Seattle

I flew with the kids on my own to visit my mom and dad in Seattle.  Tuesday was a crazy day so I was finally ready to pack at 9pm.  I also realized that I needed to wash everything so I was in for a LATE night.  I got everything more or less ready and went to bed at 3:30 am.  I set my alarm for 5:30 so I could finish the last couple of things and be ready to head for the airport at 7am.  I should have just stayed awake.

7:04 the phone rings:

Me: "Hello"

Carrie: "Hey I'm here"

Me: "Oh no, I turned my alarm off- everyone is still asleep- I just woke up."

Carrie: "I wondered why the house was so dark."

Needless to say I was in mass panic.  Luckily I got us packed completely the night before so I ran around and finished the last couple of things while my sweet friend got the kids up, dressed, and in the car.   We left my house at 7:15 am.  Yep- 11 minutes after my friend arrived. We made it to the airport with TIME TO SPARE- although the three of us looked horrible.  I obviously didn't get a shower, had raccoon eyes from my make up, Lulu's hair was a mess (we just got her dressed and I forgot to take her braid out from the day before) and Teddy was in his pjs while in the bjorn, but .. we made it!  I realized after getting there that I forgot one major thing.. my camera (which explains why there are no photos).  Can you believe it!

I was so happy to board the plane- the kids were great and we made it to SLC to make our connection.  This is where the day turned bad (which means it turned really bad, because waking up late for a plane is always bad).  The SLC airport was so congested that we actually landed on time, but it took us about 30 minutes to get to our gate and for me to get my stroller (15 minutes to get my stroller that I gate checked.. they were trying to get all the bags to the connecting flights and waited to bring the strollers up).  I missed my connection.  I only had 30 minutes to connect which is hard, but in SLC it isn't too bad if you are in the same terminal.  I would have maybe made it, but they switched terminals at the last minute, so I was going to have to get from C to D which is hard with two kids.  The gate agent said they were looking for me, but by the time I got everyone in the stroller/bjorn and walked up the jetway the flight was listed as closed and they started confirming me on the next flight.  I was HEAVILY sleep deprived (single parent status sucks) and started bawling!  I know.. it was ugly.  The poor Delta agents were so sweet and just kept apologizing to me.  They gave me a meal voucher and just kept saying how sorry they were.  I'm sure I looked like a train wreck.  

In the end it worked out okay.  Granted keeping Lulu entertained was hard and she was so tired by the time we made it to Seattle that the last few minutes on the plane ride were hairy, but in the end she was a trooper.  Teddy did well.  I forgot a burp cloth, so that was a nightmare, but luckily I had his pjs with me (I brought a change of clothes for him and changed him on the airplane) so I used that instead.  We were able to get lunch, recharge the portable DVD player, and get some much needed items in the airport convenience store, and walk around.   The worst part of the entire day- I accidentally packed my cell phone in my checked luggage.  I realized it when I was boarding the plane and at that point couldn't do anything about it.  It would have been fine, but I had NO phone numbers with me and no way to make a phone call.  Luckily my mom's cell phone is still a Utah number so I could use the pay phone.  My mom wasn't answering so I left several distressed messages with her.  I finally got in touch with her after I heard my name being paged.  What a nightmare!

We are happy to be here and I am happy to have some much needed help.

In other news I am working on my list for 2007, but have been having real problems with blogger uploading photos, so you might just get my list minus any photo documentation of 2007.