In high school I had the great fortune of being friends with an awesome group of seven girls (myself included). We found each other our freshmen year and weathered all the ups and downs of teenage life and high school together through those four years. We saw each other frequently through our college years and have remained in touch in all the intervening years. We're all spread out now (two in Texas, one in Colorado, me in Georgia, and three in California) and we don't get to see each other as much as we would like. So it was a great treat that we got to get together in Colorado for the wedding of our friend Whitney on July 16th. We made a girls weekend out of it and it was a blast. I had never left the kids for that long and it was pretty dang nice. And David handled all three kids for three days by himself like the champ that he is.
I left early on Friday morning to drive to the Atlanta airport. In my excitement, I got there way early so I took my time checking in, getting to my gate, and getting settled. Instead of riding the tram that runs between terminals, I strolled through the walkways which have different exhibits in each one. About half an hour before my flight was supposed to board, they announced that there were mechanical issues which they were looking into and we would be delayed. They finally determined that the issues couldn't be resolved so they had to wait for another plane to come in that they could re-route to Denver so we were going to be delayed for another two hours.
I got some lunch, picked up a trashy magazine (as is my tradition whenever I fly) and settled into a super comfy seat at my new gate for the duration. I'm never very patient, especially when traveling, and I was upset to be delayed, but mostly because I felt like sitting around by myself for two hours was two hours I could have been home with the kids. It took me awhile to relax and realize I could not stress about the kid every minute.
Once the plane arrived, it was a quick and uneventful three hour plane ride to Denver. By that time, my friend Nicole had already arrived from San Diego (I was supposed to beat her there and pick up a rental car but now she had to wait for me.) We went to the Hertz rental car together and picked up a white Toyota Corolla and drove to the Hyatt Regency--Tech Center where another friend, Tessa, was already waiting. (Tessa and I would stay at the hotel near the reception site while the other girls would get an AirBnB. Long story.)
Nicole and I met Tessa at the hotel and in the 30 minutes that we were inside dropping off my luggage, a hail storm blew through the town in a quick but torrential downpour. I'd never seen hail so big and was glad to be inside. I didn't realize it then (and wouldn't notice it until the next day) but my rental car sustained a lot of hail damage during the attack. I was supposed to be charged for the damage and I made a claim through my insurance company, but Hertz has yet to file anything and it's been over 90 days now. So who knows what's happening with that, but it did put a little bit of a damper on things.
In any case, after the hail storm passed, Tessa, Nicole, and I took off in the rental car for Denver proper and some dinner. We had some recommendations which took us to Dae Gee Korean BBQ. Nicole had never had Korean BBQ before so I was super excited to eat it with her. It's been awhile since I've had a good Korean BBQ and oh man, I miss it.
After dinner, we walked across the street to the Trader Joe's to pick up some snacks for the weekend and then headed to the AirBnB where we waited for Mandy and Kara to arrive. They were both coming from Texas--Mandy from Austin, Kara from DFW--and would rent a car together. They were also delayed, but eventually arrived later that evening. We had a great time just sitting around and chatting, catching up and having girl talk. I missed it so much.
The next day--Saturday--was Whit's wedding, but since it didn't start until the evening, we decided to meet at Snooze in Denver to eat brunch. The wait was long (as it always is) but the food is so delicious that it makes it worth it. I was still on East Coast time so I woke up crazy early (lame) and went to the hotel gym to work out since you have to milk every child-free moment you have when you're a mom.
And luckily, just across the street was a nail salon so after our breakfast/lunch, we headed over there for some manicures and pedicures. Luckily, they weren't terribly busy so they were able to squeeze all five of us in even without advance warning or appointments. I got a manicure while the other girls got pedicures. After that, we headed to our respective lodgings to prepare for the big event.
Here I am all ready to go! I spent a lot of time stressing over what to wear since this was my first non-Mormon wedding. I ordered four new custom made dresses and this blue one was my favorite. The actual wedding started at 5:30 at a country club near the hotel. Luckily, the weather stayed nice since it was mostly held outdoors. Whitney, of course, was absolutely beautiful.
Here is me, Kara, and part of Mandy as we wait for the reception to begin after the marriage ceremony. Kara has been my best friend since the fourth grade and whenever we get together (which is not often enough!) it's like no time has passed. The dinner, for the record, was delicious. I ordered the salmon with a white sauce.
And here we all are with the beautiful bride. Finally! The great irony was that we were all there for Whitney's wedding but we got to spend so little time with her.
But luckily the next morning, Whitney's friends hosted a wedding brunch for their out-of-town guests so we got to spend a little bit more time with her.
And here is Whitney with her adorable parents. They were our second parents in high school and we often went to Whitney's house to hang out. It was so lovely to see them again too.
And more of us all from the brunch. It was a beautiful morning with delicious food and delightful company. It really was just a wonderful weekend.
Mandy and Nicole had flights to catch, so they departed straight from the brunch to drive to the airport. Tessa was staying an extra day and Kara and I had later flights (around 8pm) so the three of us decided to hit up a few more spots in Denver. We went to a cupcake bakery nearby and just sat and chatted and ate cupcakes for an hour or two. (Kara is a professional baker/cake decorator and so we needed to help her with "research.")
We dropped Tessa off at her friend's house before Kara and I drove to the airport to return my rental car and deal with the hassle of the hail damage. It took us awhile to get through security but then we just sat and chatted for another hour before our flights began their boarding process. It was once again an uneventful flight back to Atlanta. I did, however, luck out in that on both my flights with Southwest, I scored exit seats. I got back very late and had to take a bus to the long term parking to pick up my car and drive home. I got home around 1am.
It really was just a great weekend. We talked about making a girls getaway a more regular thing. I know I could definitely use a few more nights away from the kids. I had a great time reconnecting with friends and just taking some time for myself. It was just what I needed and I'm so glad we all got to be there for Whit's wedding.
