Wyoming...err Flagstaff or Bust!!'

Mike and I woke up Sunday morning, pulled ourselves together and headed out to run a few errands and to see our niece, Willow...she was admitted to PCH after having two seizures on Saturday.  After our visit, we drove home and started to pack for our big Wyoming trip.  We were both so excited to not only get out of town, but to finally see Yellowstone and the Snake River...all with Richelle's family and my folks.  I couldn't wait for the change of scenery.


Mike worked on packing the truck, while I worked on packing us.  I am not lifting anything too heavy (or just plain anything), but I figured I could get our bags packed.  I even did a load of laundry all by myself...it felt wonderful.  I hope Mike will stop worrying so much as the weeks continue to fly by.  


We had planned from the beginning of the trip planning for Sydney and Billy to ride with us.  So, they showed up at about 2300 hours (after the concert they were at with their parents).  Mike was already in bed...exhausted from too little sleep and too much working.  The truck was mostly loaded, the bags were packed...I cleaned out the fridge, Billy took out the trash, I made chicken salad...Sydney talked to Neal...  :) The three of us headed to bed around 1am...alarms set for 6am.  Mike and Billy finished loading the truck, and then we headed out to Dr. B's office...after the stop for gas and ice.


Knowing this was our last official appointment with Dr, B, I was anxious.  I know it's time, but it's hard...I wish she was able to take her patients through delivery.  I get why she can't, but I still wish it could happen.  It's hard to switch when so much is invested...hoping the new doctor takes everything as serious and knows what they are talking about.


We had a great ultrasound...well, the appointment was great.  My ovaries were looking better and Blip is still perfection.  I know I say this after every ultrasound, but it truly amazes me how much the baby grows and changes so quickly.  People the use abortion as birth control are just idiots...my Blip is clearly a BABY and has been for weeks...but that's totally off topic.


We finished the appointment, said our goodbyes and hit the road.  We stopped at the bank and then made a beeline for Flagstaff.  We had reservations in Lehi, Utah...so we had a lot of ground to cover.


We made great time to Flagstaff, but Mike mentioned he was uncomfortable with the play in the steering wheel.  I didn't think much of it because we had the truck in the shop this week to double check everything was in working order for the long trip.  Mike also had the tires rotated and the truck washed...not to mention the camper shell thingy we bought to make packing for the trip easier. Everything was perfect.


As we neared Flagstaff...Mike said he wanted to stop in at the Ford dealership.  He said he was having a hard time with the steering issue.  We found an address for the dealership and headed that direction.  Better safe than sorry...I'm thankful Mike trusted his gut.


We pulled in the parking lot a few minutes before 12pm...all the mechanics go to lunch from 12pm - 1 o'clock.  Great.  Mike pulled into a small mechanic's shop across the street.  He recommended we drive down to Chris' Double D Tires...just up the road.  He thought they would be able to help...the guys at Chris' sent us a little but further down the road to a 4x4 shop...thinking they would be able to help us.  The guys at the 4x4 shop sent us back to the dealership.  Awesome.


At this point, we believed the tie rod was damaged or broken. The guys at the dealership said they'd take a look at the truck (and fix the tie rod issue), so we took the shuttle to Oregano's.  We figured we had a while, so we thought we'd have a nice lunch and kill some time.


After we killed nearly two hours, Mike called the dealership to get the shuttle to pick us up and to check on the progress the mechanics were making.  Sadly, the phone call did not go well.  Not only were the mechanics not done...they hadn't even started.  The issue was determined to be something much more expensive than the tie rod.  We still aren't sure why they didn't call us as soon as they knew.  Oh well.


There is something wrong with the power steering something or other...and a link of some kind is broken.  I feel kinda dumb for not knowing all of this crap, but it's been about 11 years since I lived at car shows and worked on the '55 Chevy with Kyle...so forgive me. :)  The worst news (other than the cost of the repair)- the truck won't be ready until Tuesday about noon.


This kind of stuff doesn't stress me out.  I don't know why, but it never has.  I figure it is what it is...and being angry or stressed about it isn't going to change anything.  We are blessed that we can afford to fix the issue (this time...maybe not next time) and Robyn changed our hotel reservations to Flagstaff instead of Lehi.    The dealership shuttled us and half our packed truck to the hotel.  We got "settled" and then decided to make the best of our circumstances.  We called a cab and went to the movies.


I have to say...everything considered...we really had a great day.  Nobody ever got upset or lost their temper...Billy and Sydney were good sports about our change of plans.  Even Richelle and my parents re-worked our trip schedule/plan around our little obstacle.  All in all, we seemed to make the best of a bad situation.  


We had a great time at lunch...laughing and just being together.  We had fun at the movies.  We saw Horrible Bosses and all laughed throughout. (side note: some idiot brought their 2 year old to see a movie clearly made for adults with adult only humor...and we wonder where and why things start to go south. Sheesh)  We ended up back at the hotel watching TV for a while...then Mike, Billy and I walked to Freddy's for dinner...yum.


As we are all getting ready for bed, everyone is just as relaxed...kinda happy about sleeping in a bit, getting breakfast and *hopefully* starting the long drive to Salt Lake.


p.s. I have no idea what's wrong with the spacing.  I got a new computer...so I'm thinking something is different with Mac and the formatting. :)  Oh yeah...and what's with the Mac keyboard NOT having the "end" and "home" buttons?  Is there another function key to use those features, or am I without them on this thing?


p.s.s. I will add my Blip's ultrasound pics when we get back.  I have no way to scan them in until then. :) Yay for Blip!!