Yaya Barbie World...

We're baaaaaaack!  The YaYas have returned from a wonderfully wild weekend celebrating the newest sacred sister with a YaYa Barbie Bachelorette Party!  Our traditional YaYa bachelorette parties include a full weekend in Nashville.  However, this weekend we found out as YaYa Vic Vic was reserving rooms...that Pink was in town.  Somehow that makes all room rates rise to upwards of $300 a night.  Not in the YaYa budget.  So, we spent our first night at Jr. YaYa Kristin's home to get the party started.

Once everyone arrived in their pajamas for this YaYa slumber party, the YaYas gathered for the introductory toast.  They toasted Leann giving her all rights and privileges of a Junior YaYa.  Mind you that us Junior YaYas have only limited rights and privileges.  In other words, we are not "real YaYas."  It was determined that the sacred title of a "real YaYa" will be passed down in the will of our lost sister.  Haha!

YaYa Vic Vic leading the welcome toast

YaYa-to-be Leann and her sister-in-law, Junior YaYa Natalie

Cheers!

 Following the toast, YaYa Hope led the ceremonial dance for her soon to be daugher-in-law and sacred sister.  As with most YaYa events...it was an impromptu moment that all YaYas understand.  You may remember seeing a similar ceremonial dance at Millie Janalee's initiation into the 'Lil Baby Yaya position.  Ha!

Once the welcome toast had been given and the ceremonial dance had started, we followed up with a few formalities...

Signing the Junior YaYa chalkboard

 YaYa Vic Vic began the big wardrobe reveal for our Junior YaYa of honor.  Every official YaYa event calls for a special t-shirt or wardrobe.  And ALL YaYas must match.  See, Plan A included a special YaYa tee that all the Senior YaYas received for Christmas.  Since us Junior YaYas did not own said tee, it called for an additional t-shirt for our slumber party!  Ha! 

THE official YaYa Road Trip tee

Leann's Friday night tee

Our Saturday DAYTIME tee

 And....(drumroll please)...our Saturday NIGHT tee...

 Once the Saturday NIGHT tee was introduced, everything broke loose!  It was time for the Saturday NIGHT wardrobe reveal!  You see, Leann is marrying YaYa Hope's son.  His name is Kendall.  Get it?  KENdall.  Sooooooo, we went with the Barbie theme since Jr. Yaya Leann is marrying her KEN!

Jr. YaYa Leann's headdress

Especially created for HER...complete with her Ken!

YaYa Hope, Jr. YaYa Leann, and Jr. YaYa Natalie (and 'Lil Baby YaYa, Graham)

 One of the first things you must realize as you become a Junior YaYa is that it's really NOT all about you!  Haha!  ALL the YaYas will participate in this themed weekend with a few accessories...

Our accessory table

 Since Leann is Barbie marrying her Ken...we thought it only fitting that Leann go out with all her Barbie Girls!  The YaYa Barbie girls!  That includes Fiesta Barbie, 80's Barbie, Western Barbie, Disco Barbie, Mother-to-Be Barbie, Biker Barbie, Mother of the Groom Barbie, and Malibu Barbie.  As you might can tell by Jr. YaYa Natalie's face...the family of the groom had NO idea what was in store for them either!  Ha!

A little preshow sneak peak of what Saturday held in store...

I'd say Jr. YaYa Leann was enjoying the show, and I'm pretty sure we overwhelmed her a bit.  I mean, how could she have EVER known to expect such a celebration?!  The spectacle was quite unforgettable.  But, just in case...there are pictures.  Lots and lots of pictures!

Jr. YaYa Leann sending pictures to her mom

The official YaYas

Initiated Junior YaYas with YaYa-to-be Leann (it's not official 'til we visit the Wildhorse!)

 I'm sure you all thought our Friday night was coming to a close.  Ummmmmm....no!  Our night continued well into the early morning hours with an always successful choice...KARAOKE!  Karaoke commenced following all the welcoming formalities, and the YaYas belted out our favorites along with some not-so-favorites for the next few hours.  There is video footage.  That you will never see.  It's in the vault.  And, once something's in the vault...it doesn't come out of the sacred sisterhood circle.  That's not to say it won't come up again and again amongst us sisters.

Jr. YaYa Leann singing her heart out

It was a fun night!  Paving the way for the rest of the weekend...

 We woke up early for our "8:00 departure time."  We decided Friday night (or was it early Saturday morning? Ha!) that we would "say" 8:00, knowing that we needed to be gone by 9.  Ha!  We did leave town by 9:00.  Almost exactly.  We loaded all the costumes, wigs, accessories, and our luggage into the YaYa Bus and the extra car that we now require.  We also decided that since we are an even 10, we just need to start chartering a bus or limo for these bachelorette parties.  Ha!

