Wednesday, August 10, 2011

My Trip to Iowa, Flight, Awards and Wedding: Part 1

I haven't blogged in a while. I think I have been in shock with so much happening politically and personally. It's like I have been given so much material that I can't do anything with it. The next few blogs will be a series about my trip to Iowa for my sister's award covering the week in Alison, Iowa culminating in the wedding of the year.






Joshua and Syd have been engaged for a year and were planning on getting married in Crowley Louisiana at the Opera House. About 6 weeks ago Joshua came to the hospital and with waving arms tells me that "nothing has changed" which is my indication that EVERYTHING was changing. He tells me that he and Syd are still getting married but that it was going to happen in Iowa at the Hart Family reunion the first weekend of August. I said what I always do in this type of situation "OK" and then I waited for the plans to change again. They didn't and I am actually very glad....but that is for another blog. I waited for a few weeks and then let my family know. Unfortunately all of my kin have non refundable tickets to Lafayette in September so going to Iowa was out of the question and they are still coming in September to meet my new daughter-in-law and to celebrate my 60th birthday a few months early.... again something for a future blog. About 4 weeks ago I hear from my sister Barbara who informs me that my sister Patti is getting a huge award with her Rotary and that we need to be there to support her. I totally agreed until I realized that I would have to fly. In an airplane(not on my broom). Those of you who know me realize that despite years flying on a helicopter on Life Flight I am terrified of strapping myself into a seat and trusting the pilots, mechanics, and airport security to get me to my destination. The flight was uneventful but I will admit to changing my status from Dallas to Chicago to first class. I figured if the plane was going to go down I wanted to be in a bigger seat with a glass of champagne in my hand. It cost me about a dollar a minute to upgrade. The seats were somewhat bigger than coach but still uncomfortable however the lunch was great. I had lost about 35 pounds and expected to have lots of room. Not so, but at least my ass didn't stick thru the sides of the seat. I met my sister Barb at the airport and we were ferried to Davenport, Iowa by a friend of my niece's. Originally Jenny was going to pick us up and we were going to spend the night in Aurora visiting with my great nephews. Jenny called a few days before departure to let us know that her husband's grandmother died and they would all be in Davenport. It took some serious planning on her part but we got to Davenport without problems. I am so grateful to my niece and to her husband Brandon because without them our surprise to Patti would not have been possible.

4 comments:

Carrie White said...

Love the pics of the boys!!

Laura Payne said...

Wow, look how big the boys are getting! I hear that Aidan is a lot like his Uncle Chris. :)

Jen Martens said...

I am so happy it all worked out! The disgruntled picture of Aidan made me laugh!

Patti Franklin said...

The entire week was truly a highlight of my life. You,Barbara, and Jennie surprising me and then all of us enjoying the week together was beyond anything I could have anticipated. I am grateful to ALL of you!