Monday 8/6, I was so tired after work so I laid down and completed uploading pictures on flickr and copying Court's pictures and uploading those and wrote back to Ian. I then did some household stuff and got the kitchen looking pretty good and put all my birthday presents away. I ate some dinner and talked to Jessica on the phone for a while about plans later this week and weekend then started blogging. I talked to Susan for a long time on the phone then showered, blogged a little more and went to sleep.
Sunday 8/5, MY BIRTHDAY. Where did we leave off? Oh yes, we went to bed around 2am and my alarm woke us at 4:30. We were up, packing and ready to roll out by 5am. I called Doug's phone but it went straight to voicemail. I got my stuff in the car then knocked on the boys' door, 118. Michael answered in his boxers and told me he couldn't wake Doug up; alarms were going off, the phone was ringing and he'd tried to wake him up all to no avail. He was like "Shit, I don't know what to do" so I was like, ok, took a few steps toward the bed and was like "Doug!" and he woke right up and was all startled and "Yeah?!" so I said it was time to hit the road and he's like (still totally drunk) "Ok, let me grab my shit" and Michael just stood there with his jaw on the floor. I was like, "What can I say?" I gave Michael a hug bye and we went to the car. Court wanted me to drive because she was pretty out of it and was pretty sure she was still a little tipsy. Doug kept us totally entertained all the way to the airport and had no idea which airline he was on and had no confirmation or ticket to go off of. Plus we weren't sure if they would let him on the plane in his current state. We dropped him first at the main terminal then we went over to the other one for me and Court dropped me and it was so hard to see her go, we totally rebonded while there and I miss her so much and really hope she comes up and lives here for a while. Sigh. I got checked in, through security and to my gate. Doug called to say he made it through and was on NW then I talked to Court for a while and she made it back with the rental and to the terminal and was all checked in and everything too, so that was good except she had like a two hour wait for her flight. I laughed looking at all my pictures from the weekend while waiting to board. I was so tired but couldn't sleep on the plane so instead talked to the couple next to me for a long long time about online dating and mid-West boys and family and siblings' bfs and I loved him because he was so funny and blunt and kept waking me out of my semi-sleep state to see if I wanted a breakfast sandwich. He said they would come to my birthday party and we would tell everyone they were my uncle and aunt from MN which wouldn't be out of the ordinary since I have like 5 sets. Kay-See picked me up from the airport and was down IN BAGGAGE CLAIM waiting for me. I was so excited to see her and I started telling her about Ian right away and we just laughed and talked all the way into Issaquah. We went to Sweet Addition to have a little birthday breakfast pastry to wake me up then she dropped me at my house. I had to bust ass to get ready and back to Mom's to help set up. I tried to look for Ian quickly but there were like 83 pages of Ians with his last name so I vowed to do more research later that night after my party. I headed out and over to Mom's and helped a little bit but mostly threw a fit because Jake was there. He surprisingly behaved himself though. Zach and Nicole were the first to arrive, then Susan, then Kay-See and Michelle, then Neil and Chris, Richie and Cory, Jessica, Dario, Billy and Jasmine and lastly Schuyler and Chrystol. It was a full house but it felt fantastic. Everyone mingled and we watched the air show and took some funny pictures and laughed and just enjoyed being outside on such a beautiful day. I feel so incredibly lucky that I have such wonderful friends and that everyone came and enjoyed my day with me. I can't even say enough. I got some hilarious cards, postcards, cookies, pictures, flowers, plants, shirts and other random little things (primarily from Jess). People trickled out slowly a while after the show was over and things had wound down, but a bunch of us sat talking in the kitchen for a long time and laughing about Belltown and Cowgirls Inc and how I want to see Chris ride the bull and the kinds of boys there and everything. It was great. I talked to Mom and Dad for a while and thanked them for everything and finally left around 6 and called Aubrie on the way home. I was telling her all about N and Ian and I went to read her what N had sent me and there was a new message in my inbox from an Ian with the subject "Happy Birthday Karrah!!!" and I was like "OH MY GOD AUBRIE, HE FOUND ME AND ALREADY SENT ME A MESSAGE!" so I opened it up and couldn't stop giggling uncontrollably and saying "I can't believe this" and "Oh my God!" and she was like, Alright sis! After talking to her I started uploading pictures onto myspace and also flickr and did that for most of the rest of my day. I talked to Susan for a while and watched some shows then I wrote back to Ian and he wrote me back right away so I was totally beside myself. Kassie called at 11:00 to be the last one to wish me a happy birthday and I told her all about Ian and she'll be up here in a couple weeks so we're figuring all that out. Went to bed right around midnight.
