Traveling back to Utah!

Marlee and I flew home September 3rd, leaving from Monterey, and headed towards San Francisco where our next flight was to S.L.C. Landon was super sad to see us go, because he had to stay home for another day and a half to finish packing everything into the U-haul and move the following day starting at midnight. The poor thing ran into so many problems while Marlee and I had a smooth ride home. 

Problem #1: Going through security at the airport! 
-Now I was alone with Marlee, and she was also in a Carrier, which they made us take off as soon as we went through security. Now when I came out of security, I found myself with a baby, and no one to help me put her in the carrier. Fortunately, the man behind me was more then willing to help us out! He held Marlee for a few seconds while I slipped on the carrier so she could ride with me. She was such a good sport, didn't cry at all! Well it took me a while to put my stuff back on (shoes, back pack, gather up the diaper bag, etc) Then I took one last look at my husband who was waiting patiently on the other side of the glass wall, to bid us goodbye. He looked so sad, I could barely stand to look at him. He was going to make ME cry. I gathered my things, and flashed him the I LOVE YOU sign, and I was off! 

Now, lucky for us there were only a few problems, but they were surrounded by AMAZING people, and events! 

When I arrived at the terminal to wait for our first plane, I met a couple. We spoke about how they were off to Paris, and how I had become a new mom, and how to handle and teach my baby. We had a very mature conversation while sitting there waiting for our plane to come. Now our plane was delayed a little, but it just allowed us more time to get to know each other. 

Problem #2: Getting onto the Airplane
-Now when I finally reached the airplane (which was a small airplane, that you had to walk outside to board) I got up to the door and met the lady there. She noticed I had the wrong seat on my ticket, so she said I had to kick someone out of their seat in order to be on the plane. She pointed out an empty seat, so I took it. Lucky enough for me it happened to be one of the guys that I had met earlier. They were both very understanding, and I was able to sit next to one of them the entire way! Now the flight attendant came up to me and said I had to take Marlee out of her carrier for take off and landing, so I did, and the guy next to me wanted to hold her. So he held her the entire flight (which was around 20 minutes long) He was so good with her, and I was glad she returned the favor by not crying, and staying asleep. (I was truly looked after for this journey) 

Now when we finally landed, the guy next to me helped me out by carrying my bags inside. Sadly this was our time to say goodbye, so one of them handed me their card so I could keep in touch. I was very excited about this! So then I was alone again...I quickly found someone to help me out to my next destination. They were very nice in helping me. I had to take a few detours in order to get to my destination such as, stairs, a bus, more stairs, a long hallway, and then finally we arrived at our Terminal. 

Problem #3: Marlee was getting hungry...
-Now at this point, Marlee was starting to wake up, and get fussy. I knew she was getting hungry, so I picked a seat (Unfortunately there were no empty seats by themselves, so I was sandwiched between two people) I got out my hooter hider so I could feed her in privacy. The lady next to me was staring at me the entire time, probably thinking I was crazy to nurse my baby in public, I just laughed quietly to myself as she kept staring at me. Finally Marlee had finished feeding, but she was still a bit cranky, so I had to stand up with her and rock her until she was asleep again. The binky was such a Miracle worker throughout this trip. She finally was fast asleep, just opening her eyes here and there. The flight attendant went over the intercom saying our plane was ready to be boarded. I waited for our number to be called when we got up and headed for the doors. 

Problem #4: Getting onto the airplane
-Now when you have a baby in a front carrier, a backpack and a diaper bag to lug onto a plane, you find yourself a little overwhelmed with everything. I've learned now to pack light when I have a baby with me. Although she was great, it was a huge stress for me. Lucky enough for me, the flight attendant wanted me to kick someone out of their seat again...yay, that's so much fun! :$ So I quickly found my seat and was waiting to give the person whose seat this really was, the bad news. They finally arrived, and they understood, and were willing to work with me. Another mom came up behind me to help me put my bags up in the baggage carrier above our seats. She said she understood the stress I was having, flying with a baby. She was very nice! 

