I'm never washing my hand again. never.

As I write these words, my heart is exploding with joy and excitement and the best kind of shock I've ever experienced. Before I jump right in and tell you why, I'll start from the beginning. Lucky for you, P. Sawyer and I slept half the day away, so there isn't too much to tell about today's adventures. I didn't know I was even capable of sleeping past 9 o'clock anymore, but waking up at 11:30 this morning reminded me that all things are possible. It's a good thing we were well-rested for such a wonderful day! :)

We began our day by eating lunch at the Dixie Grill with Adrienne and her mom (who we named Karen, because it was totally appropriate for our circumstances). We had our usual turkey wrap and sweet potato fries and even saw Steve-ooooo working back on the grill again. Saweeeeeet! After lunch we strolled around Front St. for a while and went into a couple of the stores. I made a few purchases (oh, brother), and then we went on our merry way back to the hotel for a couple of hours.

we love us some Steve-oooo!

oh, P. Sawyer, we've gotten so, so close over the years.

America's Funniest Home Videos and Cheaper by the Dozen 2 were on tv, so flipped back and forth between them while lazily relaxing on our king size bed (as if we hadn't slept enough the night before). Just a couple of rich kids, we know. Once we had all but killed ourselves laughing at all the craaaazy videos they were showing, we freshened up our faces and headed back downtown for the evening. First up: meeting up with Adrienne, Karen (oh yes!), Lena, Maria, and Laura for the Bibis Ellis concert on the riverwalk. She was actually INCREDIBLE on stage, and you can bet that I will be listening to her music for a looooong time. Do yourself a favor and look her up! :)

my sweet, sweet friends and me at the Bibis Ellis concert.

We left the concert after a little while and grabbed a late dinner at the Front Street Brewery, one of our favorite spots, if you couldn't already tell. :o) Dinner was yummy and we all had a super fun time just hanging out and stuffing our faces. After dinner, we walked up Front St. and ended up running into some of the other girls we had met at CoB filming yesterday. We have made SO many new friends this trip in comparison with others. There's about 15 of us that constantly run into each other at different times during the day, and it's been so much fun seeing them out! Actually, tomorrow we are all going to an early lunch at Nikki's Sushi (thank goodness Catheter and Shell Station broke me in last week!) for a little farewell date. While everyone else is traveling back to Switzerland, France, Germany, and Canada, P. Sawyer and I will be making the 5-hour trek back to good ole' Greenville. And we thought we were hardcore. Yeah, maybe not.

such a great group of girls!

Princess and 4th. That's our spot. Our glorious spot. That's the exact location that P. Sawyer and I have seen James three out of the four nights we've been out. Holy moses, batman! Unfortunately, tonight we were with our huuuuuge group of girls and most of them took off in a sprint to catch up with he and Stephen to get pictures. P. Sawyer, Adrienne, and I stayed back and let them enjoy themselves. I seriously am still on cloud nine from Tuesday night, and I'm pretty positive that it's going to be like this for quuuuuuuite some time. Espeeeeecially after my encounter with him tonight. And yes, I would LOVE to elaborate! Heeeeere we go:

So we went into The Calico Room around 11ish to get a couple drinks. We made this executive decision when we passed by and saw James standing at the bar. We debated on just going back to our hotels without dropping in, but there's no way I could have lived with myself if I had passed up an opportunity to stand beside him in a casual setting...so, in we went! Once Adrienne and I got our drinks, we walked over to stand by P. Sawyer, who was sitting next to and chatting it up with Stephen. Yes, Stephen Colletti, who was also standing beside James, who was talking to a few people with a Corona in his hand. I think this is a good time to let Teeesh know something: boyfriend, I hope you like Coronas, because the only beer you're allowed to drink from here on out is that. I'm just sayin'. ;)

While we were standing at the bar, I was trying my absolute best not to make eye contact with him or even look in his direction. As much as people think I'm a stalker, I'm really quite the opposite. If it wasn't for strong-willed people, such as P. Sawyer, in my life, I'd never go near any of them, especially not the one I have a secret (well, only to him) crush on! Okay, back to the story...while I was standing at the bar, I was laughing at something either Adrienne or P. Sawyer said, looked away (still laughing), and when I was turning my head back toward them, I glanced up at James. And what did I do? Oh, well no big deal, but I caught him looking at me. ME. I almost threw up. And when he smiled at me once I made eye contact, I REALLY almost threw up. Whew, now THAT was a doozy!

Before we left the bar (for good), I went to use the restroom. When I walked back there, Stephen was talking to three other people in the corner, and one of the guys talking with the four of them asked me and the other girl who was waiting for the bathroom if we would use the men's restroom because they "need the light in the women's restroom because they're doing an investigation." Hmmmm. Curious as I was, I withheld my desire to eavesdrop, and shamelessly entered the men's bathroom. Fyi, men are gross. That restroom was like a pig pen! Bleckkkkk!

Okay, so here comes the best part of the night (and maybe of my entire life)...when I left the restroom, I got stuck behind some crazy guy who was kicking his leg up and down in the hallway. Once the roadblock moved out of my way, I continued on my journey back to the table where the girls were sitting. I wasn't paying much attention to what was going on around me as I walked, but the moment I looked up, there was James, quickly approaching my direction. Here's a play-by-play (mostly because I love telling this story!!!!!): he was looking at me, he looked away when I looked up, he looked back at me and gave me the cutest little smile, sheepishly said "hey!", I gave him a big cheese and replied with another "hey!", my right hand brushed his left hand as we passed each other, I got all flustered, turned the corner to find all the girls staring at me with their mouths wide opened, I sat down and smiled for the rest of the night. Oh wait, I'm still smiling. :-D I keep replaying it over and over again in my head. How is it possible for one person to make so many people act so crazy when they get around them? Because this girl is definitely guilty of melting every single time James comes into view. I don't get quite as weak in the knees when I see him as I do when I see Teesh, but it's pretty near close. ;)


This entire trip has been one HECK of a time. From having so many run-ins with the cast to meeting so many wonderful new friends over the course of these past four days, this trip has definitely been my favorite so far. Hales and P. Sawyer do Wilmington, take FOUR has been an outrageous success, and I wouldn't have wanted anyone else by my side through it all. Partner in crime. Soul mate. One of the best friends a girl could ever ask for. Yepp, that's my P. Sawyer. And I love her more than words could ever say. :)


Tomorrow is our last day (booooo!), and I'm already so sad to leave. There's just something about being here that makes me so happy. Even aside from all the OTH madness, I just honestly love Wilmington. Everything about it makes me want to move here and never leave. Teeeesh even asked me if I had found him a job up here yet when I talked to him on the phone earlier, and there is no way to describe the hugeness of my smile that quickly followed hearing those words come out of his mouth. I would love to live here and raise a family here...good thing we're on the same page, huh? :) I can't wait to bring him here and see if he falls in love with it just like I did last August.


For the last time (for a few weeks, at least), I tell you goodnight from Wilmington, one of the quaintest and beautiful places on the face of the earth. I'm going to hate to leave tomorrow, but I know that our fifth and final day will be filled with more blessings, just like the previous ones have been. Can't wait to tell you all about them tomorrow! :)