home again, home again

Last night we got back from our last trip to Orlando – for a little bit, anyway. “A tad early, isn’t it?”, some of you may ask. Read on for details. Our trip didn’t officially begin until Friday; however, our journey started Thursday. That’s where we’ll begin…

THURSDAY:

Ugh. It hadn’t been a good week. Nothing went well. Everything exploded right in front of my eyes. All of which, put me in a terrible mood. The trip coming up that weekend was one that I had been looking forward to for a year – and the whole week was a nightmare. You see, there is this musical that I had been dying to see – and this would be the weekend that would end my wait (this was the main reason for our season tickets and our girlie-flings) and would make a dream come true. I was furious that the week had been what it was – and I was fearful that I wouldn’t enjoy our trip. I arose Thursday morning with new resolve. New resolve to force the remainder of the week to be better. The day was looking hopeful; the weekend seemed to be a bright ray of sunshine.

And then the phone rang. Brian was calling to break the bad news that he had a mandatory order to work on Saturday. You see, Brian was my babysitter so that I could even go to the aforementioned show. He was our driver and travel buddy on the road. Apart from all this, we just enjoy his company and were really looking forward to some family time. I hung up the phone and the world came crashing down again. I burst into tears – not knowing what I was going to do. I had finally decided, against my will, that I might just have to stay home – but was still hopeful that something could be worked out. I called my mom, and a marathon-phone-day began between her, me, my aunt, my cousin and everyone else you could imagine. We finally found someone to watch Ammon Saturday night, and worked out our changed itinerary for the weekend.

I felt better, but was still steaming hot. My friend, Kira, and I had manicure and pedicure appointments that afternoon. I was glad, too – I was optimistic that this would help perk my spirits. And it did – Brian’s mom watched Ammon so that I could enjoy myself in peace – and it was good to have some nice, adult, conversation.

That evening, after Brian and I picked up Ammon, I put aside the urgent need to pack and spent some time with Brian. My heart began to beat faster and faster, and I started to get more and more restless. Since I was pregnant with Ammon, I have been very uneasy about travelling without Brian. I do not know why – I have done it so many times before. I guess this is my anxious-first-time-mom-thing. I don’t struggle with things that other mom’s seem to, like leaving their children or going out in public with them, etc.. But I do struggle with this – terribly. It was worse this time, as I would be travelling with Ammon for the first time without Brian. I ended up having a mild panic attack – not at all a pleasant experience. Brian and I said our evening prayers and I felt slightly better – more at peace.

Ugh. This brings me back to the point I started from. There is no doubt the week had been bad. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate.

FRIDAY:

I got up Friday feeling so much better. I still did not want to go without Brian, but I was excited for the days ahead. I felt confident about our trip – and knew that we all would be protected from any harm.

I hurriedly packed for the trip – Ammon was so good, which helped me to get everything done. My mom came that afternoon and we loaded up the car. I gave Ammon a quick bath, hoping that it would help him on the drive. We stopped for something to eat on our way out of town – and Brian was able to meet us there for a few minutes on his way home from work. So glad we were able to see him before leaving – the few minutes we saw him that morning just weren’t enough.

Finally, we were on the road. The trip was fairly uneventful. Ammon did so well – and he was in the backseat by himself for the whole trip! We made three stops – one of these was a lengthy stop so that Ammon could eat – and still made it to my aunt’s in about 5 ½ hours. This could have been because I was driving… who knows? I hadn’t been behind the wheel of a car for that long in quite a while. Glad it was a quick trip. Glad we were finally out of the car. Glad to be there.

SATURDAY:

Although Ammon slept fairly well Friday night, we were still up fairly early Saturday morning. This was a good thing – we had already decided to go to my cousin Amy's son’s baseball game – and being up early made it easier to get ready. This was Ammon’s first baseball game, and he was such a trooper! He was very tired, but never fussed. Eventually, he fell asleep in his stroller. While he was still awake he really enjoyed watching all of the hullabaloo. One of these days we will be going to his games. We all had a good time – I even forgot all about my healthy eating and had a fantastically fatty corndog smothered in mustard. Their team did very well – Will was catcher for a while and then was put on third base… the first time he was on a base. It was so fun to watch him play – we’re all so proud!

After the game, we grabbed lunch and headed to my cousin’s house for a bit. Me, my mom, aunt, cousin and Ammon all crammed in my little car and we went back to my aunt’s house to get ready for our girls’ night on the town. Once we were all dressed up and ready, we took Ammon to my other cousin’s house for the evening (Thank you Brian, Jess and Gracey, too – you are wonderful!). This marked the first time that Ammon would be left with someone other than a Grandma – this was easy to do considering he would be with people that I trust so much.

