Barefoot Blue Jean Night

After Dylan and Melinda's wedding, our crew loaded the hummer and headed to Smyly's Crabshack in Hot Springs. When we went inside, the vibe was a little...unrefined.
JUST how we like 'em!
You know...the kind of place you walk in and know no matter how little effort you put into getting ready that night you'll still be the best looking, most classy one in the joint? Yeah, that kinda place.

We thought we would play it safe and leave my camera in the car. But shortly after getting the night going, we KNEW it was going to be worth documenting.

Nina: "Um, we're gonna need the camera."

On the way back from the parking lot, this man looked awfully lonely sitting on his bike. So we fixed that.
Sean: "That man says you're gonna be on the Smyly's website. Good job."
Hehehe.

:)

{Sean and his girls}




When we got there, the dance floor was empty. There was just no sense in a perfectly mediocre band going to waste, so Nina and Ashley hit the center of the floor for a little air guitar and air drums.

Our pretty boy swags definitely brought some class to the place.

Then they brought some crunk.

Yes, I see that too.

We eventually brought enough life to the party that others were coerced into dancing too.


{Nina and Cody}

{Nina and Dev}

{Me and Seany}

Mohawk had no idea what was hittin' him.


We were pretty quickly dubbed "The Memphis Crew" that knew how to have a good time. And that we did.

We had SUCH a time!! Can you "Where's Waldo" my legs?

You can't get stiff when you're showing off your moves. You gotta stretch it out!

We gathered on the floor, playing a couple rounds of "Signs"-dance floor edition- throwing dance moves to each other to imitate.


Coolest guys ever! You should meet them.

This little lady had a blast dancing with our guys. And provided a whole night's worth of entertainment!



This one's for YOU Ashraf!

Dancing with pharmacy boy Ben.

7 months of marriage and that's already how you feel about him?


The next morning, Ben complained of how bad his knees hurt. I asked why.
Exhibit A...
Dustin tipped the band to play Walkin' In Memphis for us. I think I remember them saying they didn't know it? But after a break, and what I assume was a crash course in the Marc Cohn classic, they tried their hand at our request.

The melody was completely off. But at least they knew the words, which gave us something to work with. We belted every word!



We rested our bones for a bit...
Cody told me "Your.husband.is.nuts!" as we watched the dance floor show.
Greatest compliment ever.
And I am loving that guy's red bandana and short sleeve shirt.

Cody and Ben with Jett, Ben's pharmacy school buddy, who Sean introduced to me as "Jeff" and Devin called "Jeb". Luckily, I was actually listening when he introduced himself to me before and I was able to set them both straight. With an awesome name like Jett, who would want to be called Jeff? Or, worse yet, Jeb?

Jett had a pontoon boat docked across the street. Spontaneous midnight boat ride to cap off the night? Why didn't I think of it myself.

No one else was on the lake in the middle of the night. The speakers were cranked just a little too loud for my headache that I still hadn't gotten rid of from the morning before, but once the motor was cranked and the wind was blowing, it all was perfect. We carried our killer moves and high-on-life attitude with us from Smyly's to the middle of the lake on our party boat.

Full moon, shinin' bright
Edge of the water we were feelin alright.
Back down a country road
The girls are always hot and the beer is ice cold.

Ashley manned the boat and drove us to a stopping point...
...Where, of course, someone mentioned the idea of jumping in.
Not a breath later, had Sean and Devin cannon-balled into the pitch dark water.

Nina and Ashley stepped over the gate to contemplate. Nina shook her head. "I can't be cold. You know I can't be cold," and took a seat at the front of the boat.

If I had dipped my toe in to test the waters, it would have retreated like a turtle into it's shell. It was arctic cold in April. Spring River cold. Too cold.

Splash!!

Ashley flew over both of the boys. I knew if I waited to hear what she had to say when she popped up, I'd chicken out. So one step behind her, I plunged over the edge.

So, let's slip on out, where it's a little bit darker
And when it gets a little bit hotter
We'll take off on out in the water

Girl you make my speakers go "BOOM BOOM"
Dancin' on the tailgate in a full moon
That kinda thing makes a man go mhmm mhmm

We doggy paddled and half-gasped, half-laughed, trying to draw air into frozen lungs. Yes, it was freezing. But why not feel alive?!

We climbed up the ladder, our soaking wet dresses clinging and dripping onto chill-bumped skin.
The boys layered us in their undershirts and button-ups and we shivered to stay warm on the brisk ride back.

When my head hit the hotel pillow that night, my body almost forgot that it was lying on a concrete hotel bed for the next 5 hours. And during the mandatory Waffle House brunch the next day to re-hash the "once in a lifetime" night before our drive back, my mind almost forgot about the hours of annual review paperwork and overtime that awaited me at home.
It was like a taste of a summer escape before we've actually made it to summer. As cruel as it was awesome.
But it was once in a lifetime.

Dreaming of Summer...
The Grays

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