Saturday 8/4, I was awoken by an adolescent running back and forth on the walkway outside our room from about 7:15 to 7:45. I was about to open the door and strangle the little bastard. Who lets their kid do that? Why do people even bother having children? It baffles me. Ug. I finally fell back asleep and we woke back up at 9:15, jumped out of bed, got ready and hit the road for the Mall of America. We arrived a little after 10 and I was on a mission for a white cami to wear with my new pink party dress. First though we stopped at Caribou Coffee which I’d informed Court was a Mid-West chain and she wanted to try it so I got a white chocolate raspberry scone and hot chocolate made by a very cute baristo who was from New York and asked what we were doing in the area. I took some pictures of him from a bench (far away, stalker style) while we enjoyed our breakfast fare. Soon we were on our way around the mall. We hit DSW, H&M where I got some cute work shirts and the cutest cloud with moving lightning bolt earrings, then Gap Body where I picked up my improvised white cami. We decided to hurry up because we needed to get back and I was so relieved I’d found that cotton-y white bra thing for under my dress. We drove back to the hotel and ordered a roast beef sandwich from American Pie and Court picked it up while I shaved my legs. We ate then I showered and washed my hair and started my process of getting ready. Garth showed up and it had been raining all day and he was giving us an update so I had to throw a towel on because I was in my bra and thong. Yikes. The weather was getting worse and worse but it was muggy at the same time so we opened the door for a breeze and finished getting ready that way. We were ready so we started watching this Beauty and the Geek style show and didn’t want to turn it off and were groaning at the guys, until Garth came and told us it was time to go. We followed him, Pete and Becca in their car all the way out to Pig Wisdom Farm, which was a good 20 minutes away. We pulled the car into this huge field to park and I instantly saw Ian standing next to the car they had arrived in wearing these totally hot jeans with country style button up shirt and short tie, and squealed to Courtney “Oh my God, look at those jeans, that’s so fucking hot!!” and she just rolled her eyes at me and asked me to help her park and stop drooling. I noticed that they were all walking up the pathway with umbrellas so I was like “Hurry your ass up Court, we can totally get to the path just as they’re walking by!” so we did and of course it worked and he looked at me and was like “Do you want this umbrella?” I almost died. I played it cool though, "No, but we can share it" Oh snap! Heh. So we walked up to the tent and craziness was all around with everyone trying to get the chairs dried off and under the tent. We were about 40 minutes early so there was still plenty of time. We asked Mzia if we could go up and see Sos and we managed to find the little farmhouse ok and she was there and we talked and helped her by running some things out and she got her dress on and looked absolutely beautiful. Gorgeous hair, makeup and dress. Seriously, so beautiful. And she was so calm, nothing was getting to her. We finally made our way down to claim a table and sat with Garth, Becca, Pete, Eliso’s cousin whose name I can’t remember, and Doug and Michael who were pinch hitters filling in the other spot. We all opened our chocolates and read our fortunes and I read mine to myself then crumpled it up and threw it on the table and said “Fucking fortune” but Doug pieced it back together and read it, “Dare to love completely” he crumpled it back up and threw it onto my plate again. The rain really started coming down and the side of the tent was rolled up by us so the wind and rain were coming in periodically and getting us girls a bit and not one of those boys offered their coats. The ceremony started and it was really nice, though it was hard to hear with the rain pounding down on the tent, but it was still beautiful and I totally cried and tried not to ruin my makeup. Court and I hit the port-a-potty after the ceremony and then miraculously it stopped raining. I went out to take pictures of the humongous chickens and then one of the goats I had seen earlier came out so I got all excited and started taking tons of pictures. Then Garth came out and I ordered him to feed the goats a gourd that were sitting there so he complied and that’s how I got that one hilarious goat picture where it looks like Garth is ramming it down the goat’s throat. While wedding pictures were being taken everyone roamed the property and took pictures and we flirted with boys then we all ended up back in the tent for speeches and Court gave one and it was really sweet and I’m so proud of her that she did it and finally it was time to have some dinner. Court snuck some macaroni which was supposed to be for the kiddies only. Heh. Ian was in my direct view at the next table and we both caught each other looking at the other during dinner and the ceremony a few times then I figured out that he looks like Seth from OC and that must be another reason why I was so drawn. We polished off our meals (delicious!) then mingled some more and started to get the dancing going. There weren’t that many at first and I got out there a little until it finally picked up. Cake was cut and served, but not by the bride and groom, there was no cake exchange which kind of cracked me up. So Eliso. There were 5 cakes I think and I had a white one. A group of about 9 was going down to the field where the cars were parked to smoke weed so I followed suit, mostly because Court and Eliso were and so was Ian and while down there Court passed the pipe right by me to the girl next to me and she was like, “You skipped her!” which turned into this whole, let’s look at Karrah because she doesn’t smoke and now please explain why you do not do such a thing, when really Courtney was just trying to avoid any of that by skipping me discreetly because she knows there’s no use. Bless her heart. Didn’t work though. So then it turns into that I don’t drink OR smoke because Court asks Eliso which she thinks would be better for me, then moves in the circle by Eliso so then I’m standing right next to Ian who’s like “So Karrah, what’s with the hatin on drinking and smoking?” and that at least started us on having a conversation, which turned into how we’re both anal with our stuff and roommates, etc. Court was ready and like “Come on Kare!” then realized I was finally talking to Ian and quickly backtracked like, “Oh, well, you can stay here if you want” but I said I didn’t so we went back up and Ian followed suit anyway. C and me got back on the floor and started dancing and Jamul was cracking me up and we were both showing each other our 3 or 4 moves and at one point I pointed to Ian on the dance floor while singing and he kind of smiled. Court and I made another trip to the bathroom but by this point it was pitch ass black and we couldn’t see anything, which is generally not a good thing in a port-a-potty. I illuminated my cell phone and stuck the light under the door for Court who said it totally worked, then I took a picture of her when she came out and it’s so funny because she totally wasn’t expecting it. Then it was my turn and she was trying to take pictures under the door and got one when I came out. So back on the dance floor we were dancing dancing dancing and I kept trying to be over near Ian and Court was trying to move over by him too and we'd kind of look at each other a little while dancing but not do anything about it. There was one girl that neither of us liked and she was all Top Model or something and Courtney was like "That Top Model bitch better watch out!" and she was dancing with him so I def backed off. I assume they knew each other since she was from PDX too. “Help” came on and I sang all the words then after it was over Ian leaned over and was like “You knew all the words to that” and