Pioneer Woman, at last

With our previous technical difficulties resolved, I'm now able to share the story of our exciting adventure to see Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond.
My sister, cousin, and I left Dickson around mid-day on Febuary 25th and made it to Memphis in record time. (I think my excitement gave me a lead foot). We found the Davis Kidd location with ease, received our line tickets, scoped out the book signing area, and had time to go eat some much needed Mexican food all before the 6:00 p.m. start time.

We were excited...

Ree was personable and punctual, and warmly greeted all who had traveled to see her. As you can probably tell there was quite a turnout; it was standing room only.

Everyone was in for a real treat when she revealed that she hadn't traveled to Tennessee alone, but instead in the company of her dashingly handsome sidekick: her famed husband known to all Pioneer Woman lovers as Marlboro Man.
While the crowd was intently watching and listening to Ree tell us about her trip thus far, Laura was completely enthralled with the whereabouts of Marlboro Man.

Everyone else was looking towards the front. Laura?? She turned the opposite direction hunting Marlboro Man. 

The event was well organized; all patrons had to have a line ticket in advance in order to guarantee his or her place in line. The tickets were grouped alphabetically, and even though we made it to Memphis two hours before it started, we were still given line tickets in group M. The line moved very slow and the waiting became somewhat tiresome, but it did allow us plenty of time to scope out our attack, or ummm, meeting of Marlboro Man.

There's just something about a man in a cowboy hat.

I'm not quite sure if Marlboro Man knew what he was getting himself into when he decided to come along with his wife. Most people were just as excited to see him as they were Pioneer Woman. Bless his heart, he stood in one spot for over two hours signing books and taking pictures. At first I felt bad and didn't want to bother him, but with some coaxing and reassuring from sister and cousin, we decided to go say hello.

He was very gracious.....and friendly...and nice......and handsome.....and looked really cute in denim. Check out Laura's smile, she was loving it.

Reading Ree's cookbook while waiting

Joanna agreed to be my photography test subject to pass the time. She's so pretty.

More waiting

After nearly three hours of chatting, giggling (at Marlboro Man), and bookstore browsing, our group was called and we were finally able to meet Pioneer Woman!
Our encounter was pleasant but brief. Considering the number of people still in line behind us, we didn't want to use up too much of her time. We welcomed her to Tennessee, told her where we were from, informed her that her poor husband was also roped into meeting fans, and thanked her for signing our books. She was concerned about about our lengthy drive home and encouraged us to wear our seat belts and drinks lots of coffee. She's so darn thoughtful.
I didn't blurt out my desires to be her best friend, I didn't pass out from nervousness, and I didn't talk to her about my ovaries. All things considered it was a very successful trip!!!
Thanks Laura, Joanna, and Ree for such a fun adventure!!

Now.....if only I can talk my husband into wearing a cowboy hat.