And the Adventures Continue

This past week we were back in Utah for a family reunion. I love Nichols reunions. They are just so fun!! I'll post pictures about it next time because they are still on my camera.

Unfortunately, James and I seem to find that our basic travels keep turning into adventures and we can't figure out why!

On Saturday, we had planned on taking the 5:25 flight out of SLC to DFW. Funnily enough, my old stake president was flying our plane - Pres. Hathaway! I thought that was pretty funny. We were flying standby (of course) and were numbers 23 and 24 on the list, with only 27 open seats. I was worried we wouldn't get on! Everyone boarded and then they ended up putting all the standbys on the plane. We were very relieved that we made it and went and found our seats - Exit row even! More legroom! Awesome!

We sat down and got comfy, expecting to leave the gate right away. But, the cabin door stayed open. We didn't go anywhere. Pilot finally comes on and says that we are finishing up a maintenance issue and will leave by 6:00. Okay, cool, I thought. I immersed myself in my book until I heard the pilot come back on. "Sorry, folks, DFW is gridlocked with the storms and they are delaying our flight until 7:30." So we de-boarded the plane and sat around until 7:00, when they let us board again.

This time, everything went well. We taxied, took off, and were finally on our way to Dallas. They passed out drinks to us, dinner to first class, and we were about an hour into the flight. Halfway there. I was almost asleep. James was.

And then....

"Sorry I have to be the one to break the bad news to ya, folks, but the storms are too bad in Dallas and the airport is gridlocked again. We were told to turn around and head back to Salt Lake."

What?? Back to Salt Lake? I was confused. And not so happy.

So we were diverted back. I called Russ and Pam and we stayed at their house that night and they took us to the airport the next morning. They just delayed our flight until 8:45 the next morning.

And the whole time we flew back here, I was just praying that we wouldn't be turning around AGAIN heading back to Salt Lake. I don't think I could have handled that well.

We Made It!

Hooray! We made it to Texas. It was quite the adventure, let me tell you. I don't have pictures now, but I will eventually.

Friday, June 1:
James, Kim, and Carl all arrive in Pleasant Grove. By this point I have packed up 75% of our house and there are boxes of crap everywhere.

Monday - Thursday:
Doctors' appointments galore between the two of us, James had his wisdom teeth out, and the moving trailer was delivered. On Thursday we packed it up with the help of Carl, Brother Greene, and Jen. Then cleaned our apartment for checkout the next day. Also, James gets in a fender-bender accident because of stupid Utah drivers (seriously, they need to learn how to drive). We pray that the car is driveable and drive up to South Jordan to the hotel.

Friday:
Got up early and checked out of our apartment. Good to go - passed all the cleaning!! Thanks to the help of our wonderful neighbor, Kristie. Then it was off for Carl and Jen's wedding!! It was so fun to be with them on their special day. It was also special to be able to attend their sealing -it brought back so many memories from our own sealing 7 months ago. In between the sealing and the reception we ran down to Provo to turn in our apt keys, grab my wedding ring (it was being dipped) and getting the car checked out. Crazy day!!

Saturday:
Decided to stay in Utah an extra day so we could get the car checked out (we didn't make it Friday night because of the traffic). Got it checked and then hung out with our best friends Nick, Carly, and their daughter Emery. So fun and I'm gonna miss them SO SO SO much!!!

Sunday:
Left for Carlsbad at 8:15 AM. Arrived at 11:45 PM. LONGEST DAY EVER. It is not supposed to take that long! But for several reasons, it did. Oh, and the whole time James was dealing with a very sore mouth from his wisdom teeth (it was also full of puss. yuck) and we thought it was an infection.

Monday:
Emergency call to a family friend who is a dentist. Get James teeth checked out. Dry sockets plus an infection. Go fill prescription for a Z-pack. Leave Carlsbad for McKinney about 2:30. ETA 10:30 in McKinney. It was a nice drive for about 3 hours, then we ran into a terrible semi accident. We were re-routed off the freeway. There were 3 semis involved and it looked nasty. Once we got down the road a bit, we were hit by a nasty thunderstorm. So bad we could barely see the road. When we got to Abilene, we checked the weather, and the bad thunderstorms were pretty much all the way to DFW, so we decided to make an uncharted stop and avoid them. We found a hotel (which was a little sketchy, but whatever..cheap) and got dinner and hung out at Walmart for a bit (i know, I know. It's Abilene. There's not much to do).

