{The Best-est Bloggy Girls Weekend EVER}

A few weeks ago, ok, really it was almost a month ago, but a few weeks sounds better, so I'm goin' with it... I had the chance to go on a little girls getaway weekend to Bear Lake. I have to be honest, of course I was excited, but I was more nervous, like so nervous I really wasn't sure I wanted to go. Why? Well, out of the 10 gals going I really only knew two in real life. The rest I knew through their blogs, but lets face it, how many of us put the real us out there on blogs? I'm not saying we completely mis-represent ourselves, but there is a LOT that gets left out. A lot you aren't willing to share with the world. So, I was a bit apprehensive about the whole trip. Not to mention that it fell during Derrick's elk hunt, so I had to have other people helping with my kids.

Anyhow, I picked up Ann (my BFF, who made everything much more comfortable) and Heather (a friend, I worked with at the airport years ago) and we headed off to Garden City. The drive up Logan Canyon was beautiful and of course we had to stop and take a few pictures.

Me, Heather and Ann
We were the first ones to pull into the cabin, and I was impressed! Isn't it nice? But as we sat and waited for some of the others to get there, I was having a bit of a panic moment! Cherie, Katie (Cherie's daughter), Keely and Melissa all arrived at the same time, and the fun and laughter started. From then on I knew it would all be ok....there was no awkward minute, it was just fun! The rest of the group, Tauna, Kimmie, and Brittany (Cherie's other daughter) arrived a bit later.
(I've linked to all their blog post about the weekend. You should check them out. They all have some great pictures and different takes on everything. Really you should just check them all out period. They are each just plain fantastic.....who knows you may end up being real life friends someday too!)

Cherie planned the whole weekend- from the cabin to the food assignments, it was all great and come to find out.... it was her birthday the day we got there! Talented Heather made a cake and yea, we made her blow out a candle for each fabulous year of her fantastic life! We stayed up late and visited and laughed and talked about an assortment of things from Brazil to crafting, hehe!

If you are lucky enough to celebrate a birthday with Cherie, you get the honor of joining her "Big Lips Club". Don't we all look Fan-tab-ulous?

Melissa, aka-MCat, had to head home Friday morning darn it.... so we all posed for a few pictures before she left (minus Katie, she was snoozing away still)

Top to bottom, Ann, Mo, Heather, Keeley, Kimmie, Cherie, Tauna, & Melissa

and one more with Brittany and minus Kimmie who took this picture!

Ann, Kimmie and Tauna

The views of the lake were beautiful and we decided to take advantage of a break in the damp weather to enjoy the sun peaking out and drive down to the lake!

Katie and Brittany were SO stinkin' cute and reminded me so much of my sister and I . They were just happy to be together and enjoyed every minute!

Pretty scenery and fun friends.... what more could a mama ask for on her break from reality?

Keely, Tauna, Katie, Brittney, Cherie, Heather, Monica and Kimmie

JUMP!

Keely, Tauna, Monica, Cherie and Kimmie

The Fantastic Bakow Girlies

The last night we were there, Ann, Heather, Keely, Katie and I stayed up way too late and had a great talk. I can't even begin to tell you how much I learned from these girls and how much their stories and testimonies touched me.

I wish I would have taken more pictures of the cabin itself, and honestly I could steal some from the other girls blogs, but that would take time and this post is a month past due, so I'm not going to. Anyhow, take my word for it, the cabin was nice, really nice, and there was plenty of room for all of us!

My roomie and I!

Mo, Ann, Keely & Heather

One of the last few pictures we took before leaving.

Can I tell you how sad I was to leave these fantastic women? I left with a heavy heart, and I missed them all before I even made it home. I doubt they will ever know how much each of them touched my life! I loved that we could all laugh together, cry together, share things that were really important to us and feel safe, not judged. These were truly spectacular women and I honestly love each of them!

And just as an added bonus, Ann and I stopped at Kneaders Bakery for lunch before I headed the rest of the way home for dessert I had my favorite fruit tart (ok, I actually bought 6... yes 6 or maybe 7? But I did give 4 of them away to all the people who helped me with my kiddos, so don't judge, they are yummers and you'd eat more than one too!) The perfect ending to a fantastic weekend! How long till we do this again girls?