Long awaited post...

Ok Brandi, I hope this makes you feel better, I know it does me (cause now you'll stop naggin me) LOL

There is so much to say about this weekend. I had the time of my life (yeah, I know I already said that, but it really is true). I met some of the best ladies ever. Holy cow, I honestly have never laughed so hard & so long before, this was a much needed "break", just what I needed.

The weekend didn't start out exactly like I had planned (big surprise there huh) but ended way better than I ever expected, so in the end, it was all worth it! The Princess & I headed out of town late Wed afternoon & made it to my parent's early evening (I didn't even get lost LOL... they just moved & I had never been to the new place before).

We left for the airport giving me enough time to figure out where the heck I needed to go. You need to know that I had only ever flown twice before & trust me, it's been a while. I was more nervous about the whole airport thing than I was about going & meeting people & had never met. So, my dad drives to the airport, stops at the curb, pops the trunk, gets my luggage out (1 piece) as I got the other out, I shut the trunk & off he went. I was standing there in the freakin street scared to death & my dad just left me, & he took my baby!!! As I was standing there, deer in the headlights, some Hottie comes up & says "curbside check in".... me: "umm, sure... " I had NO idea what the heck he was talking about, but okay... next thing I know, he has my luggage & he's helping the next person in line. I quickly filled out luggage tags & he attached them & sent me on my way. Great, except for the fact that I now was totally at a loss as to what & where to go. I didn't want to look like a complete idiot, so I walked into the airport & found an old guy in a security uniform. Luckily he took pity on me & pointed me in the right direction. I made my way to security. Again, I'm completely clueless as to what I need to do, so I'm just watching to see what everyone else does. Take off shoes, okay... have boarding pass in hand, okay... pic up bin... so, I figured I would just continue to "fake it", just watch, I mean, heck, it's worked so far right?! WRONG! Next thing I know, they're opening a new line & I'm being told to "come this way" YIKES! I don't know what goes in the bin, okay, well, I figured everything I was holding was a good bet, BUT, do I need to open my purse & backpack, or just keep them closed? Obviously I did something correct because I didn't hear any bells & whistles (or even flashing lights) going off. I grab my stuff & slip on my shoes & find the sign pointing the way to my gate. I'm thinking this is pretty cool, I was actually starting to feel giddy. I was through the "hard part" & I still had about 2 hours to go until my plane left! No prob, I'll grab something to eat, & enjoy my "me" time & read 1 of the 3 books I brought. Again, I'm on top of the world, things couldn't be better (although the bagel I bought could have been). Well, until... I'm sitting down at my gate doing more people watching than reading, (it's okay, I would have plenty of time to read on the plane). I'm 1/2 reading, 1/2 listening the the conversation behind me. These 2 old ladies are talking about where they are going... they're talking about the stops the flight will be taking & the whole time, I'm thinking, ummm, you're forgetting one... MINE! Next thing I know, they're getting ready to board the plane. Yay, man how the time has flown! Except, it's not MY flight #, now I'm totally confused. I go up (think deer in the headlights look again) & grab the boarding guy as he's walking to the plane & shove my boarding pass at him & manage to squeak out... is this the next flight?" He answered "yes" & went on his way.  Okay, I'm back to being on top of the world again... (but still can't believe my dad just left me at the curb!)

The flight was pretty uneventful, we took off, we flew, we arrived. End of story.  Oh, & I got a package of pretzels, the freakin smallest package of pretzels I've ever seen, but that was okay, i knew what was on the "other side" of my plane ride! LOL

I get off the plane & literally just followed the mass of people (hoping & assuming they knew where they were going & it would be the same place I needed to go). So I call my hubby & let him know that I landed & that all is well. (Ok, to be honest, I was starting to freak out, I was in a totally foreign (lol) place, & was supposed to meet someone I didn't even know). I wanted/needed to hear his voice. (It worked, he even had me laughing, so all was well.) At this point, I was standing at the baggage claim area, but had NO idea if I was at the right place. Dummy me asked some worker lady & the only thing she said to me was... "it'll be posted". Ummm, okay, like posted on SS posted, what the heck?! Anyway, at about this point, I "found" Manda (well, I was hoping it was her). After big hugs (remember, we had never actually met until right then). We waited & found my luggage & headed out to her van.

Our very first stop...


