Natalie & Ryan: The Crap Hits The Fan

The past few days have been crazy-busy, and I'm so relieved that they're over. They weren't bad-busy, in fact, lots of good things happened. Here's the run-down....

My dad is now officially 100% moved in, unpacked, decorated, and organized. I spent the last few days trying to find things to do, so you can imagine how anxious I was to get home. My last day there, we noticed that the piping under the kitchen sink was leaking, so we called and had a plumber come out ASAP. After being quoted a mind-boggling amount for the repairs, Lilly was kind enough to offer to pay with her bear-bear and blankie. The plumbers loved her, and I think they were really close to accepting bear-bear as payment.

Our last night in town, dad took us out for dinner at a little BBQ joint that we noticed tucked into the corner on Main Street. Dad and I are so dumb! We both ordered separate, meaty-filled entrees, when in reality, we could have shared one. Seriously, I only had 3 bites of my brisket before I was stuffed. And I hadn't even touched the ribs and beans. We took home enough meat to feed both of us for more than a week, no joke. Suffice it to say, we both munched on the leftovers all night, and I even had some for breakfast the next morning...I needed the protein to fuel my long day of travels. Ha!

Before our early-morning flight, I made sure we stopped off and looked like fools as we ordered a cheeseburger for Ryan from Jack in the Box...at 6:50 in the morning. Yeah, that's what I call good wifery! Finally, flight 4/4, the FINAL flight. It felt like Christmas morning. I missed my home so much! Our goodbyes with dad were hard. It's always difficult for dad to say goodbye to Lilly, and just as difficult for me to say goodbye to him. We had to leave my sad papa on the curb as we made our way to our gate. Everything went so well! The past 3 flights, we had our own row. This time, I panicked a little when the flight attendant announced that the flight was sold out. I stupidly brought my pillow with me this time, and it took up half of my seat. In the end, I was happy I had it, since Lilly snuggled up against me and the pillow, and passed out before we took off. So, even though we were short on room, Lilly slept the entire time and the flight flew by (pun intended!)

I let Lilly walk the final stretch of airport, so that when we rounded the corner and entered the baggage claim area, she could run to daddy. I tried to get her to hold Ryan's burger and present it to him, but she didn't want to. We got in at 12:30, and had only one hour to get everything home before the ND/BYU game. We made it home with only 5 minutes to spare. I didn't end up watching very much of the game, since I wanted to unpack. Mostly I just tinkered around the house while I listened to it. I had to run to Costco during halftime, and that's when my day went to crap. Okay, you'll want to read this next part. It's juicy...

So, I grabbed my visa and car keys, left my phone (since I couldn't find it amongst all of the luggage), and ran out to Costco for what I thought would be a quick trip. I got to Costco and started down the rows of cars, looking for a parking spot in the zoo of people that were there. As I started down a row, another woman came from the opposite direction. We both turned on our signals at the exact same time, to call dibs on a spot. We didn't end up having to battle for the spot, since the spot right next to the one we were waiting for opened up. She pulled into the first spot, got out of her car, left the driver's side door open, checked out her makeup in the mirror, opened the door to the backseat, tinkered around, all the while continuously making eye-contact with me, and not caring AT ALL that I was trying to pull into the spot next to her. I kid you not, I sat there for 3-4 minutes, unable to pull into the spot. I was SOOO mad, I eventually had to honk at her to get her to clue in that she was being an idiot. I got out of my car, and ran inside. I only had to get two items. When I went to check out, it occurred to me that I forgot what I hate most about Costco. They don't accept credit cards, only debit and cash. Since I hurried out of the house and only grabbed my credit card, I had to drive ALLLLL the way back home for my debit card. I was P-O'd!!

As I started my trip back to Costco, I got stuck behind a car that was going under the 25 MPH speed limit of the one lane street. Once the street finally opened up into two lanes, he straddled both lanes and slowed down, confusing me. I didn't know if I should go around him, or wait for him to figure out what he wanted to do. When I started to go around him, I did the obligatory look, just to see the dummy that was driving like, well, a dummy. Before I even pulled up beside him, he already had his hand up, flipping me off, cussing me out. WHAT THE HECK?! What did I do that made him so mad?? I wasn't tailgating him! HE was the one who deserved the finger. I gave him the "what's your problem" look and looked ahead as I waited in line at the light. His lane was completely empty, so he drove up as close to my car as he could, even with my window, and started to scream at me, all the while continuing with the flipping off. I just smiled at him and looked forward, trying not to give him the reaction that he was wanting. It was funny, because I could tell it made him even more mad. As much as I tried to brush the whole thing off, I could feel my face burning with rage, and my heart was pounding like crazy. I guess my body was doing the whole "fight or flight" thing. I just turned the radio up as loud as it could go, and tuned out while I drove to Costco.

The second round at Costco wasn't as bad. I got my stuff and was out of there in 5 minutes. I was much more calm than I was when I first set out. But I was also slightly annoyed that I was missing the ND game. As I rounded the corner to enter the complex, that's when I lost it. Someone was parked in my assigned parking spot!! I screeched to a stop and parked my car as close to theirs as I could, preventing them from leaving. I ran inside to grab my phone and call the towing company. When Ryan asked me what was wrong, I just started bawling.... "I grabbed the wrong credit card, there was a stupid lady at Costco, there was a guy that was flipping me off, I'm missing the game, and now, to top everything off, there's someone in my spot!!!" It came out all jumbled and sloppy, since I was crying into Ryan's chest. We both went out to the car to wait for the tow truck, and Ryan listened to me vent. Unfortunately, the owner of the car came back before the tow truck could get there. Poor guy picked the wrong MAD woman to mess with. I wasn't mean, but trust me, he won't be making that mistake again. It was only 4 PM, and I was already WAY over my day. But, there was still SO much to do...That'll all be included in the next post.

Haha, much higher and much larger than the one at home...

I think she's been around grandpa too much

Gosh, even the flowers at the grocery stores in Seattle are better than the ones at home!! I so badly wanted a bundle of sunflowers! And they were only $10!!

"You know what, how about instead of charging my bampa $1000 for a new sink, you just take this cute bear and soft blankie, and we'll call it good..."

I just thought the way he was carrying her was funny

Sliced beef brisket, ribs, and beans. SOOOOO yummy!

She tried to throw her drink off the table, so grandpa scolded her. This is her pouting

But it's okay, cuz they're buds and made up with a few pounds

There was something super creepy about watching bear-bear's lifeless body floating around in the washer.

This is a funny story. I kept opening up the utensil drawer, to find a random pile of silverware moved to the back slot. I would resort them and put them back where they belonged, only to have it happen again when I went back. It wasn't until my dad and I were both in the kitchen at the same time, that we both commented at the exact same second "Gosh, why do these keep moving??" Turns out, I DO get some of my OCD tendencies from my dad. He didn't like that they didn't match what he had, so he made an unmatching pile for the back of the tray. How weird. Even I don't do that. haha!

Yep, a 6:50 AM burger run for Ryan

We felt so stupid...

The Seattle temple on the way to the airport.

Sleepy, but ready to be home

This is how she "reads" the morning paper

Lately, Lilly has been super excited any time she sees other kids. She wouldn't leave this little family alone, and she tired herself out by chasing her and running around the airport. It was adorable.