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Momwriters everywhere getting together.

The July 2000 Gathering at Michelle Pearson's Home

~ The Photos ~

Day One

The day started off rather sultry and sunny. As we pulled into the driveway on our way back from church, we saw Calista Flockhart on our back steps, tieing the shoes of the most adorable little 4-year-old I'd ever seen.

Okay -- it wasn't really Calista Flockhart, but it was someone better! It was Dianne Cooke from Madison and her son Christopher. And yes, she really does look like Calista Flockhart -- but with shorter hair.

Christopher and Sean hit it off immediately, running off to swing on Sean's swingset, play in the sandbox, and ride Sean's four-wheeler (which Christopher did extremely well considering it was his first time). Sean called his new friend "Christopher Robin" all afternoon, which Christopher didn't seem to mind. I was "Sean's mom" and Dianne was "Christopher Robin's mom" for the day.

Jeff fired up the grill and we enjoyed a lunch of brats, burgers and assorted munchies and condiments. Just as we were finishing lunch, Rachael "Love, peace and chicken grease" Smith arrived after a four hour drive from Paris, Illinois with her daughters Jessie and Abbey.

We chatted for a while and then up the road came a fire engine red F-150 (I think -- might be wrong about the model of the truck -- I do know it was red, which Sean thought was VERY cool). Lo and behold, it was Dawn and Nioka all the way from Indy!! They had driven for over four hours and, after situating themselves in the quaint Patchwork Inn in Oregon (ILLINOIS, that is) headed along the rural highways and byways to Stoney Knoll Farm. After several twists and turns (or at least a few turn-arounds), they arrived.

We moved out to the picnic table, where Jeff carved the delicious watermelon that Dianne had brought and everybody enjoyed a huge slice. Dianne and Christopher took their leave about 4:00 (and curses on Dianne's place of employment for not letting her have tomorrow off!). Shortly thereafter, we began to discuss dinner. Rachael piped, "Any good Chinese places around here?"

Yeah, right -- around here? But about a half hour away in Rockford is a GREAT Chinese buffet. So, eight of us (Dawn, Nioka, Rachael and kids, Jeff, Sean and I) headed up to Rockford and stuffed outselves with Chinese food. Dawn and Nioka headed off like giddy school girls to see "The Patriot" -- a movie sans kids is a very exciting thought to a mother of eight (Dawn) and a mother of three boys ages 4 and under (Nioka). And Mel Gibson will make anyone giddy. :-)

The rest of us came back to the house, where we enjoyed a nice bonfire until it started to rain. A message from Melody (which, BTW, is the LONGEST message ever left on our answering machine) let us know that she got in safely last night, was visiting relatives in another part of Illinois ("I don't know what town I'm in right now, but it's definitely a different world"), and would be on her way tomorrow morning.

We took Rachael and the girls to their hotel about 11:00 and helped them get settled. Jessie and Abbey are both adorable, and were great playmates, along with Christopher, for Sean. The kids all got along great -- there were no major disagreements, no sand throwing, no hitting and, best of all, no blood. What else could you ask for?

The plan for tomorrow (if the weather clears up, which it's supposed to) is to have a picnic lunch at one of the area state parks and then head up to visit the Blackhawk statue which overlooks the Rock River.

We are having a marvelous time -- and it is SO strange to meet people for the first time and just KNOW them. We talked all afternoon and over dinner and into the evening hours and it just seemed so RIGHT. Rachael has the MOST amazing sense of humor and is so funny. Dianne is sophisticated and smart in both manner and appearance. Dawn is beautiful and laidback with a model elegance -- I would have never guessed she had eight kids. Nioka has been a lurker, so I don't know her that well, but we slipped right into conversation about our kids and families without missing a beat.

It's like having family over for a visit. You would never know that we hadn't met before -- but that's the amazing power of Momwriters, isn't it?

Day Two

We reconvened at our place Monday morning, and Dawn and Nioka decided to go and catch "The Perfect Storm", since they hadn't been able to see "The Patriot" the night before (long story involving teenage movie theatre employees and a shortage of good seats, but we'll save it for another time ).

Melody hadn't shown up yet, so Mallory went to the hotel and picked up Rachael and the girls. At about 11:30, Hannah arrived from Chicago with her son Zach. Hannah is so great -- very laidback and down to earth and filled with stories of Ireland...and Chicago! :-) Zach is a charming redhead, and he and Sean settled right into riding Sean's four-wheeler (which has been a VERY popular item with the kids) and playing with the cool car collection Zach brought with him.

