2 Girls Growing up in Castle Rock: Planes, Trains, Boats, and....a Minivan!

As I posted earlier, we had to go back to Maine due to Larry losing his dad. It was very sudden and is going to take a long time to deal with. I am thankful everyday that Larry was with his dad when this all happened. That phone call I received at 3:40am will never be a call I will forget. The shock of what had happened and that Larry was in Maine and me and the girls were at home was hard.

Larry was scheduled to fly back the next day. I told him that I could handle getting the girls on the planes out to Maine but he insisted that he come home and then we would all fly back. I thought it was crazy - but I couldn't have been more wrong!! I had this brilliant idea of catching a red eye so then the girls could sleep for most of the way. Juella and Brad picked us up at the house at 10:30pm - we had put Hailey to bed at 8 so we woke her up and put her in the car. When we got to the airport we made it thru security with no issues. Ashley loved the train in the airport that takes us to our concourse - this is starting off great! We walk towards our gate and realize - this plane is booked FULL!! Ok no big deal - I ask Larry for a diaper and he gives me a blank look. CRAP! We packed all of the diapers in our luggage - none for carry on. Ok don't panic. We get on the plane and take off and the screaming begins! Poor Hailey had an ear infection. She screamed all the way to the Atlanta airport. By the time we got off I was crying, Hailey was crying and Larry was trying to track down anyone with a diaper. He offered $5 for anyone who had one. We finally found one and the people felt so bad they tried to give us 5 more. The flight from Atlanta to Portland included only 1 1/2 hours of crying but the plane wasn't full so that helped. I was never so happy to see a runway in all my life!

We ended up renting a minivan - yes the dreaded minivan - so more people could ride with us. We arrived at Larry's parents house in one piece.

The funeral service was as nice as a funeral could be. Larry SR. was loved by many people. There were so many people that he had worked with for 30+ years. So many people had a lot of nice things to say about him. He had served in Vietnam and there were military honors at the funeral. Saying goodbye to someone when it is way to early is very hard. I was so thankful that our girls were back at the house waiting for us - they have a way of making you forget the sadness.

The girls and I have never been to Maine and it was nice to see some of the places Larry grew up at. We went by the ocean a couple of times to have dinner. One of the restaurants was on a big boat - the girls really loved that.

It was nice to meet all the family we had only heard about. I am so proud of how well the girls did with all the travel and strange places. Poor Hailey missed carpet though (the house is all hardwood floors) - we found her laying on the bathroom rug just to lay on some carpet.

It was a needed trip and the only thing we regret is the reason we had to go. It was nice to get home though. It's sad that Papa won't be around to watch these great girls become more wonderful each day!