Owen, Truly and I left DC a little early to surprise my mom for her {50th} birthday. She had no idea we were on our way. My mother is not an easy person to keep a secret from. It killed me to send her home from Minnesota a few months earlier in tears. "It's hard to leave when I don't know when I'll see you again. It may not be until Christmas," she said. It was hard to contain, "Oh mom. just go. We'll see you in a little over a month." She probably thought I was the devil for sending her off so easily.
The day arrived for the big surprise. We were so ready to finally be home and with family. The first hour on the tarmac, as some scattered showers passed through DC, we were anxious. The second hour we were a little bit frustrated. By the third and fourth hours we gave up and just embraced the situation. It was pouring rain. We were on this airplane and there was nothing we could do about it. The children ran up and down the aisles bringing smiles to most faces and glares to some. It was interesting to see how people choose to react during less than desirable situations. For the most part there was a sense of comradery on the airplane. We were all going through the same claustrophic nightmare. Discomfort was our common enemy.
By the sixth hour the flight attendants announced that we had run out of food and water. Everyone started laughing. We had all lost our minds.
After nine and a half hours on the airplane we landed in Salt Lake for our layover. It was 2:00 in the morning. Jared's brother and his family live in Salt Lake and were gracious enough to put us up for the night. It ended up being a perfect detour.
All in all, I got in some fabulous cuddle time with my babies and a much needed visit with family we wouldn't have seen otherwise.
This is the kind lady who sat next to us on the airplane and let me borrow her cell phone. (I forgot mine in DC) Owen called her his babysitter.

Loopy, loopy children.