I was like “I LOVE the Beatles!” and he was like Be still my heart or something AWESOME like that. We both went back to dancing a few feet from each other but I would lean over intermittently to ask him things or comment like eventually I told him he was a really good dancer and asked him how often he goes dancing and he says like never and I asked if he practiced in the mirror then and he acted out how he would practice in the mirror if he did and how he would talk to himself to pump himself up, so instantly I was in stitches. We started dancing closer and closer and Court was off doing her own thing, like swinging on the pole like a stripper, and I could NOT stop smiling and laughing. He was all "Stop it, you're making me self conscious" but I told him not to worry. Part of it was me laughing because I knew he had a girl he was seeing back home and I was wondering what he thought he was doing dancing like that, but I guess I wasn't the only one he was doing it with so I can't be too concerned. Except I kept wondering if he was going to try kissing me because our faces kept getting so close. But he didn’t. So many funny things to write so I'm going to summarize: old guy making out with the pole, Ian saying "Who am I, who am I?!" and pretending to make out with the pole, cue me laughing hysterically, the guy who got a running start and tried to swing around the pole holding the tent up and almost brought the whole thing down and Ian grabbing my arm while doubled over with laughter, stranger danger referring to me, counting down to my birthday "23 minutes left", telling him how hot his jeans were and how daring he was to wear them to a wedding, him confirming that the umbrella thing had totally been a ploy and asking if it had worked, giving each other points based on things we were discussing then him asking how many points he had and what that even meant and I had to tell him I didn’t even know what the scale was (shrug). So finally I say “So, you’ve got a lady friend” and he confirmed he did but we continued dancing and laughing until Doug cut in, like seriously barged in, and he was like "I was told to come warn you that he's got a gf" and I was like "I know, I already called him out on it!" but clearly the way we were dancing and interacting was causing a stir with people, so then I asked who told him to come over and he told me and I just like rolled my eyes, told him thanks and he said he just wanted to protect me and to let him know if I needed anything. So Ian and I start dancing again and I told him what Doug had told me and he was like whatever, and was like "I'm not crossing any lines" and did that thing with his fingers that totally cracked me up. I like that Doug used the word "Warn" and I told Ian, I'm not trying to be that girl, I'm behaving myself. So we certainly didn't let that get in our way of having fun. He bumped into this older guy and said that earlier that same guy told him that his daughter liked him and his wife had said he was the hottest guy there and wanted to know if he wanted him to hook him up with the 17 year old daughter, and Ian was like "I want no part of that" so I was like "Great, I'm going to get my ass kicked! By a jealous 17 year old!" and he was like "Yeah, the mom and daughter are going to shank you!" and then we looked over and they were dancing right behind him and I was like "There's your girlfriend" and he was like (with a totally straight face) "Be cool, be cool!" and said to not smile and laugh so we both made our super sexy faces and danced really seriously. He's SO FUNNY. I'm sitting here laughing thinking about it. I had kicked my shoes off by this point because my feet hurt and everyone else was doing it but the floor was super slippery with the water and spilled drinks all over it, and luckily I didn't bite it. The same cannot be said for one of the bridesmaids however. Ouch. We both lost it on that one. Ian misplaced his camera so we tried to find it then I went back out to the dance floor and he was right behind me, heh. Pretty soon they announced that it was the last song and he gave me another update (only 5 more minutes!) and we went under the tent and I insisted on taking a picture and he was trying to take one with his iphone and we heard someone say "Aww, look he's trying to take a picture" and he was all "Shut up!" and I think he got a dark one, and the three I took didn't turn out so well but the one of him is cute. As we were all coordinating and prepping to leave he asked me what I was going to do and I told him go back to the hotel and go to sleep and he was like "You can't, it's your birthday! Everyone's going out! You have to celebrate" but we were leaving super early, so, yeah. I wanted to, but sleep was imminent. Court and I were leaving so we were getting our final moments in and he was like "Myspace me. Oh my God, don't tell anyone I just said that" then we had a long hug and he said "Happy birthday Karrah" very softly into my ear and I totally melted. He was the first one. Court and I took Jamul in our car then Jake climbed in bringing with him the stink of his fart and we drove out to Red Wing to drop Eliso and Jake off at their hotel. I gave Eliso a big hug and kiss then Julie hopped in our car and we took back off for River Falls. We dropped Julie at the Library (where everyone else was) first then Jamul at his hotel then drove home, packed and passed out. By that point I was SOOO over N and couldn’t stop smiling and giggling.
Friday 8/3, I set my alarm for 9ish, got up and showered then headed down to the complimentary. I went back to my room to hang out until it was time to check out and get Court. I painted my nails and toenails while watching the Friends E True Hollywood Story and packed intermittently. I checked out, caught the hotel shuttle to the airport with one of the funniest guys ever and went to baggage claim to meet Court. We spotted each other at the same time, hugged, grabbed her luggage and headed to the Advantage Rental desk where we had to really convince the girl that Court would be the only driver. We waited outside for the shuttle forever, but we filled the time with picture taking and gossiping. We boarded the shuttle and it started down the freeway and we were like “Where the hell are we going?! No wonder the car rental is so cheap!” but when we pulled up we had a super nice Dodge Stratus complete with new car smell, leather seats and crazy stereo system, plus it was silver. We didn’t want the blue one. We hit the road and right away (494) this van starts to pass us and Courtney’s like “He-ay!” and waving to the car next to us so I look over and these two cute boys are waving to us and smiling so I’m like, “Oooh! Hi!” and they’re showing us their iced tea or something. Courtney was going like 85 so the highway turnoff we were supposed to take came really quickly and we passed the van boys once again and waved and smiled and the driver flexed his muscles then we realized we were supposed to follow them onto the highway they were taking (94) and right then Eliso called and told us to just come to her parents house instead of to the hotel and we could eat there so we managed to turn ourselves around, take highway sign pictures and made it into River Falls. We had one more incident of getting lost when we missed Bob White but quickly recovered and found Eliso’s house. We walked up the long, wooded and beautiful driveway and instantly saw Sos and Doug and got hugs and Garth was on the phone then we met Jamul, Eliso’s cousin and an Uncle Dick and saw Tessa who is 17 now and so pretty and tall and neither of us recognized her…since we haven’t seen her in like 8 years. We went in and met all the rest of her family and it was so chaotic; there were so many that one name and face started blending with the next. Eliso gave us a tour of the house and took us down to the backyard where there was a pool and a bunch of cute guys. There was Brad (Lexi’s bf), Park and Ian. We saw the rest of the house then grabbed some food just as Pete and Becca arrived. We all went down to eat by the pool and Jamul talked to Court and me for a long time and we all just kind of hung out. Eliso was going to get her suit on so we went out to the car to get ours, changed and laid in the sun just talking and laughing. I asked Eliso about Ian, who was insanely cute, and she said he’s one of their friends from Portland and when I asked about a gf she said nope, no gf. Score, I’d been in River Falls for about 45 minutes and I already had my wedding make-out partner locked down. A bunch of the group was in the pool so the three of us decided to get in the shallow end and Court splashed my stomach while Sos’ dad took pictures and I almost killed her. We got out to dry off and catch more rays and were introduced to Nico, Michael’s brother, who I’m sure I’ve met before. 