WI - Day 6

I quickly was reminded that there is no sleeping in at my sister's house. 

At 6am I hear the creak of the bedroom door open next to my room & pitter patter of little feet run across the hard wood floor into their parents bedroom. Then it is game-on. The boys are up & sleep is non-existence at this point. 

They quietly enter my room, thinking they are being sneaky & my bed instantly becomes a trampoline with a 4 & 2 year old jumping & yelling "Time to get up Aunt Hedder" all the while ripping my blankets from me. They think it is hysterical. Aunt Hedder - not so much.

*sigh*

And so I awake & by 6:10am I am in the kitchen pouring myself a cup of coffee. Sleeping-in is overrated anyway. I got nephews to play with & a niece to hold.

My sister had a couple of appointments to run this morning & took Jensen with her so it was just me & the boys for a few hours. It had been raining earlier in the morning & was still kind of wet out, so the boys thought they should wear their raincoats:

I somehow convinced them that since the sun was out & it had stopped raining, their raincoats would probably be too warm so they opted for no coats instead - since Aunt Hedder wasn't wearing a coat.

Heather - 1, Boys - 0

My sister sent me & the boys to run errands for her while she was at her appointments so off we went with the list in our hand. Lunch-time quickly rolled around while we were out & about so I did what any good Aunt would do & took them to McDonald's.

I crack up anytime these two pose for pics. They always say "cheeeeeeeeeeese" & you can totally tell it in EVERY picture that I take! So stinkin' cute!

After we ate & spent lots of time playing in the Playland, we headed back home & hung out with my sister & Jensen. 

We spent the rest of our afternoon playing outside, took a nap, helped get dinner ready, watched TV & called it an early night. I'm quickly finding out that 3 kids under the age of 4 is no joke! I really don't know how my sister does it!?

Day 5 - WI here I come

Woke up early this morning, said good-bye to the girls, so-long to the beach & then HK & I made our way to the airport.

Next stop - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The plane ride to Milwaukee was a little over 2 hours & uneventful. I arrived safely, rented a car & made the 1 1/2 hour drive to where my sister & her family live. I pulled up to the house, got out of the car & was greeted by these two little cuties:

As soon as they saw me, they jumped off that gator, ran to "Aunt Hedder" & gave me the biggest hug. Oh how I have missed them! After lots of hugs & kisses, I headed into the house & met my niece for the first time:

I fell instantly in love!!

She is such a sweetie pie! I thought I loved hanging with my girls in Destin, but I must say I loved hanging out with this little girl even more!!

I spent the rest of the day chillin' & catching up with my sister, played with the boys & snuggled with my niece any chance I could get!

Destin - Day 4

This morning found HK & I getting up early to take Jen & Camille to the airport. Jen had to work the next day & Camille had 3 little ones she needed to get back to. Despite a minor glitch in the Garmin & 2 nervous girls, we were able to get them to the airport with about 30 min to spare! We were all sad to see them go early but were so grateful they were able to come along!

Once HK & I got back, the girls decided we were going to go para-sailing for the day. It was a 1st for most of us & on my "bucket list" of things to do so I was very excited to get to try it!

We made our way back down to the harbor, where we hopped onto a boat, made our way out into the water & ventured 400 ft up in the air.

First up, Kari & Deanna:

Then it was time for me, HK & Deb:

 

I was amazed at how peaceful & quiet it was up there in the air & the view was gorgeous! I am so glad that we went & that I got to check it off the list!

Later that day we ended up back down at the harbor for a sunset catamaran cruise around the Destin harbor. Here we are getting on the boat:

And here we all are posing with our Captain Rex who was from Australia:

This is where we spent the majority of our evening:

If you look below my feet, this is truly the color of the water as Destin is often referred to as The Emerald Coast:

And here are some other fun photos from the evening:

On our cruise, we were able to see dolphins, starfish & many other kinds o fish in the clear water! The sunset cruise was absolutely beautiful & I highly recommend it to anyone who is visiting this area!

