5am

5am
Originally uploaded by Brandi_

Abbys been up since 3am Hawaii time. That is 7am her time after all.

Finally

Finally
Originally uploaded by Brandi_

No time to breathe at airport. Made it to gate with only minutes to spare. Abbys already grumpy.

Ready to go

Ready to go
Originally uploaded by Brandi_

It's 4am and I can't sleep. I laid in bed for an hour tossing and turning before I gave up. What ultimately got me up was that I can't find the charger to the dvd player! Uh-oh. At least we'll be able to use the laptop if I can't find it. On the bright side it'll be one less thing to lug around. I finally got up because I remembered that we used it quite a bit at our last house. When we'd rent a movie, I'd plug the portable dvd player into the tv, so I know it's around here somewhere...

I'm mostly packed. There are a few last-minute things I still need to throw in the suitcases and I need to pack my backpack with all the carry-on stuff. I packed Abby's backpack full of toys for the plane last night, but it weighs as much as she does! I'll have to take some things out and add them to my backpack.

I love my backpack. I've had it since my freshman year in high school, and it's been everywhere with me since. I don't think I've ever taken a trip without it. It's been my only suitcase on some trips. I still remember going shopping with my mom to buy it. Remember that, kids. When buying a backpack for your teenager, it's best to spend a little more and buy a good quality one. It'll last a lifetime. Well, at least half a lifetime. This may be one of its last trips since the seams where the straps meet the actual pack are starting to show signs of wear. Why am I writing an ode to my backpack?

I'm going to be so tired on the plane!

I programmed the flickr email address into my cell phone, so I can upload pictures directly to the blog through flickr. Be prepared for a lot of mundane airport pictures taken with my phone tomorrow this afternoon.

Please don't tell me they don't allow me to bring food on the plane

Did you know they no longer serve meals even really long flights? For $5, we can buy either a sandwich or a salad--none of which Damon or Abby would eat--that come with chips or fruit? Everytime I think of SEVEN HOURS on a plane with Abby with no food, it sends me back to the store to buy more snacks.



From left to right: 2 kinds of dried fruit, wheat crackers, granola bars and raisins, mini Teddy Grahams, fruity Cheerios, and Goldfish. I hope that's enough food for us for SEVEN HOURS.

Oh yeah, and Bubble Yum as a special treat to be chewed during take-off and landing in the hopes that the pressure won't bother Abby too much.

Not pictured: Benadryl since it was the first thing I packed.

Hawaii-bound

Last October, during the annual conference for Damon's work, he received an all-expenses trip for 2 to Hawaii for exceeding his budget goals for the year. They pay for airfare, 7-nights at a gorgeous hotel, and $100/day for food! All we had to do was buy a ticket for Abby. Damon's birthday (Thursday) seemed like the perfect time to take it now that we're settled in the house, and Damon has filled some key positions at work. We leave Friday for paradise!

The only thing I'm absolutely dreading is the flight there. We fly from Denver to Honolulu NONSTOP. SEVEN hours. With a 2-year-old. Who's suddenly become a typical "terrible two" year-old. At least the flight leaves at noon, which is around naptime, so hopefully she'll sleep for part of the flight. And she's old enough now that she'll actually enjoy being on a plane and be able to take it all in. I'm just know the novelty will eventually wear off when she realizes that she's stuck in her carseat for seven hours! I've been stock-piling provisions from the dollar store to hopefully buy us an hour. Seven hours with nowhere to hide! I'm having nightmares just thinking about it.

The flight home? RED EYE!

We're back!

We finally have internet access! The developer of our neighborhood talked to some higher-ups at Qwest to get things moving along, so we were finally able to get DSL. Comcast is now saying that they wait until a certain percentage of homes in the neighborhood before they even bother setting up service, so it'll be at least 4-5 months before cable and cable internet are available here. They're not going to have many subscribers since no one is going to wait that long! I'll be back soon with tons of pictures before the grandmas attack!