Early Start

When I booked our airfare to Florida, I assumed we'd be leaving our home in the morning on February 13 because we are flying out of BWI, which is less than three hours from our home, and our flight is at 12:25pm. Our plans changed on Sunday morning when we found out we'd be getting 4-6 inches of snow in the morning on February 13. At church on Sunday morning, we talked to the couple that would be dog sitting both dogs for four days, until Cooper's family got back from Florida, and they said we could drop the dogs off on Monday night instead of Tuesday morning. I booked one room at a hotel about 30 minutes from the airport, and we arrived here last night at 9:15pm. Ironically, a few days ago it was really warm in Pennsylvania as temperatures reached the high 50's. At our game day on Friday, the kids played games outdoors in addition to playing some inside. I don't think we've ever stayed at an Embassy Suites. I am really grateful at the moment that we are planning to stay at one for one night in Virginia in May as this hotel has the most amazing free breakfast that we've ever had a hotel that wasn't an all-inclusive resort. They even have someone making omelets to order! They also offer free snacks/drinks at an evening reception, but we arrived too late to check that out. Over the last year or so I've gotten a little bit pickier about where I make our reservations. I certainly still try to pay as little as possible, but there are some chains I now try to avoid when possible, and there are others we know we usually like. Embassy Suites has now been added to that list although my back did not like the mattress last night. 

Paul went to work last Wednesday thinking it would be his last day to go to the plant before our trip, but he didn't finish the bookkeeping that he needed to send to the accountant, so he went back on Friday. He ended up also going in on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday! On Sunday we drove in two cars to church. After the two services, I took the kids to their last ice-skating lesson for the year, and Paul drove to work. He didn't come back home until after 8:00 pm! I took Nadia and Ian back to church in the evening for the youth group Super Bowl party, and Paul picked them up near the end of the game. I didn't watch the game, but since I didn't want SF to win their 6th Super Bowl ring, I was happy when I found out the next morning that the Chiefs had won. One of my nephews is a Chiefs fan, so I was also happy his favorite team won.

Although we had the added expense of one more night at a hotel, not driving from our home to Baltimore this morning makes it seem like this day won't be quite as tiring. Also making sure everyone has packed everything can be an ordeal, and it was easier to do that on Monday afternoon/early evening rather than early in the morning today. Yesterday was a hectic day as both boys had an orthodontist appointment (Ian now has braces on the top jaw), Ian had a piano lesson (working on the 2nd and 3rd movements of Moonlight Sonata), a day of homeschooling, walking the dogs, and also making travel arrangements and finishing up our packing. Praying that all will go as smoothly as possible for the next sixteen days while we're in Florida and Ecuador! I'm so thankful for the opportunity to make memories and see places we've never seen before! I did bring my camera, but I didn't bring my camera bag on this trip. Hopefully I won't miss my lenses too much, ha ha! Packing when you're flying is definitely different than packing when you're on a road trip in your own vehicle.