Oh, What a Day We Had!

You know those movies where they show you a scene, then go back in time to show you how they got there? Well, this is one of those stories. Right now I'm at my parents' house, which is how I have internet and the ability to blog. Why am I at my parents' house? Let me tell you a story...

Saturday night we spent the night at Gayelinn's house. Our beds were all gone, things were in the process of being clean, and I didn't want the kids messing things up that I'd already cleaned (like peeing all over the clean toilet...Ryan!), so we stayed with my best friend. After the kids were asleep I went to the house and cleaned until after 1:00. I got almost everything done, just needing to finish throwing whatever I could into our suitcases, vacuum the living room once those suitcases were gone, and clean out the inside fridge. So Sunday morning we got up at the Mechams' house and got ready for church. It was bittersweet to go to our ward one last time. I even bore my testimony, which I'm almost positive I hadn't done since moving in 4.5 years ago! It was a little bit of a thank-you-mony, but I think I kept it relevent (thankful for how the Church is worldwide, so the Elders in Vancouver are helping unload the truck that the Elders in Eagle Mountain helped load up!).

So after Sacrament Meeting I took the kids to their classes, told their teachers that if the kids needed something to get Gayelinn, and went home to finish up. I did a really good thorough job of the fridge, and didn't get a chance to do anything else, because I needed to be back for Relief Society. Gayelinn was giving the lesson, and I couldn't miss that! So, after church I took the kids back to her house, changed their clothes, then left her to feed them while I finished at the house. It was 12:45 by then! I don't know why it took 45 minutes to come home and change clothes. So I hurried over to the house, changed the code on the garage (since our code had been our debit card pin and I didn't want people knowing that!), then packed and vacuumed. It was about 1:30 by this point, so I hurried and took pictures of every room in the house for nostalgia's sake.

I knew that my flight landed in Portland at 4:00 local time. Earlier in the week I had been trying to figure out my plan for Sunday, and tried to estimate what time it left. I knew our flight from LAX to SLC took about an hour and a half, and - here's my first major flaw in logic - I assumed SLC to PDX would be the same. The drive times are 9 hrs vs 13 hrs, so it was a stupid assumption. Anyhow, I guessed that my flight was leaving around 3:30 local time (since I would gain an hour, making that 2:30 Portland time). Not having internet all week, I never double checked, and I didn't have a chance to check in online. And, as the week progressed, I forgot that 3:30 was just a rough estimate, and started thinking it was the actual departure time. I knew it was about a 50 minute drive to the airport, and I'd need a couple minutes to drop off our rental car. I wanted to get there with plenty of time, so I wanted to leave at 1:00, giving 2.5 hours for the whole process. I knew that was a little more than I needed, so I wasn't too stressed about being a little late. I went back to the Mechams' house, picked up the kids, and had a teary goodbye with Gayelinn. Got on the road around 1:45.

I was on my way out of Eagle Mountain when I suddenly realized my error. I tried calling my mom & Dan to see if either of them knew what time my flight was leaving, but neither one answered. So I pulled over and got my backpack out of the trunk, and found the email from Southwest. When I saw what it said, my heart dropped. Our flight was due to leave at 3:00! So I got back in and drove like a maniac to the airport. Most of the time I was flying along around 85 mph, frantic to not miss our flight! I called Southwest to find out what would happen, and the nice lady didn't have much useful to say. There was one more flight to Portland that night, but not until 7:30, and it didn't look like there was room for us. So I was determined to make the 3:00 flight!

We got there around 2:40. At this point I was still feeling hopeful. I hurried and unloaded the car, piled the stroller high with suitcases & carseats, and nagged the kids along into the airport. David & Ryan were each wearing a backpack and pulling a heavy suitcase, but there was no other way! We finally make it over to Southwest...and there was a huge line. That's when I started to really lose hope. I kept watching a departure board that said our flight was boarding, and literally prayed that something minor would go wrong with the plane and they'd have to delay about a half hour!