Have I told you how much I LOVE this place (& how much Manda HATES it?!) She was playing nice hostess so that's where I got to eat lunch!!! Yep, it was YUMMY, even better than I remembered too! Little did I know that she had her reasons for "letting" me eat there! HOLY COW, we had a TON of errands to run to get ready for the retreat!!! I swear, I think I walked more that day than I have my entire life! Okay, maybe not, but it sure felt like it! We shopped, & shopped, & shopped some more. The conversation flowed & laughs were plenty. We instantly hit it off. At some point, late that night, we finished the retreat t shirts & crawled into bed. SOMEONE got a good night sleep... but we won't mention names. LOL SOMEONE else had to sleep with RATS!!! Yep, you read that right, *I* had to sleep with rats... anyone that knows me well knows that that is just as bad as putting me in a place full of spiders! UGH, TOTALLY freaked me out!!! Have you ever slept with rats before? They are LOUD!!! ALL NIGHT LONG they are LOUD. I honestly sat straight up in bed 3 different times because I was FREAKED out, I thought someone was breaking into the room!!! I thought about going & crawling in bed with her, but I was afraid to move!!!  (you know I love you Manda) LOL

Ok, before we went to bed, I decided that I wanted some grungeboard, so we looked up the COOLEST LSS (local scrapbook store) & I hit the jackpot, they had some!!! We decided that we would quickly get ready in the morning & head out there before the "girls" met us to head on up the hill. OMGosh, can I tell you it's a darn good thing I don't live anywhere near that place! We were in there for 1 hour & I didn't even get to see everything! I was in HEAVEN!!! Oh, & the name of the store...
Isn't that the coolest name? I love it!

Okay, after spending plenty of $, we took our "loot" back to Manda's house to get the car packed. The other girls showed up, & we headed off for the retreat. YAY!!!

We weren't even 15 minutes from her house when she got a phone call from her MIL (who was watching her kiddos) saying "Riley had a little spill..." anyway, we made it about 1/2 way before she decided she just couldn't do it anymore, she had to be with her baby. We pulled over, got things switched over into the other 2 cars & sent them on their way. Manda & I headed back down the "hill" to meet MIL & the kids at the ER. You can read all about it on her blog..."http://lilbittylife.blogspot.com/2008/10/first-for-riley.html"

After a looong 2 hours in the ER, (Riley is a GREAT patient btw & is now doing fine). We stopped at In & Out again (that was my "payment" for being her ER photographer) & started for the lodge... again!

Now, the fun could really begin, we got the "bad" stuff out of the way! Everyone else started arriving & boy did the fun begin!!!

I was pretty hesitant at that point, & didn't really talk a whole lot, just tried to stay busy (or at least look like I was) until my So Cal friends pulled up. I had been SO excited about meeting D & S for so long that I literally ran out the door the minute I saw them pull up. It was so nice to finally be able to "meet" my friends that I had become so close to online.

Yada yada yada... when everyone finally arrived, we headed to the "living" room & played a white elephant get to know you game. We laughed, & had a lot of fun stealing from each other! I think everyone was happy with their final "gifts" & it really set the mood for the rest of the weekend. What a fun group we had! I finally crawled into bed around 3. Oh yeah, I got to sleep on a top bunk, it was so funny, I felt like I was away at summer camp, I think there were 4 of us that had crawled into bed at the same time & it was all I could do not to start giggling. Maybe you had to be there, but it was pretty funny. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, there were 13-14 people sleeping in that room & to get there, you had to walk through another bedroom that had 4 people sound alseep... in the PITCH BLACK room! HILARIOUS, let me tell ya!

Bright & early the next morning, Karen & I (both on top bunks right next to each other) started chatting... I don't care WHAT D says, I was NOT talking to myself!!! Holy cow, she is such a sweetheart, I didn't get a chance to talk to her the day before, so this was fun & yay, I made a new friend! LOL

Okay, blah blah blah, we ate, we scrapped (a little), we laughed, we ate, we scrapped, we laughed... you get the idea.

I only stayed up until 2:30 that night. LOL Anyway, that was definitely the BEST night, too many funny things, I'm not going to list all the "inside jokes" & stories, but let me tell you, I jumped off the bed so fast (twice) & ran to the bathroom because I thought I was going to lose my dinner I was laughing so hard! OMGosh, these girls were funny!!!


We stuck around Sunday cleaning up & got out of there around 4 & headed back down the hill to Manda's MIL's house to get her kids. Once again, we got In & Out. Yeah, I think Manda's my new BFF!!!

I flew out the next morning (after doing her DD's hair). I made it to Portland without any issues & met my dad outside the baggage area. I couldn't wait to see the Princess! Man I missed her!! I finally made it back to Bend at 5:10, walked in the door, went potty, grabbed a sweatshirt, grabbed Bubby & out the door we went to soccer. Yeah, my weekend was O.V.E.R, back to reality for me! LOL

I had the best time ever & am so glad I went. I made so many new friends & loved meeting my other "friends", what a wonderful group of women!

Okay, this is now a novel, so Brandi, I hope you're happy! LOL

Oh yeah, here are some of the pics...

Our view out the front...


My hot tub buddy Heather...


The scraproom (I didn't spend much time in here, but I did manage to get 22 pages done)


There was lots of this going on, just small groups making new friends & memories...


I LOVED this road, it would have been so cool to have a pic of Vicki driving her hot little sports car down it. This was looking out the back of the lodge...


And there was LOTS of this going on all weekend long... (the laughter, not necessarily the basketball)