What a nightmare!

This morning Jake and I tearfully left DC. Such an awesome place. We were sad to leave, but of course happy to get home to the kiddos. Our flight from DC to Detroit was supposed to leave at 9:37am and arrive in Detroit at 11:15am. Our connecting flight was scheduled to leave at 12:05pm and arrive in Salt Lake at 2:09pm. We had this timed perfectly. Jake was going to go into work for two hours. I was working at Emma's studio while she danced from 4-6pm. Ben had taekwondo at 7pm. Well, our schedule just went out the window! We boarded our plane and then sat there for an HOUR, waiting for two front wheels to get replaced. We were told we would still be at the gate around 11:45am, which meant we would have to book it to our gate to make our 12:05 flight. Well, we pulled into Detroit at 12pm. We were at gate 29 and our connecting flight was at gate SEVENTY-FIVE. Whoever designed the Detroit airport should be shot! They have about 78 gates in concourse A, all in one long line over a mile long. Of course this was the one day I decided to wear my boots instead of my running shoes. So, Jake and I sprinted (me in my boots), over 45 gates to make it to our flight, and then found out the crew didn't wait for Jake and I, and the other 8 passengers also running to make the same connecting flight. We were told delta would be aware of our late arrival and would wait for us. Nope. Didn't happen. Then we were sent from gate 75 to gate 43, where we got new tickets that rerouted us to Minneapolis, then onto Salt Lake. We should get home around 7:30pm, if all goes as planned... I'm not holding my breath. I got so sweaty from running, I had to change my clothes and put more deodorant on. Nice. Look on the bright side, we get to spend more time in lovely Detroit, we got a $6 food voucher for the "inconvenience", and we got our morning workout in for the day. It will be nice to get home... Whenever that will be. (Thank goodness we didn't check any luggage!! That would have added more 'fun' to our already 'fun' day.)

We're in DC

We got into DC Saturday afternoon. We visited the American History and Natural History Museums, the Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial. Sunday night we had dinner with 8 OA-takers. They were all great. It was wonderful to finally meet my blogger friend, E, from NY. Her husband took the test with Jake today. This morning I took the metro to Pentagon City and walked around the Fashion Centre Mall. Then I spent an hour at the Holocaust Museum, and then met E at the Hirshhorn Museum and talked for 30 mins before I got a call from Jake saying he didn't pass. We are bummed but OK. This adventure just wasn't meant to be, I guess. We get home around 2:30pm tomorrow. Until then, we live it up in DC for one more night.

Ebay, you saved me!

It seems my kids have a slight addiction.  All three of them.  They love their blankies.  They have a hard time sleeping without them.  If I had a quarter for every time I heard the word "blankie" in our house, I would seriously be rich.  They love them.  Ben has a blankie my Grammy gave him when he was born.  He still sleeps with it at night.  Josh has 3 blankies, which is a very good thing because if one is dirty, we always have a back-up, or if he leaves one downstairs when it's time for his nap, he already has another in his room waiting for him.  He has to be sucking on his fingers on his right hand and twirling the blankie ties with his left when he falls asleep.  Emma's blankie was made at a church RS night.  It was a tradition for the women to get together every couple months and tie quilts for the ladies having babies during that time.  My sweet friend, Bev, was RS Pres at the time and she chose the cutest Strawberry Shortcake fabric for the top, lime green gingham for the back, and red string for the ties.  Kara Smemoe, another good friend, meticulously sewed the edges for me.  I couldn't wait to wrap little Emma up in it.  Well, this blankie has become a sort of extra appendage for Emma over the years.  It has been to Oregon, California, Nevada, Malaysia and back, camping, sleepovers, picnics in the backyard, etc.  So it was no surprise that the fabric began to fade, the ties were eventually pulled out, the batting became thin, and the binding began to come apart.  We finally told Emma it was time to retire her blankie.  She was OK with it, as long as she could get a new blankie... that looked EXACTLY like her old blankie.  Oh crap.  How do you tell a 5 year old that fabric sold 6 years ago is going to be super hard to find, next to impossible?  I searched high and low for the exact match.  I found a few listings on eBay for Strawberry Shortcake paper doll fabric very similar to the one I needed, but Emma could tell it wasn't the same fabric.  Then magically, two weeks ago I saw a listing on eBay from a lady in Higdon, Alabama.  I FOUND IT!  1 yard.  1 precious yard.  The lady had bought it in 2004, thinking she would make doll clothes out of it, but never got around to it, so the fabric sat collecting dust.  The starting price for the auction was $5 ($3 for shipping) but there was a "Buy It Now" option for $8.  I wasn't about to let this slip away from me.  I paid the $11.  I would have paid much more.  (Good thing statelinegirls from AL didn't know that! ;) )  Last week the fabric arrived and Emma was beyond thrilled.  I bought some batting, the lime green fabric for the back, the red yarn, and I was ready to go.  I finished the blankie tonight, and tucked Emma in with it after I was finished.  And so begins the adventures of Blankie II.  (Let's just hope she grows out of this by the time 5 more years roll around.  I imagine that fabric will be a million times harder to find!)  Thanks eBay, and thanks statelinegirls from AL.  You made a 5 year old very happy today.