Tuesday:
Up and checking out of the hotel at 5:45 AM. SO EARLY. We had to get James to Arlington by 9:00 so he could sign all the paperwork for his new job. We were really hoping he didn't have to stay long because I waited out in the car for him. Then we FINALLY made it to McKinney. What an adventure.

We are so happy to be here. It's so fun to be with family again and back in the South! The culture really is different - people are more friendly and helpful and just downright nice. We unloaded the moving trailer into storage on Wednesday and are all moved in! Today was James' first day on his new job. I think he's going to do great!! :)

Looking Forward...

Because of the I-have-too-much-to-do-so-I'm-not-gonna-do-any-of-it syndrome that I have right now, and because I am a little lonely and bored tonight, here's a list of things I'm looking forward to:

• School's out in a week and a day!!

I get to see James in a week and a half!

Carl and Jen's wedding!!

• Moving to Texas

James' birthday! (I better get him a really good present!)

My birthday - James got me the best present ever - CARRIE UNDERWOOD TICKETS!!!!!! :)

First anniversary with the best husband ever!!

Well, I sure do have a lot of things to look forward to! This makes me feel better :)

Happy Mother's Day!

To our wonderful moms. Neither of us would be where we are today if it wasn't for the two of you.

In Which I Make a Fool of Myself on the Corner of Main and Center Streets in Pleasant Grove

Otherwise known as: The Incident of the Yellow Jacket in my Car

I have a very distinct fear of being stuck by a bee. Or really, anything with a stinger, I'm not picky. So you can imagine my dismay at finding a yellow jacket in my car today. The story goes as follows:


Hooray, school's out! I can go home! I thought. I walked out of Greenwood, through the front doors, past a few children whose parents had forgotten to pick them up on time, and into my car. I sat down, buckled my seat belt, and turned on the AC full blast (it's 80 degrees today!).

All of a sudden, I heard a buzzing noise behind my head. Thinking it was just a fly, I turned my head. Nope, not a fly. YELLOW JACKET on my rear windowsill!! Aaaaahhhhh I screamed inside my head. I let out a little squeal and immediately rolled down my window and jumped out of my car. I ran around to open all 4 doors (so the jacket would have to get out) and realized they were locked. Crap. I unlocked the doors, opened them all, and saw the yellow jacket fly out of the passenger door.

Or so I thought.

I hopped back in the car, turned it off, closed all the windows, and listened closely. No buzzing. Phew, I survived, I thought. What a funny story to tell my mother tonight.

I got home without incident, locked my door, and went inside. I started working on some school stuff. My sister in law, Jen, called me asking if I could pick up some things for her from a little print shop here in PG. Since she works in Santaquin, she wouldn't be able to pick it up before they closed.

I got in my car, turned up the radio, sang along to Lee Brice (love that song!) and reached Pro Digital Photos in no time at all. Picked up Jen's envelopes, waited FOREVER for a break in traffic to back out of the parking spot, and left ProDigital. All of a sudden, there it is. Right in my face!!!

you guessed it.  It was that stinking yellow jacket again. It kept flying around my face and my car. By this point, I was at the stop sign at the intersection of Center Street and Main Street in PG. Right in the middle of town. Of course. I hurriedly turned right, pulled over, and literally leaped out of my car.

Same problem with doors being locked. I unlocked the doors, opened the driver and passenger doors. Then I proceeded to plead with the yellow jacket. Out loud. Keep in mind, I'm in the middle of a busy intersection in PG. "Please get out of my car! Please, please!" I finally just decided to shoo it out, so I grabbed a napkin and started shooing.

Well, the darn thing came flying right at me, so, naturally, I screamed and ducked. It flew out of my car, so I slammed the door and started running back to the driver's side. As I was running, I just knew that it was following above my head, so I ran while ducking back to my seat. Slammed my door and took a deep breath. It was gone. Finally.

Countdown

Let the countdown begin.

3 weeks, 5 days.

I can handle that. I think.

2012

I found this on Facebook a week or so back....and I LOVED it.

So much so I had to share it with you all. :)

I thought it was clever and hilarious!!