Our Trip

Okay, so after the week I had, I should have know our trip would have been an adventure, it was. Things started out really well, a friend from church offered to take both girls on Monday so I could get some running around done, get a box off to Aaron, the last one-yeah, and get some lunch. I headed home to get laundry done, clean the house and get packed up for a week with the family in Iowa. All families with kids know that if you pack for a day you can stay for a week, if you pack for a week you can stay for a month. Well, I got everything cornered and stuffed into 2 suitcases and a backpack for me and Sarah's DVD player and movies for her in her backpack.

We headed out, Heather took us to the airport, we got luggage taken care of, security wasn't that bad, our gate was the first one you came to, we boarded almost immediately after getting our chocolate milk for Sarah, apple juice for Sophie's rice cereal, and water for her formula. Don't ask me what I think about the security rules regarding liquids when you travel with a baby.

I always get the girls something new and exciting for a trip like this, less chance of hysterics, so I get Sarah a new movie and Sophie some new toys. Worked like a charm, Sarah was mesmerized, Sophie played then eventually slept.

Got into Chicago, my original thought when booking the flight was that if all else failed, I could at least get a ride from Chicago to Iowa with family and still be there for Thanksgiving, might have to stay in the USO for a little bit, but they are usually very clean, engaging for the kids and have FREE FOOD! Yeah USO! If you are military and travel at the airport and have some time to kill before flights, I would highly recommend this travel tip. SO great.

Got to Chicago and things didn't go so smoothly. We checked the departure screen and found the gate, found out they changed the gate, found the new gate, confirmed it was the correct gate then headed to some lunch. While we were eating, I was watching CNN and they had a reporter talking to would-be passengers in the terminal waiting for their flights, yes, at Chicago O'Hare, where we were, kinda funny.

Got finished, found the gate and the gate had been changed again. Found the third new gate and hoped that was all done. Noticed that we weren't boarding our flight when promised, an announcement over the loudspeaker confirmed our worries, the flight was delayed. After awhile, another announcement confirmed our fears, the flight had been cancelled. They gave us instructions to find a new flight, I am one of the non-conformists that try to figure a different way of doing things and usually have good results. This was one of those times. I found a ticket agent at a nearby gate and had her look for new tickets to somewhere close, and she did. Enough tickets for me and the girls and a newly befriended woman, Miss Whinny. Frantic phone calls were made before my cell phone died, of course, and yes, still hadn't finished with arrangements. Luckily, people were in the generous mood and I was able to borrow phones with the exception of one time. Yeah.

We landed 2 hours away from our final destination, bags were lost, kids were hungry and exhausted, but family was on their way. We stayed in a hotel that night, had a great breakfast the next morning then headed for our family once we stopped at Target to get some basic supplies hoping our bags would find their way to grandma's. Phone calls confirmed the bags were found and on their way to grandmas. Delivery man called at 3 in the afternoon saying he would be in the area around 9 that night, that he had 15 stops to make with other lost luggage and would call when he got close. Poor man.

Our bags got here at 7:30 that evening, along with SNOW!! It was snowing off an on, but now it feels like Thanksgiving!

All in all, things are great, our bags were a sight for sore eyes and we can relax now.