Yellow Brick Road Trip

Part 1
Planning and Development

Have you ever taken on a project that just assumed a life of its own? I am currently being swept away by such a project. The Yellow Brick Road Trip began  as a gleaming, perfect idea in my mind. My daughter, Shaelyn will turn 7 in just a matter of days. I decided that I wanted to give her an experience rather than a standard off-the-shelf present. So, I decided to throw her a surprise party. Simple, right? The problem with that is this: her whole extended family, her best friends.... her heart is still in Memphis. We live in Asheville, NC. We all love it here, including Shaelyn, but she wouldn't be truly happy unless she were spending time with her favorite people. In addition to this fact, she and I get to spend less and less girl time together, so I proposed a road trip -  an all-girls road trip! It sounds fun, right? We were to head to Nashville to hang with my sister Kelsey Friday night and most of Saturday. Then from there, we would go to Memphis and arrive at the surprise party destination, where all of her beloveds: Mel and Dewey, Tom and DeeAnn, Dad and Libbye, her Dad, her best (best  best) friend Quinlan and her favorite cousin Emma, would be. She could spend Saturday night with her Dad at her Memaw and Grandpas house, spend the morning with my Dad, and then we would head back East. I didn't obsess over details, but I definately covered all of my bases, or so I thought. Tune in for Part 2: Launch and Execution.