Okay, as Cheri commented, I completely forgot to talk about this year's Christmas fiascos.
Just days before we were scheduled to fly out (12/21), it started to snow. And snow. And snow. It was as close to a blizzard as Seattle's seen in a LONG time. We had made arrangements with some friends who were flying out of seatac the same day and approximate time we were. They stayed the night and we all get up around 2am to battle the weather, crazy insane drivers, and the an unbelievably crowded airport. Just as our alarm goes of, we get a call from American Airlines. Of course it's automated and tells us our flight has been cancelled, so if we want to reschedule please hold. After 20 minutes, everyone's ready to leave, so I redial the number on a cell phone and we start our trek to the airport. The roads were absolutely covered with inches of snow, no one paid any attention to where the lines should have been. And other drivers in a rush to get wherever they were going were driving like lunatics. The drive to seatac made me feel like I was in a real-life game of Mario Kart:
Crazies barreling down the highway, others trying to get out of their way before it's too late, still others sliding out of control and in ditches. After an hour of being on hold, I finally spoke with a representative and reschedule our flights, one of the last available for the same day. Whatever, at least we have a flight.
So... Then that flight got cancelled. And the NEXT rescheduled flight was cancelled... but I didn't know it. Flights were being cancelled left and right so they weren't announcing them. I was just chilling with my baby: comfortable, staked the area around me with our coats and carryons, Elayna was laying in the seat next to me, I was mowing down a milkshake and eyeing my tater tot hashbrowns. Next thing I know, Ryan's running down the terminal yelling at me to get everything together and to forget the food. We had to get to a plane that was leaving in 15 minutes on the other side of the airport. (Why was Ryan running and yelling at me, you ask? Because he forgot his cell phone, as usual.) I grab Elayna and her bag. Ryan grabs everything else. We ran like mad men and made it to the next gate in time... just to be there another six hours, folks. We had to wait for the plane that had just landed to leave. Then we had to wait for OUR plane which was still in the hanger. They de-iced it. We board and the crew's doing all they do to get a plane ready to take-off. But wait. Now the plane's refrozen and we're back at the end of the line for stupid de-icer. After a couple hours, they let us off. We're waiting at the gate. We're told there's a good chance the de-icer has run out. A few hours later, they say there's enough de-icer, put us back on the plane, and hose the plane off. FINALLY, we were off the ground. The captain informed us that we were the 2nd to last plane to leave seatac before they closed it.
Washington DC (nonstop) was one of the only remaining flights available out of seatac, so we took it and figured we'd decide what to do once we got there. We just wanted to be anywhere but the Northwest. Luckily, that's where Joe and Kara are from and we gave them a call. They were happy to help. Kara picked us up and we stayed in her friend's empty home. Her family was so hospitible.
So long story short, after multiple cancelled flights, travel from one coast to another, lost baggage, and an extreme shortage of diapers scare, the Mabry family finally made it to Nashville.
Christmas was great. We saw everyone in six different Christmases. That's right, SIX. I'm not sure we even saw our child about half the time. She was off in one person or another's arms. It was wonderful to be with family again. AND I got to ride my favorite horse ever. When Ryan & I lived in Melber, we cared for whichever horses a friend kept in the barn behind us. I fed, treated wounds, handled, (whatever was needed), and played with horses every day. The last horse I took care of was a mare. She was pregnant and actually had her colt the day after I left for Pennsylvania to go to Jess's baby shower. Should have known that was gonna happen. Anyway, I absolutely fell in love with this horse. Never actually got to ride her then, but she'd let me lay across her back whenever I wanted. Just before she had the colt, she was traded for another horse. Luckily, the new owner left her where she was and she's been in Melber ever since. Getting to ride her over Christmas was a dream come true. Ryan promised to try to get her when he got home from Iraq. But when someone recently made an offer on her, I was notified and given dibs. Ryan & I talked about it. With the pressure on from this dude's offer, we seized the moment and decided to get her! None of this would have been possible if we didn't have family to support us until we can fully care for her ourselves (when Ryan gets out of the army).
SO I HAVE A HORSE! Ryan thinks she's hideous... I think she's absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I call her Noodle because when I took care of her in Melber she was preggo -like the spaghatti sauce- and she has a couple markings on her that look like noodles... when you dig deep into your imagination.