Junior YaYas ready to load on a FREEZING Saturday morning

YaYa Sherra, YaYa Susu, YaYa Teri, YaYa Vic Vic, YaYa Hope

We drove the three hours to Nashville in the steady fall of snow.  The pretty kind.  We stopped every hour for our Mother-to-be Barbie to stretch and walk around per doctor's orders.  We arrived in Nashville in time to make our first destination...Puckett's Grocery for lunch.  There were only a few brief panic attacks about our daytime gear before entering the restaurant.  I must say, we stole the attention of anyone else hoping to get it.  Ha!  Everyone stopped to ask what the event was, some stared wondering what was going on with such a bridal group as this, and a few came to ask suggestions for their own daughter-in-law or daughter's bachelorette party.  We are used to this.  We attract this attention anywhere we go!  

YaYas ready for lunch

Junior YaYas

After a yummy lunch, we loaded back into our vehicles and headed toward the hotel.  As our YaYa group grows, so does our sleeping space.  Halfway to Nashville we realized we left our blow-up mattress.  This led to one of the ever present "YaYa votes" as we decided who slept in beds with whom and who slept on chairs and couches.  Some of us gave opinions, and eventually the decision must be made by a senior YaYa after all the discussion.  The result ended with YaYas in one room, and Juniors in another.  We were connecting rooms, so it really didn't matter.  Ha!

YaYa Leann and her YaYa Barbie girls

The Bride

 Our afternoon was filled with visiting, talking, laughing, snacking, and the preparations for our Saturday night.  Oh, and there was another YaYa vote about our supper plans.  We decided to ditch our Maggiano dinner plans based on the wait time and our full bellies, and we would eat at the Wildhorse Saloon.  That way we could snack or eat a meal whenever we wanted.  That meant we could go ahead and begin dressing for our night.  Our night to remember!

Disco Barbie, Fiesta Barbie, Malibu Barbie, Biker Barbie, Mother of the Groom Barbie, Mother-to-Be Barbie, Western Barbie, and 80's Barbie

 Even us YaYas who were in on the planning could never have imagined how GREAT this theme would be!  The costumes were FANTASTIC and we laughed all the way through getting ready.  I helped 80's and Disco Barbie with their makeup while Jr. YaYa Leann got 80's Barbie's hair just right.  The rest of us made sure our headdresses were placed correctly while Jr. YaYa Kristin gave everyone a finishing touch with safety pins.  Ha!

YaYa Hope's YaYa family

YaYa Sisters

YaYa sister-in-laws

Once we all gathered for a self-timed group picture, we eventually headed downstairs to TRY to find a taxi.  When the elevator doors opened, we were greeted with screaming girls and their parents.  A gymnastics group.  They asked us if we could stop for a picture.  Haha!  We could've charged for all the photo opps we took throughout the night and made back our money from costumes, t-shirts, and hotel rooms!

YaYa Barbie and her YaYa Barbie girls

By the time we grabbed two taxis and all made it to the Wildhorse Saloon, they were taking a cover charge.  Special thanks to YaYa Susu for paying everyone's way!!  Of course, our YaYa Barbie bride and her "maid of honor" were free.  It was an hour and a half wait for a table to eat, so we grabbed a group of tables right by the dance floor and ordered our food at the bar.  A good YaYa knows how to take advantage of situations such as these.  It's in the manual!

Fiesta Barbie and Malibu Barbie

 We made quite the entrance (as you can imagine!!) as Malibu Barbie led us to our seats.  YaYa Susu is the planner of the group.  Basically, we would never get anywhere or have the best of the best without her astute skills.  While we are off having a grand ole time, she's usually on the phone calling ahead or looking for the best seats, calling for a taxi, secretly paying for a portion of everyone's costumes, etc.  Then, she joins in once we are all situated. 

Biker Barbie and Disco Barbie

 YaYa Vic Vic was our official hotel planner this trip, and she did a great job too!  Yay for YaYa Vic Vic and her connections.  It's good to have a sister in high places!  She also dresses up like champ.  Except for the gold parachute pants she wasn't all that into...she was up for whatever we threw her way.  Ha!

YaYa Vic Vic and Jr. YaYa Natalie

 By the time we made our entrance, got the best seats in the house, and Jr. YaYa Natalie and Baby Graham were fed...OH the things you see when you are seated right by the dance floor!  Including a group of 9 women ages ranging from 24ish to 50-somethingish dressed for a Barbie bachelorette party and dancing their hearts out!  Haha!

YaYa Bride and YaYa Teri

YaYa Hope and the bride-to-be

 And, let me give a big shout out to YaYa Sherra and YaYa Teri for being such good sports!  I NEVER thought YaYa Sherra would accept our invitation to wear that humongous cowboy hat.  But, she did!  And, Teri was awfully hesitant to wear that huge afro!  She was skeered.  I assured her that I would be her bodyguard as I'm certain I looked like a bar bouncer.  As was evidenced by a lady stopping me to ask where the restroom was upon her entrance.  When I lowered my glasses, she said, "Oh.  You don't work here?"  No ma'am, but the bathrooms are just that way.  Ahem.