4:00 rolled around so we got dressed and made plans to call Garth, Becca and Pete later to perhaps meet up for dinner or to just hang out before hitting the bars. Court and I drove around forever trying to find our hotel until I realized I was following directions that didn’t go to the hotel so we got back on Main St. and found it right away. It looked a bit…dated, and we joked about asking about the business center and pool hours, etc and how the lady would be like “I’m wearing a fucking cat shirt, there is no elevator or bellhop” and I had Courtney practically falling down the stairs as she tried to lug her suitcase up. Our room was fine and I instantly took a picture of our blue sink. We both stripped down to our underwear and climbed into bed to watch the cooking channel and drooling at all the recipes with bacon. We ended up falling asleep for a little while then got up and decided to get ready and go to Luigi’s for dinner per Eliso’s recommendation. We drove down and parked across the street by Econo Foods and went in. We both got calzones and I almost got mine with bacon but then I let our waitress choose and she picked Canadian Bacon so I was still happy and totally ate the whole thing. I noticed there was a cute boy working in the back so when we were paying at the front I saw him look out the little pass through to the kitchen then I saw him say something to his coworker who then looked up at me, then I saw another guy pop his head out from the side of the window, then another one from the other side and I was like “Court, why are they all looking at us?” and she just looked at me and like rolled her eyes, like “You know!” because I’m so flirty and must just radiate desperation. So anyway, as we walk out I look one final time and all of them, ALL FOUR of them, were looking out the window at us. I was like “Let’s go back and find out where THEY’RE going tonight!” We went to Econo Foods so I could get a wedding card and I got a hilarious one with an old fashioned guy and girl getting married and I was going to make them Jake and Eliso. We got some water and I picked up some cheaply priced toiletries then the checkout boy told me they can’t do cash back with debit and that he thought it was against the law “or something” in River Falls. I was flabbergasted. We walked to Dairy Queen and both got Oreo blizzards and sat out in front hoping to see more cute locals. We had some hooligans on a skateboard ask us if the cops were gone then I pretended I was going to snitch on them and had Courtney rolling again. While sitting there we spotted Garth, Becca and Pete in their convertible so they turned around and came back and we told them which room we were in at “America Advantage” and to come get us later for going out purposes. We went back to the hotel and watched some tv then there was a knock on the door and I was like, “Shit, I’m in my underwear! Oh well, I’ll get it” and it was Garth so I half hid behind the door and he got all embarrassed and like turned around when I pointed out my state of undress. He asked if we wanted to go out later and we did and told him to come back when they were getting ready to go. Court fell asleep again and I watched some tv then she woke up and was not really feeling like going out because it was getting late and we were pretty tired and we were sure Eliso wouldn’t be going out because of the time, but then Garth came up all ready to go and said that Eliso was going to be out, so I was like, “Can I throw some pants on and we come with?” and he was like “Sure!” so I put on a little makeup because I knew there would be cute boys there and the 5 of us hit the bricks as a group into town. We met up with everyone at Coaches and there were many cute boys in attendance out on the back deck but we eventually ended up inside and I was sitting at the bar with Garth talking to him for a long time then Jamul then back and forth with Court and Doug. We left there as a group and walked down to Ground Zero where there were tons more local boys and everyone was hot and some of us girls sat at a booth and Eliso was like “Don’t be pissed, but I told Ian you thought he was cute and he was totally floored but it turns out he is actually dating someone” and I was like, damn! Oh well. I started scouting out all the other boys and even said hi to a few before making my way to the back to where some of the boys were playing foosball and Eliso was socializing with one of her cousins, Kevin. I ended up talking to him for a long time and Eliso wanted me to hook up with him but he totally looked like Jess’ cousin Ryan so it was totally freaking me out. But he was super nice so we talked until we moved bars again to go dancing. Next we went to the Library which had sucky music but one of Eliso’s other cousins pulled Court and I out there and I was totally ogling this guy with all these great dance moves (a la Eric) but I wasn’t feeling it so we left the dance floor. I got some pictures with Doug and talked more with Garth and kept my eye on Ian, who I had been told loves to dance which is generally a rare thing for straight white guys. No dancing to be had though. Yet. Eliso took off but Court and I decided to stick around to see if any cute boys would talk to me. A group of us went back to Ground Zero because apparently that’s where we were all meeting up, but instead there were like 5 or 6 of us and no one else showed up, so Court and I decided to leave and ran into everyone else as we were exiting and they had all been at Coaches thinking that that was the meeting place. No one could find Doug but that wasn’t our problem so we said our goodnights and started the walk home. Saw a fight on the sidewalk (River Falls’ nightlife totally shocked me…kind of like Snohomish’s) and continued on through the dark. So we’re walking and talking, blah blah blah, and all of a sudden we hear a drunken “Heyyyyyyy!” from like a bush a ways in front of us and we’re both like (squinting) “…Doug?” and he’s like “Where have you guys been, I’ve been looking for you?!” and we’re like, Uh, everybody’s back in town, definitely not half way to the fucking hotel. What are you doing here?! He didn’t have a room key, was TOTALLY wasted and said he had been trying to call Garth, so I tried Garth and he picked right up but couldn’t hear me because it was really loud in the bar but I heard him ask “Jake?!” and I was like, “Hm, no, but thanks” then he suggested we finish walking to the hotel, drive Doug back to the bar to get a room key and drive back because “I saw what you were drinking tonight, you only had one water!” Doug scoffed at this idea and set back out toward town. Never mind he could barely walk. We kind of shrugged and kept walking when we see this car drive by us and honk and slow down with window rolled down. So I’m like, Shit, and Court’s like, Just keep walking, then as we’re approaching the car we hear someone say “Karrah!” and Jamul stuck his head out, and it was him, one of the other cousins whose name I can’t remember and Julie all out looking for Doug. We told them he walked back into town, so they kind of shrugged and drove off back to their hotel. We finally arrived, got ready for bed and hit the sack.
