To Virginia, With Love....

It has been a very, very long time since I wrote. I've had a busy spring! I am pleased to report that I succeeded in gaining the highest grade in my Sociology class, somehow managing a 99% throughout the semester. How that happened is way beyond me, but I am happy about it. I also received an A in my Psychology class with a 96%. How scary is that?? I'm a little afraid of what that means for the coming years of school left ahead of me. Heaven knows it wasn't exactly a stressful or difficult semester.

Luke and I have also been busy with the ponies, which is wonderful. It gets me out of the house, keeps both of us busy, and gives him something fun to do. But it is time consuming. So I just haven't had the energy to write.

My big brother is now a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force. I couldn't be more proud of him! He leaves tomorrow for a short tour in Baghdad, Iraq, too. Big job he's got with this tour, and I can't wait to talk to him when he comes home to see how weird, or fun it is for him. But since he's leaving tomorrow, that means Luke and I already made our trip to that wonderful paradise called Virginia.

Now, everyone is well aware of how much I fell in love with the Black Hills last summer. What they don't know is that I would probably get tired of the tourist aspect and want to leave after a while. Virginia is deeply embedded in my heart from the three years I lived in Pennsylvania. Sound strange? Well, it might be. But the fact remains that I spent a good amount of time in the D.C. Metro area, and in various parts of Virginia. I dream of that place! And my contingency plan involves that place. I would not get tired of it.

We left our home here in Colorado bright and early on Wednesday morning. April 29th. I was given permission to miss my final day of class for this trip, and I was thrilled. I barely slept the night before, despite needing to be awake by 4am and in the car by 4:45am to make our flight in Denver. In fact, I showered and slept on top of the covers in my clothes....not pajamas! Part of my excitement was definitely resting on the fact this was Luke's first flight. I couldn't wait to see his reaction. After a short stop to see daddy at work, we were on our way.

The airport was surprisingly crowded for an early morning in the middle of the week, but we were still able to sail through security with no problems. I was wise enough to pack only one suitcase for the two of us and grab an umbrella stroller to gate check. It made a huge difference. Luke was just happy to see planes (can you tell he's got Ahrens blood???).

Time came to board our flight....all the way to the back of the plane and finding a window seat (Southwest does not have assigned seating). Luke was enthralled, and he didn't fight the seatbelt. Not that he's ever been allowed to go without, of course, but this was a new experience and it's hard to tell what'll actually happen. When we started moving he announced it to the entire plane. I did hear a few chuckles from the others. And, oh the giggles! When we took off, he thought that was fantastic! The giggles, followed by "some more!" I had to explain we had to fly to Chicago first. "Ooooh, okay." His eyes got big when we landed, but he gave a smile, too. I think he was just surprised at how loud and hard it is to stop a plane.

We had a 2-hour layover, so we wandered a bit. He ran around, enjoyed the moving walkways, and kept inquiring about his stroller. He thought it would be waiting for him. It was hard to explain that it would be after the next plane. We grabbed a quick bite, then sat in a spot where we could see every single plane taking off and landing. He loved that and exclaimed that I had to "look, look, look!! Momma! Watch!!" every single time. It was great.

Second plane boarded, same seats chosen, more giggles at take-off, and we made the short jaunt into Washington, D.C. I admit, I was disappointed we couldn't see more of the countryside and city since it was raining and the cloud deck was low, but I was so happy to be back on the East Coast that I really didn't care. We went to find out suitcase and ran into a problem. Eventually we found it in the baggage office, but it was no longer in one piece. My brand new suitcase had been destroyed. The top was still attached, but not by much. After some searching and trying to figure out how best to handle the situation, I was given a new (BIGGER) suitcase and made off for the rental car.

That didn't take long and we headed out for King George. I had printed Mapquest directions before leaving home, but they were almost worthless. Lucky for me, once I found my way out off of airport property I knew where I was! It was a little over an hour later that we pulled into the driveway of my big brother's home. Something ridiculous like 3 hours later than we were supposed to, but we made it nonetheless.

We got cleaned up, spent a wee bit of time with family, and headed to bed.....end of day one, and quite a restful night!