conuly

This is the somewhat more upbeat post you were promised.

So, here we were running around like chickens lacking heads. We almost left without Baby Jill, which would have been a disaster almost as great as leaving without one of the actual children!

Packed a quick snack for us (strawberries (who the fuck needs four pounds of strawberries at once?!? Six people in this household, and we all love strawberries, and we can't knock off even one pound fast enough that none of them go bad!) and orange slices (some local orange that must not ship well, quite yummy) and raspberries (who the fuck buys seven containers of raspberries?!? See my comment about strawberries) and blackberries and grapes) and hopped into an airport shuttle.

My uncle *had* called to say he could drive us to the airport anyway, but I declined. I said it was because of him - and I really didn't want to deal with him anyway - but in fact it was more because the seatbelts in his car suck. I'd accept almost anything to save $80 and tip, but not safety hazards, especially not with the nieces.

So, we had to had to HAD to be at the airport two hours early... and even without my ID and traveling with two kids who weren't my own, we checked in within 20 minutes and had to sit around two hours. I *knew* that was going to happen.

The TSA, by the way, was Not Very Pleased with my continuing lack of ID, nor the fact that I wasn't the kids' mother, nor the fact that I didn't "even" have any wallet pictures of them or anything! (I have a ton of pictures on my phone, but that didn't pass muster.) They finally resorted to asking Ana...

TSA: So, who is this?
Ana: Connie!
TSA: And who is Connie?
Ana: *points*
TSA: And who is that?
Ana: CONNIE!
TSA: *laughs* Is she your mommy?
Ana: No.
TSA: Well, who is she?
Ana: Why don't you try to guess?
Me: ANA! This is not the time!
Ana: She's my aunt.

I could've died right then and there, I really could.

We finally get on the plane, right on time, head all the way back to row 25, seats A, B, and C. My mother, in her infinite wisdom, had decided to book us on a flight that stopped over in Salt Lake City at 11 at night, so I decided not to have the girls sleep on the first flight, only the second. (This made sense in my head.) I would have been happy to leave all the bags on the plane as we disembarked, but apparently every item we possessed was a valuable, and could not be left behind.

So we hopped BACK on the plane, row 25, seats D, E, and F (no, I don't know why) at 11:15, and I set about putting the kids to nap. "I don't wanna sleep on the plane! Sleep at home!"

Meanwhile, I had to get the kids in front of us to lower the volume on their music. I told them that I was trying to get the girls to sleep so they'd stop screaming, and that worked - and besides which, if I can hear your music through your headphones from a row behind you, it's too loud and you'll go deaf. (But at least if you're deaf, you can't hear the kids screaming. Sheesh.)

The girls eventually passed out, and I set about trying to find me a pillow. The tray table didn't work. Neither did Ana, nor Evangeline. I never did find a pillow for my head :(

We got off the plane, the girls sat down on the floor and refused to move, I sat down on the floor and cried....

I don't want to think about it.

We did make it safely home.

Oh! And I saw a mesa or ten! Somehow, I'd pictured them a little more literally table-like, or perhaps *less* literally table-like. Fascinating structures. The hills and mountains in California are very picturesque, though I don't believe I like what they clearly do for the climate. (It was 100 F in Escondido when we left. We passed the mountains finally and I *felt* the temperature drop 20 degrees. Never in my life did I think I'd say that 80 F is cool. I don't mean I thought I wouldn't, the idea simply never occurred to me at all!)