOT DOUGHNUT sign on...can I get a Hallelujah?!?! Perfect ending to a top rate day if I do say so myself :)

Ok, moving on to the actual Girls Getaway (lol)...

My Aunt Candy drove the whole way from her house...picking up another of my "little" sisters (insinuating that, yes, she is among the majority of 11+ year olds related to me that have outgrown my 5'2")...then Mom and me...to Myrtle Beach. After a fun-filled day in the car, we decided that checking into our hotel, eating dinner and picking up some groceries were a great way to end the evening.

Then bright and early the next day...well, ok, not so bright at early for me and Maria, but Mom and Aunt Candy were up at the crack of dawn...after we got showered and dressed and all that jazz, we headed out for a pedicure :). I didn't get any pictures of our cute toes, but after Maria and I were done "drying" we found a photo booth in the middle of the mall just outside the nail salon, hehehehe!

Maria and I insisted, of course, that Mom and Aunt Candy get some fun pics too, but sadly I don't have a copy of theirs. :*( Then we headed to the beach to catch some rays. Yeah, NO!, you ain't gettin' a picture of me in my bathing suit, so you can just forget it!

That night we headed out to dinner at a cool restaurant that Aunt Candy knew called Drunken Jack's. That place was hoppin'! We had to wait like an hour for a table to become available, but the food was terrific! When we finally made it to our table, I made Aunt Candy and Maria promise (Mom was still downstairs waiting to pay our appetizer check) that they wouldn't get the waiters to try any of that birthday singing nonsense. As it just so happens, there were lots of people there that night celebrating birthdays and I would kind of tense up each time I heard the clapping begin, but relax as they passed us by. Then, this one time (wouldn't you guess it), they DIDN'T PASS BY!! That's right, Embarrasement City was established at our table in the year 2010...I had them make out a plaque. Yeah, so I had forgotten to make dear ol' Mom promise about the birthday stuff, whoops! And it wasn't even my birthday yet! So, there you have Birthday Celebration #1 (insinuating there will be more...so keep a lookout!).

Here we are getting cheesy at our table waiting for the grub.

Isn't that Captain Jack dreamy!?! Couldn't resist a pucker.

Went on a fun walk on the boardwalk by our hotel...all the way at the end was this lighthouse (if you can see it in the dark background).

Sister fun...that's all I got.

Back at Mom's house before Aunt Candy and Maria continued on their drive home and a few hours before my flight.

Like I said, we had a couple of hours to kill before I had to head to the airport, so we thought we'd have some dinner...and then they bring out a cake! Birthday Celebration #2, and I STILL had another day 'till the big 3-0.