My Summer Vacation

I know that it is really cliche to say this, but this is a warning: this is a really long story, I am not the best story teller, I like to give the dumb details that I think are exciting, but I know its not to every one else. Feel free to scroll down to the bottom. I will never know! There are pictures on the bottom. Really exciting! If you are going to read my long story, don't read the rest of this paragraph. If you want the short story, here it is.................................................................no turning back now......I was supposed to go on a trip to Cabo, had to cancel the night before, didn't have to pay the cancellation fee because of Swine Flu, ended up going to see my bff in Boise.

So this week definitely turned out differently than I expected it would! For the last two years, we have been invited to stay at our friends house in Cabo. See our past trips here and here. We were supposed to have a fun filled week in Cabo with friends that we had to cancel last minute (literally)! Everything just fell apart at the last minute, and we couldn't leave our kids. That's all I am going to say about that. So I called Orbitz to cancel our tickets. I also was wanting to find out how much the cancellation fee would be and how we would go about redeeming our credit when we were ready to use it. Orbitz said that we would not have to pay the fees until we were ready to redeem our credit, and that we would be charged $30 by Orbitz and $150 by United. $180! That is for each ticket! So we each had a $350 credit that we couldn't use until we paid $180. Lame. She did say that if we didn't use all of our credit, we could use the left over towards our $150 airline fee, but not the $30 Orbitz fee. I was kind of bummed that not only were we missing out on a super fun trip, it was going to cost us even more in the long run! So I canceled our Cabo tickets. Boo hoo! During the same phone conversation with Orbitz, I started the process of scheduling a flight for Chris for the end of this month to go to Texas. I figured I might as well do it then while I had the person on the phone. Of course the Texas ticket cost more than the Cabo ticket (why?) so I had to give the lady my credit card information to pay the extra amount and for the $180 in cancellation fees. The ticket hadn't yet officially been processed yet and Chris comes into the room and says "Change of plans"! O my heck! I had just wasted 30 minutes trying to book this flight and now I am having to cancel it right before it is processed. I am just glad he caught me before it was a done deal. So I tell the lady, never mind, and she refunds me the all of the money.

Bare with me, I am not the best at telling stories. So this might feel like it drags on, but if you are that bored, stop reading!

Anyways, I wake up Saturday morning and call United airlines directly. I was stressed that maybe Orbitz didn't follow through all the way and cancel the original Cabo tickets and the flight I had been booking for Chris. So I am on the phone with the nicest lady ever. . I was so happy because I could actually understand her. I don't mean to sound offensive, but I am the worst at understanding people when they have a thick accent. She said that everything looked as it should. I asked her if, when I go to redeem our credit, I can call United directly and not have to pay the $30 Orbitz fee and just the $150 airline fee. She says something about the Swine Flu window. The Swine Flu Window? She says that because of recent events, United Airlines is waving the cancellation fee on canceled flights going to Mexico during a certain period of time. I didn't understand what she meant by recent events. Had something happened the night before that I wasn't aware of? My friends were on their way to Cabo still! I suddenly got a little panicky. I obviously knew about the big Swine Flu scare that had been going on a month ago but had it suddenly flared up? She assured me that everything was fine. I guess that when the scare was happening, the airline said that all flights that were canceled by travelers until June 10th (I think), the fee would be waved! So basically the night before, I was about to "pay" $180 for nothing! Orbitz is lame!

OK...so for all good things that seem too good to be true....this too, has a catch. Apparently if you want the fee waved, you have to use your flight credit within the next month. You would think they would make it so when you use your credits, you have to go to your original destination. NOPE. We each have a $350 credit to go wherever we want! Hello, I have 4 kids. Where in the heck am I going to go? Chris and I knew we wouldn't be able to pull of a vacation with the two of us. If we could, we would have been in Cabo right then. I knew Chris was needing to go to Texas in the next few weeks, so at least he would be able to use his credit. I figured that it is what it is and that I would just end up using my ticket later in the year and just have to pay the fee. That's fine. At least we both didn't have to pay it!

Are you lost yet? If not keep reading.

Lindsay is my very best friend who is currently residing in Boise, Idaho. We have been friends since the 6th grade. To see more of Lindsay, click here or here. Lindsay left me for Boise 3 years ago. I have said a little prayer everyday since then, that she will come back to me. Visiting isn't good enough. I need more. She has been able to make it back here a couple times a year to visit. She was even planning on driving down with her kids in the next couple weeks for a little summer vacay before she has her third kid in August. It is always bittersweet when Lindsay comes. You see, I have to share her. Her mom and brother Robbie are still here in St. George. Lindsay's in-laws also live in Vegas. So every time she comes down, it is hectic for her because she has to visit so many people that love her and want to see her. She usually spends a few days staying at her moms and then drives down to Vegas for a few days. In the last 3 years, I have not won the bestest friend award because I haven't made it up to Boise to visit. There are many reasons, but 4 main ones. Driving with 4 kids for a million hours to a place that I have never been to before isn't the most appealing sounding. Don't get me wrong, I have dreams about showing up on Lindsay's doorstep, kids in tow, and all of us yelling SURPRISE! Don't get too excited because my dream didn't exactly come true. My hope was that maybe once she has the baby, I could sneak up to Boise for a couple days and leave my boys here with Chris.

