Day 12 continued: When we arrived back in London we were supposed to meet our pre-paid transfer to our hotel. After waiting 20 minutes I called the company and they didn't know why the driver wasn't there. Another 10 minutes past and I received a call stating he was stuck in traffic and would be there asap. We finally find the driver and give him the papers stating the address of our hotel. He griped because it was clear out by the airport but whatever---you got paid for it. We arrive at the hotel- FINALLY- and he drops us off and leaves. I wait in line to check in for 15 minutes and when I get to the counter I was told that we were at the wrong Holiday Inn. WHAT?! So she gets us a driver and we go to the correct hotel--just a few blocks a way. This trip cost us an extra 10 pounds. Aaahhhhh! We get to our room and just wanted take our shoes off and relax. Well that was gross- I took my shoes off and found that my socks were full of blood and I had a toe nail that was actually black. I guess walking all that time the night before and that morning was too hard on my feet.
Day 13: We woke up early to go to the airport for our trip home. We arrived way too early and since we didn't pay the extra $120 we wouldn't get our seat assignments until right before the departure. Talk about stressful! In the London airport everyone sits in the same area until your gates are assigned which isn't until 20-25 minutes before your flight. Depending on where your gate is- it could possibly take you 20 minutes to get there. I think next time I'll pay the extra money just to relieve my stress from having to run to the gate and try to get seat assignments; and hope you're sitting by each other. Oh well- Live and Learn.
The plane ride was exhausting. Traveling during the day is a lot harder on a person than traveling when it is dark. Not very easy to sleep when people keep their window shades open. The flight was pretty smooth and we made it to Denver in good time. Thank goodness we arrived early since going thru customs, immigration, getting your luggage, rechecking your luggage, going thru the security screening process again, catching a train to the gate to catch your plane; took a lot longer than I had expected. I really think if we would have landed at the time we were supposed to, we may have been pushing it too close and missed our plane.
Denver had some nasty weather and caused all the planes to be re-routed. Too bad this decision wasn't made prior to boarding the plane because we were on the plane, on the run way, for close to an hour. This flight was a little bumpy and Devin and I didn't have seats by each other--so grabbing onto the army guy next to me wasn't an option. We arrived in Billings late so my poor dad didn't know what to think. Thanks to the airport not giving an update to the flight- no one knew where our flight was or when we would arrive. We retrieved our luggage and loaded into the car to travel to Colstrip to see our kids. When we arrived in Colstrip the kids, Nicole, and grandma were at the school watching a fireworks display; so we decided to surprise them. I was exhausted so I sat in the car and waited for the show to be over. A few minutes of waiting Tristan runs over to the car and jumps up in my lap. He looked so old- he had a new haircut and looked like he had aged 2 years. He gave me the biggest hug and told me, "Mom. I'm a big boy-I'm potty trained!" YEAH!!!! Thank you grandparents for potty training my very stubborn 3 year old.
It was so nice to see Tristan and Cortlynn and they were excited to hear about our trip-unfortunately all we wanted to do was sleep.
Day 14: Pretty much this day was a day of sleep. I'm not sure about Devin, but I woke up late, stayed awake long enough to eat a lovely lunch my mom made including dessert, and than went back to bed for another 3+ hours. I was done--my eyes would not stay open. Nothing like having your parents back from a long 12 days and all you see of them is a few hours to eat.
Day 15: Monday was the day we traveled back to Idaho. What a long 8 hours drive. The kids were excited to get back home to their friends, their own beds, and of course their toys. We had one minor set back when Tristan decided to throw up in the car outside of Bozeman. That is always a treat to have a child get sick while you're driving down the road. We arrived in Pocatello around 6:30. When we pulled up to the house our neighbor ran across the road to talk to Devin. (this was a bad sign) He told Devin how we had a sprinkler malfunction and they wouldn't shut off causing the yard on the side of the house to flood. It took 3 different neighbors and over 50,000 gallons of water before they were able to turn the water off. AAAHHHHH!!! Needless to say-I was upset and fed up with our crappy sprinkler systems. At least our house didn't flood this time--that would have put me into an institution with a padded room. Once we got settled we had to go visit Tastee Treet for ice cream. I can't get enough ice cream--What a nice way to end our trip--
