A Photo Journey

On Friday, March 1st, my day started out looking like this...

But then I flew the heck outta dodge and landed in sunny freezing Charleston for a 3 day adventure! My favorite people all awaited my arrival that evening. We hugged, we squealed a bit when we saw each other (at least I did), and we heard a very exciting announcement. Insert one more squeal.

Saturday looked a little like this...



If you build it, they will come. In droves. With smiles. Even when it's cccccooooolllldddd.

And I got to spend time with these beauties and many, many more. Who's smiling now?!

And this happened. About 200 times:) Sweet girls found their perfect dress, while about 60 volunteers celebrated and cheered them on!

And proud mommas posed with their gorgeous girls. It's a win-win at Cinderella Day.

And then this happened;) Love it.

And then some more best friend time was had over good food and belly laughs. I seriously hadn't laughed that hard in a LONG time.

I'm pretty sure I could face anything with these girls by my side. And Tim and Piggy, of course. And guacamole also helps a bit.

But then on Monday, sadly, it was time to leave. This part never gets easier. BUT, I almost didn't get out that night, because the picture below happened. Flights everywhere were already cancelled. I was a bit of a panic ball because....

This girl was arriving on Tuesday to play for a few days! Must. Get. Home.

Can YOU picture yourself on the prairie? Heather stated that "prairie life was serious business", hence the lack of smile below.

So, we did a little bit of this...

And DEFINITELY a little bit of this! It was awesome, but proved my theory that I am out of shape. That hill about killed me. Well, that and the time that my sled came loose on a 4 man train and I ended up being drug down the entire hill on my butt sans sled because Heather had a death grip on my legs. Good times! #ifelteverybumpandcrannie

Just when you think we couldn't possibly find more random things to do have more fun in Rockford, this happened. With about 200 of our closest friends over 60.

Bingo. Bring it.

We also taught Heather how to play shuffle board. Look at that focus!

Timmy was the big cheese winner of the night. Drinks were on him and his $12 jackpot. Good thing too, drink prices just went up a quarter at the social club. #fiscalcliff

And before it was time to go, we pumped Heather full of Chicago style hot dogs and cheese fries one last time. #YumPortillios

And we got a few more cuddles in before she flew out.

And then we rested for the last 1.5 days of our vacation/staycation. And we were a bit down in the dumps and lonely, to say the least. Piggy drowned his sorrows in fuzzy blankets. Momma chose Pinterest.

But it's always worth the goodbye to be able to spend precious time with friends, near and far!