So onto the best part of the story...

I am talking to Lindsay on the phone. We talk 14 times a day everyday. So when we originally cancelled our Cabo trip, of course I called her crying. She was fully aware of every detail because she is the one that holds the title of my favorite shoulder to cry on. So I was really excited to tell her that I saved myself $180. Lindsay is my coupon clipping, check book registering (to the penny) friend. Lindsay's excitement for my money saving didn't disappoint! So I get off the phone feeling quite happy that I didn't let $180 go down the drain. Then I start thinking......wouldn't it be great if I could use my ticket to fly to see my BFF! Yeah right. It would never happen so I put it out of my mind and went on with my day.

So I am psychic. Really, I am. Sometimes I will think about someone that I haven't thought about for years, and the next day, I will run into them. If that isn't psychic powers, then I don't know what is! Kidding, I'm not REALLY psychic. But on this day, I think I was a little! Lindsay called me back within 5 minutes of putting my "Using my credit to visit Idaho" thought out of my head. She says, what if....you use your credit and come up to Boise? I said, I don't know anyone in Boise....Ha Ha! Funny! I told her the chances were slim. I said I would mention it to Chris, but don't count on it. After I got off the phone with her I starting thinking.....maybe, if she could make her trip down to St. George sooner than later, I could fly to Boise for a couple days, and then we can drive down to St. George togetha! Chris would only have the boys for a few days...It just might work! Good idea Christina!

A little while later, Chris calls me. He asked if I was still bummed about Cabo. Yes. Then I nonchalantly say, I could always go to Boise for a couple days and you can stay home with the kids, that would make me feel so much better......{insert pouty face}. The words that came out of my husbands mouth were shocking....."If you promise it will only be a couple of days, I am OK with that. What? Am I hallucinating? Are you sure? I made those reservations so fast, he didn't have time to change his mind! So there you have it! Cohlee and I flew to Boise. The best part is that it was so last minute! I think if we would have known this trip was coming up, we would have been going crazy with anticipation. I finally got to see where the Grantham family calls home! It really was so crazy to see her house. It is funny how you picture stuff in your head and how it is so different when you see it in real life! We had so.much.fun! Lindsay is a planner, so we packed so many fun memories into a couple days. Not to mention the 13.5 hours (yes, 13.5) we spent in the car on our fabulous road trip! So it was definitely no Cabo, but hanging out with the Grantham Fam was a blast. Instead of sipping the yummiest {virgin} pina coladas on the beach while getting a tan, I got to go to the Meridian Idaho fire station and slide down the fireman pole! I have pictures to prove it.

So we should totally be professional models, right?
We were thinking the same thing!

I uploaded some pictures onto Lindsay's computer at her house. I didn't realize it would take the pictures off of my camera until I got home. I don't want to post my Idaho pics until I have them all. That is also when I will let you know all of the fun and exciting things that we did in Boise, Idaho! Maybe I will post one picture... I know that this story isn't really that cool to most of you, but it is to me and this is MY blog! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

I do want to tell the Wades thanks so much for inviting us again this year to Cabo. Thank you for being so understanding of us having to cancel. I am excited to see all of the pictures and hear all of the stories! Since I thought I would be posting pictures of me getting a tan in Cabo, I am still going to do that. Lets just pretend that these are new pictures from this years Cabo trip and that I am still that skinny!

Sheena and I striking a pose. I love this girl! She is so much fun! It is so much fun to just let loose and be a goofball. We have had some good laughs!

Chris, Me, CJ and Sheena Wade. These are our great friends that have invited us the last 3 years to Cabo. CJ's dad has a house that is absolutely amazing. Thanks again you guys, hope we are still friends.....call us;)

Just to give you a tiny bit of an idea how amazing the house is, this is the view from the pool patio. This house is on the very edge of the cliff and the views are amazing.

We took a boat ride around Lovers Beach (where the Arch is)
We were able to see the house from there. Its the one with
all of the arched windows.

The scooters were so much fun! I had never ridden on one until this trip. It was a lot of fun! One of the days we decided to go to a beach that was "down the road" . So a few of us jump on scooters, and the rest of the gang gets into the suburban. 20 miles later down the main Cabo highway going 65 mph, we made it. Chris was in the suburban. He said he was having a panic attack the whole time watching me drive the scooter down the highway. I was a little nervous too. They drive a little crazy in Mexico! We all made it back in one piece.

Not so skinny. When we went last year, I was 6 months pregnant. I know, what am I thinking putting a picture of me not only fat and pregnant, but IN A BATHING SUIT!!! I am thinking the same thing as I am typing this. But for some reason, at this moment, I don't care. I bought her this cute little dress that is still hanging in her closet, never been worn. If I would have thought about it, it would have been a great idea to have a picture of her on here wearing it. But I didn't think about it until now.