Galvez with Midway girls

Once, and sometimes twice, a year I get the privilege of hanging out with my besties from back home, with the addition of Wendi-loo.  This year we went to my grandparents' beach house to hang out.  Majority of the girls hadn't been there since 2002.  We decided on a Sunday - Tuesday to avoid conflicts on the weekends.  Wendi flew in from Dallas and we drove on down to start the fun before the rest of the girls showed up.

When we first got there we didn't waste any time in breaking into our favorite things gift exchange that Caryn had suggested.  You brought up to $25 of your favorite thing(s) and we drew numbers to see who would go first.

We also got gifts from Jerr-Bear about how super we were...

...that is super tired!

We delved in the gifts, starting with KT.  Look at that glow - must be from the excitement of the game.

And look at Ann's glow - must be from the excitement of the prize.

I ended up with this bad boy - Waco in the house!

Also, Wendi grabbed these shoes in every size so I got to buy a pair off of her at the end of the game.

The stash

No, that glow on Katy wasn't because of the thrill of being first to pick in the game but from the news that she was prego!   And ironically we found out a few weeks later that Ann had just found out prior to this weekend that she was expecting as well.  Our group keeps abounding in babies!

Prior to posing before dinner.  Maybe everyone was talking about how lovely their toenails looked or something.

All snazzed up for a night out on the town.

Enjoying a delicious, windy meal at The Spot.  There was a live band so we did a bit of shouting as well.  My food took awhile to show up but other than that it was a great time.

After driving the scene on the seawall we put on comfty clothes and played a little Whoonu.

Caryn won the game and got the extra gift leftover from the favorite things game.

The next day we slept in, ate big, and went to the beach.  Wendi taking one for the team and taking a good photo.

I have to hand it to this crew.  I grew up going to the lake with this bunch, learned how to water ski, and always tried to never touch the lake bottom.  Except for Katy J, no one else grew up beaching it like I did.  And in Galveston, land of the lovely brown water.  We had a great time relaxing and chatting.

I stayed by the water the entire time.

We went back, showered, and learned things like the trick to Lauren's curly hair.  Cannot remember the name of this contraption, but it blow dries and curls at the same time.  Fascinating.  And makes Lauren's hair look fabulous!

Sporting our shirts with no makeup.  True beach style.

We then attempted a boat ride.  Trying to figure out why the boat isn't totally in the water.  All my lake buddies giving me pointers and me clueless.  Good thing I was the driver, right?

Making a call to my dad about it.

Ann using her free time to fish.

Since the gas gauge is broken (thanks to Ike), my dad advised me to put gas in it.  I truly believe this is why we had a hitch a first.  The Lord was sparing me from breaking down due to no fuel in the middle of the canal. 

We lowered the boat with no problem and were off!  High five by the excited passengers.

Ann truly tried to use all the time she could to fish.  Wanted to bring back some fresh grub for the Waco fam.

One last fishing attempt.  And me washing the boat (that's for my Grandpa to see I was doing my duties). 

The spoils of the weekend.  Wet, dripping dry bathing suits.

I don't know what made this weekend so special.  Maybe our purposeful conversations, our intentional topics, or the sensitivity the group gave me after I went downstairs to take out the trash and stayed in the hammock for a good cry after hearing the joyful news of Katy's pregnancy.  What can I say, I still grieve at odd times.  We have been through it all with this group of ladies.  We have celebrated and we have mourned together through the blood of Christ.  The older, and hopefully wiser, I get, I truly start to be grateful for the friendships that encourage me to look to the Lord.  This group of ladies fits that bill to a T.  Hanging with this crew in the junior high and high school days is half the reason I didn't spiral into many directions of sin.  The Lord's grace.  The Lord knew I needed a good accountability group...and this was it.  Love you all so much.  Am savoring the time we get to spend together again in January!