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Read about Windy's trip to visit family in Minneapolis!

November 30, 1999

Whew! I am back from vacation and am just starting to get my house back in order. Here is a basic rundown:

July 7: We live in Colorado Springs and will be flying out of Denver, a good 1 1/2 hours away. So, I decided that we should stay in a hotel since our flight leaves at 6 a.m. We all had a good time and relaxed in the pool and hot tub.

July 8: Forgetting that the Denver airport is MUCH bigger than the one in Colorado Springs, we only leave about an hour before the flight is scheduled to leave. I barely get my bags checked in when I realize that I have about 45 minutes to get through security, get to my gate and get the boarding passes. I don't know if any of you has been to DIA, but it is quite a pain. You need to get on a train to get to any of the concourses. Good thing it was 5 .am. and not very busy. We make it to the gate with no time to spare and receive our seat assignments.

My husband did not go with us because of his work schedule, so it's just the two kids and me. After hugs and kisses good-bye, we settle down for the first leg of our journey. We are to fly to Kansas City, Mo. and have a short stop there. The flight is sparse and quiet. We make it to Minneapolis, Minn. early and we are met by my brother, who will drive us to my parent's house, about four hours away. The weather change in Minnesota was dramatic. I live in a dry and arid climate, and when we stepped out of the doors into the parking garage, we were met with a hot blast of muggy air. This was the kind of air that makes you start to sweat immediately and you hope that your deodorant won't fail you.

After loading our luggage into the car we are on our way. I wish I could say that everything went well, but here is the first of our many mishaps. My brother drives a 1980 Lincoln Mark VII that we fondly refer to as the "Pimpmobile.” About an hour into our drive, it starts acting up. My brother has to pull over and let it rest before he can start it again. The car is acting like it doesn't have any gas, yet it has a full tank. This goes on for a little while until he gives up and calls a tow truck. So, we wait for the wrecker in the scorching heat and high humidity. The girls had been sleeping until this time and woke up with sweat-drenched heads. The wrecker shows up and we all pile into the tow truck for the 1 ½-hour ride back to my brother's apartment. The kids did great and were so understanding. I can't believe that they were so patient through the whole thing. Now, my dad drives a truck for a company that among many things handles the deliveries for a local grocery store. He happened to be at the distribution center, so my brother arranged to bring us there so that we could get a ride home with my dad. It has been many, many years since I have ridden in a big rig and this was Emily's first trip. The downside to this is that we had to wait there with my dad for about four hours until they were done loading his truck. The kids did very well again and proved to be the perfect little angels. We finally made it to my parent's house at about 10 p.m. We should have been there at 2 p.m.

July 9-22: The rest of the vacation went very well. Emily stayed at my mother-in-law's house for a few nights with her cousin, Justine. They had a wonderful time and Emily was so sad to see her go back home. I enjoyed not having to worry about any meals or cleaning. The one thing I could have done without was the fact that Reese would not let me get more than two feet away from her. I wasn't able to leave her with the grandparent's and get away to meet some friends. The weather turned out to be gorgeous the whole time we were there. My mom bought Emily a little plastic pool and she spent so much time in there, I'm surprised she didn't turn into a shriveled raisin. Emily was even able to go fishing and caught two keepers! She still won't touch the fish, but she reeled them in all by herself.

I hope that everyone is having a pleasant summer and that your vacations go a little more smoothly than mine.

Windy and the girls

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