Mallory and Kirstin went to the store for provisions and came back with cold cuts, bread, soda, etc. We enjoyed a lunch buffet, then enjoyed conversation while hanging around waiting for Melody and her daughter Megan to arrive.

Around 4:00, Hannah, Rachael and I loaded the kids into the van and went and visited the Blackhawk statue that overlooks the Rock River about 15 minutes from our house. The kids were thoroughly impressed (and the adults were as well! ). We headed back to the house a bit later and found a message on the answering machine -- Melody had arrived!

We were all sitting at the picnic table outside when Melody and her daughter came up the road in their rented white pick-up truck, CD player blaring Creedence Clearwater Revival. Rachael commented "If she gets out of there wearing a tie-dyed shirt, I'll just die."

Melody stepped out of her truck, and Rachael died. :-) Melody is everything you imagine her to be -- and more! She's a wonderful free spirit and Megan is just a charmer and was soooo excited to be here! She and Jessie, Rachael's daughter, were fast friends immediately and were soon hanging out together and singing 'N Sync songs like they'd been doing it forever.

A couple of friends of ours, who just recently got married, joined us for a cookout of brats and burgers. Tim had made homemade vanilla ice cream and brought some for us all to sample. We had gotten two gallons of the delicious root beer served by the local drive-in restaurant and everybody loved it.

After dinner, we gave away the door prizes and had a great time doing it! My daughter Alexi and her boyfriend Mike had brought an assortment of sparklers, fountains, and other sundry fireworks and entertained the kids, who laughed and clapped and cheered like they were watching the fireworks at Chicago's waterfront. Hannah and Zach left about 10:30 to make their way back to the city. Zach had a bit of a tummyache, but seemed to have enjoyed himself a lot.

We sat around a fire until 1:30, enjoying conversation and stargazing (and pointing out satellites to Melody as they made their way across the sky, which she thought was VERY cool).

Dawn and Nioka decided to leave last night and make their way back to Indy so they could spend the 4th with their families -- and it was so great having them here and meeting them!

Today, we'll enjoy a traditional small town Fourth of July -- tell you more about it later!

Day Three

Well -- it's that day after Christmas feeling. All of the Momwriters are gone! :-( But we had the most amazing time!

Yesterday, we caught the Mt. Morris 4th of July parade and had a great time! It didn't rain on us, although it looked like it might! The kids got TONS of candy thrown at them and Melody kept us entertained by cheering for everybody that went by.

"Hurray for Ogle County Democrats! All right!"

"All right! Hi Irv's Body Shop!"

"Okay, Shriners! Right on!"

It was hilarious -- and we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

After the parade, we came back to the house and enjoyed do-it-yourself foil pack dinners on the grill. At dusk, we headed back to Mt. Morris for the fireworks. Abbey cheered and clapped loudly for every single one -- even the duds (although there weren't too many of those), and Sean held his hands over his ears the whole time while yelling "Awesome!" then watching the trails in the sky and saying, "Boy, they're making a mess!"

We came back to the house and Jeff got a fire going and we made s'mores. Melody took out her guitar and we enjoyed a wonderful sing-along under the stars until about 1:00 a.m. Even a big, fat toad hopped up behind Melody to listen to the music.

Rachael and her girls left about 9:30 this morning to head back to central Illinois. Melody came back over around noon with Megan and treated Sean, Mallory and me to lunch at the restaurant in town. Then we went over to a friend's and swam for a while. We got back to the house and just hung out for a bit until it was time for Melody and Megan to leave. They should be in the air right now, about three hours from getting back home.

We had an absolutely marvelous time -- and were just thrilled that Nikki sent Jeff and I a beautiful flower and plant arrangement this afternoon as a thank you for hosting the gathering. Thank you, Nikki! Jeff was very, very impressed with everybody that came and told me last night that his whole perspective about "the momwriters" has changed. He likes you, he really likes you!

And, to cap off a really great week so far, I got a phone message this afternoon from the Lifestyles editor at the Dixon Telegraph/Sauk Valley Gazette. I wasn't able to get back in touch with her, but I will tomorrow! I think I'm going to be offered that feature writer job! I'll let you know tomorrow -- but I can't think of any other reason she'd be calling me!

We had a wonderful, wonderful time! The only thing that could have made it better was if there were more of you there! It's amazing how we all connected and conversed as if we'd known each other for years. The momwriters community is truly an amazing place.

Click here for pictures of the Gathering.
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