Girls Weekend! (Okay, really, "week")

I am going to Cullman, Alabama on Monday and I will be there until Thursday and I am SO EXCITED! Before my friend, Leslie Daniel Echols, moved to Cullman, I had never heard of it (one hour north of Bham)...but from what I know, the 24 hour Wal-Mart closes at 9pm and there are MANY cute little shops. I am not the only one who will be venturing towards Cullman though. We are having our annual (although recently it has been every other year) Girls Week/end at Leslie's house. It is going to a zoo at her house. The people attending:

Leslie and her two kids, Ethan (4) and Addie (2.5)
Lyndsay Allan Magar and her daughter, Tess (almost 1)
Janna Shero Gustafson and her two kids, Lauren (3.5) and Marley (1)
Jenny McCormick Martin and her two kids, Kate (3.5) and Andrew (3 months)
Clair Weitecha Patton-no kids yet, but I'm sure someone in our group could loan her one
Me and Nora (almost 5 months)

14 human beings in all! Quite a houseful. Thankfully, Leslie has a house that can accomodate us and she is being sweet enough to let us come in and take over. (She might need some serious massage therapy though after we all invade!)

Here are a few reasons why I am thrilled to be attending:

• The airplane ride-okay, not really the ride, but the look on people's faces when I step on the plane with my baby. I have one of "those" people before. The second I saw a baby or toddler I knew the flight was doomed. The kid would cry the entire time, or at least that is what I thought. Now, I am one of those poor parents who looks at people apologetically and prays that I get sat next to a grandmotherly type and not a super serious businessman.
• Being in the TRUE South. Arkansas is not really the "South" (I don't know what it would be). Alabama, however, is truly southern. I am mostly excited because the bows that Nora wears in her hair everyday will be normal and expected and I won't have people saying to me,"Well, look at that...she has a bow in her hair. Do you put one in everyday? Hmmm...well, I guess it shows she is a little girl." Well, duh! She is a girl! And she was blessed with a lot of hair...of course she is going to wear a bow (and she will wear one everyday until she learns to do her own hair, and then I can only pray that she will choose them on her own).
• Rick and Bubba!!!!!! I LOVE Rick and Bubba! When I lived in Nashville, TN (4 years), I listened to them every weekday. I went through some serious withdraw when I moved back to AR! I can still sing the 7 o'clock song (Time to get up in the morning, drink my coffee, hurry up, I got to, got to, got to get to work on time...) and wonder how they are doing. I do visit the website occasionally, but it's too painful to go very often. I have a few of their CD's and listen every now and then (my favorites still are "Carwash Joe" and Bubba and his CPack machine). I am hoping to hear them at least one morning while I am there. Maybe even sing the 7 o'clock song and the National Anthem (do they still play that every morning?).
• Yummy food...I am afraid that on Monday-Thursday of next week, Weight Watcher's Bye Bye Baby Fat will be tossed aside. That's okay though (I have to keep reminding myself of that). I am surrounded by good friends and don't need to worry about my waistline. I love my friends dearly, but they are all a bunch of skinnies. A bit sad for the ole' self-esteem, but I'll overcome and enjoy every second (and morsel of food) that the four days have to offer. But Friday morning, it's back to bootcamp!
• Time with the girls. This is truly my favorite reason for going. It has been so long since we have all gotten together. The last time I saw Lyndsay was at my wedding (over 3 years ago), the last time I saw Clair was about 2.5 years ago, I saw Janna and Jenny in Nov. of '03, and Leslie visited us in April. I cannot believe that we are all about to reunite. God has been so good to all of us and has blessed us so much. Our friendships started in the Fall of 1995 when we all pledged Zeta Rho. Our love for the club faded some over the years (don't get me wrong, we LOVED ZP, but as we got older our priorities shifted slightly), but our love for each other has held strong. We have a group email that we write to often so we are all caught up and now what is going on (thank you again Ashley Sholl Lemaster for starting that so many years ago!).

I'm sure I will have a ton of pictures to post when I return next week. Please keep us all in your prayers as we are all traveling from different states. Don't you love friends!?!