Girl Trip

Remember back in the day when you weren't allowed to hang out with boys so your only option was to hang with your best girlfriends? Sorry boys, but those were kind of the days! Two weeks ago {officially the worst blogger ever}, I got to spend 36 hours with some amazing girls and this trip seriously filled my soul with good old fashioned happy girl time - something I definitely needed. 

If you follow My Beeb, Dawn and Andrea then you've already read three versions of this story and if you don't follow them, well I feel bad for you because they rock my socks off.I apologize if you've read this three times already but you should probably read it again...it's that good.

So, #truestory, a few months ago I received an email from one of my favorite bloggers, Katie Mango, asking me a question about a yoga event she was organizing. She told me all about the awesome event and I sarcastically {but somewhat seriously} said "It sounds awesome, I should come." Katie's response...."You totally should. Bring Andrea". A couple text messages, emails and convincing arguments as to why Carolyn & Dawn should leave their babies overnight for the first time we were packed in my car with a lifetime supply of Doritos, enough Britney & BSB to drive to Mexico and Andrea's hangover.

 

After 6 hours of lots of girl talk we arrived safely in Council Bluffs, Iowa. We rolled in to town with just enough time for a Target pit stop before yoga. As we pulled up to the MAC {where Yoga at the Cove was moved due to stinky weather} we saw her...IT WAS KATIE MANGO! We all freaked out and screamed like teenagers because that is the natural reaction when you see a blog friend in the flesh. The first blate nerves kicked in so some yoga tailgating vodka was in order - at least for those of us who weren't hungover or hiney {hungry + whiney}.

Despite the fact that Katie didn't see me when I started jumping up and down and waving my arms at her....she was everything we expected her to be and so much more! Seriously, from the SECOND I met her I felt like I had known her forever. Also, she's so beautiful it's gross. At this point we were all STARVING {eating Doritos at 9am doesn't really give you the pre-workout energy we had expected} but it was time for yoga! The class was incredible! It was a super tough workout but so much fun. There were several times we bursted out laughing in the middle of the practice and I'm sure our neighboring yogi's thought we were idiots but we made it through without passing out from hunger. 

After yoga, Katie sent us over to the Horseshoe Casino where we were met by two men in suits and headsets who escorted us through the casino to the restaurant, seated us at our table and comped our meals. Rolling with Katie Mango is legit you guys. You would have thought the four of us had never eaten and we were pretty certain everyone in the casino was staring at us while we stuffed our faces. 

 Once our bellies were full and we were no longer hangry or hiney, we headed to Harrah's where we'd be staying. Not long after, Mango came to join us and surprised us with champagne room service which forced her to hide in the corner and under pillow and also forced Dawn to awkwardly prevent the nice man from bringing in our champagne.

We sipped our bubbly and got ready for the night and then made our way up to the 12th floor to 360 Steakhouse. We had so much fun getting to know each other better, sharing stories, drinking cocktails and stealing bites of Mango's crab cakes. It was at this point that I discovered when I sat and then stood back up my tank top and skirt worked as a team to create what appeared to be a #teenieweenie. From this point on any mention of the teenie weenie sent us girls into a fit of laughter....I said we were awesome, not mature. 

It's at this point this trip gets EPIC.

Another suited headset man comes to our table and asks Mango {who is Queen of awesome} if we'd like to go to the roof. Of course we jumped on the chance. It was SO cool. The sun was starting to set and we had an awesome view of the Missouri River and downtown Omaha. Not to mention the up close and kickass view of the Harrah's sign. Rolling VIP, I tell you, it's the way to go.

After our escapades on the roof we were off to downtown Omaha, where like a beacon in the night, we passed a frickin Wiener truck. When is the last time you saw an Oscar Meyer Wiener truck? It's been ages for me. As any normal #oldballs would do we completely and totally freaked out, whipped a u-ey, and ran to the truck as fast as we could so me and my teenie weenie could take a picture with the weenie truck.

