Tim and "Pam"

My husband, Tim, thinks he's really funny, and takes a picture of "Pam" every time he goes to Sam's Club.

Here are some actual pictures of "Pam" that Tim has posted to Facebook.  Yes... it's a new one every single time, and I swear there are like 10 more.  I just don't have the time to look for every single one right now.  It never gets old.  Yes it does.

 

Of course, he often bakes with "Pam"

 

Tim & the real Pam... and "Pam" at Sam's.   

And of course, Pam & "Pam", because neither of them can ever let a joke die.

How did we meet?

We are 2 families who met through our children’s shared love of dance. Our kids have been dancing together for 5 years, but the adults didn't really come together until late 2014. If Pam tells the story, she would tell you that I was too intimidating to talk to. From my perspective, I thought Pam was part of the "cool mom crowd" which I wanted absolutely nothing to do with. It took a shared experience of being involved with the Nutcracker Ballet to come out of our proverbial shells.

I'm one of those people who has big ideas and wants to try everything, but when the time comes to actually do it, my social anxiety usually leaves me paralyzed on my couch. Pam, on the other hand, is the Queen of Following Through. As I would soon learn, if she gets an idea, she will go to the ends of the earth to make it happen.

The first time I hung out with Pam outside of the dance studio started because of what I thought was a joke... honest to God. Pam happened to stumble upon a Groupon for Drag Queen Bingo. I didn't even know that was a thing. So she sent a facebook message out to a bunch of people asking if they were interested. I love Bingo... I assumed I would like Drag Queens... so I said YES... thinking that there's no actual way we would ever actually do it. But lo and behold, Pam bought the tickets. Not only that, but she arranged a whole morning of mimosas, brunch, carpooling, etc.

I'm going to be honest here... I completely regretted the decision. It turned out that I was the only dance person to accept, and everyone else was a part of Pam's family or friends. I hardly knew Pam, and certainly didn't know anyone else. I didn't want to go drink mimosas in a strangers house. I don't like being a passenger in ANYONE’S car, much less someone I don't know. Plus, I had absolutely no idea what one would wear to Drag Queen Bingo. I was a complete wreck. If I would have had Pam's direct phone number, I totally would have called off. I was a basket case in the car on my way to mimosas. I arrived early so I could sit in my car outside the lady's house and wait for Pam to arrive. I walked in with her and it turns out that everyone was super nice and we had a great time. I insisted on driving my own car to Bingo, and once again, almost turned around and went home. I finally got over myself and went in. It was a blast, and bonded Pam and I forever.

Cindy (left) & Pam (right)

Crazy friends with crazy ideas

We all have those friends who push us past our comfort zone.  You know, the ones who encourage you to try a new restaurant, stay an extra 2 weeks on your vacation, and stand up to someone wronging you (or your child)?  These are, of course, just examples (wink, wink). 


Well, I have one of those friends.  The awesome thing about it is that not only is she amazing, but so is her husband and her 4 kids.  Not only that, but our kids get along and our husbands enjoy each others company.  We're all smart asses and snarky, and no ones feelings get hurt because that's just how it is.  It's kind of fantastic.


She will probably say that I'm the crazy one, but I definitely think it's HER.  I'm perfectly content just sitting on my couch binge watching Netflix while sipping my Sam's Club moscato and letting the big kid take care of the little kid.  But she motivates me to do & say things I might not do otherwise.  Because of her, I've seen more sunsets than I ever thought possible, gained a huge appreciation of baked goods, and realized that there is life outside of my living room. 


Why this long introduction?  Well... SHE has come up with an insane idea to pack 4 adults and 6 children into 2 cars and drive all over God's green Michigan (and Canada) to SWIM in 5 great lakes in less than 24 hours.  She is really hoping we could get Samuel L. Jackson to make some kind of awesome intro for us, but until then, this will have to do. 


This won't be our first vacation together.  Leading up to our epic misadventure, we will share with you some stories and photos of our past adventures so you can get to know us and how insane this actually is going to be.  Plus, I'm sure we'll have a few mini-misadventures in July we all skip out on our real lives & head to ballet camp. 


I'm actually still kind of surprised I signed up for this.  I can hardly stand being stuck in a car with my own family long enough to get 1.7 miles down the road to the dance studio, not to mention however long this is going to be with 6 bored, wet, tired, hungry, and getting-on-each-others nerves kids.  I'm going to spend the next 4 months stock piling Xanax.