Air travel. Why do we keep doing this?

Another drafted blog that never made it to publish.  From July 2014.  

This was a story that I couldn't pass up sharing.

My cousin recently got married.  We decided it would be fun to fly up to Washington state to celebrate with her, and it would also serve as a chance to see lots of family that we don't see very often. We were set.  We made flight plans about a month and a half out. We had all the semantics of child air travel figured out. Great!  Almost...

Major setback #1: canceled flight.
A couple hours from our departure, we received a text from Orbitz that our flight was cancelled.  After 2 hours on the phone with the airline and Orbitz, and no foreseeable way to get to Washington in time, we decided it would be easier to drive across the country.  Why not make this into an adventure?  But after a stern talking from my dad, we forced the issue and were able to catch a flight from Austin the following morning.

So we drove to Austin, arrived at midnight, took a 4 hour nap, and got on a flight to Minneapolis (not exactly on the way, but in the general northern direction).  Our layover was going nicely.  We had a long brunch and went to hang out in a toy store.  Unfortunately, we lost track of time and realized our plane was boarding on the other side of the airport.  We grabbed the girls (I put Aimee on my shoulders) and started hoofing it.  We got to the gate on time, but noticed the faint smell of poop as we arrived.  As I set Aimee down, I mentioned that she needed a change.

Major setback #2: diarrhea happens
Ashley looked at me and pointed out that poop was dribbling down my shoulder, and poop had smeared all the way up Aimee's back to her neck.  Obviously, you can't get on a flight like that.  Luckily, we had my bag as a carry-on, but nothing for Aimee but a few wipes and diapers.  We all went to the bathrooms as quickly as possible (the flight was boarding).  I threw away my shirt and changed into a clean one.  We threw away Aimee's outfit, used every wipe we had, and wrapped one of my shirts around her.

That was gross.  I can't imagine being the person to change those trash cans, and I feel so bad for doing that.  But really...what else were we going to do?

We were the last to board the flight, and the smell was a bit noticeable (at least to me), but we made it.  The rest of the trip was great.

.

Snow Days!!!

I found this post set as a draft.  It is from December 2013, but never got published.  Here it is...

I have never lived in a place where snow could stick for more than 24 hours. Yet, here we are, in Ft Worth, day 6 of white. It's getting slushy, and we can now drive on the streets safely, but this is nuts.

I really hate being cold, and the thought of several days of cold just makes me severely uncomfortable.  So I never thought I would say it, but this is awesome!  Lee got to work from home.  We had hot chocolate and hot apple cider.  I made a lot of soup (I love soup.  I would eat it every day.).  We got to glide instead of walk down the street.  And we made a snowman...and he's still alive!!!  Although his blueberry eyes and mouth have rolled out, and his carrot nose is mysteriously missing.  I know you're out there, Bunny.  You left your droppings on my beautiful white, icy lawn.

But, alas, school is no longer canceled, and Lee can drive to work again.  The cozy solitude of our snow-in is over, and life resumes.

Our little snowman.  We're very proud of him.

The neighborhood pond.  Ice everywhere!

Trying to get the ice off the driveway.  Failed effort.

It's sooooooo cold.

The MOST awkward sibling photo.  This will be used at a graduation and/or wedding.