Warning!! This is going to be long. If you want to read the whole thing, go ahead but it is mainly as a journal entry for me. This trip is full of crazy, funny, never gonna fly again or leave the house again stories. And I'm sure I have forgotten several by now anyway.
We started off by flying out on August 8th. We went to the airport with grandma & papa. Their flight left about 2 hours before ours did. The kids did great at first considering when we got to the airport, it was FULL. There were people EVERYWHERE. It didn't end up taking us very long to get our bags checked. The kids did great staying by us and not setting their back packs down. They also did great going through security. Then is started.......
Gma & papa went to their gate and we stayed by some windows so we could watch them get on their plane and watch it leave. Then we were going to go down to our gate to board our plane. Well Madison got sick of sitting by the windows watching the planes, she was bored out of her mind, so she said. She started picking on the other 2. Hannah wasn't putting up with it, so she started fighting back. I kept telling them to quit. I finally pretended to call Wes. I "told" him that I was sick of them being naughty and they were NOT coming with me to see St Louis. I said I would leave them in front of the airport on a bench and Wes could come pick them up. I said I would see if someone could keep an eye out on them until Wes could get there. Well, Hannah was bawling, saying she promised to be good all week and not fight. Madison just cried as we were walking "to the BENCH." Well, some lady must have seen most of this because she was laughing hard! I'm sure she must have been a mom she because she just kinda winked at me. We continued down to our gate, I sat them down and said if they fought again, they would be left at the next airport and I would not come back to get them. I was done. I was tired too and wanted to act just the way they were. So not fair!!
Now fast forward a few hours and a flight from Salt Lake to Minneapolis. Our flight leaving SLC was a little late so obviously our flight was late getting into Minneapolis. I knew we had a hour layover but didn't know for sure how late our flight had been so we find the closet screen to see where we need to go next. Ugh...we only had 20 minutes to get from one end of Minneapolis airport to the other and on the picture it looked BIG. So we started running.... and running... and running... and stopping to pee.. and running. We made it to our gate just as they were boarding. I had 2 ladies tell me I was so brave for flying with 3 kids by myself. I wanted to tell the lady that I wanted to cut my own head off. All I could do was smile so I wouldn't start crying. I didn't even think about finding one of those carts to drive us to our gate! My first reaction was to just run.
The kids were starving, it was like 2 in the afternoon and they hadn't eaten since breakfast, besides the pretzels on the first flight. I had planned on getting them lunch to take on the 2nd flight. They were crying because they were so hungry and tired from running through the airport. We boarded the plane and Connor decided to throw a fit and kicked the seat in front of him, sending the lady jumping. I have never been so mortified. Lets just say I told him not to open his eyes until we landed and apologize to the lady, who was very understanding. The 2nd flight was great and fast but no pretzels with our drink. I have never been so excited to see my mom & dad. We preceded to get luggage and find the rental car shuttles.
We made it alive, BARELY but we made it. Connor was a hoot the night we got there. He kept asking gma June why her hair was white. She tried explaining to him that she was old. He finally told her "Well, don't have anymore birthdays then." Duh..It's just that simple right? Well the hair thing kept going and he finally told gma " you need to get in the shower and wash you hair so it won't be white then." I'm assuming he is talking about hair dye! It was hilarious!
It was HOT HOT HOT, while we were there. They were having EXCESSIVE heat warnings the whole week. With the heat index, it was 114 degrees! Whew... now that is HOT! This happens every time we go. It always ends up being the hottest week they have had all summer. I guess maybe we bring it with us or something.
We had a great time while we were there. My dad and Lance built gma a deck in the back of her house and extended the one she had in front. My mom, Crystal and I tried to help with what we could. We mainly kept their glasses filled with tea and water to keep them hydrated. Crystal & I painted to decks when they were done. I didn't realized that you can sweat from your eyeballs!The kids stayed inside because it was so hot. They didn't even want to come outside.
We had a few BBQ's with family. These are the BEST! We don't see this side of the family very often so I love to see how the kids have changed and chat with our cousins. In fact, we haven't seen most of them for 3 years. CRAZY! We always have a great time catching up and letting the kids play. My dad's uncle made a full ham dinner with all the fixings one night! It was delicious! I have never had ham taste so good. And he brought sting beans and potatoes! YUM YUM YUM! Plus a never ending supply of tomatoes and cucumbers. My Uncle Alan cooked for us another night and it was great. Hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, porkchops. He is a great cook!
We missed seeing a few cousins but still had a wonderful time! Nothing better than spending time with family.
We spent a day right in St Louis and went up in the Gateway Arch. And spent a few hours in the Cardinals Store. Connor loved the Arch. He had a blast the whole time. He loved riding up in the roller coaster, he loved looking out the windows, and loved riding down. Hannah loved it too. Just not as much as Connor. Madi was being a chicken and pretending she was scared to look out even though she has done it several times now. Gma June came up with us too. This was her first time in a long time. The last time she went up, is when I was a little girl. I am so glad we got to experience it together again. She said when I was little I asked her "Gma, are you scared and she asked if I was and I said just a little" So she asked me the same thing again this time.
Our flight home on Friday was much better. No fights, temper tantrums or threats of leaving kids by themselves. We had a great tirp even though our first day was horrible! The rest made up for it!!
Thanks Gma June for letting us come visit! We love you!
Space?
12 years ago
