We Survived!

{via KWTV/KOTV}

Oh, how I have missed you all!!  How about those tornadoes?  Holy cow!  My heart seriously does go out to all those affected.  It has been devastating throughout so many areas.  Tornado Alley has been busy, and we were in the middle of it all. 

Two weeks ago, we journeyed out to South Carolina for my brother-in-law's wedding.  It was an amazing week with the family, but after a week, our time was up.  My family had to switch planes in Dallas, usually no big deal, then an hour flight back home.  Nope.  After we get off our plane, I see this. 

 

The sky was literally green.  There were so many people who had already been on stand-by due to cancelled flights.  It was a nightmare.  Being a Kansas girl, I felt lucky because I knew what to expect with tornadoes.  I knew where to go and what to do to protect myself.  As we were about to board our flight, a hail storm came through and damaged about 50 planes, which all needed to be inspected before they could fly again.  Our flight was supposed to leave from DFW at 5:00 pm-ish, but we kept getting delayed until our pilot was unable to fly due to sleep standards.  Brilliant.

By the time our flight was pronounced cancelled, all the hotel rooms within a 25 mile radius of the airport were booked.  We thought, 'Hey, we'll get a rental car and just drive home!'  Nope, all the cars were booked with every company.  Sigh.  I started crying... like full body crying like someone had died.  I was tired, stressed, distraught, dirty, and have a 3-year-old.  Luckily, there were some amazing people at the airport that gave up their cots so we had a place to sleep.  We were on hold with the airline for 3 hours trying to get booked on a different flight.  The next available flight was on Friday... that day was Tuesday.

With 50 planes damaged and 60+ flights cancelled, DFW looked something like this.

{via Mail Online}

The next morning, Dave's uncle had gotten in touch with him and made arrangements for us to get a hotel room.  We were on stand-by for two flights that morning, but with close to 100 people on the list, our chances were grim on Wednesday afternoon.  We decided to camp out at the hotel for a day or two, recharge, and then tackle the airport on Friday.

I just want to say, thank goodness for Dave's uncle!!  He and his family were awesome!!  They took us out to dinner... yumm!!  Then we headed over to Target to get some basics.  {Let me just give everyone a warning... ALWAYS pack some sort of clothing and toiletries in a carry-on bag.  We did not this trip and were stuck with nothing but our phone chargers and some magazines.  No bueno.}  The family also took us bowling.  It was so nice to be able to spend some time with them, to get out of the hotel, and to have some unexpected family time.  But finally, on Friday - after four days in Dallas, we got a flight to an airport close to us.  We had to have a friend come get us (thank you so much SL!!), but so glad we were able to get home! 

I know our little adventure doesn't even compare to the tragedies throughout the midwest.  But, it does put my troubles into perspective.  Be thankful, even when the skies are green!