Tuesday, January 19, 2010

There's No Place Like Home

Hooray...we are home! After the longest day EVER we are home. We had a wonderful time with my Mom, Gigi, aunts, uncles, cousins and besties but boy oh boy was it good to walk through the doors of our own home last night.

I'm sorry I didn't get PYKM up yesterday before I left. I had good intentions but we had some errands to run (like me going and buying a to-die-for sweater at Kohl's that I had seen 3 days earlier and didn't buy at the time so my Mom took pity on me and went and bought it for me on our way out of town--awesome) before we went to the airport and my kids were crazy insane and literally bouncing off the walls (a bad sign for what was to come later in the day) and it just didn't happen. And seriously, in theory if you take 2 suitcases out shouldn't you only need 2 suitcases on your return? I had to bum a duffel bag off my Mom just to get all the crap home we accumulated on our visit.

My Mom, my Aunt Kathy, my oldest and bestest friend Traci...they will all be appalled when they read this but truthfully my favorite part of the WHOLE trip was watching Grey's Anatomy on a TV. And not just any Grey's Anatomy but the first Grey's Anatomy from like a 73 week hiatus! Mmm...McDreamy I missed you. My entire childhood, teenage years and the few years I lived with my Mom while I was in college we never had cable. We only had the free TV and because we lived in Walnut Grove those 3 free channels didn't even come in very good so basically we only had NBC but now that I'm gone my Mom has gone all 1988 on me and gotten cable! It is so weird that my Mom has better TV than Hot Jeff and I but all she watches on it is Chuck and The Today Show.

You'll probably be very disappointed to hear this but I actually watched very little TV while I was in Montana. I did watch Grey's and a few nights I stayed up late to watch Conan because I love him and I think he's funnier than ever with all his NBC-can-suck-it jokes. And on a side note, if and when we get TV back I will NEVER, EVER, EVER watch Jay Leno again. I'm Team Coco all the way.

Ok, I digress. So anyway, yes, our trip home yesterday was like a John Hughes movie on crack. First of all, we allowed ourselves way too much time to get through the Billings airport security and had to sit and wait for over an hour AFTER the security check points. Then, just minutes before it was time to board they said there was a maintenance issue with our plane. Over an hour later we boarded the plane just to sit for another 25 minutes. And just in case you forgot, I was traveling with a 1 and 3 year old. Yep. Please pass the tequila.

We missed our connection in Seattle by 7 minutes. 7 MINUTES. As we landed in Seattle they made that announcement asking to let the folks who had "tight connections" off first so of course after 45 people LIED and acted like they had connections we were able to get off. Emily's stroller was in ala carte but I knew if I waited for it we would definitely miss our connection so I held Emily and told Samuel he would need to keep up. And wouldn't you know that every other friggin' time we have made a connection in Seattle our departing gate is like 10 inches from our arrival gate but not yesterday...NOPE it was on a whole other concourse. So I am holding 30 pound Emily, dragging Samuel and his Lightning McQueen mini suitcase on wheels and my red handbag (which had lost all of its attractiveness because it had sippy cups and softies falling out of it) and RUNNING through the airport. Samuel is yelling at the top of his lungs, "Wait for us. Wait for us. I have to see my Daddy". It was pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. And just like in a John Hughes movie they were shutting the doors as we arrived, red faced and panting.

Lucky for us Seattle has a connecting flight to Portland every hour. Unlucky for us, we had left our stroller on the ala carte.

We did a diaper change, walked around, bought a bag of pretzels and headed to our gate only to see that flight had been delayed.

You have got to be kidding me. That's what you're thinking, right? At this point, the only thing we had eaten for the last 8 hours were airplane snack food and raisins. Emily had lost her mind to the point I wondered if she would ever return to her normal, sweet self. I actually texted Hot Jeff that I was putting the kids on the plane and staying there in Seattle to look for my sanity and patience. I had begun to irrationally think that we would never get home.

Alas, we did make it home though. Tired, hungry and cranky but we made it. Hallelujah! Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from our trip. I took hundreds and have lots of favorites but I don't want to bore you with pictures of people you don't know. I am going to make you sit through these though.


Cousins!


Samuel and Nana's Snowman

Samuel, Gigi and Emily
Gigi crocheted Baby Pete and Baby Ashley new blankies!


Yes, that is a fire in my Mom's oven. We're not sure what caused it but I have suspicions it has something to do with the fact my Mom hasn't cleaned her oven in 23 years. And I hope you think that last sentence is funny because I probably will get cut from her will for writing it.

8 comments:

Joy for the Seasons said...

You are the bravest woman I know. I could not get myself on a plane much less myself and my three kids! So glad you made it back to home sweet home.

Amber said...

And that would be why I have NEVER done the airplane thing with my children.

Never.Ever.

Fruitful Labor said...

I think it's hilarious that you see a fire in the oven and your first thought is, "Get the camera! Ooh, this is going to be good blogging material!!" Ha! Yes, so what I would have done too.

Anonymous said...

aaaahhhhh, so so good to have you back! you have been missed!!
kim

G said...

I HATE the Seattle airport. Especially when I have to walk from concourse S to concourse A. And no number of those moving sidewalks are going to make it any better. I feel you.

If that ever happens, or if you get stuck in Seattle, let me know! I'll be happy to come get you and the kids.

Della said...

You out did yourself. You may have slacked off while in Montana, but you made up for it.
I have cleaned my oven in 23 years. You should have fessed up to your readers and told them that you ran over the chesse pizza twice before it started on fire. How funny is Bugs comment. If you could have gotten the fire alarm buzzer going off you would have. The kids thought having the oven on fire was pretty funny.
You trip home sounds awful. I remember seeing a young family flying when you were pregnant and I said I will never make my family fly I will always go to see them. HUM I guess I forgot my sympathy for that family.
I was a blast having you and can hardly wait for you to come for my surprise birthday party

Traci Piltz said...

Oldest, Bestest Friend Traci is horrified that you love Grey's Anatomy more than her but, alas, she also realizes she is not nearly as handsome as Patrick Dempsey so you are forgiven. LOVED seeing you.

I love plane stories - last year when Alison flew home to Philadelphia her 4-year-old son peed AND puked on the plane. Love it. They should have special planes for people with kids, and whenever planes are late they should be the non-kid planes and the kid ones are the ones that are always on time.

Glad you made it home! :)

Anonymous said...

okay glad you are home, blah, blah, blah... what are softies and why are they in your purse? - Cary