Two Terrible Travel Days and 4 Christmas' Later...

Two Terrible Travel Days:

To...

Original Plan: Straight shot from Philly to SLC with a connection to Idaho Falls. Approximate travel time in an airplane: 5.5 hours. ETA in Idaho Falls: 10 pm MST Sunday night.

What actually happened: We were 1/2 hour late boarding plane in Philly. No big deal. Once we (Mason and I) were on the plane they gave the annoucements then told us to hold on for a minute. 10 minutes later they got back on to announce that the airport was closed. They did not elaborate on the cause. Word on the plane soon brought to light that a plane was forced to "crash land" at the airport, therefore by protocol the airport was closed until they could get everything cleaned up and situated. Unable to leave the plane, we waited. and waited. and waited. Four hours, and one poopy diaper, later we left. (FYI: I had to get "captain's permission to change a poopy diaper since we were, in fact, moving approximately 1/4 inch every 10 mintes and thus had to remained buckled in.) Four and a half hours after taking off we landed in SLC...but had of course missed our connection to IF. So my wonderful, sweet dad drove to SLC in the middle of a snowy, cold night and took us safely home. Actual arrival time in Idaho Falls: approx. 2:45 am MST Monday morning. Actual time on plane: approx. 8.5 hours plus 3 hour car ride to IF.

From...

Original Plan: IF to SLC. SLC to Philly. ETA: 9:30 pm EST Sunday night.

What actually happened: The plane we were suppose to be on was late getting to Idaho Falls, delaying our (luckily Nic was with us this time) departure and therefore making us miss our flight out of SLC. With no other direct flights from SLC to Philly (and Nic had to be to work the next day) we were re-routed to Phoenix where we were again delayed due to there not being enough oxygen tanks on our plane (come on people!). We then got on a plane to Atlanta (in front of an exit row so we couldn't recline...in the middle of the night). Then finally we were able to board a plane to Philly. Actual arrival time: 11:30 am EST MONDAY MORNING! We drove home (another 1 hour), Nic showered, then he left for the hospital not to be seen again until Tuesday at noon.


With that said...we are never flying again. Okay yes we are. But we won't like it!


Now onto the less whiney part of our holiday...


Christmas #1: Before Mason and I left for Idaho we wanted to have our own little Christmas here. (Something we look forward to doing for real when we live out west and can therefore see our family and have our own Christmas all in the same week). It was so fun...even though the concept was a little beyond Mason. We still had fun and enjoyed spending the morning together.


Mason and I then spent a week visiting family, baking with Grandma and enjoying the freezing cold weather before Nic was able to join us. Mason loved playing with all the family dogs, whom I credit for teaching Mason to finally crawl on all 4s. (He took his his first steps all by himself later in the week when Nic got there). We had the "Hall Christmas Party" on Saturday night up at the country club. The food was excellent and it was really nice to catch up with everyone. My Grandma and Grandpa Hall put a lot of effort into doing this for us every year. They are truly are wonderful!

Christmas #2: The Sunday before Christmas we had a party with my dad and Penni and all the kids. Nic barely made it in time (due to a slightly less dramatic, but still annoying delay in air travel). We had great food and played some fun games. The grandkids exchanged gifts and my dad and Penni gave us some really special gifts. Then we watched the photo DVD Jenni made of the cabin. I think my favorite part of the evening, though, was when my dad got a little choked up when he told us how much we all meant to him. That is something I'll remember for a long time. Even thinking about it now makes me a little teary. It was a really nice night. Later in the week we were able to make our way up to the cabin for a relaxing couple of days. I love it up there. We snowmachined and played in snow up to our eye balls (literally). I took a nice jacuzzi bath and we played games in front of the fire. Whenever someone says to think of a happy place (which, yes, happens to me all the time) the cabin is always where I think of. Thanks Dad and Penni for letting us reap the benefits of all your hard work!

Christmas #3: On Christmas Eve we always have a party for my mom's side of the family. This year was a little hard because my grandma isn't doing very well. We were able to get her there though and she stayed for about an hour...which is better than usual. My mom put together a photo DVD of some old pictures she found of her and her siblings when they were little...so we watched that with my grandma there. It was very touching. As my grandma was leaving I looked her in the eye and told her I loved her. She said, "I love you too Meggie". Which was awesome because she often doesn't recognize people anymore. I really appreciate all the effort my mom put into making it a nice evening for us all. She has been through a lot with my Grandma over the last several years, but she is always trying to make things nice for her and the rest of the family. So thanks Mom! After everyone left we did the classic reading of the Polar Express with Matt and Shay. Lets just say there is some footage of that event that will forever make me laugh until I cry. We'll leave it at that.

Christmas #4: On Christmas Day we were able to spend the day with the Piersons. Everyone was there (except Marci's kids Seth and Ellen...who came later that evening) and we had a great time. I made my first homemade apple pie all by myself and, if I do say so myself, it turned out pretty good. (At least everyone tried to make me feel like it did...thanks guys.) We had an awesome meal with my favorite: twice baked potatoes with shrimp. Fabulous. We played Rock Band and just enjoyed each other's company. Mason loved being surrounded by his cousins...especially Chloe who kept trying to play with him and give him kisses. (There are some pretty funny stories involving Seth and Ellen and playing in the snow a few days before Christmas...but I'll have to save those for another post). Thanks Lloyd and Gail for putting up with a house full of hooligans!

So we are home in PA now and adjusting nicely. Despite the horrible travel to and from Idaho, I don't regret going. I love spending time with our family. I love watching all the grandparents fall in love with Mason, and I love watching him fall in love with them. It was a little crazy at times, but I wouldn't change a thing. Thanks to everyone for making it a wonderful couple of weeks!


(More pictures will follow as soon as I figure out how to do a slide show thing.)