Calliwassie - Tessa's 14th Birthday Bash

Tessa and two of her friends share an October birthday.  This year, they celebrated together on Calliwassie Island in South Carolina courtesy of Abby's grandparents.  They own a vacation home on the island and allowed Abby to bring her friends and their moms for a memorable weekend getaway.  It was lovely!  Tessa and I took over 400 photos, so it was hard choosing what to include in this post. What was chosen chronicles the fun events of the weekend.

After too many hours in the car, this is what you can expect from four giddy girls!

breakfast on the patio

fun at Hilton Head

experiencing new cuisine

black bean burger with sweet potato fries - YUM!

public transportation of the south

curling before the photo shoot

the photo shoot begins

Tessa, Morgan, Abby, Hannah

Hannah and Dena

Tessa and I

Abby and Lynn

walking to the country club for lunch

after lunch photos

This may be my favorite shot of the girls.

Calliwassie is a beautiful island . . .

. . . with alligators!  Just pretending to see one!

shots by the water

Yes, that is a huge alligator in those folks' back yard. 

Spring Island

Next to Calliwassie Island is Spring Island.  Calliwassie is more country club in its feel and Spring Island is more wilderness in its feel.  There are horses and a nature center and an awesome tree house.  We even got to kind of crash a wedding. 

It cost $800 a month to board a horse here.  Nice.

home again, home again, jiggity jig

CURLY GIRLS

Oh, what we'll do to get curls!

Tessa, 11 months old

I absolute love curly hair--not the permed, poodle kind that my mother thought was so cute back in the 60's--but big, loose, wonderful curls.  Add some ruffles and lace and . . . perfection.  Unfortunately, I have been blessed with just enough wave to be annoying.  Growing up in the 60's and 70's did not help my hair dilemma.  There were no flatirons or curling irons, and hairdryers came with big plastic bonnets.  If you wanted curls, you had to sleep on curlers (brush or sponge) or get a perm. Even though my dad worked for Clairol back in the day, he did not bring home any free samples that impressed me or my bushy hair.  Probably because I am still recovering from the damage of all the bad hair comments of my youth, I am a sucker for products that make hair sleek and shiny or curly.
 
I usually practice the curly stuff on my girls around the holidays.  Last year I purchased these nifty curlers to use on the girls' hair for Easter.  

Step One:  Thread curler on stick

Step Two:  Hook a hunk of hair and pull through

Step Three:  Repeat a bunch of times

Step Four:  Remove curlers (sorry, no photo--it was Easter morning)

Step Five:  Photograph curly hair

When Kelly was little, I literally ripped old sheets and applied sugar water to get the rag-curl ringlets.  If I wasn't so lazy, I'd dig out the photo with her head in rags.  She would be thrilled.

Kelly, 6 and Michael,  2 1/2

I have no idea what came over me a couple of months ago when I was walking through the mall and the kiosk girl offered to curl Tessa's and Abby's hair after we had visited the Mac counter for some eyeshadow tips.  And I really am still at a loss why I ended up buying the curling irons.  And I absolutely will not ever put in writing how much they cost, so don't ask.  All I will say is shop around and be prepared for what curls do to girls.  Just saying.

And by the way, all of the grandsons got plenty of curls. 

Ross, 2 years old

In the next post--and it will not take me months--you will see more of the process and a lot more curly girl photos.