Holiday Chaos.

Alright...well its been awhile since my last post. This Christmas holiday has been an adventurous one to say the least.

Lets start from the beginning. Friday December 14th was the day of my flight home to Utah. I was excited to travel home to see my family and ready for a long break. My friend Adam, who also went to EAC (Eastern Arizona College) and also went to my high school, had the same flight as me. Small world that we went to the same college in the tiny town of Thatcher, AZ. Anyways...his grandparents were nice enough to drive us to the Mesa/Phoenix airport. They told me they would be by my apartment at 7:30am to pick me up. In my head I was thinking, "7:30am? That seems early. Our flight isn't until 1:50pm. It will take us about 4 hours to get to the airport." Well let me tell you right now, I thank the heavens above that we left that early.

7:30am rolled around and Adam and his grandparents pulled up, I loaded my bags and hopped in the truck. I was all ready to get this drive over with. We begin to drive off, when Adam's grandma turns around and says to me, "Adam lost his wallet." I looked at her with this face of 'what?' I know this isn't good news, because Adam needs his wallet, which has his drivers license in it, to board the plane. Adam said he couldn't remember where he might have lost it at. We drove over to Adam's girlfriends house. The fact that Adam has a girlfriend is a totally different story of its own. They are perfect for each other, because they are both socially awkward and weird. Sorry, but that is just my opinion. Probably mean to say, but whatever, we are moving on...Kelsie is her name. She apparently was joining us on our drive to the airport because she was flying to Las Vegas for the break. Adam looked for his wallet at Kelsie's house and didn't find it. He looked in the car he drove the previous day on their date. Nothing. We drove to the Burger King where they got food, then to the park where they hung out. Still nothing. While all of this is going on, I'm just sitting in the back seat getting annoyed and anxious. At this point we had been driving around in circles for an hour. Long story short...we ended up back at the college so he could get an new I.D. card. After he got that, we headed off...for reals this time. I thought I was going to die in that car. I pulled out my iPod and headphones and tried to zone out for the rest of the drive. I just wanted to be on that plane headed home.

Things are going great so far...until it starts to hail/sleet/rain. It doesn't snow often in Arizona. If it does it is in the mountains. But when it does, people go crazy. I swear they are like, "What the heck is this?! How do I drive in this?!" I'm like please people, this is nothing. Its just sleet. Go where I'm going and try to drive in 2 feet of snow and icey roads. Well of course our day couldn't get any better...while driving through this canyon like road, we suddenly come to a halt. Traffic is not moving. Adam's grandma gets a call from someone who tells her that they just heard on the radio that there has been an eight car pile up. Just awesome. My favorite thing. I am already stressed out and anxious to get to the airport on time. I don't want to miss my flight. We sit for about fifteen minutes before traffic starts slowly moving again. As we drive, we pass a total a four cars still on the road. By this point I am starting to pray that nothing else bad happens. We continue our drive. Two hours later, I see the bigger city. I see low flying airplanes. I see sunlight and happiness. We are heading toward the light! The light being the airport, not death. Come on people, don't think like that.

I am so happy to see the airport. My prayers have been answered. We pull up, Adam's grandpa drops us off, then goes and parks. Adam, Kelsie, Grandma and I walk inside with our bags. I already had my boarding pass printed off so I waited while the other two got their passes and then the three of us headed towards security. We all passed inspection. Thank goodness. I was a little worried about Adam. He sorta is like the scare crow off of The Wizard of Oz. (He doesn't have a brain) After security we headed to our gate. Kelsie's flight wasn't until 3:30pm so she just hung with us. Our gates were by each other so that was nice. I loved just sitting and waiting until we boarded our plane. People are so interesting to watch. People watching is a hobby of mine. Best pass time ever. As soon as people get off their flight and walk into the building, they immediately head for the bathrooms. At first I thought it was a different exit. Then I noticed there was a line and that when people walked out, they would slightly be wiping there hands on their pants. You know, getting their hands more dry. We've all done it, don't act like you haven't. While some are using the bathroom, others are rushing to catch there flight that finished boarding ten minutes earlier. Everyone is taking advantage of the free WiFi on their phones, tablets, laptops, or in my case my Kindle. Oh the joys of the airport. Not going to lie, I was pretty excited to travel by myself. Without my family. It felt...well...awesome.

Finally it was time for Adam and I to board our plane headed to Ogden. Yes, Ogden. Not Salt Lake. Another thing that made this flight even better. The Ogden airport is about fifteen minutes away from my house. Which is great. The less time I have to travel in a car, the happier I am. We loaded onto the airplane, which is always awkward. I had the middle seat of a three seat row. I was the first to arrive to my seat so, when the lady came that had the window seat, I had to move to the isle so she could get in. Everyone is putting their carry-ons in the over head bins, which slows up the line of people. Some are switching seats with others so they can sit by their spouse. People were very courteous towards others. Who'd a thought?

I'll skip forward to our airplane already soaring through the sky. I have pulled out my iPod and headphones and have tuned out the thoughts of my mind. The lady sitting next to me was pretty funny to talk to. I joked with her about the brochures they put in the seats. I said to her, "You'd think maybe they would give us better reading material. I would be fine with a People magazine or something." She laughed and agreed. The guy sitting to my left, was a quiet one but seemed like a cool guy. He had the sweetest watch on. I wanted it. You know what's funny? You'd think people would understand that if you put headphones in that you don't really want to talk, nor can  you really hear anything. Well, I guess not. I had my big headphones on, but the lady next to my kept wanting to talk to me. I didn't mind talking to her. She was really funny and nice. I just wish our conversation wouldn't have been so stop and go. A little later the flight attendants started walking down the isle with snacks and drinks for purchase. There were five of us on my row. Everyone except me got an alcoholic drink. I didn't get anything at all. But it is funny what people notice and like to point out. The lady next to me said, "We all got alcoholic drinks." Obviously I didn't, but she thought that must have been funny that they were all drinking. In my head I was thinking, "Weird, we are all on a plane. But I'm not going to point that out." Two hours later we arrived in good ole O town (Ogden). We chaotically filed off the plane. My cute mom was waiting outside for me and taking pictures. I almost felt like movie star. The paparazzi just can't stay away from me. I keep having to tell them, "No, I am not Ellen DeGeneres. I just look and act like her. But I'll sign that for you anyways."

Not going to lie, I was in bit of a weather shock for the first couple days being home. I went from 50-70 degrees to 20-50 degrees. But it felt good to be home for awhile. I missed the cold weather and the snow on the mountains. I forgot what it was like to bundle up in a blanket on the couch and watch t.v., while drinking hot chocolate. When getting into bed I had to pull the covers up over my head. No more covers half on, one leg sticking out sorta deal. Good thing one of my dogs sleeps at the end of my bed and keeps my feet warm.

Its been good to be home. But it will be good to be back at school too.