Let the Party Begin ......

The best part of our gathering was we didn't really need to get to know each other.  It truly was like visiting old friends.  We just sat around, waiting for Janice and Lisa to arrive, once they were there and we finally finished hugging, we picked our rooms and settled in for the weekend.

We gathered on the front porch and the conversation flowed easily.  It was so nice to finally be able to talk to them without having to type.  Time just flew by and before we knew it dinner had to be started.  I found it very amusing that with all the mothers there, no one wanted to cook (or claimed they didn't know how).  We managed to pull dinner together, even with all the drinks we were consuming.

After dinner Jeanette (the cleaning machine) made the kitchen spotless and we thought it would be a good time for some group pictures.  Needless to say that wasn't an easy task.

With that out of the way we really started drinking.  We decided it was time to check out the hot tub.  The cover was huge and Valerie and I lost our grip and dropped it over the side of the porch.   Next year will just leave it there.

I decided to go for a walk in the dark hills around the cabin with Dana and Karen.  It was quite an experience staring up at the beautiful night sky with no city lights to fade out the stars.  Not to mention the herbal remedy I had acquired to help keep my stomach calm, this definitely enhanced the effect.

The Jello shooters didn't set, but who cares, you can suck them up with a straw right?  Well some can, but others had some bad signs effects from doing this.

Once we got back everyone was out on the porch enjoying the warm summer air.  The ladies were starting to take advantage of the hot tub.  Although Jeanette refused to get in because of the skeevies (Jeanette's word for nasty, germ infested hot tub water).

After that I don't really remember much other than laughing until it hurt, hot water, more drinks, talking, more herbs and just having the time of my life.  Somehow in that state I managed to connect to the internet with my laptop, so we could try to post some pictures to the group.  I still don't know how I installed AOL, the angels must have helped.  I think we crawled into bed around 3 or 4 am, but don't take my word for it, I was in my happy place.

The next morning we all woke up surprising early, considering our late night.  I don't think anyone felt like eating, but we cooked and threaten them with death if they didn't eat it.  The Tim Horton's coffee was flowing (the most important part of my day) and everyone just sat around enjoying breakfast, the conversation and the scenery.  One by one we made our way to bathrooms and made ourselves presentable.

I took it easy on Saturday with the drinks and at one point when to lay down in my room.  I'm not sure how long it was before someone came looking for me, but somehow everyone ended up in my bed.  And everyone wanted to take a picture.  We eventually got a good one, but I swear I heard the bed crack a couple of times.  I thought Dana and I were going to end up sleeping on the floor.

We never really got around to eating lunch as we were too busy drinking again.  The weather was warm, but cloudy and we could hear the thunder off in the distance.  We were all outside trying to catch some rays when the storm started.  It was literally a down pour, with lots of lightening and thunder, it was quite an amazing display of nature.  Some of the ladies decided to go for a drive after and pick up some extra supplies (more beer and liquor) for our evening.  Little did we know we should have picked up more coffee.  I should have brought two cans.

Once again we scrambled to make dinner, so we could enjoy our last evening together.  And what an evening it was.  There were several dips into the hot tub, we even managed to get Jeanette in, although I think she went and sterilized herself afterwards.  There was some experiencing with my herbal remedy, lots of laughter and we even had to hunt down Valerie's wedding ring from under the porch.  That is no easy task when you are intoxicated.

After Jeanette's dip in the hot tub, she decided she would make a fire in the pit by the back porch to make s'mores.  Well I think she spend most of the night trying, but with the rain from the afternoon everything was so wet, I don't think a blow torch would have even worked.

At one point we heard some noises coming from the back deck.  It seems our garbage was about to become a feast for the local raccoons, so much for lids.  Being mostly city girls, we ran into the cabin screaming about the invasion going on at our back door.  Somehow I ended up alone on the front deck at one point and someone inside turned off the lights on the front porch.  I started screaming because I was sure I was about to be attacked by the raccoons from the backyard.  There was food and drinks everywhere.  I swear to God it was the longest two minutes of my life.  I almost crawled into my bedroom through the window, but I was afraid my ass would get stuck in the window frame.  Now that would be a picture they would have got for sure.

We partied late into the night once again, knowing that it was our last night together.  Although some of us fall (passed out) asleep earlier.

Can you tell we have had a few drinks?  You don't know how many shots it took to get a good pictures.  Probably about the same amount that we had had to drink.

The next morning we awoke to no coffee!  We were so desperate that we heated up the old coffee from the night before, just to get some caffeine pulsing through our veins.  With no coffee in the cabin it didn't take us long to pack up and start our journey back to reality.

Leaving the cabin - COFFEE PLEASE!

We finally made our way to a Tim Horton's (thank God they have them in Ohio) and we all grabbed a coffee to feed our addiction, not to mention give us that jolt that we needed.  We slowly made our way back to Columbia and enjoyed an afternoon of shopping and lunch.

Like all good things in life, our meeting had to come to an end.  We decided then and there that we had to do it again next year.  With tears in my eyes, I hugged everyone and waved as I watched them leave.  But knowing that it was only a matter of time before I saw them again, made it that much easier.

So on July 15th, 2004 the party continues, with old friends and a couple of new ones and more memories to create.

by  Jo-Ann