March 7-20: A Summary

It's been 2 big weeks since my last post. Here's a quick run-down:

Sunday, March 6- Kendall gets home from work at 8am, we hop in the van and drive until 11:30 pm. We meet my parents and Kirsten at a hotel in Chicago and hand off the boys at midnight.

Monday, March 7- Kendall and I are at the airport by5:30 am. We fly to Mexico! We get to our resort in Maya Riviera by 1pm.

March 7-9- We sit on the beach soaking up as much sunshine as possible in 2 1/2 short days. We also eat a lot and just enjoy being together with no responsibilities. It takes me approximately 24 hours to stop thinking about children constantly and Kendall the same amount of time to stop thinking about the house.

Thursday, March 10- We leave our resort by 6:20am and head for the airport. We are in Chicago by 2pm. Kendall drives me to meet my parents partway between Chicago and Goshen. Then he heads back north for what will turn out to be a more eventful trip than he bargained for.

Friday, March 11- The boys and I head to Washington DC with Mom, Dad and Kirsten to see MY NEW NEPHEW! We meet Karissa and Rylan there. We have a great time with family, though we're sad Kendall can't be with us. (And that he's having a more eventful trip than he bargained for.)

Monday, March 14- We head back to Goshen, adding Karissa to the van load.

March 15-18- Family and friends. And the boys and I spend Thursday night in Fort Wayne with sisters and cousins.

Saturday, March 19- The boys and I are dropped off at the airport, ready for a quick trip to International Falls. Kendall leaves early to meet us there. Our first flight to Minneapolis goes well. But, oh dear, because of morning fog there, everything is backed up. We are required to circle in the sky for too long. Then we wait for an open gate. We get off our plane and run. By the time we make it to Gate B7 for our connecting flight, the waiting area is deserted. We missed it. The only other flight to International Falls isn't until 7:25 that night. It's 11:30am. We're so tired. The agent puts us on standby for the evening flight. He's also gives us food vouchers, confiding that he's not supposed to do this, but that his mom says he was crazy when he was a kid. Not my business, but I assume he was referring to the 2 crazy boys I was responsible for. Kendall has 8+ hours to use up in International Falls. We have 7 hours to use up in Minneapolis. I collect myself, then make the decision to go by metro to the Mall of America. We take one ride at the amusement park there, then drag ourselves around the mall. We are tired. Evan tells me, "You have to carry me or I will sit down." I tell him, "If I carry you, I will fall down." We head toward an open bench. Someone beats us to it. We collapse on the floor. After we gather ourselves, we find Barnes and Noble. Then we work up the energy to take the metro back to the airport. At our gate again, we find out that there is no room for us on our flight. I debate how much begging would help the situation. I decide against begging but take up a post right in front of the agent's desk so she will not forget about us. After everyone else is on the plane, we are allowed to board. Finally, we make it back to Kendall in International Falls. He has flowers and a hotel room ready for us. The boys and I take off our shoes and all of us cannot believe how good it feels. "Ahhh..." We're so tired! Evan exclaims, "It feels like I'm getting a foot massage!" They are out within minutes.

Sunday, March 20- We drive home. It's snowing a lot and the roads are crappy. But it's so good to be together again.

And as for Kendall's trip back north being more eventful than he had bargained for... Well, he was trying to make it to Winnipeg for Promise Keepers Friday night with some of his friends. Thursday after dropping me off, he made it to somewhere in Wisconsin. The next morning...well, we'll just say that some gastrointestinal issues kept him confined to his hotel room longer than planned. (When I talked to him later than afternoon, he told me that he had just eaten 2 chalupas from Taco Bell, "so that should help.") That night he made it to North Dakota, just 2 1/2 hours from Winnipeg. Unfortunately, there was a blizzard like he had never seen before- just like Little House on the Prairie- and the highway was closed. Kendall got a hotel room.(He still wasn't feeling great and the restaurant he found that night only had chili for soup. So he went back to his hotel and ate the leftover taco from that afternoon!) The highway re-opened Saturday afternoon and Kendall made it to Winnipeg in time to meet the guys at a restaurant and go back to hang out in the pool together. Then he had to come back to Red Lake Sunday in time to sleep before a night shift.

Poor guy. But you'd think he'd make different food decisions being a nurse and all....