We Missed Our Flight

Jeff and I made the decision to drive up and stay in LA so we wouldn't have to do the drive in the morning yesterday. We stayed at a hotel right next to the airport. A couple of factors played into missing our flight yesterday. Andy woke at midnight and decided to stay up for the rest of the night. Jeff stayed up until about 4 and then I took over. Nicky woke not long after so we just started getting ready for the day. Our flight was at 9 and I asked Jeff if he wanted to wake at 6:30. He said 7:15 should be fine since we were so close. The clock next to the bed was 40 minutes slow. So that and the lack of sleep may have contributed to Jeff getting ready like a snail. Also, I think Jeff was in single person travel mode having traveled so much last month by himself. He has forgotten how long it takes to get the whole family and all their luggage to airport even if it is right next door. We made it to the shuttle about 7:40 but it was too full for all of us and our luggage so we had to wait for the next one. By the time our shuttle pulled up to the United Airlines terminal (which was the last stop) it was getting close to 8:30. Anyway, to make a long story short, we tried to check our luggage and they said it was too late by a minute. We could have made the flight without the luggage but they said it was their policy not to let passengers travel without their luggage. So Jeff paid the $150.00 change fee and we went up to the gate to wait 5 hours for the next flight. I probably wouldn't have cried so much if we hadn't been up all night and if we didn't have the kids with us. LAX is the grossest airport. I only seen Jeff cry three times since I have known him and he started crying too. It was a combination of having the United people be mean to him, knowing we didn't make it in time because of him, having to think about his dad waiting for us alone in Maui for 5 hours. So we must have looked like a sorrowful sight. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a United employee came up to us and asked us if we needed to be on a flight to Maui. We said yes and she said our original flight had taken off but had come back because of mechanical problems. She said that we were welcome to get on. The flight left about two hours later but we were on it...hooray! What an emotional rollercoaster!

We made it to Maui. Luckily Jeff's dad's flight had mechanical problems too and so he made it just 15 minutes before us. Nicky is in heaven being with Grandpa. She claims she likes Grandpa better than Mommy or Daddy. She wants Grandpa to push her stroller and Grandpa to take her for a walk, etc. etc.

So we are tiredly but happily vacationing. Pictures to come...