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Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts

Sunday, January 20, 2013

birthday eve

As you all know, saying that I love my family is a bit of understatement. They are all just simply the bee's knees. Therefore, when I learned I wasn't scheduled to work on my birthday (it was obviously a sign), I decided to see if I could give the rest of my shifts away for that week and as luck would have it, I was able to. Wooooohoooooooooo! With one week's notice, I decided to book a flight for my birthday eve. Happy birthday to me.

I came home to this:

and this:



(A birthday package from the boyfriend and my baby Brannigan.)

Could it have gotten any better than that? I didn't think it could, but add two safe flights, with a successful connection in Phoenix, a Winter Wonderland (which I was actually happy to see since I didn't have snow on Christmas), and 3 beaming faces at the airport as happy as could be to pick up their daughter/sister and, well, that's what pure happiness is, my friends.

I've had some fantastic birthday eve's in the past. Two that come to mind right away are..
2006: "I love Hagai" girl with Caitlyn on the set of my Daddy's movie. 
2011: Saw "Tangled" with Mr. C. 
BAM. How wonderful are those! But the excitement of flying home to visit my loving friends and family for a couple days was one of the best I have ever had.  

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love my family and I am so grateful they changed their schedules around so that I could spend my birthday week in a loving environment. The are the best. 

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Thanksgiving Part 1

I work with kids all day everyday. And as adorable as they can be, they are also little germfests. Because of this, about a month ago, I developed a cold, and then it turned into the flu. I thought I had gotten over it but all of it never really went away. Unfortunately, a couple weeks ago, I began to lose my voice. However, this wasn't like an, "Oh no, my voice is getting raspy!" but more like, "......" That's right, silence. Nothing. Because I literally had no voice. And that's kind of a problem in my line of work...

Fast forward to the doctors office, a 4 hour trip consisting of a lot of waiting, a lot of coughing, and a doctor looking down my throat and going, "WOAH," and the diagnosis was... LARYNGITIS.

Oh dear.

The doctors gave me a note saying I was excused from work for a few days because complete voice rest, medicine, and lots of hydration and rest was the only way my voice was going to come back. It's a long and complicated story full of boring details but thanks to a lot of caring and understanding managers, I was able to sort out a leave for a couple of days (I work for the most amazing company, I feel so blessed).

That night (11/19), I skyped my sweet sister for her birthday and we talked for well over 2 hours (it was more of a treat for me than for her, I'm sure). After we hung up I had an idea... I knew it was a long shot but I had to research it anyway.

If I have to rest for 3 days, why not rest at my home in... Utah? (I can't remember the last time I had three days off + it was over Thanksgiving, it was almost perfect timing... if laryngitis can be perfect... which in this case I think it can be.)

I then skyped Keke and Dare Bear and talked to them a little about this mischievous plan I had. They supported my decision, which ever direction I decided to go and because of this, I booked a flight home, set to leave 15 hours later.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

I was so excited!!!! I didn't realize it until I clicked 'SUBMIT' and bought my ticket but I have really, really missed home.

Fast forward 10 hours later and I walked into the Orlando International Airport and BOOM. This is what I saw (I was so excited, I took a picture. I've always loved airports you see. They are my happy place):


Hello my fellow travelers!!!!
I then found my flight, made it through security, found the gate, and chilled for a wee bit.


And by 'wee bit', I mean an extremely long time.

This picture does not do the size of the Christmas Tree justice.
It was HA-YOUGE (huge).

Remember that one time I was supposed to leave at 4:35?
My flight didn't end up taking off til well after 6.

Look at me, I'm in the air!



 
Eeeeek!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
 
 
My, my, my, my, I have never been so excited in my life! Keke was so sweet to pick me up from the airport and, I'm not going to lie, I ran to greet her when we met up at the terminal.
 
Next up, surprising my family.... oh yeah, did I mention I didn't tell my family that I was coming home???
 
to be continued...