Maybe Katherine had some kind of premonition when she told everyone we were going to Denmark instead of Denver because we had enough time to get to Europe and back in the amount of time it took us to get back from Colorado yesterday/today.
18 hours. Eighteen. That's how long it was from the time we arrived at the airport yesterday morning until we got home at 3 a.m. this morning. I'll spare you the details of the events that transpired to create this nightmare - most of you have horrible travel stories of your own. But, if you're lucky, your story didn't include:
1. An 11 year old who never so much as napped one second during the entire misadventure - even during the one hour taxi ride from the airport we landed in to the airport we were supposed to land in - the one where our car and luggage were, which was followed by another hour long drive home from there.
2. A 2 year old. Need I say more?
3. An 8 year old who, as her sister stated near the end of the day, had "anger issues". (This from our usually calm, steady, reliable child.)
4. A husband who, in an effort to remain calm in circumstances that would test any member of the Patient Club - one in which he certainly doesn't have a membership - had a vein that had popped out on the side of his head that had me envisioning an aneurysm or something before we arrived home.
When I've had time to recover, I'll share some pictures from our trip. (Prior to our arrival at the airport yesterday, we really did have a great time.) But I have so much coffee in me today, it's better that I don't try to operate the camera, or, for that matter, any other heavy or light equipment.
The girls are finally getting out of school, and we're going to start the summer off with a trip to Denver.
I've been kind of surprised by the number of people stopping me to ask about our "big" trip. I mean, Denver is supposed to be nice and all, but... there are more exotic locations.
It all became clear when someone asked more specifics about the trip and asked if this was the first time we had traveled to...Denmark! (Katherine had gotten a little mixed up on the names.)
Now that the AC is doing its job, I can focus on the more positive aspects of life. We actually did have a very enjoyable visit with Scott's parents last week, despite the heat. We've had the luxury of enjoying a nice, cool spring while friends and family in places farther south have had to suffer through the heat and humidity. So, from the time Scott's parents arrived last week for a visit until they left yesterday, he thought we should occupy ourselves with outdoor activities. We went on nature walks, played miniature golf, sat in unshaded stands at a rodeo, and toured Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. All of these could be thoroughly enjoyed in 70 degree weather. The only problem was, we were in the midst of a record breaking heat wave with temperatures actually reaching 100 degrees.
Our only solace was knowing that we could eventually drag ourselves back to the air conditioned oasis better known as Home Sweet Home. Only, as of last night when our air conditioning went out, it's better known as Home Hot Home. So, while I wait for the service guy to show up somewhere between 1:15 p.m. and July, I'll be thinking of Scott at work in his nice, cool office. I'm sure he's smiling. And I'm sure he's not sweating.
This excerpt from a bulletin sent out by our local police was our excitement for the day:
On Friday, June 6, 2008, at 11:42 AM, police received a call from a local resident reporting a large bear had wandered off from his backyard. Police began receiving additional sightings from the area...one resident showed the officer a picture of the animal which is estimated to be approximately 275 pounds. Police alerted the local schools and other nearby institutions. As a precautionary measure, the schools discontinued outdoor activities for the remainder of the day. Police also notified New Jersey Wildlife Control and the Montgomery Health Department.
This occurred about 1/4 mile from our house, so if it wanders into our backyard, I'll let you know!
(Of course, I should add that today was Katherine's Fun Day, scheduled with lots of exciting outdoor activites, so she has renamed it her "Un-Fun Day".)
In the course of about 2 hours last night, it seemed like we were moving from catastrophe to catastrophe.At about 5:30 pm, we decided to walk to the park near our home before throwing supper on the grill. I put some potatoes in the oven to bake, and we headed out.
We got to the park, and Dylan's friend, Julia, was there with her family. As we watched Isaac and Julia's baby brother play on the slides, Dylan, Katherine and Julia went down to the creek to explore. After a while, we started calling the girls, but they didn't come.
By this time, I needed to check on the potatoes and so I started back.Halfway home, I heard a huge crash - then silence - then Isaac screaming and crying. I ran back to the park to find that a huge limb had fallen just in front of the bench where Scott and Julia's dad had been sitting. Scott had leaned over Isaac when it started falling, and it hit him on the back, possibly saving Isaac's life.
Eventually, I headed back home again, and Scott finally came up with the girls, who had gotten lost in the woods and were scared and dirty - and covered with ticks. So I sent both girls up to shower.I went outside to help Scott with the meat since he was black and blue and still bleeding. When I came in, water was pouring into the kitchen floor from the bathroom upstairs, which had flooded because Dylan hadn't put the shower curtain liner inside the bathtub.
When we finally sat down to eat, Isaac finished early and started running around. He tripped on the dryer we were using to dry the ceiling and it fell on his head. So, I scooped him up to check on him, and, out of nowhere, I became violently ill. I literally ran to the bathroom and started throwing up. I know - too much information. But I'm just stating the facts.
At the end of the day, I was just happy that everyone was alive and semi-well. And today, I'm hoping for nothing more than a quiet, boring, and uneventful day.
