Trip Part II

After surprising my mom and Carli we of course had to make a trip to Cafe Rio. Even though little Audrey got sick that night and some of that delicious food made an unfortunate reappearance, it is still my very favorite. That was gross wasn't it. Sorry, it was gross when it happened too.
Julia is still lamenting the fact that she and Brooke didn't have a sleepover while we were there. Next time.
Here's some of the granddaughters with Papa.
We got to stay at Carli and Chuck's beautiful home (check out that view!) for a day or two. Chuck and his dad were kind enough to let Julia ride Cowboy. They have no idea how much that made her day. She is obsessed with horses. Now if only it could have been a unicorn....
Grandma's sister passed away while we were there so our visit came at a tough time but we were so happy to see her and our new little niece Ilene (I spelled it right this time!) We had some yummy pizza and the girls got some quality play time together. They adore Alli and we loved holding that new baby. She is such a sweetheart. Thanks for letting us crash for a bit Amanda. It was so great to see you!
I also got to see some Ohio friends. Monica and Cara drove up to see me! (I am totally shocked because NO one drives to Evanston. I was lucky indeed). We made gingerbread houses and had lunch while the kids played. We didn't even skip a beat. It was like we had never been apart. The only problem was Jessica lives a little bit too far away and couldn't make the trip (it wasn't right without you Jess!) I miss these friends dearly and I am so glad that I was able to reconnect with them for an afternoon.
The kiddos. I was so happy to see sweet Sofie doing so well. She told me all about her birthday party and her favorite color. SO happy. I just love these kids.
The girls. Julia took this picture. Not too bad eh? Our heads all made it. Now I just need to teach her how to shave ten pound off of me when she takes a picture.
I love this picture. They were obsessed with Adam. He's so good to them.
My mom's beautiful tree.
So the day before I flew home I went to my dad's office to print off my boarding pass and pay for my bag. In doing so I left my wallet on my dad's desk without knowing it. So next day comes, we are driving to the airport and by some miracle my brother was walking by and noticed my wallet sitting wide open on the desk. Thankfully he met up with us and we got the wallet but barely made it to the airport in time. Well, actually that's a lie because my flight was delayed 45 minutes so I made it in plenty of time. Because of the 45 minute delay I was panicked about making my connecting flight. The nice flight attendant put us at the very front of the plane and checked my bag all the way to my destination so I could run upon landing. I was nervous but relaxed when I realized upon landing in Minneapolis I had a full 35 minutes to catch my connecting flight. Plenty of time. The plane lands and we all stand up, ready to sprint. Well unfortunately we would be standing for a very long time. They could not get the jetway to move in the snow. We stood there for 45 minutes before they finally moved us to another gate. I ran. ran. ran. I arrive at the gate sweaty and stressed only to see I missed the flight. They put me on stand-by for the flight that left after 7:00PM. Standby! I just knew that the three of us would never get on standby. So I was sent to another place to try and get help. I have to admit that it was at this point I found a deserted corner of the airport and cried for a little bit. The thought of being there all night alone with my two kids was a bit more than I could take. I then waited in another line and talked to another lady. I convinced them to send me to Cincinnati so that Bryan could come and pick me up. They got me seats on the 7:15PM flight to Cincinnati. I wandered and bought food and felt a little bit sorry for myself and watched Audrey have a 20 minute temper tantrum. We finally boarded the plane and landed on solid ground. I rushed to baggage claim only to find my baggage lost. Bryan loaded the girls while I waited another 45 minutes to arrange to get my bag to me the next day. We didn't get home that night until 1:15AM.

So yeah, rough trip home. Thankfully it was such a wonderful trip and I had such a great time. Next time I could definitely do without the delays.