We're making memories

This trip was eventful from start to finish. It was a battle getting it going, our flight being canceled and all, but once we got there, we really had a great time, for the most part. Our return trip was even more "eventful" so it's really hard to figure out how to summarize it all. This is my latest attempt at making sense of chaos.

The FUN parts:

• Seeing family, that is always great.
• Taking the train from Denver to Grand Junction. We had a sleeper car so the girls had some freedom. The sleeper car was not the original plan, but rescheduling the trip forced the issue since it was the last available accommodation. Sarah had a great time, Sophie was nauseous. We were all glad to be off the train and find out land legs again.
• Celebrating Easter with family. Recognizing Jesus' sacrifice for me and giving thanks to Him encourages a special time of reflection. Teaching that to Sarah is really a special gift I am so happy to give.
• Sarah's 3rd Easter egg hunt followed by a game of tag with Sarah, me, my mom and dad and Aaron's dad. It's nice to know we can still outrun an almost 4 year old. The time will soon come that she will outrun us. (Probably next week ;-) )
• Watching Aaron fly in to Grand Junction's airport for a touch and go. This was the only time in my life I could look at a plane and know he was flying it. It was very special to see him flying. Apparently the guys planning this training weekend didn't realize Easter was so dang early! It made our Easter day special though.
• Aaron being able to join us for the last half of our trip.
  
• Our parents tag teaming the girls an allowing Aaron and I to have a date night! We went to dinner, watched a movie (IN THE THEATER!!) and stayed at a hotel!! THANK YOU, ALL 4 OF YOU!! we needed the break.
• Celebrating Sarah's birthday early. It's not often we can spend time with the grandparents so close to her birthday, but it worked out very well for more that one reason. She reveled in the attention and it was so much fun to see her have a great time. Chuck E Cheese was involved, oh boy, and I wasn't able to tell who had more fun, Sarah or the granddads. (It's a place where a kid can be a kid, their just not usually older than 50!)

The hard part

• Aaron's grandpa passed away while we were home. It's his second grandpa to pass away in less than 2 months so it was especially hard to say goodbye again. We have the overwhelming peace that he is with Jesus in heaven. As I told Sarah, we are happy for him that he gets to be with Jesus, but it's sad for us only because we will miss him. Earlier that day, she told my mom that Grandpa great Kilgroe just won the big prize! Yes he did...
• Traveling back the day after his death was very hard, it was hard to say goodbye to our family and the trip back was very difficult.

The trip home

• Plan A: Take the train from Grand Junction to Denver so we arrived (with an unbelievable number of suitcases and travel items) to board the train only to find out it was delayed 2 hours which would take us into Denver past 9 that evening.
  
• Plan B: Drive from Grand Junction to Denver borrowing Aaron's dad's truck since both parents would be off from work making memorial service plans and helping grandma. The plan was to drive on the interstate which normally takes 3-4 hours with kids 4-6 hours. Checked the road conditions and weather reports, things looked good.
• Plan C: After lunch and a phone call from Aaron's uncle Kent, who was traveling with us, notifying us that Vail pass, one of the 2 passes between Grand Junction and Denver, was closed Westbound due to an accident, but Eastbound was open. Decision: lets try Vail pass and see what happens.
• Plan D: Get off at Vail because the pass is now closed so emergency vehicles can access the 20 car pile up on the pass. Shouldn't be too long of a wait considering it's a 6 lane highway.
  
• Plan E: Reroute over a smaller, higher, more dangerous two-lane road because the pass will be closed longer than expected because the pass now has multiple car accidents due to a now raging snow and ice storm.
• Plan F: Reroute north on better roads after the first detour is at a standstill because of accidents on that road.
• Come out on the other side of Vail pass 3 hours later, but safe and find the access to the remaining part of the interstate with open roads and the remaining open pass.
• We found out later that Vail Pass was eventually opened 8 hours later at 10 pm after cleaning up a 70 car pile up! The train we decided not to take because it would get us into Denver too late was caught in the same storm and delayed until after 11 pm.
  

We learned a lot about patience, teamwork and how to overcome and listen to the wisdom God gave us. We were so happy to have Kent with us to help us navigate our way through all our plans and Aaron's dad for his generosity in letting us borrow his truck for our trip. I always say we are a party in a suitcase, but this trip we were an adventure in multiple suitcases!