Sunday 8/5, MY BIRTHDAY. Where did we leave off? Oh yes, we went to bed around 2am and my alarm woke us at 4:30. We were up, packing and ready to roll out by 5am. I called Doug's phone but it went straight to voicemail. I got my stuff in the car then knocked on the boys' door, 118. Michael answered in his boxers and told me he couldn't wake Doug up; alarms were going off, the phone was ringing and he'd tried to wake him up all to no avail. He was like "Shit, I don't know what to do" so I was like, ok, took a few steps toward the bed and was like "Doug!" and he woke right up and was all startled and "Yeah?!" so I said it was time to hit the road and he's like (still totally drunk) "Ok, let me grab my shit" and Michael just stood there with his jaw on the floor. I was like, "What can I say?" I gave Michael a hug bye and we went to the car. Court wanted me to drive because she was pretty out of it and was pretty sure she was still a little tipsy. Doug kept us totally entertained all the way to the airport and had no idea which airline he was on and had no confirmation or ticket to go off of. Plus we weren't sure if they would let him on the plane in his current state. We dropped him first at the main terminal then we went over to the other one for me and Court dropped me and it was so hard to see her go, we totally rebonded while there and I miss her so much and really hope she comes up and lives here for a while. Sigh. I got checked in, through security and to my gate. Doug called to say he made it through and was on NW then I talked to Court for a while and she made it back with the rental and to the terminal and was all checked in and everything too, so that was good except she had like a two hour wait for her flight. I laughed looking at all my pictures from the weekend while waiting to board. I was so tired but couldn't sleep on the plane so instead talked to the couple next to me for a long long time about online dating and mid-West boys and family and siblings' bfs and I loved him because he was so funny and blunt and kept waking me out of my semi-sleep state to see if I wanted a breakfast sandwich. He said they would come to my birthday party and we would tell everyone they were my uncle and aunt from MN which wouldn't be out of the ordinary since I have like 5 sets. Kay-See picked me up from the airport and was down IN BAGGAGE CLAIM waiting for me. I was so excited to see her and I started telling her about Ian right away and we just laughed and talked all the way into Issaquah. We went to Sweet Addition to have a little birthday breakfast pastry to wake me up then she dropped me at my house. I had to bust ass to get ready and back to Mom's to help set up. I tried to look for Ian quickly but there were like 83 pages of Ians with his last name so I vowed to do more research later that night after my party. I headed out and over to Mom's and helped a little bit but mostly threw a fit because Jake was there. He surprisingly behaved himself though. Zach and Nicole were the first to arrive, then Susan, then Kay-See and Michelle, then Neil and Chris, Richie and Cory, Jessica, Dario, Billy and Jasmine and lastly Schuyler and Chrystol. It was a full house but it felt fantastic. Everyone mingled and we watched the air show and took some funny pictures and laughed and just enjoyed being outside on such a beautiful day. I feel so incredibly lucky that I have such wonderful friends and that everyone came and enjoyed my day with me. I can't even say enough. I got some hilarious cards, postcards, cookies, pictures, flowers, plants, shirts and other random little things (primarily from Jess). People trickled out slowly a while after the show was over and things had wound down, but a bunch of us sat talking in the kitchen for a long time and laughing about Belltown and Cowgirls Inc and how I want to see Chris ride the bull and the kinds of boys there and everything. It was great. I talked to Mom and Dad for a while and thanked them for everything and finally left around 6 and called Aubrie on the way home. I was telling her all about N and Ian and I went to read her what N had sent me and there was a new message in my inbox from an Ian with the subject "Happy Birthday Karrah!!!" and I was like "OH MY GOD AUBRIE, HE FOUND ME AND ALREADY SENT ME A MESSAGE!" so I opened it up and couldn't stop giggling uncontrollably and saying "I can't believe this" and "Oh my God!" and she was like, Alright sis! After talking to her I started uploading pictures onto myspace and also flickr and did that for most of the rest of my day. I talked to Susan for a while and watched some shows then I wrote back to Ian and he wrote me back right away so I was totally beside myself. Kassie called at 11:00 to be the last one to wish me a happy birthday and I told her all about Ian and she'll be up here in a couple weeks so we're figuring all that out. Went to bed right around midnight.