It was my last evening in Destin with the girls which was bittersweet. I was sad to be leaving them as they had one more day on the beach together but happy & excited also because tomorrow I would be heading to Wisconsin to see my adorable nephews & meet my new niece Jensen. 

We spent the rest of our evening enjoying a beverage, eating leftovers, cleaned up the condo, packed, looked at all our photos all while reminiscing over what fun we had over the past 4 days.

It has been a fun, much-needed, well-deserved, wonderful time with these girls & I can not wait for our next trip together! Thanks for all the memories ladies! 

Love these girls for life :)

Destin - Day 3

Happy 30th Birthday Kari!

Surprise #4

HK, Deanna & myself woke up early & ran to the grocery store to get a few things for Kari's b-day breakfast! When she woke up, we all surprised her with singing happy birthday, a lit up chocolate cake & mimosa's! She was definitely surprised & loved it all!

(I apologize for the blurry pics! HK was running my camera & unfortunately she just isn't HT behind the camera :)

This cake was dee-lish - so chocolatey & melt-in-your-mouth-moist!

 

We spent the rest of the day on the beach soaking in the sun, sharing a few beverages & hanging with the birthday girl!

By late afternoon, we had all decided we had enough sun exposure for the day so we all headed back & got ready to take Kari out for a celebratory birthday dinner!

We drove down to the Harbor & ate at a fun restaurant called Harry T's & we all enjoyed some fresh seafood. After dinner, we strolled along the boardwalk & popped in/out of little shops, watched the sunset & all the boats along the marina. Such a fun evening!

(Camille, Deb, HK, Jen, Deanna, Kari, HT)

 

This cute little shop had stuffed bulldogs so I of course had to get a pic :)

I just had to get a pic of this boat named Anastasia for all my girlfriends who have or are reading the Fifty Shades trilogy! lol

By the end of the evening, Kari had said that it had been the bestest Birthday ever so I must say we did a good job of making it memorable! It has been such fun times hanging out with these girls & making memories that will last a lifetime!

Destin - Day 2

After a late night, we all did a little sleeping in, had a great breakfast & then made our way down to the beach. Here is a pic where we spent most of our day:

 And no it is not a postcard. Gorgeous isn't it?? 

Our condo is right behind us! See, I told you it was the perfect location!

Deanna, HK, Deb & Camille spent some time on the wave-runners...

While the rest of us enjoyed the view with our toes in the sand...

Half way through the day, Camille thought it would be a fun idea to get some "glamour shots" of us on the beach. A few of us grumbled about the idea, but after seeing the photos we are SO happy we all participated because they turned out super cute:

That little stinker Jen always manages to position herself in between the Heather's - she just LOVES her "Heather Sandwich" :)

After a long day in the sun, we headed back to the condo, got cleaned up & then Camille & I made a Mexican feast for us all. Camille brought her hispanic roots into the kitchen & made us her grandmother's sopa de rice & salsa recipe - which I am SO excited to now have - while I helped make beef tacos with all the fixings! Jen had made a 7 layer dip earlier in the day which helped complete our meal & everything was SO good. Recipes coming soon to my recipe blog :)

We stuffed ourselves full of mexican yummi-ness & then spent the rest of the evening playing games, enjoying a few cherry-limeade beverages whipped up by Deanna & shared many stories & laughs!

Good times with such wonderful girlfriends!

Destin - Day 1

Destin, FL - here we come :) 

 I have been counting down the day's to this girl's trip ever since we all planned it! The ladies going on this trip with me are life-long girlfriends I have met through my job. All but one of them have moved on to other positions at other hospitals but we have always kept in touch & remained close. We planned our first girl's trip together to Vegas in 2009. Then 3 years later we planned this beach trip & there is already talk of going on a cruise in 2014 for our next trip. Unfortunately, out of the group there would be two girls who were unable to join us - Jen & Marlo :(

Between Heather (HK) & I, we had many surprises planned for the girls this week & couldn't wait to share them all! Little did I know, HK even had a surprise for me...