So after my teenie weenie/giant weenie photo shoot we noticed there were people IN the weenie truck. So we made our way to the other side and sweet talked the #steamyweenie driver boy to let us in. As you'd imagine the entire inside is red & yellow like ketchup & mustard but when I see those colors I instantly think of my Gophers whose colors {maroon & gold} are really just fancy versions of ketchup & mustard. So I step in the truck and scream "OMG! It looks like the Gophers in here". To which #steamyweenie driver boy replied with "WHAT did you just say?" I panicked a bit when I remembered I was in Cornhusker country and most likely my Gopher fandom would not be well received but before I could answer #steamyweenie said "Like, U of M Gophers?" Turns out the #steamyweenie was a U of MN grad and a fellow die-hard Gopher fan which resulted in him pulling out his drivers license to prove it, us singer the rouser, throwing down the M and then taking group selfies. 

The rest of our night included sushi, lemon drops, an Irish pub, dolphin noises, and laughing until we cried. 

We said our farewells to Mango for the night and made our way up to bed. But like any good sleepover, we got a second wind as soon as our heads hit the pillows. We contemplated a late-night trip down to the casino but instead stayed up talking, taking pictures of us fake sleeping, watching Andrea trip over coolers, and arguing over which nature sound machine app noises were the least annoying.

 

We woke up the next morning well rested {what mama gets to sleep in until 9:30????} and not hungover! GO US! So all 4 of us hopped out of bed, the Beeb made me some delicious hotel coffee {she's a keeper} and we were all packed and dressed and ready to go in 1 hour's time! #winning

We checked out and made our way back to Omaha to meet Mango for a good-bye lunch at Blatt. I am both happy and sad that we don't have a Blatt in Minneapolis - happy because I would gain 400 pounds and sad because OH-EM-GEE the food is good. We tried basically everything on the menu and loved everything but the water. 

Then came the worst part of the trip, parting ways with our Mango. This girl showed us such an amazing time, was a wonderful host, an absolute sweetheart and a total blast! A yellow-loving, chardonnay-drinking, Carrie Underwood lookalike is just the kind of girl I prefer to be friends with and I am so happy we got to meet in real life.

After we sent Mango back to real life the 4 of us did a hot lap around the block to walk off our food babies before sitting in the car the rest of the day and in typical "us" fashion this was the most eventful and hilarious 5 minute walk I've ever been on - #birdattacks #saynotoicecream And the 6 hours in the car that followed were no different. We reminisced about our trip, ate more food {not sure how}, and bonded over a near-death experience being stuck in construction behind a semi-trick, driving 10 miles an hour, during a tornado warning, with cows running for shelter, corn laying side ways, tipped over trucks and cones, Andrea's wannabe meteorologist husband deciphering the Doppler, spinning clouds, #nervouspoop, #nervouspuke, #nervouscoffee, baby birth videos, almost missing the MN sign, killer mosquitos, locked bathrooms, and of course #thepinkheadband.

While this trip was short, it was incredible. Girlfriends are SO important and I feel really blessed to have these girls in my life and to have added Mango to the mix. I can't put in to words how refreshing, uplifting and revitalizing spending time with friends who just GET IT really was. We are all working moms, wives, bloggers and while we have different personalities and interests we have so much in common and being able to spend 36 hours just being ME and talking about everything from my fear of birds to motherhood to how to spell monkeys {it's NOT monkies, in case you're wondering}was just what I needed without even realizing it. I woke up with sore abs and feel pretty confident it was a result of laughing until hurt and not the yoga class we drove to Council Bluffs to do.

next up...#MangodoesMN

***UPDATE***

After reading my travel buddy's recaps I have learned that they are not only WAY funnier than I am but WAY better at describing this ridiculous trip. If you haven't already, READ THEIR POSTS!

-Dawn's Recap

-Andrea's Recap

-Carolyn's Recap