I finally got to the front of the line, and it was 2:57 I believe. I said "We're supposed to be on a 3:00 flight, what can we do?" She said they could try to get us on a later flight. She looked, found the 7:30 flight, and that it was already overbooked by 3 people. So we could be put as stand-bys, wait four and a half hours, and still not get on. So I said "It says it's still boarding, is there any way we could still make the 3:00 flight?" She said "There are 137 passengers boarding. It is a totally full flight." I said "But we bought seats on that flight, why aren't they still available to us." And she got all snotty and mean about how when we weren't at the gate by 10 minutes prior that our seats were forefitted and they gave them to stand-bys. She was very accusatory and mean about it.

And that's when I started to come unglued. I'd been weepy all day bearing my Testimony, leaving our home of 4.5 years, and saying goodbye to Gayelinn. And I hadn't broken my fast at lunch like I meant to to give me strength for the traveling so I was running on no food. And it's been a stressful couple days, and I have a huge amount of work to do to set up a new household. So I started to cry. And freak out at her a little. I yelled at the mean lady "You think I did this on PURPOSE? I have 3 kids! Why are you being so MEAN?" And I think I kept going, but I was losing it and don't quite remember!

So a guy came over, and took us to another station, and tried to work something out for us. I was still crying but less angry, and starting to feel embarassed that I'd made a scene in front of all those people! He found the same information about the other Portland flight, then tried to find other ways we could possibly go through another city. Nothing. I told him we could fly to Seattle instead and stay at my parents' house, and he found a 7:15 flight with room on it. He reserved those seats for us, but didn't check us in yet. I wanted to make sure we didn't have any other option to get to Portland and my husband & new apartment. He said he thought Delta would be the only other one that went to Portland, and to try calling on a white phone.

So we walked around to the phone, I picked it up, and told the operator that I needed to find out if Delta had a flight that would work for me. I don't know if there's a way to call directly to the ticket agents, but she didn't do it if there is. She sent me to a recording that told me their corporate hours, then put me on hold. I sat there for almost 10 minutes before I started worrying that maybe I was sitting on hold for an office that was closed at 3:15 on a Sunday evening. So we set off to find the Delta counter.

Now, you have to understand how hard all this is physically. I had a double stroller with Katy in the front, and the back seat had 1 suitcase, and all 3 car/booster seats piled up really high so I had to lean around it to see where I was going. I had my purse on my shoulder and it kept falling off because it didn't occur to me to put it on before my heavy backpack, which I also was carrying. I was trying to push with one hand while carrying another suitcase in my other hand (I had to actually carry it rather than pull it because it didn't roll right at the angle I was able to pull it at while pushing the stroller, hoping to not run into anyone I couldn't see on the other side of my tower-o-carseats). Then each boy still had a backpack and big suitcase to pull. And I was wearing my jacket and incredibly hot, but not feeling able to take the time to take it off, and not sure where I'd put it anyways.

So we were trying to find Delta, and I was passing the security area. A really nice TSA lady (everybody today seemed either really nice or really mean...maybe it's just me...) asked if I was flying, and I told her I was trying to find a flight that would work for us. She took me over to a big arrival/departure board, and we found 2 Delta flights that evening. Okay, so I needed to go find out if there was room and how unreasonable the prices were. She told me that they were in another building and how to get there, then turned to help someone else. And I just stood there and started crumbling again! I was saying "I can't do this!" when she turned back to us, and volunteered to help us over there. And she even stayed while we waited in line, and helped us back to Southwest when Delta only had 1 seat between the two flights! She was an absolute angel to me, I don't know how I would have survived without her help!

Then we decided for sure to go with the Seattle flight, and were finally able to get rid of some of our stuff. Two nice ladies that had seen only the end of our miserable hour helped us bring our stuff to the x-ray, and we were able to get rid of the 2 booster seats and 4 suitcases. I still, however, had Katy's carseat. The 2 booster seats couldn't count as 1 bag like a lady on the phone had said, so that was our allotted 6 bags. So we were down to 1 carseat, the boys' and my backpacks, my purse, and the boys' pillows. Those were annoying, but since we were moving we needed them.

