Traveling is CRAZY!!!!

Traveling is traveling. If it gets you to your destination then it has full filled it's purpose. But, traveling is also CRAZY!! I have done my fair share of CRAZY when traveling, biggest example: flying with two kids while 8 months pregnant alone with lay overs in 2 different airports totaling over 8 hours in airports CRAZY!! But obviously I will do anything to get me to a vacation and to see family members. Take my vacation to Arizona. Nathan found some great tickets to get me to Salt Lake City. The tricky part is that we are going to Arizona right!! This how it all worked out. 3 Tickets for me, Clayton, Hayden, and Justin is having a free ride on my lap. Fly out of Milwaukee WI to Chicago O'Hara airport. This I thought was CRAZY, seems it is better for me to waste plane fuel and drive to a different state only to fly back into Chicago to catch the connecting flight. O'Hara is the closer airport to me but flying directly from O'Hara was $200 more per ticket so we took the 15minute in flight plane ride, from Milwaukee to O'Hara. At O'Hara we board our plane to go to Salt Lake city where my mom and dad will be picking us up and we will be on our way to Phoenix after the ten hour car ride. Again, I am fine with this because I will be with family and go to Arizona, what's a little traveling time.

My boys are great travelers and mind well (for 6 and 4 year olds). They had fun with their cousin Eli who went with Mom and Dad to pick us up. We came into SLC at a good time, 2PM not way early and not way late for my parents to pick me up from Idaho, but it is a little late in the day when you need to put an additional ten hours worth of driving behind you. So we drove into the night. Justin is great in the car, and I was able to borrow my brothers car seat so I didn't have to luge it around the airport (HUGE PLUS) but, Justin was off on his game and only slept for the three hours of driving I contributed. Sore, tired, sick of junk food, and a major headache so worth it to pull up into that Thompson Family Arizona Retreat!!

I think the only down fall after you have just finished traveling and you have reached you destination, full of excitement and thrills waiting to happen, you have a lingering voice in your head saying "You know you will have to travel back don't you? You'll HAVE to travel back!" CRAZY VOICE!! This voice can be pushed back to the far end of the brain until the days go by and your travel time is approaching.

We will have to drive the ten hours back, say goodbyes, check bags, go through security with three kids alone, have a different airport to navigate around (Denver this time), wait the four hour layover, board the second plane to end up in Milwaukee and drive another hour to reach home. Justin was feeling a lot better after taking him to the immediate care and being confirmed that he had a double ear infection, so I wasn't too worried about him or my other two boys being good for me. The CRAZY thing happened while driving back to Utah. WE RAN OUT OF GAS!!! Are you kidding me! We left the Arizona house at 2 in the morning to get into Utah to make my flight back home and on the way we ran out of gas. My sister Sophie was driving and Dad told her to stop in Nephi when she saw the sign for it. Dad went asleep and I was taking care of bays and to Sophie's credit I didn't see any signs for Nephi anywhere either, only Mona next three exits same as she did. While there is nothing to really call "Mona" just exits to a few houses here and there, our car starts doing a pulsing motion and is slowing down. Sophie is not braking the CAR is STOPPING! She pulls over to the side of the road and is coasting until the car finally stops and will not start again. It is 1:00PM and my plane leaves at 2:54PM!! CRAZY!! We are not far from the airport, but with no gas we have a problem. Dad calls the State trooper and they dispatch someone to come help us. Time is ticking and we have no idea how long any of this is going to take.
When something like this happens, all you can do is laugh and try and fix it. I am always amazed at how my parents can handle CRAZY things happening. My dad runs his hand through his hair a few times and tries to figure out who to call. AAA? no we don't want to be towed. 911? but we aren't in serious danger we just need gas. 411? for a number to the police hmmm will that work? ending up using 911 and politely asking for the state police number. Mom is in the back playing a game with Clayton and Hayden calling family that was traveling also about our CRAZY predicament. Sophie was really sad but not her fault, it could have happened to anyone. Me, I was outside putting the last things in my suitcases so we could be ready to fly through the airport when we happen to arrive.

Nice Mr. Utah State police came and sat in his car which felt like forever then called someone else to help us and left. Again, on the bright side of all this we were able to watch some cool dynamite explosions they were doing on the side of the mountain where we HAD to pull off at. Must have be some sort of test being held because we saw four fire trucks parked and two police cars that pasted us heading to the mountain where over ten bright explosions on the side of the mountian all done in a row. A truck came up behind us that the policeman sent at 1:30 and gave us two gallons of gas. And where do you think the nearest gas station was? THREE miles up the road! THREE MILES, A CRAZY THREE MILES!! We were on our way again and arrived at the airport at 2:45 and my plane was to board at 2:52. We said our quick goodbyes and then booked it through the airport, not even being helped at the security or anything, but found our gate and boarded the plane at 2:57 PM. PHEWWWW!! We still had a long day ahead of us, but I was glad that no flights were missed and we were on our way. We started our day at 2 in the morning in Phoenix Arizona and traveled through Utah with a running out of gas stop, stayed a while in Denver Colorado with layover, landed in Milwaukee Wisconsin, and drove home to Lakemoor Illinois at midnight. That is 22 HOURS of traveling people!!

CRAZY as this travel day was I would do it again! I spent an awesome week with family, had some good talks with my mom and dad, went through alot of states and have a great story that I can tell! Thanks to Mom and Dad who were willing to pick us up and enjoy part of the CRAZINESS!!