The Pioneer Woman in MN

We had quite the day this past Saturday! I have been a huge fan of The Pioneer Woman for the past two years and was super excited when she came out with a cookbook a few months ago. We have made MANY of PW's recipes and have loved them all, so I couldn't wait to get my cookbook. When she announced that she would be doing a book signing and would stop in MN at the Mall of America, I told Kristoffer we had to go! Neither of us knew what to expect, but we made our plans for the day.

We rarely go to the MOA, especially during the holiday season, so we thought we would make a day of it and try to get some Christmas shopping done. We stopped at IKEA to check out big boy beds for Karterman and then got to the mall around 11. The book signing was suppose to start at 1, so we got lunch as soon as we arrived and then went to one store. Around noon we decided to walk by where PW would be to check out the situation. When we arrived we saw the scene above and knew we had to get in line before it got even longer.

I was in line by 12:15 (along with many other eager fans) and watched the line behind me continue to grow. Kristoffer came back to check on me at 1 and took the camera to snap a few pictures of PW making her first appearance. She stood on stage and answered questions for about 15 minutes before she started signing. We tried to figure out how long I would be in line so Kristoffer and Karter could come back to meet me. We guessed I would be done around 3 and then we could finish shopping.

About 30 minutes into the signing I turned around and Marlboro Man (aka PW's husband, Ladd) and her two small boys, Bryce and Todd were standing there. Once everyone realized they were there too, everyone started cheering.

The two boys were super cute and kept picking on each other the whole time. PW's two boys are about as far apart as my two boys will be, and I definitely got a glimpse of what our life is going to be like!
Marlboro Man caused as much of a scene as PW did (this is him signing my cookbooks!). And check out their youngest son rubbing his ears, the oldest had just pulled his ears out and held them there for a couple minutes.

While we were all waiting in line we got to watch the filming of a new TLC show, "Mall Cops: Mall of America." It should be on TV this spring, we are definitely going to watch the first episode to see if we are in it!
Back to our plan...yeah, 3 came and went and I was no where near the front of the line, in fact I hadn't even reached the roped off area yet. This is my FANTASTIC husband around 5 when I was finally to the front of the line. We were both really tired and (past) ready to go home by this point. He was tired of walking the mall and trying to entertain Karter, I was tired of standing on my feet for 5 hours, and...

...poor little Karter was tired of being in his stroller all day and not napping.

At 5:15 I was finally sitting in the chair next to PW, and no wonder it took so long to get through the line. She was SO nice and personable and chatted with me for a couple of minutes. In our short time together we talked about babies, how crazy the line was, recipes, husbands and mother in-laws. She even waved at Kristoffer and Karter, who were standing off to the side of the stage.

The day didn't end up anything like we had planned, but I am glad I was able to get my books signed. Most of all I was glad that I have such an amazing husband who would wait with me all day. We both agreed if we had known I would have stood in line for 5 hours, he and Karter would have stayed at home. The day didn't end up anything like PW and her handlers expected either. The signing was suppose to be 1-3 and they were expecting around 600 people. Over 2,000 people showed up and she wasn't done until around 7:30.

Thanks for coming to MN, Pioneer Woman!