Almost home

Sadly our vacation had to come to an end. I shed many tears cried myself to sleep the last night.  As I was saying bye to Shara and my mom I had to literally look away to avoid a total melt down. Nonetheless it was time to come home. Luckily for us, we had many things awaiting our arrival.
We left on a Wednesday (and ran into the Kidds at a rest stop at the half way point) and went to Bountiful to say hi to Ethan's parents.
On Thursday we finally go to take our car into the shop to get repaired, and got the delighted news that it wouldn't be done until TUESDAY!! AHHHHH!! I just wanted to get home.  Well we had to put that out of our minds and turn our focus on getting Ethan to Chicago. Again.

On Thursday the 2nd, we drove Ethan to the airport at 2:30 and I awaited his call for when he would be leaving. At 4:30, he called and said that his flight had been delayed two hours. At 6:30, he called and said he wasn't on the plane yet. At 7 he called and said that he was on the plane and ready to go. The flight was only 3 hours and so at 10 I was waiting his call. Well he called, but said that there was such a back up in the Chicago airport that they would have to wait on the runway. I told him to keep me posted. After 2 hours of hearing nothing, I called. He said they were still waiting. By this point it was 12:30 Utah time and I just couldn't stay up in the morning anymore. I woke up and had to wait for the interview was over and at 10 am my time I finally got the rest of the details.
Ethan sat on the Chicago runway for 4 hours and 5 min finally getting to his hotel at 3:45 am Chicago time! He took a shower, ironed his suit and got to bed at 4:30. He got to his interview at 9, had a great interview, hopped in a cab and headed back to the airport to fly home!! On the way home, his flight got delayed, then cancelled, then switched to a different airport, then got delayed, and FINALLY at 7:30 Utah time he got to come home. He got home around 11 PM Friday night and was nothing but tired and cold.
I guess I just didn't understand the magnitude of the storm that hit Chicago right when Ethan was trying to fly there, but as more days passed, I realized how bad the storm was. It was termed the Polar Vortex, and hit Chicago hard. Airports were cancelled, flights were delayed, people were cold, and Ethan was right in the heart of it. Luckily he got home, put him under 6 blankets and let him sleep as long as he needed (11 hours!)

This is a picture of the Chicago airport when Ethan's flight got cancelled

 

 This is a pizza that Ethan ate while he was waiting. He said it was delicious

So Ethan tried to explain how freezing he was the whole time and I just didn't really believe him. I then looked at the temp and noticed that Ethan was there while it was in the single digits and even the negatives!! I then saw these pictures and felt so bad for Ethan! Crazy Polar Vortex!

After days of crazy travel, we finally were able to drive home. Diana and Robert graciously let us use their van while our car was in the shop and I am so grateful. It was nice to go home, unpack, unload, and sleep in my own bed. I was also really excited to check the mail box. It had been almost 3 weeks and I just knew that there would be fun cards waiting for us!

2013 was a fantastic year with a fantastic end. I am excited for what awaits in 2014 and am also ready for Spring.