Our flight to BWI had to be the loudest flight I've ever been on--filled with numerous extremely unhappy children. And, thankfully, none of those miserable, obnoxious children were my own! I can't believe how well that flight went. Southwest gave Doug a gate pass--meaning he was able to escort me all the way through security and to the gate which was a huge help. We got to preboard (since Southwest doesn't pre-assign seats we went ahead and did it. Usually we are the last ones to board so the boys aren't confined that much longer). The mistake I did make was that when we boarded, I was so frazzled grappling with two children, 3 carry-ons and one large carseat, that I failed to notice that the row of seats I chose didn't really have a window (Dur!). Bode whined about it a couple times during the flight, but for the most part he dealt well with it. I had my bag-o-tricks, filled with gift-wrapped toys, food and the bless-ed DVD player. We did a puzzle, opened some Playmobil knights, watched Little Einsteins, read some books. Keegen fell asleep for the last 45 minutes or so of the flight, which was perfect. I can't believe the chaos he slept through directly behind and beside us. Amazing. When the pilot announced our descent into Baltimore, I was pleasantly surprised. For once, not wearing a watch on a flight had not bothered me!

It took them about 20 minutes to find our stroller and when we finally got to baggage claim, the flight's bags still weren't out. In the end, we found a sky cap who loaded everything and got us to the bus that took us to the rental car. This was the hardest part. I now had 2 children, 3 carry-ons, one stroller, one carseat, 2 large duffel bags and one small one (with Bode's scooter inside!). I unloaded everything and everyone and was on my own. Bode, bless his heart, ended up being an enormous help by pushing Keegen in the stroller into the rental building (that child has always loved to push my buttons and anything with wheels). So I put him in charge of that as I dragged everything else in stages. We finally got things squared away with the car and the carseats, and two hours after landing, we were on our way. I couldn't believe when I saw the time that it had taken that long.

We headed out and got into the flow of I-95. Do you know that we just don't have 4-lane freeways in Colorado? The trees were huge and lush and looming. The humidity absolutely sticky. And it felt good to be back.

We got to Emma's around 4:30 where the boys ran wild with each other. Louis and Bode seemed to just pick up where they left off. Bode was in heaven at their Thomas the Tank Engine dedicated home! Theo and Keegen got reacquainted, too. Emma made a perfect and comforting meal of homemade macaroni and cheese, bacon, fresh sweet corn on the cob and salad. I enjoyed every bite, and every bite my much-too-distracted children failed to eat.

After dinner we drove the hour to my folks'. We drove through a couple of good rainstorms that slowed us down, but for the most part we sailed through. It took us awhile to get settled in and down, but the boys were finally to bed by 9. So good to see my parents and my brother, Drew, is home after graduating from BYU. He's on his way to start a new job and new chapter in his life in Dallas with a consulting firm there. So, the gang's all here and it's wonderful to catch up in the evenings when my two crazies are in bed!

I forgot to bring my camera cord to download photos so I'll be adding those later.