Where do I even begin?

Well, we're in Nevada. That's where we ended up. But the day has been one interesting turn after another today.

This morning we left on our vacation to go and visit Mom and Dad. When people ask where we're going on vacation it's sort of hard to answer because we're flying in and out of Las Vegas but staying in Laughlin, NV, visiting Mom and Dad in Needles, CA, and checking out their new house in Ft. Mojave, AZ. And yes, all those things (except Vegas) are within 15 minutes of each other.

We got everything packed up and were out the door on time this morning. We dropped Leo off at Lincoln's brother and sister-in-law's and headed into the city. I had put enough time into our schedule to swing by my office in Cambridge and pick up my iPod which I had forgotten on Friday afternoon. We made excellent time and after we stopped by the office we did a swing through the Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru and then through the drive-thru ATM at the bank, all of which is within about 2 blocks of the office. As we were headed to the airport, completely on schedule, Jake threw up. It's not unusual for Jake to get sick if he doesn't have enough food in his stomach before we either drive or get on a plane, but this time Lincoln got up extra early to make him a big breakfast AND our flight wasn't until 10 a.m. I figured we'd be all set. Well, I figured wrong. Jake threw up not far from my office. Once we got him settled, cleaned up, and changed into new clothes, we turned around and headed back to my office to wash up. By the time we left there we were about 20 minutes behind schedule.

There is a parking lot not too far from the airport that if you pre-pay in advance, it's a fairly good deal. We were already late heading over there so it certainly didn't help that the road leading to the parking lot was closed. We had to take a VERY long detour and didn't get to the parking lot until 9 a.m. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 10:01 a.m. and we were still a fairly decent ride away from the airport before you even figured in the detour. The parking lot shuttle was parked right by where we put the car but Jake was busy puking again (this time in a tupperware container we had swiped from my office) while the poor guy loaded up our suitcases and the other shuttle passengers watched, in what I can only imagine, was horror.

We finally got to the airport and I told Lincoln and the kids to head through security while I checked our bag. The woman who was working the Baggage Drop Desk at United is very lucky she wasn't the victim of airport rage today. I have never met a less competent idiot in my life.

I got our bag and Jake's car seat checked and headed to security. When I joined the end of the line I saw Lincoln, Hannah, and Jake heading through the metal detectors up ahead. I, of course, got stuck behind a family traveling with a 10-month old for the first time who had no idea how to go through airport security with a stroller. Luckily they let me jump in front of them and I quickly ran down to our gate where the flight was already boarding.

I called Lincoln to see where they were - and if they had already boarded the plane - only to find out HE HAD ACCIDENTALLY GONE BACK OUT THROUGH SECURITY!!!! Yes, he had to get BACK in line with both kids and all of our carry on bags, including my laptop, and go back through security a second time. By the time they finally got through security AGAIN we had to make a mad dash through the airport in order to get to our gate.

The day got better as we went along. Jake made it through both flights without throwing up again. We made it through our 3 hour layover in Denver without going to crazy. And we made it to the resort in time to have dinner with Mom and Dad before the kids dropped dead from exhaustion.

And so begins our vacation...........