Here it is, Blankie II

 Emma, the day she came home from the hospital.

 Less than a week old.

And Emma with Blankie II.

My Board Breaker

Ben is in taekwondo right now and loves learning his punches, kicks, and new Korean words.  Last month the instructor had one of his black belts show the class how to break a board with a kick.  The class was amazed and the instructor said "Next month, you all get to try."  So last night was the night for breaking boards.  Each kid lined up shortest to tallest and got three kicks.  If you didn't make it the first round, you headed to the back of the line and only got one more round of three kicks to try again.  Ben didn't make it the first round.  On the second round he broke the board in half with his second kick, and he was SO excited!  Everyone clapped and cheered for him.  The instructor signed the board and let him take it home and keep it.  So, you better watch out for Ben.  His kicks are pretty strong.

 Jake helping Ben re-enact the scene last night, facial expressions and all.

Who Wouldn't Want To Take These Home?

(Mickey Mouse, Yoshi from Super Mario Bros, and a Vampire Princess)

The kids had a great time this past weekend.  Lots of fun Halloween festivities.  It seemed like Halloween just wouldn't end.  We had the Halloween parties at school on Thursday, a church party on Friday, trick-or-treating on Saturday, then Sunday we visited those we couldn't see on Saturday (Grammy & Grandpa, and friends Susi and Gordon Mabey.)  By Sunday night we crashed.  It was a fun few days, though, and I think Josh is having withdrawals.  He keeps asking me to play the Halloween music in the van, but Ben reminds him it's time to hear "Turkey songs" now.  Do those even exist?  Better start looking.

 Emma, totally in character.  She is my little drama queen and loves to act any chance she gets.

 Ben loves Super Mario Bros and was so excited to be Yoshi this year.

 Josh is obsessed with Mickey Mouse, and costumes, and candy... so this holiday was perfect for him.

The fam at our church's Halloween party.

 The Frenchie and the U of U grad.  (Yeah, we don't go all out for Halloween.  In fact, I think this is the first time in years we actually wore costumes.)

 Visit with Grandpa Schip.

 Scary Emma, showing her "I'll suck your blood" face.

 Visit with Grandma Schip.

 Ben and Emma with cousin, Hadlee.  She is adorable! 

 Visit with Great-Grammy and Great-Grandpa Call.

Visit with Susi, our favorite neighbor and friend.

Josh, showing off his loot.  He could be a professional trick-or-treater.  He outlasted both his older siblings, despite the pouring rain and chilly weather.  He would have gone all night if I had let him.  The boy loves his candy!

Lots of sugar... and future cavities.

 FHE night, carving pumpkins.  Ben wanted a spider, Emma a pretty face with eyelashes, and Josh wanted Mickey Mouse.  Jake and I did our best to make it happen.

Happy Halloween!