Have a Cow... Get a Cow.

At 3:00 on Wednesday morning 14 RVR staff including myself headed off to Chick-fil-A to stand in a line in the cold rain in hopes of getting 52 coupons for free meals. It was so cold and we were so wet. But we were all part of the first 100 there, so we all got in. We registered and got i.d. bracelets and then we were allowed to set up our tents. Once the tents were set up we had roll call. When they come over the intercom and tell you it's roll call time you have to line up in order of your numbers and they come through and make sure everyone is still there. They did this several times throughout the day. If you aren't there for roll call you are out and don't get coupons. I was number 59! Then we all took a nap. When we woke up the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to shine. Some of us played a game of Settler's of Catan to pass the time. Then Chick-Fil-A had some relays for us to play to entertain us while we waited! Someone from RVR won all the relays we competed in. We dominated! Later that evening after some card games and more Settler's of Catan, Chick-Fil-A set up a tv so we could watch the world series game. Then we all went to bed in our tents and woke up the next morning to get our coupons. Sweetness. We made it back to the ranch in time for work that day!

Did you know:

• That Chick-Fil-a feeds you while you are camped out in their parking lot over night? They do... twice 100 people walked through the drive through to get their food and once we were served inside.
• That when a tent says it is made for four people it really is made for four people. You may think that it will only fit three... but you would be mistaken.
• That a little girl will latch on to a total stranger in a Chick-Fil-A parking lot and talk to them for hours without stopping to take a breath. It's true!
  

Funny things that happened at Chick-Fil-A:

• Brad and Taco's relationship hit a whole new level.
• Beth and Betsy got hit on by the really creepy sailor man who showed too much man thigh.
• Beth left her coleslaw on the heater.
• Spooning. (boys... you know it happened... we girls had the same amount of people in the same size tent and had to squeeze in tight, so we know you had to too!)
• The giggle fest in the girls' tent before bed.

Funny sayings:
Chris Fournier to the little girl snuggled on my lap and talking insesently while watching the ball game: Is that hot chocolate hot?
little girl stops talking and only nods at Fournier.
Fournier: on a scale of 1 to hot, where is the hot chocolate?
little girl pointing to the drink table: over there.

And now the moment you have all been waiting for....
The story of Sarah and the Chick-Fil-A cow:
As most of you know, or found out, I have a fear of mascots. It is a legitimate fear. Everything at Chick-Fil-A was going fine until right before dinner time. We were standing in line for roll call and I looked up and there it was, that big ol' cow. And it startled me because I wasn't expecting to see it. I freaked and jumped and don't exactly remember what happened but somehow my face ended up between Taco's shoulder blades with my fists full of his sweatshirt. Taco and Chaloux who were on either side of me in line are looking around to see what is going on. I catch my breath (it is hard to breath when your heart and stomach switch places) and somehow remind Taco that I am scared of mascots. We are then informed that Chick-Fil-A will be serving us inside for dinner and that we will be going in one line at a time to eat. The problem with that is that I now have to walk past the cow to get inside and get my food. As the line moves up the cow moves away and I am safe. Taco, Beth and some others from our group who are near me in line stand close to offer me both support and protection. As we get to the door the cow comes out from wherever he was hiding and heads inside. This means that both the cow and I will be in between the two sets of double doors at the same time. Not an idea I am comfortable with. I am shaking, coughing because I can't breath, holding on to the back of Taco for dear life and pressed far back into the corner of that small room as I can get with my eyes closed while Taco and Beth form a protective wall in front of me. The cow moves on and Taco pulls me out of the corner and into the restaurant. I am gasping for breath and whipping tears and my face is all red. Then I look up and see one of the managers looking at me. ( he is a nice guy who was hanging out with us earlier that day) He has a look on his face that tells me he saw the whole thing and is wanting to laugh but isn't sure if he should. I tell him with a half laugh in a scolding tone that I almost died in there! He chuckles and I relax a little as the air and blood start to flow in the normal places again. The line moves up and Taco and I get sent to different cashiers. This means that I have to let go of the back of his hoodie. Not something I am totally comfortable with. With nothing to hold on to anymore I start to freak out again and Taco tells me he is right behind me. I take a couple steps forward and then I see the cow coming back to the front of the restaurant. I reach and look for Taco and he is no where in sight. It is my turn to order and I can't get any words out.. I am gasping for breath and for someone to hold on to. The girl behind the counter is looking at me funny and the cow is getting way too close way too fast. ( it is in this moment that I am about two seconds away from pure panic. I mean screaming, flailing, and hyperventilating. I might have even attacked the cow because my option to run or hide was nonexistent.) About two seconds before I loose it I see Beth step up to the counter beside me. I yell her name. ( i feel like i yelled her name... i wasn't getting words out too well at this point so it took two or three "yells" for her to hear me) Beth looks up sees my face and grabs me. She holds me and helps me order while I hide my head in her shoulder. No joke that cow walked right behind me... like no more than 5 feet away. Thank goodness the Chick-Fil-A servers were being trained and therefore caring every one's trays or my food would have been all over the place because I was shaking so bad. Taco came back from somewhere and got me in my seat across from Beth. We are in a corner where the cow can't get me with the rest of the rvr staff who saw the whole thing and are staring at me with wide eyes and open mouths. After a few minutes of sitting there the tears stop and the blood and air start flowing right again but the shaking doesn't stop. I choke down most of my food before the cow makes his rounds to the back of the restaurant again. This time I am well barricaded and have plenty of people to hold on to. But because the shaking hadn't totally stooped the coughing and tears come back. I am trying to laugh because I know how pathetic this situation is and to get everyone to believe I am ok, but I am still trying to catch my breath. Other people in our group start to chuckle and then the manager walks over to us and says something along the lines of a slight tease to me. I chuckle between breaths and jokingly tell him (even though i am being serious) that I just want the cow to go away. He pulls a little stuffed Chick-Fil-A cow out of his pocket and hands it to me saying something along the lines of here start with a small one and we'll work your way up to the big one. We explain to him that it isn't the cow it is mascots in general that I am afraid of and he jokes with us a little before walking on. Taco, Beth and some of the others flank me and get me out of the restaurant. The cow leaves me alone the rest of the night. In the morning we line up for out coupons and there is a big ribbon cutting ceremony and everything. The cow is back. This time walking up and down the line of us. I hid behind Taco again. The lady almost yelled at me for not being in line but then Taco showed her that I was behind him and that I was scared of the cow. The cow walked away... I peaked out from behind Taco and she took my number and gave me my t-shirt. Then I had to walk through the restaurant to get my coupons... the cow was there and I had to walk right past him, but the line was moving fast and Taco was right beside me and that manager saw me coming and stood between me and the cow. So I got my coupons with only a slight freak out! The end!