Well the plane took off and halfway to our destination, a guy came up and  sat by me, claiming his seat was making his feet freeze! I didn't mind, because I was by myself, and almost asleep. He was playing Sudoku and kept asking me if I could help him out. I tried a few times, but the puzzle he had was extremely hard. 

WE FINALLY LANDED, AND I WAS HOME FREE!! 

I waited for everyone to get off the plane before I attempted to get off. When I finally did, I rushed to the baggage claim. My family called and they had arrived. Unfortunately, I saw them, but they didn't see me, and they walked right by me. Now I would've called them over, but a lady had me waiting right there so she could grab my stroller and carseat. So after a few minutes, I had my stroller, carseat, my backpack, my diaper bag and my luggage. Hauling it towards the direction they went. Finally they saw me and helped me out. I was home free! This was the first time my sister Ashlin was able to see Marlee in person. She was so excited, and I couldn't wait until she could hold her. Anyway, I was home free, and so excited to be back! 

Now for my husbands journey...not as fun as mine.


Problem #1: Cleaning the Apartment
 -Landon had to clean the entire apartment all by himself. (Now note, this is usually my job and because of timing, and a cold everyone in our family caught, we were falling behind schedule, that's why I ended up leaving the apartment a complete mess for Landon to fix) I felt terrible because he was sick, and was already under a ton of pressure. He did a great job though cleaning everything! 

Problem #2: Putting the trailer on the U-haul, then the Equinox onto the Trailer
  -Landon is so good with things like this. He had to put the Trailer on and the Equinox onto the trailer all by himself, AND in the middle of the night (Midnight) So it was not only hard cause he was by himself, but he was doing this in pitch black. My sweetheart was such a trooper!

Problem #3: Flat Tire on the Trailer
 -Who would've thought it could get any worse! He pulled over and the entire tire on the trailer had come off, and he was running on the metal part. He called for assistance, and they arrived about an hour afterwards. (He did get a good one hour power nap in, although that's never enough, he had a long road ahead of him) They finally came and fixed the tire and he was on his way. (The customer service was amazing, which helped a ton) 

Problem #4: The Trailer FELL OFF the U-haul
 - I know, this has to be the end right? Well Landon had a feeling there was something wrong, so he pulled off the high way and started going over some speed bumps to check the trailer, as he did so, the trailer popped off and was hanging on by the chains that were attached to the U-haul. Another car driving behind him stopped and helped him try to re-attach the trailer. They had found that the bolt that holds the trailer into place had stripped, and was really loose. Once again Landon had to call for assistance, and they told him he would need to go to the nearest U-haul to trade in that trailer for a new one. Well 1 hour later he arrived to the closest U-haul where he found NO new trailer waiting for him. The guy there though was super nice and wanted to do as much as he could for my sweetheart. He took some tools, and bent a metal bar around the trailer hook and made it so it would last up until he reached his destination. So off Landon went, heading home finally! 

Problem #5: Pop explosion in the U-haul leading to another thought....THE CATS!! 
 -The first time we traveled to California it was FREEZING, so we had to keep the windows up in the Equinox while the cats were in there or else they would've froze to death. Well...this time the weather was "EXTREMELY HOT" and Landon had forgotten to roll the windows down. Well he was driving along when his Pepsi can exploded because it was so hot, and that's when he thought of the cats! He pulled over immediately and ran to the Equinox where our cats lay completely dehydrated and hot! Aero (our black cat) was panting like a dog, while our other cat Bo (our grey cat) was sprawled out on the floor not moving! He was devastated and saw that there were sprinklers on just a few feet away. He took his jacket and drenched it and laid it across our poor cats. They finally got better, and he took them to the front of the U-haul where they rode with him the rest of the way. 

Problem #6: Phone STOPS WORKING! 
 -Now we had to lean on the GPS system to take us home. Otherwise, we would be completely lost! Well, his phone stopped working! He calls me up and I found where he was via google earth and tried to explain how to get home from where he was. Finally after an hour, his phone started to work again. YAY! 

FINALLY HOME!! 

He finally made it home! I ran outside to meet him, only to find a very very tired man who looked like he was at his wits end! I gave him a huge hug and welcomed him home. Besides, this is the moment we were all waiting for! The entire family finally home together!!!