10.5 years ago (WHAT?!?!!) when I signed up to do this crazy thing called "sorority recruitment" I had no idea it would lead me to a group of friends that I would have for the rest of my life!
Enter IPPL: Ashley, Jen, Annie, Natashya, Jamie, LT, Chanteal, Carrie, Me, Jen and Mere (Kate and Erin not pictured).
I have
written about it before, but since graduating college (University) 12 of my closest girlfriends and I get together for at least one reunion each year. Sometimes everyone is able to come and sometimes it is just a few of us. Our reunion destinations have spread the globe; from Australia to Chiciago to New York to Puerto Rico to Atlanta to Tampa to Gainesville to St. Simon... and many, many more. So when I started to plan Lachlan's first trip to Florida, I decided to throw out the idea of an Easter weekend reunion in Pensacola Beach. Many of my girlfriends live up north where winter was still lingering around so I thought if I used phrases like " warm sunshine" and "beach weekend" maybe a few of them would come for a visit.
Turns out, I didn't need to use any of these phrases because, like a magic Easter miracle, 10 of the 12 girls came!!!! It was so, so awesome! Friends driving for hours. Girls flying through the night. People giving up their Easter weekend with family so that they could be with us. It was truly amazing and way more than I could have ever hoped for.
I suggested that maybe we look in to renting a beach house for the weekend so that we could all stay together in one place, but it turns out Easter weekend is a pretty popular time for family vacations (duh!) so we ended up in a three bedroom condo out at
Portofino Island Resort on Pensacola Beach.
And I am telling you... this place was PERFECT!!! Three bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a HUGE balcony with views of Pensacola Bay, a large open plan living area and a beautiful kitchen. I would go back there every weekend if I could!
Not only was the condo amazing, but the weather could not have been better. It was that perfect mix of Spring and Summer :: just right for hanging out by one of the many pools at the resort.
And so that is what we did!
After cooking some breakfast, 11 girls, 1 baby and 1 Mimi sat by the pool for hours and caught up on everything there was to catch up on.
Just like always, it was like no time had passed since we had all been together and we just picked up right where we left off. The best kind of friendships you can ask for in my opinion!
[The Tower 4 pool where we spent the day]
It was really nice being so close to my home because my mom was able to come out for the afternoon to catch up with the girls and give me a bit of baby-free time when she took him upstairs for his afternoon nap. Again- Mimi is awesome!
After a day in the sun, we all headed upstairs to shower and cook dinner.
We decided to take advantage of the grill and kitchen and have a home cooked meal instead of going out for dinner.
Aren't we so old and mature now?!?!
While dinner cooked, we sat on our balcony and watch the sunset over the bay.
And then Skyped Kate and Erin, because we were missing them and sad they couldn't be there with us too!
The next morning we woke up to another day in paradise.
Lachlan got his first picture taken with the Easter bunny and a few of the girls went down to the beach to rent kayaks and paddle boards.
Not a bad way to spend your Easter if you ask me!
That afternoon we all packed up and everyone started the journey back to their little corners of the country.
As sad as I was to see everyone leave, I know that it won't be long until we are all back together again.
As I sit here and type this right now, I can't help but think about how special and unique it is that all 13 of us are still such good friends after this many years. Sure, there have been fights and disagreements and hurtful words said to each other over the years. But the amount of support, love and encouragement that we have for each other has overcome all of that. Our friendships have truly withstood the test of time. And boys. And booze. And parties. Ohhh the stories we have!
From 18 year olds to late 20-somethings (okay, I'm almost 30... you're right), we have truly grown up together.
And grown up we have done! We are women now. We have real-life grownup jobs. We own houses. We have husbands. We even have a few little IPPL babies now!
And although I know as we grow older and begin to expand our families even more, these times when we are all able to drop everything and reunite in one location will become fewer and further between. But I also know that they will still happen!
Thirteen, 55 year old friends sitting around the pool talking about the days before kids... before husbands... when our biggest worries were what we were going to wear to the Theta Chi social or who we were going to take to formal. Now there is something to think about!!!
Love you girls!! xoxo