Just days before we were scheduled to fly out (12/21), it started to snow. And snow. And snow. It was as close to a blizzard as Seattle's seen in a LONG time. We had made arrangements with some friends who were flying out of seatac the same day and approximate time we were. They stayed the night and we all get up around 2am to battle the weather, crazy insane drivers, and the an unbelievably crowded airport. Just as our alarm goes of, we get a call from American Airlines. Of course it's automated and tells us our flight has been cancelled, so if we want to reschedule please hold. After 20 minutes, everyone's ready to leave, so I redial the number on a cell phone and we start our trek to the airport. The roads were absolutely covered with inches of snow, no one paid any attention to where the lines should have been. And other drivers in a rush to get wherever they were going were driving like lunatics. The drive to seatac made me feel like I was in a real-life game of Mario Kart:
Crazies barreling down the highway, others trying to get out of their way before it's too late, still others sliding out of control and in ditches. After an hour of being on hold, I finally spoke with a representative and reschedule our flights, one of the last available for the same day. Whatever, at least we have a flight. So... Then that flight got cancelled. And the NEXT rescheduled flight was cancelled... but I didn't know it. Flights were being cancelled left and right so they weren't announcing them. I was just chilling with my baby: comfortable, staked the area around me with our coats and carryons, Elayna was laying in the seat next to me, I was mowing down a milkshake and eyeing my tater tot hashbrowns. Next thing I know, Ryan's running down the terminal yelling at me to get everything together and to forget the food. We had to get to a plane that was leaving in 15 minutes on the other side of the airport. (Why was Ryan running and yelling at me, you ask? Because he forgot his cell phone, as usual.) I grab Elayna and her bag. Ryan grabs everything else. We ran like mad men and made it to the next gate in time... just to be there another six hours, folks. We had to wait for the plane that had just landed to leave. Then we had to wait for OUR plane which was still in the hanger. They de-iced it. We board and the crew's doing all they do to get a plane ready to take-off. But wait. Now the plane's refrozen and we're back at the end of the line for stupid de-icer. After a couple hours, they let us off. We're waiting at the gate. We're told there's a good chance the de-icer has run out. A few hours later, they say there's enough de-icer, put us back on the plane, and hose the plane off. FINALLY, we were off the ground. The captain informed us that we were the 2nd to last plane to leave seatac before they closed it.
Washington DC (nonstop) was one of the only remaining flights available out of seatac, so we took it and figured we'd decide what to do once we got there. We just wanted to be anywhere but the Northwest. Luckily, that's where Joe and Kara are from and we gave them a call. They were happy to help. Kara picked us up and we stayed in her friend's empty home. Her family was so hospitible.
So long story short, after multiple cancelled flights, travel from one coast to another, lost baggage, and an extreme shortage of diapers scare, the Mabry family finally made it to Nashville.
Christmas was great. We saw everyone in six different Christmases. That's right, SIX. I'm not sure we even saw our child about half the time. She was off in one person or another's arms. It was wonderful to be with family again. AND I got to ride my favorite horse ever. When Ryan & I lived in Melber, we cared for whichever horses a friend kept in the barn behind us. I fed, treated wounds, handled, (whatever was needed), and played with horses every day. The last horse I took care of was a mare. She was pregnant and actually had her colt the day after I left for Pennsylvania to go to Jess's baby shower. Should have known that was gonna happen. Anyway, I absolutely fell in love with this horse. Never actually got to ride her then, but she'd let me lay across her back whenever I wanted. Just before she had the colt, she was traded for another horse. Luckily, the new owner left her where she was and she's been in Melber ever since. Getting to ride her over Christmas was a dream come true. Ryan promised to try to get her when he got home from Iraq. But when someone recently made an offer on her, I was notified and given dibs. Ryan & I talked about it. With the pressure on from this dude's offer, we seized the moment and decided to get her! None of this would have been possible if we didn't have family to support us until we can fully care for her ourselves (when Ryan gets out of the army).
SO I HAVE A HORSE! Ryan thinks she's hideous... I think she's absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I call her Noodle because when I took care of her in Melber she was preggo -like the spaghatti sauce- and she has a couple markings on her that look like noodles... when you dig deep into your imagination.
