Calgary Bound and Back

It's been two weeks since my last post...Did you miss the news? There's lots to tell of our adventures to Calgary.

On Wednesday the 9th I woke up bright and early and felt a bit overwhelmed at the things I needed to do before 8:30 a.m. I decided to book a hotel to stay in on our return because it would be too late to drive back to Fresno. So I was on the phone for 20 minutes trying to arrange that. I needed to print off directions to the hotel as well as the airport. Then I needed to load the luggage, wake, feed and dress the kids, oh yeah and feed myself too. It was a good morning even though my nerves were a bit frayed.

At last we got into the van at 8:45, we prayed and I pulled out of the parking lot. At that moment it hit me what I was about to do and I almost cried. I must have been crazy to think I could travel across the country with three kids. Take a deep breath, Kathy.

The drive to Sacramento was a good one; except I had to ask for directions to the hotel. At 12:15 we arrived at the hotel, I parked the vehicle and went inside to book my room. The shuttle then took us straight away to the airport with all our luggage. Once we got to the airport, I realized that we would have very little time to get lunch before our flight. I was really hoping that the snacks I packed would tide the kids over until we got on the other side of security. And I was hoping that Asha would last too. As I got up to the ticket counter, I gave the lady our passports, she double checked the flights and then announced that my flight to San Fransisco was canceled. My heart sank and panic set in. Now what was I suppose to do?

A very nice Indian couple helped me put my bags up on the scale, but I still had no idea which flight I would be put on, or how this would impact my arrival time in Calgary. Maybe I wouldn't even get there that day!! Finally she found a flight to Denver, CO and booked me in. I would have to hurry because the flight was leaving in 45 minutes. I was feeling pretty discouraged and worried that I wouldn't have time to get the kids lunch.

We got our boarding passes and the kids and I hurried to security. I dumped out my water, chucked my oranges (boo hoo) and tried to remain composed so that the kids wouldn't get spooked. We had to take our shoes and jackets off at security in order to go through. All of us went through without any problem, except Kezia. She set off the metal detectors and I couldn't figure out why. She had to be taken over to the side and a female security guard did a pat down of my three year old. I was proud of her that she didn't cry or get upset. She just stood there, arms out, legs wide while they checked her over. Finally we realized that her anklet had set off the detectors (I can't believe I didn't think of it; but Asha's anklet was fine...) and that she wasn't hiding any weapons. They let us through, we put on our shoes and jackets, I praised Kezia, and we ran to our gate.

I had just enough time to purchase a sandwich for $8 for the kids before we had to get on the plane. Joel was so excited I thought he would pee his pants. The kids spent the entire 2 hour flight looking out of the window and talking about being pilots. We didn't even get to pull out the books, Barbies or activity books. Asha slept the entire time and Kezia had a little cat nap.
.

.
I was relieved to get to Denver so that the kids could have something decent for supper. I called my parents and told them that our flight was changed and I wouldn't be getting into Calgary until 11:30 p.m. Oh how I had wished that I could have made an earlier flight out of Denver. Oh well. We found a Crocs store and went in to window shop. Kezia was thrilled out of her mind. She couldn't decide which ones she was going to buy; I had to clarify that we were just looking. The kids did their exercises (jumping jacks and relay races), worked in the activity books, and played with Asha. We had McDonald's for supper and Joel questioned me loudly on how they got the blood out of the chicken McNuggets....
.

.
At 9 p.m. we got on to the plane to Calgary. The flight was almost empty so Joel, Kezia and I each had our own seat. The flight attendant was super mothering of us and got blankets and pillows from first class. The kids slept the entire time while Asha lay beside me on the seat and played with her feet.

Once we arrived in Calgary, I was so tired. Joel was a huge help by pushing the stroller while I got our bags onto a cart. Kezia insisted on pulling her new suitcase. She looked so cute! We rolled out into the receiving area and my parents were there to greet us. We finally arrived!

Joel talked my Mom's ear off in the van on the way home. It was 1:30 by the time we all made it to our bed. I was so exhausted that I was sleeping before I hit the pillow. But we did it. We made it safely to Calgary.