Layover Schmay-over!

I really don't understand how incredibly busy life can get. It seems as though I always have something major going on. We are always going here, there and everywhere. I am finally understanding why Steve is constantly complains about just wanting to stay home!

Well, I finally have a quick minute to update you on our trip to Colorado Springs. It was actually quite fun. I believe that the spontaneity of it all made it that much adventuresome. On the morning of our departure from Fresno we flaked on our early morning flight to run downtown to the courthouse to get a birth certificate for Carson thinking that we might need it to get on the plane. In doing so, of course, the airport didn't ask for it, not even once!! I could have kidnapped some child and ran away with him but the airports didn't care. So much for security. That scares me!!

Back to our flights...
1. Our first flight to Phoenix was great. We has an available seat next to us that we were able to buckle in the car seat. Pretty good.

2. The next flight to Colorado Springs. He sat on my lap in a window seat with someone next to me. Miserable. Carson is not a lap child and didn't want to sit still. He kept kicking the seat in front of him and grabbing the poor lady's hair. Finally I held him tight until he cried himself to sleep with 20 minutes left on the flight.

Colorado Springs is a darling little town. We had fun visiting Jenny Grow in her new house and having lunch downtown. Hopefully we will make it back there for her wedding next May.

3. Our flight from COS back to PHX was probably the best flight. A very nice lady had an available seat next to her and voluntarily gave them both up to Carson and I. Carson was able to have the available seat next to me, but without the car seat. He sat and played and laid down in my lap.

It wasn't until the Phoenix airport that all s*&t hit the fan! We got bumped from our connecting flight to Fresno. So we waited for the next one. Opps! We got bummed from that one too. Every back contingency plan that we had in place also failed. It was miserable. We visited the customer service counter and they told us there was no way we were even going to make the last one out for the day. She suggested that we get a hotel room for the night and take the first flight out in the morning. The problem is that I had checked our luggage. I had only a bag with a few toys, a stroller and a car seat. Carson had 4 poopie diapers and I was out of wipes with only one diaper left in my bag. This is about when Carson lost it. He was so tired and just started crying and crying. Complete strangers were asking if there was anything they could do to help. I just wanted to go home! But we were stranded in the airport! I decided that I was going to hold out for the 8 o'clock flight. We were there... what did I have to lose, except for Carson's sanity!! So, we sat at the gate, not so patiently, and waited and waited. It was then that I realized that there were 4 flights flying out of the same gate with one of them heading to Monterey. Well, I thought, if I don't make this flight to Fresno, I am going to Monterey instead of staying the night in a dirty hotel in Phoenix. Might I mention, 3 of the 4 flights were delayed!! At this point we had been in the airport for almost 8 hours and were desperate to leave. Carson was still crying. A sincere young father, traveling by himself, with a 9 month old son of his own back at home in SLO offered to hold Carson because he thought I could use a break. I was just as tired as Carson but had to maintain my composure. I declined his offer but let him read a story to Carson and play Peek-a-Boo with him. I profusely apologized to everyone around. Remember, there were 4 flight leaving out of the same gate at relatively the same time, which meant there were lots of people having to put up with a poor crying baby!! I think at that time, US Airways finally felt sorry for us and gave us a last minute seat on the flight back to Fresno. The flight was an hour delayed and didn't depart until almost 9 pm. I was finally relived when we were actually in the air on our way home!!!

Moral of the story: NEVER fly standby with a baby!!!