Fiesta Fun - Ole!

Sometimes you look forward to something for so long and with such anticipation that it's a bit of a disappointment when it actually happens because it doesn't meet your expectations.

That was not the case with the Siesta Fiesta!

From the time I picked Xandra up at the San Antonio airport on Friday afternoon until I took her back this morning, it was an incredibly great weekend. (Well, except for the part Friday evening where I tripped on an uneven part of the concrete and sprawled flat on the sidewalk! Not an auspicious way to start the weekend!)

One of the most fun parts happened right after we got there when we went by the Alamodome to get our armbands. And I finally got to meet in person and hug my sweet friend Lisa McKay!!

And can I just stop right now and say that Patty & Kim did an amazing job planning this Fiesta & PJ Party! They worked so hard! As did Lisa and some others getting everyone checked in and headed in the right direction.

Travis Cottrell's music at Living Proof Live was wonderful. I had never heard him before. Kelly Minter also sang a beautiful solo - she writes songs as well as Bible Studies!

Of course, it goes without saying that Beth Moore is an outstanding teacher, and the sessions Friday night and Saturday were excellent.

Since there were a "mere" 10,000 there, it made it especially nice to have the Siesta Fiesta with Beth Saturday afternoon. You know how much more intimate it is to be in a group of almost 1,000 women! (Actually I don't think all of those who registered showed up.) They divided us up for group pictures with Beth, Amanda, & Melissa, and then there was a time for a Question & Answer session with Beth and her girls. The questions ranged from "How can we pray for you?" to "Beth, what foundation do you wear?" and "Melissa, how do you do your hair?" Fun girl talk!

Then Saturday night was the PJ Party. What fun it was to actually meet and hug and get to know the people behind the blogs. I usually hate mingling and chatting - I'm fairly introverted in unfamiliar situations. But the blogs took away the "small talk" element. I felt like I already knew so many of these gals! And even if I didn't, I'd seen many of them on other folks' blogrolls or in their comments. And I now have lots more hours to waste on my laptop friends to visit!

I am aggravated that I got away without taking a few other pictures. I missed getting a picture of Holly. (Wow, the cookbook is amazing! She worked so hard on it and did a bang-up job!) And Brooke. And Stephanie. And others. And I saw Missy down the way Saturday afternoon and assumed she'd be at the PJ Party, but she had to go home Saturday. I can't believe I didn't get to meet her, especially since we've discovered we grew up in the same part of Houston (although she was there a "few" years after I!).

But I got some pictures, so here are some of the gals I met. They are all darling and sweet as can be.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It was a blast hanging out and rooming with Xandra. I never dreamed a few months ago that I would develop such sweet friendships through this blog. And I so needed a weekend to get away and just have some girl fun.

I can't wait to go visit everyone else's sites and see their pictures and read their perspectives of the weekend! And for those of you who weren't there, I missed you! There were absolutely several times I thought "I wish ______ were here." Or I asked "Do you read ______'s blog?" We'll just have to do it again sometime!