Blast from the Past: August 14th, 2000: THE END

August 14th 2000

"Last night Joe, Katie, and I could not get to sleep! We were all too excited. So, we snuck into the bathroom and played 500 until we were sleepy. Then we went to sleep but had to wake up again at 4:45 a.m. to go to the airport. We got all our bags and took them downstairs, and Mom has been sick for three days now, so she took a little longer to get down. Dad was talking to a shuttle bus driver and was telling her we had lots of luggage. I got on, put my backpacks on, then went to go get mom. When we came back, the bus left... with all my stuff on it!!!!! Joe obviously didn't see it when he was checking. I was so scared! All my personal things were in there! We didn't know what to do. A really nice guy at reception tried to contact the bus but her radio wasn't working! I started to cry. All of my belongings! I was so scared! I didn't know if I would ever see you, and all my other stuff again! Oh, I was scared! But, turns out, that bus comes back at 20 after, so there was a chance. Most likely my stuff would still be there. Oh, thank heavens there was some hope that I'd get my stuff! Dad and Joe took all our suitcases to the airport with a taxi and would meet us there cuz we'd come on the bus. We waited and waited. I was so tense and I prayed and prayed and finally, the bus came! We got on, looked, and there it all was!!! My stuff! I was so happy I could have screamed! Mom was mad at the bus driver for telling us to get off the bus before. We reached the airport, found Dad and Joe all happy and everything, except mom because she's sick. I feel bad for her. She looks so distraught and sad. But there is nothing I can do.
We finally got on the plane, but there were delays (like always). We finally got up in the air. I was feeling sick, and I felt like if I ate anything, I'd throw up, so I just sat there. Dad told me that it was because of my emotional breakdown, so if I sit and relax, take deep breaths, and say to myself, "Just relax and rest," I'd feel better. Well I did just that and my stomach ache went away! The breakfast wasn't great, but of course, it's airplane food. Oh, and there are little television screens in the seats in front of us! And 5 is the Disney Channel! So I got to watch 101 Dalmations, Goof Troop, Rescue Rangers, and a whole bunch of other cool shows! It was better than the last one where there were like, no cartoons or good shows to that. Actually, they just repeat the cartoons, but a different series. I'd been watching cartoons until a movie called "Where the Heart Is" with Dad. After that, we watched on the Discovery Channel a show about elephants and how they survive. The baby elephants were so cute! I love elephants! One of the babies was sick and needed water, and they were in the middle of the desert. Finally rain came and soaked everything. I was happy because the baby didn't die! We also watched some baby elephants play together. They were so adorable. We also got some little crackers. There were really good. By that time we only had 1 1/2 hours left. I was practically counting the minutes.
Finally we got off the plane, mom was feeling really sick, but she said she wasn't going to throw up. We ate at Panda Express which was really good. Mom still isn't feeling well, I felt bad. We went to the terminal and waited for an hour. Then, they changed terminals! and then we waited for another 45 minutes! Then they changed the terminal again! Another 45 minute wait! It was so annoying! Finally we got on the plane and we taxied for a half hour! It was so annoying! We finally got up in the air, and now it's only two more hours. Mom was feeling worse. When we started to get off the plane, and when I saw mom, she was crying! She was in so much pain! It was heartbreaking to see her in so much pain!
When we got out we found Russ. I asked mom if she wanted to go to the bathroom, but she said "No, just go and get the luggage, and let's get home as soon as possible." So we went and got the luggage (mom sat down) and loaded it into the car, then we started home. Mom laid in the second seat, and just rested. Katie, Dad, and I all sat in the back seat, not saying anything and Joe sat in front with Russ.
Home came slower than I though. When we got there, Shanna, Paul, Brendon, and Steve were there! They'd waited for three hours! We all helped mom into her room, then all of us just separated to all of our rooms,(Angela was there too) and told our friends everything. I unpacked immediately. No one else did. I told Shanna everything. She stayed over for like, 6 hours until her mom came and picked her up. It was nice to lay in my own bed."


We still don't know why mom was so sick, and every possible thing went wrong on our way home, but we finally made it. Russ was a friend of ours who had been house sitting for us while we were gone. He had no idea what to make of mom being as sick as she was. Dad gave her a blessing in the car at a gas station. Mom tried to tell him to just get her home, but I believe that blessing is what got her home.

I know that my Heavenly Father was watching over us during this trip. There were so many crazy things that happened to us that could have really turned ugly. I couldn't believe that I had written in my journal for 8 weeks and then almost had my journal stolen from me on my last day in Europe. When I realized that bus had taken off, the only thing I could think of was my journal. I don't know why someone would have stolen it, but why does anyone steal anything? I was terrified. Looking back on it now, I've realized that this journal is the most precious thing I could have brought home from the trip. This is the only written recollection we have of our trip. Granted, it's a 14 year old's view of the trip, so it's sprinkled with hormonal frustration and cute boys, but it's our Europe trip none-the-less. I haven't really been able to legitimately keep up a journal since, so I'm not quite sure why I was able to keep this one.

Thank you all for letting me share these entries with you. I know I got really behind there at the end. I apologize for the barrage of blog posts sent to your inboxes. It was so fun to read back on this amazing trip of ours. I hope to go back someday. Ander tells me there is no way he's going to fly on a plane for 10 hours to get to Paris, but I know that one of these days, if I just purchase the tickets, he won't really have a say. *Evil laugh* Or maybe someday I'll just go with a friend, or my mom or my sister. They'd probably go with me, right? Who knows...