Saturday 8/4, I was awoken by an adolescent running back and forth on the walkway outside our room from about 7:15 to 7:45. I was about to open the door and strangle the little bastard. Who lets their kid do that? Why do people even bother having children? It baffles me. Ug. I finally fell back asleep and we woke back up at 9:15, jumped out of bed, got ready and hit the road for the Mall of America. We arrived a little after 10 and I was on a mission for a white cami to wear with my new pink party dress. First though we stopped at Caribou Coffee which I’d informed Court was a Mid-West chain and she wanted to try it so I got a white chocolate raspberry scone and hot chocolate made by a very cute baristo who was from New York and asked what we were doing in the area. I took some pictures of him from a bench (far away, stalker style) while we enjoyed our breakfast fare. Soon we were on our way around the mall. We hit DSW, H&M where I got some cute work shirts and the cutest cloud with moving lightning bolt earrings, then Gap Body where I picked up my improvised white cami. We decided to hurry up because we needed to get back and I was so relieved I’d found that cotton-y white bra thing for under my dress. We drove back to the hotel and ordered a roast beef sandwich from American Pie and Court picked it up while I shaved my legs. We ate then I showered and washed my hair and started my process of getting ready. Garth showed up and it had been raining all day and he was giving us an update so I had to throw a towel on because I was in my bra and thong. Yikes. The weather was getting worse and worse but it was muggy at the same time so we opened the door for a breeze and finished getting ready that way. We were ready so we started watching this Beauty and the Geek style show and didn’t want to turn it off and were groaning at the guys, until Garth came and told us it was time to go. We followed him, Pete and Becca in their car all the way out to Pig Wisdom Farm, which was a good 20 minutes away. We pulled the car into this huge field to park and I instantly saw Ian standing next to the car they had arrived in wearing these totally hot jeans with country style button up shirt and short tie, and squealed to Courtney “Oh my God, look at those jeans, that’s so fucking hot!!” and she just rolled her eyes at me and asked me to help her park and stop drooling. I noticed that they were all walking up the pathway with umbrellas so I was like “Hurry your ass up Court, we can totally get to the path just as they’re walking by!” so we did and of course it worked and he looked at me and was like “Do you want this umbrella?” I almost died. I played it cool though, "No, but we can share it" Oh snap! Heh. So we walked up to the tent and craziness was all around with everyone trying to get the chairs dried off and under the tent. We were about 40 minutes early so there was still plenty of time. We asked Mzia if we could go up and see Sos and we managed to find the little farmhouse ok and she was there and we talked and helped her by running some things out and she got her dress on and looked absolutely beautiful. Gorgeous hair, makeup and dress. Seriously, so beautiful. And she was so calm, nothing was getting to her. We finally made our way down to claim a table and sat with Garth, Becca, Pete, Eliso’s cousin whose name I can’t remember, and Doug and Michael who were pinch hitters filling in the other spot. We all opened our chocolates and read our fortunes and I read mine to myself then crumpled it up and threw it on the table and said “Fucking fortune” but Doug pieced it back together and read it, “Dare to love completely” he crumpled it back up and threw it onto my plate again. The rain really started coming down and the side of the tent was rolled up by us so the wind and rain were coming in periodically and getting us girls a bit and not one of those boys offered their coats. The ceremony started and it was really nice, though it was hard to hear with the rain pounding down on the tent, but it was still beautiful and I totally cried and tried not to ruin my makeup. Court and I hit the port-a-potty after the ceremony and then miraculously it stopped raining. I went out to take pictures of the humongous chickens and then one of the goats I had seen earlier came out so I got all excited and started taking tons of pictures. Then Garth came out and I ordered him to feed the goats a gourd that were sitting there so he complied and that’s how I got that one hilarious goat picture where it looks like Garth is ramming it down the goat’s throat. While wedding pictures were being taken everyone roamed the property and took pictures and we flirted with boys then we all ended up back in the tent for speeches and Court gave one and it was really sweet and I’m so proud of her that she did it and finally it was time to have some dinner. Court snuck some macaroni which was supposed to be for the kiddies only. Heh. Ian was in my direct view at the next table and we both caught each other looking at the other during dinner and the ceremony a few times then I figured out that he looks like Seth from OC and that must be another reason why I was so drawn. We polished off our meals (delicious!) then mingled some more and started to get the dancing going. There weren’t that many at first and I got out there a little until it finally picked up. Cake was cut and served, but not by the bride and groom, there was no cake exchange which kind of cracked me up. So Eliso. There were 5 cakes I think and I had a white one. A group of about 9 was going down to the field where the cars were parked to smoke weed so I followed suit, mostly because Court and Eliso were and so was Ian and while down there Court passed the pipe right by me to the girl next to me and she was like, “You skipped her!” which turned into this whole, let’s look at Karrah because she doesn’t smoke and now please explain why you do not do such a thing, when really Courtney was just trying to avoid any of that by skipping me discreetly because she knows there’s no use. Bless her heart. Didn’t work though. So then it turns into that I don’t drink OR smoke because Court asks Eliso which she thinks would be better for me, then moves in the circle by Eliso so then I’m standing right next to Ian who’s like “So Karrah, what’s with the hatin on drinking and smoking?” and that at least started us on having a conversation, which turned into how we’re both anal with our stuff and roommates, etc. Court was ready and like “Come on Kare!” then realized I was finally talking to Ian and quickly backtracked like, “Oh, well, you can stay here if you want” but I said I didn’t so we went back up and Ian followed suit anyway. C and me got back on the floor and started dancing and Jamul was cracking me up and we were both showing each other our 3 or 4 moves and at one point I pointed to Ian on the dance floor while singing and he kind of smiled. Court and I made another trip to the bathroom but by this point it was pitch ass black and we couldn’t see anything, which is generally not a good thing in a port-a-potty. I illuminated my cell phone and stuck the light under the door for Court who said it totally worked, then I took a picture of her when she came out and it’s so funny because she totally wasn’t expecting it. Then it was my turn and she was trying to take pictures under the door and got one when I came out. So back on the dance floor we were dancing dancing dancing and I kept trying to be over near Ian and Court was trying to move over by him too and we'd kind of look at each other a little while dancing but not do anything about it. There was one girl that neither of us liked and she was all Top Model or something and Courtney was like "That Top Model bitch better watch out!" and she was dancing with him so I def backed off. I assume they knew each other since she was from PDX too. “Help” came on and I sang all the words then after it was over Ian leaned over and was like “You knew all the words to that” and I was like “I LOVE the