We made it through security really smoothly, thank goodness. It was 4:00 by then, and I couldn't have dealt with another ordeal!

I finally realized that I was starving, so we went to blow some money on airport food. All 3 children were set on Pizza Hut, so I got 3 meals (a little pizza, 3 breadsticks, and a drink) between the 4 of us. I made the boys share a drink and let Katy have her own, assuming they could handle it better than she could. They spilt rootbeer all over twice before I just threw it away! And Katy didn't drink much. And at the end we had exactly 1 pizza and 3 breadsticks left. I could have saved myself $7.99. But they did eat it cold on the airplane later, or I'd be really irritated.

While we were eating my phone battery died. I had seen that it was kind of low while working at the house earlier and charged it while I worked, then packed the charger. I assumed I packed it in my backpack like usual. I hadn't. So now I had a dead phone, 3 hours to kill in the airport with 3 children, and no way to communicate with anybody. Dan and I were trying to figure out when and how we would come from Seattle down to Vancouver. He wanted to pick us up and drive straight there, I wanted to stay the night at my parents' house, and he could either come meet us and take Monday off or I could just drive down Monday sometime (Side note - we thought it was absolutely perfect that he was able to take the Pacifica down to Portland right before we left for California so he could pick us up from the airport in it. So we have the Neon, and I hope I get to take all three children with me today!). Then my phone died before we fully decided.

Well, Salt Lake has a nice almost fully enclosed play area, so we went there to pass the time. My back was hurting from packing the moving truck, sleeping on a couch, then walking around the airport with my heavy backpack, so I laid down on the floor. And after a little while I FELL ASLEEP! I slept for about 20 minutes I think! When I woke up Katy was still playing with blocks and the boys were still playing with the DSs. I don't know what Divine intervention kept Katy playing happily rather than wandering out and getting lost, but I am very greatful! And when I woke up I felt in control again. Some food and a nap made a world of difference.

I wanted to find a pay phone to let Dan know everything was okay and finish making plans, so I checked how much change I had. I found 70 cents - 2 quarters and 4 nickels - (and quite a few pennies, which I'm pretty sure pay phones don't take) then went to find how much it would be. Oh yeah, and change Katy's diaper. After she was cleaned up (and I made sure the other 3 of us used the potty while we were there in the family bathroom) we found the pay phone. It took $1 for 4 minutes long distance. So I opened up my wallet again, and found another quarter and a dime! I don't know how I would have missed those the first time, it must have been a miracle. Such a small thing - 35 cents! - but it sure helped me right then!

From there on out it was a pretty normal experience. I was feeling like a normal adult again, and we only had another hour or so to wait. We went back to the play area for a little while, then to our gate. And there was at least 1 extra seat, because Katy got to sit in her carseat in her own seat! I've now flown alone with the children five times, and having Katy in her own seat made that one the easiest flight by far! David sat right in front of her. He was worried about sitting with strangers, but got to sit by a mom and her 18 month old daughter - not the most intimidating of strangers! He did a great job, and I'm really proud of him! Katy played with her toys, Ryan played on his DS, and even let me play on it a little!

My mom was waiting at the baggage claim when we got there, and she helped us get all our stuff out to the car! She and my dad both came, so he picked us up at the curb rather than having the trade off of having someone help with luggage meaning you have to walk farther to the car. We got all loaded up and on our way to Grandma & Grandpa's house!

Well, it certainly wasn't what we had planned, but it has been nice to have a relaxing morning before going down to tackle the job of unpacking. I'm doing some laundry and going to get the stuff we have here a bit organized. We'll head down his afternoon so we don't get there before Dan (he has the keys!). I'm anxious to get started on the house, but greatful for a little bit of a break right now!

And my mom is happy I will be taking my dog!