Check out this beast of a truck! Jordan and Uncle Jered pulled up in this thing, and I couldn't believe how it completely overwhelmed my parents' entire driveway!
We had our doubts, but by late afternoon it all fit! Thanks to Pastor Bill, James, Uncle, and daddy, the truck was packed like a pro in no time.
This was the "Ocean's 11" moment. They shut the truck door and stood in a line, staring at the beast. Then slowly, one by one they peeled away in a spirit of triumph.
Here enters Instagram iphone pictures as my camera was packed away safely.
Early the next morning... Goodbye for now boys!
Several days later, after hearing that the truck arrived safely, it was our turn to hit the road. We hadn't seen much snow at all, but of course it was coming down nicely the day before we were scheduled to leave. Actually, there was so much that the pass over the mountains was CLOSED. So we watched for hours for it to open up, and finally my hero (that would be my father) suggested that it was probably our best bet to fly out of the dinky little Yakima airport to ensure we'd be in Seattle the next morning. He bought us tickets, and we got in the car...
We got to Yakima where we sat in the airport...
and sat...
and sat...
waved to Grampa through security,
ran around,
did puzzles,
ate snacks,
and sat some more...
...until finally our tiny plane took off. It was REALLY turbulent. (See above headline for an idea of the weather that night) I was scared more than once as my buns left the seat. Let's just say my biceps got a nice little workout as I death-gripped one girl on each side of me...
So we stayed the night in Seattle, and woke up the next morning to a beautiful white snowscape. I had serious doubts that we'd make it out of that city. And we barely did. In fact, we had to be some of the last people out of there before they closed the entire airport! We watched the news from Iowa the next day as they reported that Seatac airport was shut down and hadn't been closed in decades!
It was a VERY looooooong travel day. The most intense part of my day happened in a 10 minute window of time. As we were landing in Denver the flight attendant announced that because we were getting in so late (due to sitting on the airplane for-EV-ER while they de-iced it in Seattle) we were probably going to miss our connection. "But those trying to make the flight to Iowa may have a chance. They know you're about to land, but you're going to need to run. And if you miss it, please see a service agent and we'll be happy to put you on the next plane." The wheels hit the ground and I turned my cell phone on to read a text from Jordan telling me he had talked to an agent, we weren't gonna make the connection, and that was the last Iowa flight that day. United was going to put us in a hotel for the night and get us out the next day. OH NO! That was NOT happening. Something inside of me went off as I prepared myself and my children for a sprint through the Denver airport. I texted back- "We are going to run and we WILL MAKE THIS FLIGHT!" I strapped everything tightly to myself, grabbed Anabelle and thanked the seated passengers for letting us off the plane first. I took off, reading signs as I ran. At one point, poor Raegan shouted, "Mommy, I can't do it. I can't run anymore." I turned around and asked her, "Do you want to see your daddy today? If you want to see him, you have to run!"
She passed me at that point and we soon rounded the corner just before they closed the doors behind us. Every passenger on the crowded flight had to hear me wheezing as the tears rolled down my cheeks and we stumbled our way to the very last row. And that's what a motivated mama can accomplish when she's desperate enough.
And look what we saw when we got off the plane! The best Welcome "home" ever! Jordan's entire family was with him to welcome us at the airport with signs and Iowa attire! A sight for sore eyes is the biggest understatement I can think of.
So, here I am. It's freezing!! I'm unpacking one box at a time and slowly learning the street names in my neighborhood. My new home is beautiful, and there's a grocery store right down the street. The girls are sleeping perfectly already, loving their new bedrooms and having a blast unpacking toys they haven't seen in over a year!
I miss my family. A lot. But at least the un-ending bins are keeping me busy.
I'm pretty exhausted. But I made it. We made it.
