The party was fun. Getting back home to Utah...not so much.

Sunday afternoon, the day after the baby-shower, Emily and I endured the longest return flight to Utah, ever! It seemed that everything that could go wrong, DID! Due to inclement weather, we sat on the plane without taking off for about two hours. The airport couldn't decide whether to send us back to the gate to catch alternative flights, or to wait it out and send us on our way to JFK. Emily and I were both vying for returning to the gate, since we knew we would already miss our connecting flight to Salt Lake City. In fact, a desperate-me even approached the stewardess and begged to have us transported to the gate because they were ultimately dooming us by still trying to send us to New York now! A useless request, of course. We were stuck.

The flight landed in New York by ~ 8:30pm EST, already 4.5 hours since our trip began. We waited in line for another hour and a half before we would discover our fate. With the long stream of absolutely FUMING customers, cursing, crying, and throwing fits, it wasn't looking good! Emily and I were champs about finding humor in it all - it was either that, or cry! While we waited, we debated whether it would be more effective to be firm and demanding, or kind and gracious...

It was our turn, at last. Emily and I plopped our elbows on the Delta associate's desk with big smiles, and a cheery, "hi!" from Emily. The associate looked STUNNED, to say the least, and looked completely taken aback. That just made us laugh about the scenario, all the more. Anyway, we were booked for a 9:30 flight the following morning, with 12 hours of time to kill. We could either pull a Tom Hanks and sleep in the terminal, or book a pricey hotel for the evening. We opted for the hotel.

Emily did a fabulous job of booking us a hotel that was cheaper, yet the least sketchy of the affordable options. It took us walking in circles a couple of times before we found the shuttle, and then a brief argument with the desk clerk who had given away our non-smoking reservation. Fortunately, we pulled the pregnancy-card, and the clerk gave us somebody else's reservation! It was 11:15pm by the time we were checked into our room.

The airport gave us a bag of free hygiene supplies. Since Emily had checked her bag, it was the only clean items she had, aside from her purse! Needless to say, she was excited!

Pizza - AT LAST! Aside from a muffin at 5:00pm, Emily and I had eaten nothing else all evening. With our late arrival at our hotel, we took one look at the dark New York streets and decided against roaming around, trying to find fast-food. But there was no room-service, and the restaurants that delivered were ALL closed! Desperately, we searched for a vending machine, but were only offered ice and soda... Our empty stomachs had us debating again, whether to laugh or cry! I always knew I loved Dominoes. But when they answered their phone and said they delivered for one more hour, I was committed for life! At 12:15pm, Emily and I bust open our medium, pepperoni pizza and enjoyed two slices each, while we fell asleep in queen size beds, watching Goonies. What a day.... To conclude our adventure, we savored seven hours of sleep and managed to make it to the airport, on the plane, and safely back in Salt Lake City almost 24 hours from when we started.

Emily - you are my hero for helping me survive it all with a smile!