How long does it take to get from ...

Florida to Seattle? Apparently 24 hours... from Florida to Memphis, Memphis to Minnesota and then Minnesota to Seattle. I think I remembered that right. Unbelievable. The morning we left for Seattle we had the car packed up and everything and the lift glass on the Expedition was SHATTERED, not broken, not big pieces, just tiny shattered pieces. Ugh. Happy Birthday to me by the way. (How did it happen? I will save that story for another time). But we got the girls in the car, we were up at 0300, drove to the airport, I ran to check in while DH taped up the back of the truck. We got there on time, got held up in security. SO we missed our flight. Sigh... we had to fly standby all the way. BUT in retrospect it was a good thing, God was looking out for us since we had no choice but to leave the truck in the parking lot just taped up with a garbage bag with valuables in there, because we missed our flight we had time to take the car into the dealership before our first flight and leave it there, in a fairly secure place AND we don't have to pay almost $100 for long term airport parking. So again, God is so faithful. We ended up flying with Northwest airlines all the way. They were so very helpful and accommodating. The staff were nice and courteous. I haven't gotten out my letter to the company, but I plan on doing that when we get back home. (DH just shakes his head because I am a big believer in sending out letters of praise when people do a good job LOL).  Our girls did amazing. Not a single tantrum or crying or anything. God really just blessed us. I was so amazed. Diva slept on one of the plane trips but the other ones she just sat and colored and we talked. Piglet slept on two of the plane rides, and she also colored and read books. It was unreal, I fully expected some meltdowns especially since it ended up being a 23-24 hour day for them. For a 2 and a 3 year old, I am just so blessed. I had packed a little gift to open for them if they got restless, I never did pull out the gifts, I am saving them for the trip home. I still can't get over how well behaved they were. I am not boasting about my parenting either, it was just the grace of God they were so good. When we arrived in Seattle DH's sister met us and we searched for our checked in baggage that had of course made it to Seattle with our original flight plans. The original flight plan included three different airlines, so we went to about three different areas. We could have left the luggage but we had checked Diva's car seat, so we couldn't travel with both girls. Again we were so blessed to have found it all in one place and intact.

During this time we did realize that the new Phil and Teds I purchased for the trip was faulty. GRRRR. The wouldn't fold right, it wouldn't open right. It was a struggle to get it to open and fold. HOWEVER, I contacted the company and where we purchased it and they are going to replace the whole thing for me. The customer service for Phil and Ted's products is awesome. They not only were replacing the handle for me- something about changing manufacturers or shipping issues so it was damaged. But after we figured out that the stroller was faulty they offered to replace it. So once we get home I need to ship it back for another one. Other than that I DO like the Sport we got. I wasn't sure, I thought I would prefer the Vibe or the Dash, but so far, minus the issues it's a great stroller, for the price. Some quirks I read about such as the brake are not so bad. It will be great for when the baby is here also. 

We're loving the "big" city. And city living. Both DH and I love big city living. Being able to just walk places, having things nearby. I am really praying that DH gets accepted to med school and we end up in a big city. Although I am certain we will miss the space we have right now in our home. 

We've just been relaxing here, taking some time to hang out with family. The girls love their aunt and uncle. We took the girls to the zoo yesterday, then met SIL and BIL for dinner. We've taken lots of walks, went to a great park. Last Friday we decided to tag along with DH to Oregon, he had a class there on Saturday and another next Saturday at OSU. Beautiful drive. Of course it took us along time to get there with the girls a good 5 hours. It was worth it we got to see my aunt and uncle and cousin on the way back and have dunner with them. We haven't seen them since our wedding! It was a blessing for the girls to meet them too. Today we will be celebrating Diva's FOURTH birthday! I can't believe she's four. The time goes by so very quickly. We're not doing much, since we already had a party for her with her friends, and a party when her cousins visited. We're just having a little dinner party at Red Robin, why Red Robin? Because since we've gotten here there have been Red Robin commercials on the TV and so she walks around saying, "Red Robin... YUM." So we said we'd take her. 

We've taken tons of pictures but I won't be posting any until we get home. Hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying their summer!