☀️Spirited Sunshine☀️: Thanksgiving, Goo Goo Dolls, and Birthday Celebrations!

The past few weeks have truly been incredible!

There is a lot to catch up on, so I will begin with Thanksgiving! :)

Nathan's parents came out for Thanksgiving - It went by way too quickly, but it sure was tons of fun!

We never have a traditional turkey dinner feast, we get out our raclette grill and cook turkey & steak on the top and melt our gruyere cheese on the bottom. Of course, we had the extra sides too!

You can learn more about the raclette grill here: Raclette Grill

The day after Thanksgiving (aka Black Friday) Nathan had to work, so Kay, Steve, and I went to Painting with a Twist!!!

This painting was so enjoyable! It certainly was *merry* and a fantastic way to end Thanksgiving and begin the Christmas season!

There was a contest to draw a winter scene on the paper plates without looking (while the plate is on top of your head) - Steve won second place, and I won third place! Woohoo!

Painting away!!

Painting is always a good idea! :)

After black Friday, Nathan's parents headed out of town, thus began the start of Christmas decorating!

Riley was determined to help....hehe! ;)

After much anticipation, Nathan and I finally saw the Goo Goo Dolls at Tennessee Theatre!!

The band Goo Goo Dolls was pretty much my favorite band in my younger years.

:) The entire night was perfection!

Waiting for the concert to begin!

The Goo Goo Dolls!!! Aaahhhhhh!!!!

After an exciting night at the concert, the next day was spent traveling to Charleston.

I was ready to spend my Birthday weekend with Nathan, and my parents (at the time, I didn't know what surprises were waiting for me).

On my Birthday, I was told that after 3pm I had to go along with whatever plans Nathan and my parents had, no questions asked. The first surprise was that my brother and his wife, Jamie, came to celebrate with us! The second surprise was that we each had rooms booked at the hotel (Tides) on Folly Beach for the night! I had mentioned a while back that I wanted to be at the beach for my Birthday, for me, it didn't get better than that (or so I thought). I was stunned! It turns out, that wasn't the end of my surprises!

We all headed to Folly Beach and checked into the hotel. We then sat in the lounge and had a drink while we waited for reservations at my favorite restaurant on Folly - Snapper Jacks.

Nathan, Dad, Ryan, Jamie, and Mom hanging out in the lounge!

The time came for dinner at Snapper Jacks, and that's where the last surprise awaited for me!

I almost fainted because sitting at our table were my many bestest friends (that live in different states)!! I cannot even describe how stunned I was, or how long it took me to get over my shock of what was happening.

Never, have I ever, been surprised like that in my entire life! My husband planned it all out months in advance, to which I had remained completely clueless.

Not everyone is pictured below, but there was: Nathan, Dave, Nick, Rachel, Meagan, Ashley, Jessica, Megan, Jamie S., Mom, Dad, Ryan, and Jamie D. all there to celebrate my Birthday with me! <3

Needless to say, my Birthday was most incredible, exciting night of my life! I'm blessed to have the most loving, supportive husband, family, and friends!

After one of the best nights of my life, I had one of my wishes come true - waking up on the beach!