If my mom never wants to travel to Utah in the winter again, I have to say that I won't blame her! If there was something that could go wrong on her trip, it did. Below is a list of things that happened in preparing for her trip, during her visit here and on her way home:
1. I come down with a cold a few days before my mother's arrival and end up almost with no voice while she is here.
2. My mother reacts to some of the anesthesia or medication given during a dentist appointment the day before she begins her journey to Utah and is up all night vomiting.
3. Once arriving at the airport in Kansas City, my mother finds out that her flight can't leave until their flight crew arrives from Chicago where a huge winter storm had gone through. She leaves two hours after her original flight departure time. She had about 20 to 30 minutes once she arrived in Las Vegas to catch her plane to Salt Lake City. She was the last of about eight people that they let on before the plane was full.
4. Dave, my mother and I drive through a horrible snow storm to get to Salt Lake City for my blood draw appointment. There was about 3 to 4 inches of snow on I-15. Good thing we have four wheel drive!
5. After my appointment we head out to our truck to head home and the truck won't start. We try jumping it, cleaning the battery posts, etc. Nothing works. After learning that there are no rental cars available in SLC on a Sunday, we call Dave's brother in Bountiful who comes to our rescue. He takes us back to his house so that we can borrow his truck until we can figure out what to do with our truck. His truck has no extended cab like ours so we fit the three of us in the front of his small truck. It was VERY tight, but we made it work. We then make our way home to Provo.
6. After a call to our mechanic the next day, we decide to tow the truck from SLC to Provo to have it fixed. Good thing for mothers...she was able to use her AAA membership to have our truck towed for free!!! That saved us about $150! We make our way to SLC to wait for the tow truck to arrive. About 3:00 p.m. Monday afternoon our mechanic calls to inform us that the only thing he can find wrong with it is that there is corrosion built up on the clamp around the battery post. He replaces the clamp and the truck works fine. It was a $38 fix!
7. On Tuesday we decide to take a driven tour around Provo so my mom can see the sights. I decide that she needs to see the Provo River. While walking back to the truck after seeing the river my mom slips on the ice and falls down. My mom's head even bounces off the ground with enough force that her glasses fly off. I knew I had killed my mother. She said she was all right and got up. So far she has had no repercussions from her fall...thank goodness!
8. Tuesday evening my mom heads home. She calls me periodically throughout the evening to update me on her travels. There is snow in Kansas City so we are all worried about her getting in at 11:30 p.m. and driving through snow and ice. She calls at 11:30 p.m. our time (12:30 a.m. Kansas time) and says she is in Oklahoma City. They closed the runways in KC and diverted them to OKC. She spends the night in a hotel. This morning she left OKC and finally made it to KC. Her car has given her some problems because of how cold it is. She hasn't had the greatest roads to drive on either. Last time I heard from her she was about 10 minutes away from my aunt and uncle's house. She was stopping for lunch with my uncle and was then making her way home to Halstead (another 2 1/2 hours down the road). She said the roads haven't been too bad and that she wanted to just keep plugging along.
Needless to say, it has been an adventure. Mom, we love you so very much and are so thankful you made the effort to come see us! We are glad you could be here with us when we got the results of my pregnancy test. Your presence made it easier! Hopefully next time your journey won't be so difficult!
1. I come down with a cold a few days before my mother's arrival and end up almost with no voice while she is here.
2. My mother reacts to some of the anesthesia or medication given during a dentist appointment the day before she begins her journey to Utah and is up all night vomiting.
3. Once arriving at the airport in Kansas City, my mother finds out that her flight can't leave until their flight crew arrives from Chicago where a huge winter storm had gone through. She leaves two hours after her original flight departure time. She had about 20 to 30 minutes once she arrived in Las Vegas to catch her plane to Salt Lake City. She was the last of about eight people that they let on before the plane was full.
4. Dave, my mother and I drive through a horrible snow storm to get to Salt Lake City for my blood draw appointment. There was about 3 to 4 inches of snow on I-15. Good thing we have four wheel drive!
5. After my appointment we head out to our truck to head home and the truck won't start. We try jumping it, cleaning the battery posts, etc. Nothing works. After learning that there are no rental cars available in SLC on a Sunday, we call Dave's brother in Bountiful who comes to our rescue. He takes us back to his house so that we can borrow his truck until we can figure out what to do with our truck. His truck has no extended cab like ours so we fit the three of us in the front of his small truck. It was VERY tight, but we made it work. We then make our way home to Provo.
6. After a call to our mechanic the next day, we decide to tow the truck from SLC to Provo to have it fixed. Good thing for mothers...she was able to use her AAA membership to have our truck towed for free!!! That saved us about $150! We make our way to SLC to wait for the tow truck to arrive. About 3:00 p.m. Monday afternoon our mechanic calls to inform us that the only thing he can find wrong with it is that there is corrosion built up on the clamp around the battery post. He replaces the clamp and the truck works fine. It was a $38 fix!
7. On Tuesday we decide to take a driven tour around Provo so my mom can see the sights. I decide that she needs to see the Provo River. While walking back to the truck after seeing the river my mom slips on the ice and falls down. My mom's head even bounces off the ground with enough force that her glasses fly off. I knew I had killed my mother. She said she was all right and got up. So far she has had no repercussions from her fall...thank goodness!
8. Tuesday evening my mom heads home. She calls me periodically throughout the evening to update me on her travels. There is snow in Kansas City so we are all worried about her getting in at 11:30 p.m. and driving through snow and ice. She calls at 11:30 p.m. our time (12:30 a.m. Kansas time) and says she is in Oklahoma City. They closed the runways in KC and diverted them to OKC. She spends the night in a hotel. This morning she left OKC and finally made it to KC. Her car has given her some problems because of how cold it is. She hasn't had the greatest roads to drive on either. Last time I heard from her she was about 10 minutes away from my aunt and uncle's house. She was stopping for lunch with my uncle and was then making her way home to Halstead (another 2 1/2 hours down the road). She said the roads haven't been too bad and that she wanted to just keep plugging along.
Needless to say, it has been an adventure. Mom, we love you so very much and are so thankful you made the effort to come see us! We are glad you could be here with us when we got the results of my pregnancy test. Your presence made it easier! Hopefully next time your journey won't be so difficult!
