4,000 miles later!

And we are back home! I have come to the conclusion that I never want to travel again in my life! My excursion started on July 4th. I originally had planned to leave on the 5th but the flight was very early in the morning and decided with 3 kids I was gonna be stressed to the max. So there was a flight to Pittsburgh on the 4th and I could meet up with Carlos there. So I quickly got our stuff together and drove to the airport, parked the car at the employee parking lot and everything went smoothly from there. The kids were great except for the complaint that they were hungry. I got us a pizza from California pizza kitchen (their favorite) and we quickly ate it. Our flight left on time and we arrived in Pittsburgh at around 7:30 (I think). The boys were great on the plane, I was really proud of them. We met Carlos at his flight to Raleigh Durham, North Carolina a few gates down from were we arrived. That flight left on time and we arrived in RDU at about 10:30. The boys got to go in the cockpit (after the flight was over) and we got to fly on one of Carlos' flights for the first time. We stayed in the hotel in Raleigh Durham and this would be the last nights sleep we would get for a couple of days. On the 5th our flight out of Raleigh Durham was supposed to leave at 12:30 and because of weather in Newark the plane didn't get there until 2:30. So we cooled our heals at RDU for a while, this woman came up to me and complimented me on how well behaved my boys were so that made it all worth while. We arrived in Pittsburgh (Carlos' last leg of his flight) late so we couldn't grab our connection to Florida as originally planned. So we had to change our plans and fly to Chicago to get a connection on United (we were flying Usairways) which was in a totally different concourse and Chicago is a huge airport. We warned the boys before we got off the plane that they would have to walk very fast. We deplaned and started walking supper fast. Now I didn't have a stroller for Luke and was just carrying him and wearing the most uncomfortable shoes in the world. I was ready to cry I was so stressed but I wanted to get to our gate. The boys were awesome in keeping up with us and were just being excellent. We get to the gate with 10 minutes to spare and they haven't even begun to board the plane and actually the plane isn't even there! So at this point I am sweating (I never sweat!), Luke is screaming (he has a dirty diaper and is hungry) and Noah and Caleb are hungry (we haven't eaten anything since 11 am). Now I am standing here with a dilema, Carlos went to get something to eat leaving me with the bags and the kids and I need to change Luke's diaper. I can't leave the bags and I sure can't take them with me to the bathroom. The gate area was packed there was 3 flights leaving out of the same area. I look around for a secluded area to change him and there wasn't one empty seat, all the meanwhile he is screaming at the top of his lungs. So I just plopped him down on the ground and started to change him in the open, something I said I would never do (I guess after 3 kids I have done well). So he had clean pants but still was hungry so I sat on the ground and fed him, at this point I am just about in tears and Noah and Caleb are hungry so they are starting to get on my nerves! Our flight out of Chicago didn't leave for another 3 hours!! It was awful, nothing good about being delayed in an airport with 2 boys who just wanted to get this over with! We arrive in Orlando at 12:30 am on the 6th! We proceeded to get a rental car but the computers were down at Budget and it took Carlos an hour to stand in line to get a car. Noah fell asleep on a chair but Caleb was so whinny and tired. When we got the car it smelled like cigarette smoke really bad but at that point we just took the car and dealt with it. We had another hour drive ahead of us till we got to Carlos' parents house in Deltona. An hour is what it should have taken but Carlos was so tired he missed the exit and we didn't get to their house till 3 am! When we got there we had to set everything up and didn't get to bed till 3:30. We woke up at 9 (the boys did) and Carlos cut the grass at his parents house, adjusted the sprinkler system. By the time we got everything done it was noon before we left the house to go to the beach. Now Deltona is on the east coast but we decided to go the west coast to go the beach. The waves are much calmer and I always like the west coast better. We arrived at Anna Maria island at 3:00 and stayed at the beach for about 2 1/2 hours. We had a great time it was actually relaxing! Since we were near Tampa we decided to go and see Brenda and Flavio and their two kids. We met up with them at 8, had some dinner and saw their new home. It was nice to see them and by the time we left their house it was 11:15 pm. I drove back to Deltona because Carlos' contacts were bothering him and he couldn't see, which was fine but I was soooo tired! We got to Deltona at around 12:45, packed up everything and went to bed at around 1:15 on the 7th. We woke up at 4 so we could drive back to Orlando to catch our flight to Charlotte so we could pick up my sister Emily and bring her back to St. Louis. Our flight from Charlotte to St. Louis was delayed but we got home at around 1:30.
I don't think I have ever been so happy to be back home. I have never been so tired either. Poor Luke hadn't had a good nights sleep in 4 days or a good nap. Overall the boys were good (as good as they could be considering the circumstances).