YaYa Sherra, YaYa Susu, and YaYa Hope

 Now to recognize Jr. YaYa Natalie for being a trooper on a night such as this...8 months pregnant!  We laughed that everyone would think she's just dressed up as Mother-to-Be Barbie, because she doesn't look pregnant anywhere except her basketball belly.  THE cutest pregnant person EVER!  She and baby Graham hung in until midnight or so.

YaYa huddle on the dance floor

Sometimes, you just need some quiet time...inside the big hat.

YaYa Hope is one party girl!  She loves to get out there and dance, have a good time, and laugh at everything.  Natalie, Kristin, and I were born into the sisterhood.  The sisters didn't really have an option.  But, Jr. YaYa Leann (and Jr. YaYa Marci, who wasn't in attendance) were invited.  To marry into the sisterhood means a senior YaYa approves of you.  And YaYa Hope must approve of her son's choice for his wife.  The sisters approve too!

Making up their own line dance?  Not sure.

YaYa group dance

 I was the photographer for the evening, so I made sure I was documented as attending this Barbie bash by taking a "selfie."  Haha!  YaYa Sherra photobombed my selfie.  You can see that by this point we had switched around our wigs and headgear.  Haha!

 YaYa Kristin did an AWESOME job creating the costume design and theme for this YaYa bachelorette party!  She spent lots of time handcrafting and coming up with ideas so that every YaYa was looking her best.  Cheers to Jr. YaYa Kristin!

We left Wildhorse Saloon a little after midnight.  This was Jr. YaYa Natalie's exit to make sure baby Graham got a full night's rest.  She said he kicked and danced the entire time we were at Wildhorse.  YaYa Susu and YaYa Vic Vic escorted her back to the hotel room, because everyone knows you never let a young pregnant lady loose to find a taxi alone in Nashville, while the rest of us made our trek to our next destination. Did I mention it was snowing?  Like the WHOLE time.  Beautiful large flakes.  And, none of us took coats.  It just didn't work with our theme.  A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

This is the best I could get of the snow during our walk to Big Bang

 Another favorite of ours is The Big Bang in downtown Nashville.  The Big Bang is a dueling piano bar, and it is SO much FUN!  We made our grand entrance...it was very understated.  NOT!  We thought Jr. YaYa Leann found us a table up front so we followed her.  It turns out, she just wanted to dance by the stage.  So, there we were!  Up front and center...just in case anyone missed the afro, big cowboy hat, Chiquita banana hat, and veil.  Ha!

There's "no shame in our game," as Jr. YaYa Leann says.  And she lived those words...she didn't just say them.  She did us YaYas proud!  Including her stage debut during "I'm a Barbie Girl."  I have a portion of that on video...

YaYa Leann with the stage "bouncer"

Our time at the Big Bang was certainly one to be remembered.  There are all the dance moves and laughter we shared...then there are the other things.  They are in the vault.  Haha!  To be a YaYa...you must learn to hang.  And we hung in there for sure!

Jr. YaYa Leann and Western Barbie

The youngest YaYas

Yep.  We hung in there with the best of them until closing time.  3 am!  In fact, we were the last ones in there and were specifically asked to make our way toward the exit.  Ha!  Now, that's how you know you've had a great time!

Our 3 am YaYa crew

 By the time we made our way back to the hotel room, it was around 3:45 I'm gonna guess.  YaYa Susu was awake as we entered talking about the hours she missed.  YaYa Vic Vic was sound asleep.  Although she does remember waking up to a kiss on the cheek.  Ha!  And our Mother-to-be Barbie was never disturbed.  It was a fun-filled night that ended well.  With two rooms full of YaYa Barbies sleeping soundly.

Until 8 am.  Then, it was time to move again!  To our next traditional spot - Pancake Pantry.  The waitress remembered us from our last YaYa Bachelorette party and took our group picture for us.

That's the way we roll.  We are unforgettable for sure!  I'm sure we are all over social media as we posed for a number of strangers.  We're famous no doubt.  Famous as YaYa Barbie girls.  Our roadtrip ended with a YaYa huddle and chant in Kristin's driveway before we all drove home...

...home to our own beds.  With exceptionally early bedtimes!

YA-YA!

Because Russ was working out of town this weekend, Uncie Bucket and Sheila came to take care of our sweet girl.  They did a PHENOMENAL job!  I came home to a super clean house with dishes washed and put away, clothes washed and ready to take out of the dryer, and clean sheets on my bed!  Millie Janalee peed on her uncle twice initiating him into diaper changing club.  Haha!  She was happy the entire weekend, and I didn't have to worry one bit!  Dustin and Sheila would not take gas money, take-out money, or anything.  They were just thankful for the memories.

A happy girl!

She She, Millie Janalee, and Uncie Bucket

And I am too!  Memories for sure.