it's a long one

We are in HOUSTON! It's so good to be back in Texas. Mason & I flew in on Saturday to visit with the family for the week. It will be a nice break from the hotel and as soon as we get back, we move into the house. I can't wait to have more space and be in a house, rather than a hotel room.

Saturday morning, Adam & I left at 1am...yes, you read that correctly, to leave for L.A. Our flight was scheduled to leave LAX at 6:45am, but we had to take a detour due to the bad weather. It had been snowing in the mountains all around us, upto 15inches, but Bakersfield didn't get any, sad I know. The snow & ice covered the "grapevine" pass, which is the easiest and most common route from Bakersfield to L.A. Days in advance, we planned out alternate routes in case the "grapevine" didn't reopen. We found a route that would take us out of town, without having to worry about the weather conditions too much, but it was obviously a bit longer.

We got to LAX around 4am and parked the truck for a bit, while Adam spent some time playing with Mason (he was wide awake). After getting all checked in, it was time to say goodbye to Daddy. I know it had to be so hard for Adam to say goodbye, but it was a much needed trip home for us.

Mason was a trooper the entire flight. He slept for a majority of the flight and I found ways to entertain him, once he decided to wake up. There were people all around saying how "this is going to be a long flight" and "maybe they will let us switch seats". This one lady kept going on and on about it and she literally was across the aisle from me and I could hear her. Luckily, she didn't have to worry about us.

However, there was a couple sitting behind and next to me that had two little girls. The mom and the older daughter, about 7 sat behind us and the father and the younger girl, about 3, sat next to me. As soon as they boarded, I smelled something, and at first I thought Mason had given me a poopy diaper, so I decided to lift him up while he was asleep and smell him...nope it wasn't him. Hmm...where is that coming from? Then I heard a tiny dog in a carrier behind me, which happened to be with the couple, so I assumed that the puppy was scared and did a number in it's carrier. Not a pleasant smell, but hopefully they would go take care of it in the bathroom. As the flight progressed, the smell got worse and stronger. I couldn't figure it out until the dad next to me lifted up his daughter and I saw her pants...yep, she literally pooped her pants, I could see it.

I didn't know what to do, but I thought I was going to be sick. Everyone kept looking around trying to figure out the smell and of course looked my way thinking it was the baby, but I kindly explained to them it wasn't Mason. I didn't want to be rude and ask the gentlemen to take care of his little girl, but surely he could smell it too and would do something. Well he didn't and everyone was complaining. Finally, the stewardess came by and asked the gentlemen to take care of his daughters pants because it was making the guests in the cabin sick. He started to change her clothes right there, but she nicely stopped him and ask that he take care of it in the bathroom. Thank goodness for her, because I was about to pass out from the smell. And everyone thought the baby would be the problem on the flight.

Our flight arrived in Houston early and which was good, because I was tired and Mason was ready to see his Mimi. After mom picked us up, we headed to Mr. Crain's house. He is our photographer from the wedding. I know this is awful, but I still hadn't picked out pictures from our wedding package and needed to select photos for the family. I know, I'm horrible, but I did already have the proofs and everyone has had a chance to see them, except a few people. He showed us some of his new work and we were able to chat for a bit. He is an older gentlemen and reminds me of a jolly snowman. So sweet. We selected the sizes we wanted and headed out to Katy. (It must be noted that so many people took wonderful pics from the wedding, that I didn't have the sudden urge to rush out and get the professional photos. My dad alone took 700 pictures.)

The night we had dinner with my parents and my sister at Omars, a local mexican food restaurant. I was craving mexican food and needed my fix before heading back to California. I was so tired after dinner, that I was ready to go to bed at 7pm. Mason hadn't been sleeping well lately and it was starting to catch up to me, plus the early wake up call from the night before.

Sunday morning, I planned on going to church, but ended up sleeping in and getting Mason a late morning nap before heading to my in-laws for lunch. Luckily, both Adam & my family live in Katy and only about 10 minutes from each other. It will make our trips home for the holidays much easiser. We were able to visit with Laura & Matt, Anna & Matt Z., and his parents. The cousins, Faith and Mason, did a lot of playing and both fell asleep shortly after arriving at the grandparents house.

Mason hasn't been himself for the last few days, since last Friday actually. He was tugging at his ear and I was worried he might have an ear infection, but he wasn't tugging hard and he sometimes plays with his ears when he is tired, so I assumed it was that and kept a close eye on him. He normally sleeps thru the night no problem, but for some reason he was waking up almost every hour, thus why I'm so tired. This continued while we were in Houston and it was followed with a horrible cough.

My sister & I ventured out into town today to do a little shopping. She currently works part time at Tallowood Baptist in the childcare department and needed to turn in payroll, so we payed a visit to my old church. My has it changed. They have built a whole new childrens center and new offices for the staff members. As we walked into the offices, I was greeted by familiar faces and it brought back such great memories of the place where I first learned about Jesus Christ, was baptized, involved in choir and youth group. Also, both my sister and my parents were married at Tallowood. After our nice visit, we decided to do a little shopping and headed towards Memorial City Mall. Christina needed a dress for a wedding this weekend and Connor and Mason were having fun playing together.

On the way back out to Katy, Mason would not stop crying. This too was a sign he wasn't feeling well because he normally is very quiet or talkative in the car. I placed a call to Dr. Lentsch, his pediatrician, and she worked me in right away. I was in and out in 5 minutes. Unfortunately, he has a double ear infection...eek! She was great and gave a medication that would help right away and I could take on the plane no problem, because it doesn't need to be refidgerated. As soon as he got the medicine, you could tell the difference. He will be on antibiotics for the next 10 days, but it is worth it not to see him in pain.

Hopefully tonight, I will get some sleep and Mason will too. I know he needs it. Sorry for the long post, but that is the update from our end. Hope everyone is doing well.