Snow Joke!

About the cancelled Pasco flight, as mentioned in Our Trip Home - Part 2...

This makes every goodbye bittersweet. So, when our flight from Pasco to Seattle was cancelled due to snow, I wasn't too disappointed.

Unfortunately, Eric had to get back to work on the 3rd and we were told if we didn't make our flight from Seattle to Kansas City on the 2nd, it would cost $600 to reschedule! Eric promptly handled the situation and made the necessary arrangements to get us home, and sadly, we left Kennewick on the 2nd after all. Mom drove us to Yakima, where we were scheduled to leave for Seattle around 2 PM. This would leave us just a small window of time to make our connection in Seattle (to Denver), allowing us to make the flight to Kansas City and spend that night in the comfort of our own home. However, when we arrived to the tiny Yakima airport, we were told that flight to Seattle was delayed an hour, thus sealing our fate to miss the last flight of the day from Seattle to Denver.

So we said a prayer and tried to keep a positive attitude. Lots of other people were praying for us too! By the time we finally did land in Seattle, we were told we could get on standby for a 6 AM flight to Denver the next morning, but after that there was no guarantee that we could get to KC. It was disappointing to think that there was still a chance we would have to pay for tickets from Denver to Kansas City (which would still be around $600, because the airlines wanted to charge a $150 re-booking fee for each ticket, plus we would owe a balance on the rate difference--at that point it would have been cheaper to just rebook completely new tickets!). On a postitive note, we got to enjoy a bonus evening with Landen, Carli, and Caleb--Thank you Grant family for being such welcoming hosts on short notice!

That next morning, we left for the airport while it was still dark. The drive through Seattle was so beautiful. There weren't many cars on the road and the city lights were still on. I haven't ever seen Seattle in such a peaceful state--it was the perfect way to start what seemed would be a very stressful day. We got to the airport and were sitting in the boarding area in a matter of minutes. Except for the sniffles Lily and I shared, it was all fun in an odd way. God had given us peace about the situation and we knew He would get us home.

In Denver, the plane to Kansas City was delayed and by divine intervention, we were able to secure seats after all. It was such a great moment to finally know that home was only a few hours away! With all this drama, we were confident nothing else could go wrong.

But like all new parents, we were in for a real treat! Ten minutes into our flight to Kansas City, I could feel that Lily was a little gassy in my lap, but I was so congested I couldn't smell anything weird. She didn't act fussy and we all fell asleep for a nap. Twenty minutes later, I got up to use the lavatory. As I reached down to unfasten my seat belt, before handing her over to Eric, I could feel something wet. Lily had a dirty diaper and it had somehow, squished out the sides, all over me! No poo was actually visible on Lily from the outside of her clothes and I am still curious how it got everywhere...but it did. My seat belt buckle was such a mess, even the straps were covered. My right leg was bright yellow. And Lily just let out the sweetest giggle!

Suspecting this day would eventually come, I had sanitary wipes, napkins, disposable washcloths, and her necessary toiletries in her diaper bag. What I didn't have was a change of clothes for her (I'd like to mention that this is the only time I haven't had extra clothes for her, making this situation even more hilarious)! I took her to the lavatory and gave her a quick bath, while she stood over the sink. Eric showed up and surprised me with clean (but mismatched) clothes of Lily's he had packed in his carry-on, to save room in our checked suitcase.

Even with all the romantic/sweet/happy moments we've had together, this truly is the greatest "Knight in Shining Armor" moment Eric has ever had, in my eyes! I was feeling hopeless in the bathroom imagining all the strange looks we would get as we carried her off the plane in only a diaper and blankets...When suddenly, unannounced, Eric burst in and SAVES THE DAY!!

Once I got Lily dressed and sanitized the lavatory, I had to scrub the stain off my jeans. Luckily the disposable washcloths are durable and I always carry around a Tide pen. Although the mess wasn't completely cleared up, it was a lot less noticeable than before. I headed to my seat to tackle the soiled seat belt and we laughed the rest of the way home!