Beatles!” and he was like Be still my heart or something AWESOME like that. We both went back to dancing a few feet from each other but I would lean over intermittently to ask him things or comment like eventually I told him he was a really good dancer and asked him how often he goes dancing and he says like never and I asked if he practiced in the mirror then and he acted out how he would practice in the mirror if he did and how he would talk to himself to pump himself up, so instantly I was in stitches. We started dancing closer and closer and Court was off doing her own thing, like swinging on the pole like a stripper, and I could NOT stop smiling and laughing. He was all "Stop it, you're making me self conscious" but I told him not to worry. Part of it was me laughing because I knew he had a girl he was seeing back home and I was wondering what he thought he was doing dancing like that, but I guess I wasn't the only one he was doing it with so I can't be too concerned. Except I kept wondering if he was going to try kissing me because our faces kept getting so close. But he didn’t. So many funny things to write so I'm going to summarize: old guy making out with the pole, Ian saying "Who am I, who am I?!" and pretending to make out with the pole, cue me laughing hysterically, the guy who got a running start and tried to swing around the pole holding the tent up and almost brought the whole thing down and Ian grabbing my arm while doubled over with laughter, stranger danger referring to me, counting down to my birthday "23 minutes left", telling him how hot his jeans were and how daring he was to wear them to a wedding, him confirming that the umbrella thing had totally been a ploy and asking if it had worked, giving each other points based on things we were discussing then him asking how many points he had and what that even meant and I had to tell him I didn’t even know what the scale was (shrug). So finally I say “So, you’ve got a lady friend” and he confirmed he did but we continued dancing and laughing until Doug cut in, like seriously barged in, and he was like "I was told to come warn you that he's got a gf" and I was like "I know, I already called him out on it!" but clearly the way we were dancing and interacting was causing a stir with people, so then I asked who told him to come over and he told me and I just like rolled my eyes, told him thanks and he said he just wanted to protect me and to let him know if I needed anything. So Ian and I start dancing again and I told him what Doug had told me and he was like whatever, and was like "I'm not crossing any lines" and did that thing with his fingers that totally cracked me up. I like that Doug used the word "Warn" and I told Ian, I'm not trying to be that girl, I'm behaving myself. So we certainly didn't let that get in our way of having fun. He bumped into this older guy and said that earlier that same guy told him that his daughter liked him and his wife had said he was the hottest guy there and wanted to know if he wanted him to hook him up with the 17 year old daughter, and Ian was like "I want no part of that" so I was like "Great, I'm going to get my ass kicked! By a jealous 17 year old!" and he was like "Yeah, the mom and daughter are going to shank you!" and then we looked over and they were dancing right behind him and I was like "There's your girlfriend" and he was like (with a totally straight face) "Be cool, be cool!" and said to not smile and laugh so we both made our super sexy faces and danced really seriously. He's SO FUNNY. I'm sitting here laughing thinking about it. I had kicked my shoes off by this point because my feet hurt and everyone else was doing it but the floor was super slippery with the water and spilled drinks all over it, and luckily I didn't bite it. The same cannot be said for one of the bridesmaids however. Ouch. We both lost it on that one. Ian misplaced his camera so we tried to find it then I went back out to the dance floor and he was right behind me, heh. Pretty soon they announced that it was the last song and he gave me another update (only 5 more minutes!) and we went under the tent and I insisted on taking a picture and he was trying to take one with his iphone and we heard someone say "Aww, look he's trying to take a picture" and he was all "Shut up!" and I think he got a dark one, and the three I took didn't turn out so well but the one of him is cute. As we were all coordinating and prepping to leave he asked me what I was going to do and I told him go back to the hotel and go to sleep and he was like "You can't, it's your birthday! Everyone's going out! You have to celebrate" but we were leaving super early, so, yeah. I wanted to, but sleep was imminent. Court and I were leaving so we were getting our final moments in and he was like "Myspace me. Oh my God, don't tell anyone I just said that" then we had a long hug and he said "Happy birthday Karrah" very softly into my ear and I totally melted. He was the first one. Court and I took Jamul in our car then Jake climbed in bringing with him the stink of his fart and we drove out to Red Wing to drop Eliso and Jake off at their hotel. I gave Eliso a big hug and kiss then Julie hopped in our car and we took back off for River Falls. We dropped Julie at the Library (where everyone else was) first then Jamul at his hotel then drove home, packed and passed out. By that point I was SOOO over N and couldn’t stop smiling and giggling.
Friday 8/3, I set my alarm for 9ish, got up and showered then headed down to the complimentary. I went back to my room to hang out until it was time to check out and get Court. I painted my nails and toenails while watching the Friends E True Hollywood Story and packed intermittently. I checked out, caught the hotel shuttle to the airport with one of the funniest guys ever and went to baggage claim to meet Court. We spotted each other at the same time, hugged, grabbed her luggage and headed to the Advantage Rental desk where we had to really convince the girl that Court would be the only driver. We waited outside for the shuttle forever, but we filled the time with picture taking and gossiping. We boarded the shuttle and it started down the freeway and we were like “Where the hell are we going?! No wonder the car rental is so cheap!” but when we pulled up we had a super nice Dodge Stratus complete with new car smell, leather seats and crazy stereo system, plus it was silver. We didn’t want the blue one. We hit the road and right away (494) this van starts to pass us and Courtney’s like “He-ay!” and waving to the car next to us so I look over and these two cute boys are waving to us and smiling so I’m like, “Oooh! Hi!” and they’re showing us their iced tea or something. Courtney was going like 85 so the highway turnoff we were supposed to take came really quickly and we passed the van boys once again and waved and smiled and the driver flexed his muscles then we realized we were supposed to follow them onto the highway they were taking (94) and right then Eliso called and told us to just come to her parents house instead of to the hotel and we could eat there so we managed to turn ourselves around, take highway sign pictures and made it into River Falls. We had one more incident of getting lost when we missed Bob White but quickly recovered and found Eliso’s house. We walked up the long, wooded and beautiful driveway and instantly saw Sos and Doug and got hugs and Garth was on the phone then we met Jamul, Eliso’s cousin and an Uncle Dick and saw Tessa who is 17 now and so pretty and tall and neither of us recognized her…since we haven’t seen her in like 8 years. We went in and met all the rest of her family and it was so chaotic; there were so many that one name and face started blending with the next. Eliso gave us a tour of the house and took us down to the backyard where there was a pool and a bunch of cute guys. There was Brad (Lexi’s bf), Park and Ian. We saw the rest of the house then grabbed some food just as Pete and Becca arrived. We all went down to eat by the pool and Jamul talked to Court and me for a long time and we all just kind of hung out. Eliso was going to get her suit on so we went out to the car to get ours, changed and laid in the sun just talking and laughing. I asked Eliso about Ian, who was insanely cute, and she said he’s one of their friends from Portland and when I asked about a gf she said nope, no gf. Score, I’d been in River Falls for about 45 minutes and I already had my wedding make-out partner locked down. A bunch of the group was in the pool so the three of us decided to get in the shallow end and Court splashed my stomach while Sos’ dad took pictures and I almost killed her. We got out to dry off and catch more rays and were introduced to Nico, Michael’s brother, who I’m sure I’ve met before. 