I Survived EE '09!

And I can't wait to do it again next year!

Meeting women that I have blogged with for over a year was an amazing experience. Doing it in the mountains of Tennessee made it even better (that's what she said).

Because I'm just too lazy to link up to all their wonderful blogs, I'm going to give you their names and see how many you know. They're almost all on my sidebar...you can check them out from there.

(L to R, top row: Shannon, Melissa, Kat, Brandy, Denise, Lula and me.

Bottom row: Angie, Jane, Angela, Lizzy, Cara and Shelley)

We had been planning this trip for months; when I got the email from Shannon and Angie inviting me to be a part of Estrogen Extravaganza, I didn't hesitate. I had already met a few bloggers in real life (Catherine, Jennifer, and Lula). I knew it would be a great time. So when I loaded up my van and drove five hours to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, I wasn't even nervous. I chatted with a friend, listened to my Glee soundtrack, listened to a book on CD, and sometimes just enjoyed the silence as my van burned up the 317 miles to the cabin.

Once I got into the mountains, the Queen Navigator, also known as Angie, guided me turn-by-turn to the driveway of our chalet.

Immediately upon opening my van door, I was greeted by these girls that I had only ever blogged with. Hearing their different voices (and accents) was incredible, and we were all so excited to be together for the first time!

If you're wondering what on earth we did for the whole weekend, let me tell you...

We gathered around the dining room table, cracking up over YouTube videos...

We rehashed the scariest parts of the movie only four of us were brave enough to see (Paranormal Activity...Lula was dying to see it, so Cara, Brandy and I loaded into her car and ventured to Knoxville to be scared to death!)

We played 80's Scene It, watched Space Camp and Trublood, and laughed 'til we cried over the silliest things...

We learned some new things from the preacher's wife (and that's ALL I'm saying about that!)

It's amazing what you can demonstrate with a can of crescent dough. Okay, really, that's all I'm saying about it, I promise, Melissa.

While some of us braved the insanity of the Outlet malls, others enjoyed the scenery and went horseback riding. I got some great deals, they got sore behinds. Just sayin'...

We ate, a lot. Although not as much as we had planned, since we all took home lots of leftovers. We had Mexican night, we ate out at Olive Garden and Hard Rock and the Chop House, and of course no trip to the mountains is complete without breakfast at the Apple Barn (a bit disappointed in the food, though, I gotta say).

Here's Lizzy, modeling her mad baking talent...

Apple fritter, anyone? Yum!

We scared off a table full of grumpy ole folk with our laughter at the Apple Barn, which made us laugh even harder...

Overall, the weekend was a smashing success. The traffic was a bit much to deal with (we were so afraid Denise would miss her plane), but that just made the decision to stay through Monday next year that much easier, dontcha think, girls?

My favorite memory of the trip?

Watching Lula, Cara and Brandy at Paranormal Activity. I knew when the scary parts were going to happen, so when I sank low in my seat and covered my eyes, Lula knew it was time to hide behind her pillow.

Yes, I said pillow. She brought her pillow all the way from Pennington Gap to Knoxville, just to protect her at the movies...

(Look closely and you'll see Cara and Brandy hunkered down in the background).

To anyone who has yet to meet a fellow blogger in real life, let this post be an encouragement to you. Meeting people online can be scary, but for this bunch of mommy bloggers, it was a great experience!

Thank you so much, Shannon and Angie, for planning such an awesome weekend! You girls rock!