After visiting for a while we left and got some dinner – and dessert, too! We had such fun talking and giggling. I think we were all a bit giddy for the night we had ahead of us. We all ate far too much, stuffed our dessert in there somewhere, and waddled to the car. It was probably a good thing that Ammon’s car seat wasn’t in the car – this gave us a tad more room! We were finally off to Bob Carr – off to what we had all been waiting so long for:

Wicked. Stunning. Extraordinary. Brilliant. Incredible. Fabulous. Amazing. Mere words cannot describe.

Five minutes into it we knew that we would be seeing it again. Lovely. If the opportunity ever arises to see this show – take it. If the opportunity never arises to see this show – find it. Fantastic. I knew that I would like the show – but I never imagined that I would love it as much as I did… do. My cousin was right. She saw it in New York and told us all that we must see it... no ifs, ands or buts. So glad we believed her.

We had an extra ticket that we had a hard time getting rid of – hard to believe, I know – but we finally found a taker. Someone that used to be in my aunt’s ward took the ticket – a sophomore in college that was my aunt’s “date” for the evening. At first I think we all thought, “Heaven help him for spending the evening with us!”. But he was great – he fit right in, loved the show as much as we did, and even took our picture during intermission when we all lost our heads and put on our Wicked shirts over our fancy clothes. This was our last show for the season. We had to go out with a bang… and we did. It will be wonderful to wear our Wicked shirts and remember the joyful memories. Totally cool.

Afterwards, we stayed for a few minutes for the meet-and-greet outside, but ended up leaving shortly after so that we could hurry up and get Ammon. We did squeeze in some time to stop for ice cream, though – we just had to. After dropping my cousin off at her home, we went to pick up Ammon – only to find out that he had been asleep for most of the time we were gone! Of course, the little stinker was up most of the night – but I was too. I mean, who could possibly sleep after such a fun night!

SUNDAY:

My mom, Ammon and I slept in too late to go to church Sunday morning. I had only gotten about two hours of sleep, and was exhausted – I really did need the extra rest. We had initially planned to go home on Monday, but since Brian was not able to come we made the decision to leave Sunday afternoon. That way, Brian could spend some time with Ammon and me before having to return to work and school. We spent the morning getting ready to leave. While we weren’t looking forward to the long drive, we were anxious to get it over with. The drive was again fairly uneventful – I drove again and we made fewer stops. Ammon did well in the backseat by himself; however, he did have a few meltdowns. I would say that the only eventful thing that occurred was discovered after we got home. When Brian got Ammon out of his car seat we learned of the massive blow out that Ammon had somewhere between the state line and home (not very far, by the way). His outfit was completely covered in a mixture of many things. I have to wash his car seat cover. I had to give him a bath because his poor little legs were stained with the previously mentioned toxic substance. We were all filthy and reeked to high heaven – but we were happy to be home. Ammon was so excited to see his daddy… as was I.

Now starts the dreaded unpacking, readjusting, and the realization that we are no longer on a bit of a vacation – but are back to our ordinary, everyday lives. We had a simply wonderful time. To even think that I was going to stay home. I cannot imagine missing out on such a fun time with my dear family. I am so thankful to those who sacrificed a bit to help out. So grateful to Brian for encouraging me to go and helping me find the strength to do so. So happy I went. After all – Happy is what happens when all your dreams come true…

On the home front: Brian sustained another injury last Monday. He was shot by a staple gun at work. They finally sent him to the doctor on Wednesday. After doing an x-ray, it was discovered that the staple went into his arm an inch. The doctor said that it was a very good thing that his tetanus shot was still current and that he was presently on antibiotics (for his bug bites). The puncture wounds are still healing, and he will be going back for a follow-up appointment. I guess he had some therapy this weekend – while Ammon and I were gone he researched, purchased and setup our new surround sound system. Now, he just needs to move things around so that everything looks good. But I don't mind... my car is officially paid off today! Hooray!

Ammon is growing like a weed. I don’t notice it as much since I see him all day, but it is noticed by everyone else. More than him growing in size, I notice him growing in knowledge. He learns something new every single day. He finds new sounds to make, new faces to make, new cute things to do.

Ammon now no longer wants to pull up to a sitting position, but rather a standing position. He's a big boy that way. I introduced him to School House Rock today – because I had taken 400 miles of Fraggle Rock yesterday – and he loves it. I’m so proud. The current favorite toy is Chuck, his chicken-duck (I say this because its species is indeterminate, hence the name “Chuck”). Such a big boy… we love him so.