4:00 rolled around so we got dressed and made plans to call Garth, Becca and Pete later to perhaps meet up for dinner or to just hang out before hitting the bars. Court and I drove around forever trying to find our hotel until I realized I was following directions that didn’t go to the hotel so we got back on Main St. and found it right away. It looked a bit…dated, and we joked about asking about the business center and pool hours, etc and how the lady would be like “I’m wearing a fucking cat shirt, there is no elevator or bellhop” and I had Courtney practically falling down the stairs as she tried to lug her suitcase up. Our room was fine and I instantly took a picture of our blue sink. We both stripped down to our underwear and climbed into bed to watch the cooking channel and drooling at all the recipes with bacon. We ended up falling asleep for a little while then got up and decided to get ready and go to Luigi’s for dinner per Eliso’s recommendation. We drove down and parked across the street by Econo Foods and went in. We both got calzones and I almost got mine with bacon but then I let our waitress choose and she picked Canadian Bacon so I was still happy and totally ate the whole thing. I noticed there was a cute boy working in the back so when we were paying at the front I saw him look out the little pass through to the kitchen then I saw him say something to his coworker who then looked up at me, then I saw another guy pop his head out from the side of the window, then another one from the other side and I was like “Court, why are they all looking at us?” and she just looked at me and like rolled her eyes, like “You know!” because I’m so flirty and must just radiate desperation. So anyway, as we walk out I look one final time and all of them, ALL FOUR of them, were looking out the window at us. I was like “Let’s go back and find out where THEY’RE going tonight!” We went to Econo Foods so I could get a wedding card and I got a hilarious one with an old fashioned guy and girl getting married and I was going to make them Jake and Eliso. We got some water and I picked up some cheaply priced toiletries then the checkout boy told me they can’t do cash back with debit and that he thought it was against the law “or something” in River Falls. I was flabbergasted. We walked to Dairy Queen and both got Oreo blizzards and sat out in front hoping to see more cute locals. We had some hooligans on a skateboard ask us if the cops were gone then I pretended I was going to snitch on them and had Courtney rolling again. While sitting there we spotted Garth, Becca and Pete in their convertible so they turned around and came back and we told them which room we were in at “America Advantage” and to come get us later for going out purposes. We went back to the hotel and watched some tv then there was a knock on the door and I was like, “Shit, I’m in my underwear! Oh well, I’ll get it” and it was Garth so I half hid behind the door and he got all embarrassed and like turned around when I pointed out my state of undress. He asked if we wanted to go out later and we did and told him to come back when they were getting ready to go. Court fell asleep again and I watched some tv then she woke up and was not really feeling like going out because it was getting late and we were pretty tired and we were sure Eliso wouldn’t be going out because of the time, but then Garth came up all ready to go and said that Eliso was going to be out, so I was like, “Can I throw some pants on and we come with?” and he was like “Sure!” so I put on a little makeup because I knew there would be cute boys there and the 5 of us hit the bricks as a group into town. We met up with everyone at Coaches and there were many cute boys in attendance out on the back deck but we eventually ended up inside and I was sitting at the bar with Garth talking to him for a long time then Jamul then back and forth with Court and Doug. We left there as a group and walked down to Ground Zero where there were tons more local boys and everyone was hot and some of us girls sat at a booth and Eliso was like “Don’t be pissed, but I told Ian you thought he was cute and he was totally floored but it turns out he is actually dating someone” and I was like, damn! Oh well. I started scouting out all the other boys and even said hi to a few before making my way to the back to where some of the boys were playing foosball and Eliso was socializing with one of her cousins, Kevin. I ended up talking to him for a long time and Eliso wanted me to hook up with him but he totally looked like Jess’ cousin Ryan so it was totally freaking me out. But he was super nice so we talked until we moved bars again to go dancing. Next we went to the Library which had sucky music but one of Eliso’s other cousins pulled Court and I out there and I was totally ogling this guy with all these great dance moves (a la Eric) but I wasn’t feeling it so we left the dance floor. I got some pictures with Doug and talked more with Garth and kept my eye on Ian, who I had been told loves to dance which is generally a rare thing for straight white guys. No dancing to be had though. Yet. Eliso took off but Court and I decided to stick around to see if any cute boys would talk to me. A group of us went back to Ground Zero because apparently that’s where we were all meeting up, but instead there were like 5 or 6 of us and no one else showed up, so Court and I decided to leave and ran into everyone else as we were exiting and they had all been at Coaches thinking that that was the meeting place. No one could find Doug but that wasn’t our problem so we said our goodnights and started the walk home. Saw a fight on the sidewalk (River Falls’ nightlife totally shocked me…kind of like Snohomish’s) and continued on through the dark. So we’re walking and talking, blah blah blah, and all of a sudden we hear a drunken “Heyyyyyyy!” from like a bush a ways in front of us and we’re both like (squinting) “…Doug?” and he’s like “Where have you guys been, I’ve been looking for you?!” and we’re like, Uh, everybody’s back in town, definitely not half way to the fucking hotel. What are you doing here?! He didn’t have a room key, was TOTALLY wasted and said he had been trying to call Garth, so I tried Garth and he picked right up but couldn’t hear me because it was really loud in the bar but I heard him ask “Jake?!” and I was like, “Hm, no, but thanks” then he suggested we finish walking to the hotel, drive Doug back to the bar to get a room key and drive back because “I saw what you were drinking tonight, you only had one water!” Doug scoffed at this idea and set back out toward town. Never mind he could barely walk. We kind of shrugged and kept walking when we see this car drive by us and honk and slow down with window rolled down. So I’m like, Shit, and Court’s like, Just keep walking, then as we’re approaching the car we hear someone say “Karrah!” and Jamul stuck his head out, and it was him, one of the other cousins whose name I can’t remember and Julie all out looking for Doug. We told them he walked back into town, so they kind of shrugged and drove off back to their hotel. We finally arrived, got ready for bed and hit the sack.
posted by Karrah at 6:43 PM
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