The Twilight Zone meets The Bermuda Triangle

I made it home safely!!!! The trip was nightmarish, but it's over!!! My favorite part was when Victoria flung my only chocolate chip cookie (and you all know how I love my baked goods), frisbee style, far into the next aisle, never to be seen again. More about the terrible workers at Frontier airline later, but first I have to tell you about the best part of the trip.

Let's go back in time, shall we, to where time stood still, back to Friday, after all the pre-op appointments.

Since I couldn't get a rental car (no credit card), I didn't think I was going to be able to visit Jen and her family in Houston. I was sad, sad, sad. But amazing Jen decided that she would make the 5 hour drive, with 7 of her kids, and pick me up on Friday evening. She is the greatest!

So, just imagine, a night time road trip with 11 kids, all under the age of 8, and seven of them in diapers. I still can't believe we survived.

My hotel room was not big enough to hold everyone for very long.

Our plan was to quickly get back on the road, but, not surprisingly, this was not to be.

First, we realized that we didn't have enough car seats for everyone. I started to panic, but Jen was cool as a cucumber, and she just zipped into Babies-R-Us and picked one up. No sweat.

Then, we needed to get gas. When we finally found a teeny tiny gas station. I don't know much about driving a 12 passenger van, but I do know that we needed some space to maneuver. Then, some guy was parked in the middle of the road, blocking Jen's enormous van. We were trapped. She couldn't back up, she couldn't go forward and the natives were getting restless for french fries. I was seriously considering doing a tap dance on the jerk's car.


Finally we made it to a McDonald's. But our cheers quickly turned to cries. The McDonald's was closed!!! What!!!! I think it should be against the law for a Mcdonald's to have their sign lit up when it is actually closed!!!

By now, two hours had pasted and we had driven about 5 miles. We finally got to Jen's house at one in the morning.

Of course the kids let sleep late, NOT!!!

Jen is the most amazing cook. Check out this pumpkin chocolate chip bread!!! I could have eaten the whole pan! She also made home-made french onion soup. I am kind of depressed to be back in the land of frozen meals and Fruit Loops.

Jen's kids are becoming like my kids, clothless!!!

Here's Jen packing to come with me back to Dallas to watch Victoria so I can be with Francesca before her surgery. What a great friend!!!!

Good old Sam Houston on the highway.

Cool Houston car.

The hotel only allowed a maximum of 6 people per room and we had 13 people, so we had to sneak the 11 kids in the back door. I told everyone to pretend they were spies. We were very surreptitious, kind of!

Tomorrow, the surgery pictures!