I got up super early & met up with Deb, Heather & Camille & we all made it to the airport in time for our 7:40am departure to Houston, TX. As we were sitting at the gate, I look over to my right & see our friend Jen standing there. At first I thought she had just ran into us & that she was traveling somewhere with her hubby. As I got up to hug her & say hi, I asked what she was doing there & she said "going to the beach with the girls". At that moment I realized she was coming with us :) 

Surprise #1 HT!! 

I immediately got tears in my eyes, gave her a huge hug & was SO excited she would be joining us. HK was the only one who knew Jen was coming with & I can't believe they both pulled off the surprise - those girls are sneaky!

(Me, Jen & HK - what Jen likes to call a "Heather Sandwich")

We all boarded the plane & made our way to Houston, TX where we were to switch planes. Everyone was hungry so we all stopped at one of the restaurants to eat before our next flight. While we were eating, HK & I said we had to go to the restroom but really we were in search of surprise #2 - our girlfriend Deanna - who was sitting at our gate & had NO clue we were all on the same flight to Panama City Beach together. We spotted her immediately & tried to sneak up on her but unfortunately she saw us coming & couldn't believe we were there! We all made our way back to the restaurant & shortly after, Deanna walked up to surprise the rest of the girls - so fun!! 

The plane ride to Panama City Beach was filled with chit-chat, catching up, laughter, pics, beverages & we seemed to be back on the ground in no time. We met up with our 7th member of the group, Kari who flew in from Chicago, picked up our rental van & were excited to make our way to the condo & the beach.

Just a short 50 minute drive & we arrived to our awesome condo:

It was everything we had hoped it would be & then some. Awesome location, plenty of room for 7 people, clean, lavishly decorated, fully gated community, right on the beach....just perfect. We even had a bar/restaurant named Pompano Joe's right across the street that made the BEST frozen drinks! We may or may not have indulged in these daily :) 

We ended up having dinner there, enjoying some fresh seafood, frozen beverages, a live band & the sounds of the ocean right behind us.

After dinner, half of us headed back to the condo while the other half hit the grocery store to get food & adult beverages for the week. After we got back & put everything away, we all got ready for a night on the town to celebrate Kari's birthday - as she was turning the big 3-0 on Monday! 

Deanna & I had made plans earlier in the month to make this a 30th birthday that Kari would never forget!

Cue surprise #3!

We decided to surprise the girls with some "accessories" to wear out on the town. I had made each girl a bedazzled tank top that had "Destin" in rhinestones across the chest & a set of black/rhinestone flip flops right underneath. You can't really see the front of them in these pics but they were super cute, the girl's loved them & we can wear them again throughout the summer. 

We also bought fun fluorescent wigs & lei's for each girl & Jen even brought fun glasses which totally completed the look! Everyone loved the idea & we had so much fun taking pics with all our 'craziness' on :) The birthday girl Kari is in the white wig & black tank top:

 

Jen in between her "Heather Sandwich" :)

We ended up going to a local beachfront bar called AJ's & had a GREAT time! Those people didn't know what to think when our group of 7 walked in! There was a live band, strange looks by the crowd, lots of booty shaking, people asking to take pictures with us, dance-off contests & so much fun had by all!

 (HT & HK)

It was definitely a birthday celebration Kari will never forget :)

Vacation has begun...

The blog is going to be neglected for awhile as I will be MIA for the next 10 days! This girl is headed to Destin, FL for a little beach-getaway with 5 of my nearest & dearest girlfriends. In roughly 7 hours I will be lounging on one of the chairs above with my toes in the sand & a drink in my hand!

Can. Not. Wait.

After 5 days there, I will head north to Wisconsin to see my sister, her family & FINALLY get to meet, hold & snuggle with my new niece Jensen :) 

I will be back Monday, May 7th with lots of pics & stories to tell so until then...