Saturday, December 19, 2009

Christmas Break - Week 1

I've been home in Ontario, Oregon now for a week. It has been so nice to get away, even though it is far colder here than it is in Lubbock. We had a few days of snow which Hattie loved. Every time she looked outside she would shout "SNOWMAN!" But the really cold front has passed, so most of the snow is gone, but it looks we'll have more before Christmas.

Getting here was quite the battle. I was able to get a free ticket for Hattie, but in order to take advantage of the deal, we had to fly out of Amarillo, TX. So last Thursday, we drove 2 hours north to Amarillo, dropped our van off at a friend's house, and headed to the airport. Our first flight to Dallas was delayed, so of course we missed our connecting flight to LA. I was quite literally running through the airport, with Anna strapped to me in a wrap, Hattie in the stroller, lugging a diaper bag, backpack, and a car seat. I'm sure I was quite the sight, and I felt like everyone was thinking I was crazy for traveling with two small children. By the end of the day, I agreed with them.

Luckily there was another flight to LA that I hopped on right before it left. Poor Hattie was probably wondering what happened to her crazy mom, since I kept saying, "We've gotta hurry...run fast." The kids did okay on the flight, thanks to a handy DVD player. Once in LA, I thought I had plenty of time to catch my flight to Boise...an hour and ten minutes. I deplaned, only to discover that my connecting flight was going to take off from an entirely different terminal. And in LA there is no handy train or moving sidewalk to take you from terminal to terminal. Nothing that logical. I actually had to leave the airport, walk outside for a bit, and go through security again! It was ridiculous. Especially with 2 kids. As I approached the terminal, I saw that the security line was a mile long. I knew there was no way to possibly get through security in 40 minutes. Then I finally got lucky. The line went upstairs before going to the security check point, and, since there was no elevator going up, I got to go downstairs with my stroller to another checkpoint, which happened to have a line that only took 15 minutes to go through! Thank heavens for strollers. If it weren't for that, I would have certainly missed my flight and ended up staying the night in LA. I boarded the plane for Boise, relieved to have actually made it on my correct flight, considering all the bad luck I had. Again, I boarded just as they called for the final boarding call. I finally called Paul and Mom to let them know I was okay...it was the first second all day that i had a minute to talk since I had been running every second that I was on the ground. Hattie was ridiculously tired by then, since it was about 10 in Lubbock and she missed her nap. Of course she finally fell asleep when we landed...perfect timing.

Lessons learned: 1) Never fly to LAX. It's a nightmare. 2) Flying with 2 kids is harder than I imagined. 3) Even if a free ticket is involved, it might be worth my sanity to pay for the ticket and fly more direct.

This week has been great...spending time with sisters/sister-in-law, celebrating Kerri's birthday, watching Hattie rememeber and love her cousins again, sleeping in, having Mom's wonderful help, watching movies with Spencer, putting up the Christmas tree, and finishing up last minute shopping. But the girls and I are anxious for Paul to finally get into town tonight...he finished up his final yesterday and is on his way now. I don't have a way to upload any pictures until he gets here, so sorry for the pictureless post.

3 comments:

Jamie Jo said...

Glad you made it safe and sound. I have had similar travel woes, without kids but with friends in wheelchairs, and oh the lessons I learned. 1) LAX sucks, not matter what. 2) San Jose Airport sucks too. 3) Having functional legs is such a blessing!
Hope you have a wonderful white Christmas (but stay warm too)!

Kurt and Kristy said...

Wow! Sounds like you have some pretty eventful trips! ;) Glad you made it safe though! We miss having you around! Hope you guys have a great Christmas!

Julianne said...

Yes, Jamie is right--San Jose does stink! They made us leave security when connecting flights too. Luckily that time Brandon was with me. Flying home with kids alone is definitely stressful! Glad you made it.