My "Yeeehaw!" Adventure!!!

This is how my trip started. Don't get scared--it's me. I bought some fake hill-billy teeth for me & my 3 traveling buddies. The teeth were a hit--& one of the ways I handled the flying experience. Thankfully, the flights weren't that bad. I did very well. I only called out to Jesus a couple times.

And of course, in my bag of fun-stuff-to-do on the airplane, I packed some crafty bits. They were right between the Mad-Libs & the chocolate bars.

The MOPS convention was TONS of fun! It was held at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center. I didn't get any good pictures of the speakers or entertainment. Too dark, too many heads in the way.

Here's me & Tia....

..& here is my group all together. Four of us went: Amy, me, Tia & Sinar. The four of us had some crazy fun. I took loads of goofy pictures, but was sworn to NOT make them public. Sorry. But I will tell you that we took the phrase "Everything's Bigger in Texas" to new heights.I got to meet 2 blog/MOPS chiks at the convention, Amber & Kara. And then, out of the blue, 2 people recognized me & came up to say hello! Another MOPS mom wrote to me after I got home & said that she & her crafty 5-year old read my blog & she saw me at convention but she couldn't get my attention as I was too far ahead. (**waves to Kristi & her daughter**)

It is so weird to think that I actually "inspire" some people. Thanks everyone for all the kind emails you send & the encouraging words & comments you leave. I have the best blog fans!

We met many wonderfully awesome people. Among them were Solomon the taxi driver, Samir the hotel manager/van driver, but my most favorite person was Dudley. He was one of the vendors in the Resource Center at the convention & our group pretty much fell in love with him. He has the most awesome Texan accent & he & his wife are part of a ministry selling coffee to support missionaries, called Missionary Coffee. I was seriously starting to feel like I was NOT in Texas because I hadn't heard anyone speak "the language". Until I met Dudley.

Here's Tia during a lunch break.

And here's me waiting for my group to stop yappin' on their phones...

About 4500 women gathered together for the convention. The Gaylord transformed the Men's Bathroom for us. Look at the pretty potty plants in the urinals.
During our breaks between sessions, we got to wander the Gaylord Resort.

The first night we ate some yummy Texas Barbeque grub. Delicious! The coleslaw had a taste of garlic in it & it was my fave!!!
I was sticking my tummy out as far as I could (which wasn't hard to do) to show how full I was from eating. My youngest just walked in & saw this picture & said, "Mommy, is that when you had Zoey in your tummy?"......Thanks Pazely.

For our break on the last day we took a bus to downtown Grapevine. We were trying to make frightened faces since we were standing at the very front of the bus holding on for dear life. Those shuttle & bus drivers are quite crazy.

We chose to eat at a little Mexican restaurant for our last meal. Our server was Alfonso, but we decided to call him Fonzarelli (a.k.a. "Fonzi" from Happy Days). I think he thinks we're nuts. I think everyone we met thought we were nuts.

Look at our yummy dessert! Fried Cheesecake.

We stayed up later & later every night. Got no sleep. It was great! But look at what time I had to set my alarm on the morning of our flight home. YIKES.

But I did get to see the sunrise as we flew out of Dallas.

I had so much fun & I was trying to think of the highlight of my trip. I loved seeing Julie Barnhill speak. One of her books, "She's Gonna Blow", really helped me as a mom a few years ago... I got so much inspiration & confidence as far as being a mom.... I received some great advice on keeping my family organized....Britney Spears mom gave a surprise visit & spoke for a few minutes....I got to meet all those blog fans!..... I heard some amazing artists sing....I got to see Maddogs & Englishmen perform improv. They were super funny & I'd never seen live comedy before.... But I think just being with my 3 MOPS mates was my highlight. We laughed so hard almost the whole time. I mean, I am usually a giggly girl anyway, but to laugh with SUCH intensity was so awesome! I can't wait to go next year to the convention in Tennessee. In fact, I think I might make a paper chain to count down the days.

I am almost embarrassed to say I hadn't thought of my kids very much on the trip. (I did talk to them a few times though.) Every mom needs a break like this. But definitely on my drive home I was starting to miss those little buggers. And wow. When I saw my hot hubby for the first time in 4 days, he was looking mighty sexy. We'll end with that.