We had the best vacation ever, and I'll put the good stuff up soon. For now, I'm on a mission to tell as many people as possible that US Airways SUCKS. If there is a hell, I am positive that it is run by their gate agents. We all know, traveling's never hysterically fun. We miss the occasional plane, or lose a  bag. But overall, things run pretty smoothly. Unless you are on the Musical-Chairs-On-Crack airline that thinks it's funny to oversell their flights and watch their passengers fight for their seat.

I know times are tough for the airlines. My brother in law, who was on the trip with us, used to fly for United. He said statistically, 10% of people don't show up, so it's common to sell too many tickets. That is like me showing up to  70% of my photo sessions. Or double-booking them and making people toss a coin for who gets the shoot. I thought it was illegal to sell an imaginary product. BUT WHATEVER...most airlines apparently make it work. Except (again) for US Air, who oversells HALF THE PLANE. On our way home there were literally THREE people (I'm not even joking), with seat 14F, standing in the aisle. The attendant said (non-chalantly) "Go to the back and we'll try to work something out." Which really means, "Get back there and we'll play paper/rock/scissors for who gets to go home."

So I thought it was bad on the way to Oregon when Jason had to fly stand-by with a paid ticket. But I had no idea how much worse it would get. This was our day yesterday. We got up at 3am for a 5:30 flight from Eugene to Phoenix. We had 30 minutes to  make our connecting flight, on the other side of the airport. Lugging 2 kids, all our bags, and a toddler who had to poop, we make it to the gate with 15 minutes to spare. Only the door is closed, and they've given our seats away. AS OUR PLANE SAT FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES, the lady basically said, "Too bad, so sad. We announced the last call." And we said, "Are you kidding? That is our plane. SITTING THERE. We still have FIFTEEN MINUTES until it's scheduled to leave." And she said, "When is my lunch hour? Should I have Pizza Hut again? And how many more minutes until my smoke break?"

So I get over wanting to punch her in the face and figure we'll just take the next flight out. We tried, Austin, Dallas, even Houston thinking we could rent a car and drive home. But EVERY SINGLE FLIGHT they had going into THE STATE OF TEXAS HAD BEEN OVERSOLD BY 15-30 PASSENGERS. The next flight they could confirm wasn't until 7:30 PM. So we spent TEN HOURS in the airport yesterday. With three children. At first we tried to make them behave. They played every game, watched every movie, colored every book. Then about four hours into it, we lost the will to fight (live), and just let them run hog wild. "Mommy can we play on these?" "Sure, but if you're going to be loud, make sure you play around the ticket agents."

Jason. He thought boot camp was hard. Forget the desert and push-ups. They should institute "Prolonged Airport Training With Toddlers" including hazardous pay, of course. Only then it would be so hard, no one would EVER make it into the military.  :) 

Ahh, it's good to get that off my chest.

NOW, if you're sick of my bitching, and you want to read something totally different, I'm also at Shutter Sisterstoday. Come over and say hi!

HOLA! I'd hoped to post more, but everything that can go wrong technologically, has gone wrong. Beginning with my entire contact list being deleted, and including having to fly STAND BY to get here. I don't know how you pay for five tickets, and then have to HOPE to get on a plane. BUT, we made it and we ARE having fun, despite the fact that the Internet keeps smacking us in the ass. So, if you need me, the phone is best. Just please allow a couple days for response. As I will be busy cussing technology, while I sip pina coladas on the coast.

xo

The fabulous Dr. Feinstein and her boys. I met her about a year ago when she was pregnant with her third. Since then, she's been all over the blog, and become a great friend. She's also an amazing doctor who is smart and real. I got to watch her and the other amazing Dr. Finney , deliver Katy's baby a few months ago. They are both awesome. And I would totally go to them, if I wasn't freaky about maintaining a level of anonymity with my OBGYN.  :) 

Thanks Karen! :)

Hi! I'm here today. And speaking of awesome women/photographer communities, you have to check out The Photogirls! They rock.

How was the holiday weekend? Ours was a little bit lazy. A little bit fun. A whole lot of laughing. Our good friends Kristi and Paul came down from Dallas. And it was nice to know that even though they're swanky Senior VP Dallas people now :) , they're not too good for our porch. Friday night we sat out until 2. And you know you're good friends when you can go out 2 nights in a row and still have tons to talk about. We went to Wildfish on Saturday night, and I can see why that restaurant is so busy. The food was so good! Then the waiter recommended we try this new bar down the road called "New York". So we pull up, and the Flaningans had already scoped it out. Paul goes, "If we were ten years younger we would be all over it." That's when you know you're old. And he was right. I'm just not down with LOUD BANDS SCREAMING AT ME anymore. You know? If I'm paying $10 hour for a sitter, I want REAL conversation. So we went home and got into our pajamas and sat on the porch till 2am again. Totally my idea of the perfect night. And I will admit that I have been a loser about taking pictures lately. So I really have nothing to show you from the weekend. But I took these snap shots in Dallas on one of our visits a few months back. I don't think I ever posted them, so I will now. Just to give you an idea of how cute the Flaningans are. They are totally part of our Texas family. The friends that will love you no matter what. And that's just cool. Also, if you haven't checked out Paul's blog, YOU NEED TO.

Okay, now I will tell you about my day today. It stormed, and that basically matched my mood. It was one of those days where you feel like the world is lame, and you don't know why you even woke up...and you can't even put your finger on WHY. It was just one thing after another that made me feel GLOOMY.

Then I opened this.

A note from my sweet friend Melissa. We've known each other since 10th grade. Were cheerleaders together. Went to homecoming, prom, moved to Waikiki together for a renegade adventure summer after graduation. Watched each other get married. Change. And then hope some things stay the same. I love her. For the person she is. And for the way it makes me feel to have a friend who shares so much history with me. Thank you Melissa. Your card moved the clouds aside today. I love you. And  can't wait to see you again SOON! And if you're reading this, and you have an old friend that you haven't connected with lately, SEND THEM SOMETHING. A card. A cupcake. Whatever. I promise it will brighten their whole day.

xo