After The Tenth..... When The Fun Really Begins

I know that last night's post indicated that it was a multi part story and that I was going to be writing part 2 tonight. It was a toss-up whether to continue the story or to take a page out of Hollywood and now that we have the story started, mess with the timeline and go back to an event before the trip even started. I always enjoy movies that jump around a little (Like Tarantino's Resevoir Dogs, which starts with the last scene and then goes back to the beginning and works back to that same scene...but I digress)

So I decided to take you back to the days before our trip began, while we were making final preparations. During grandma's last visit, she did some advanced planning and brought an outfit with her tht was for Macy to wear in the frigid weather of New York. Since we live in Florida and most of her clothing is light and short sleeves, this seemed like a brilliant idea and the winter suit looked adorable.

A few days before we left, Annie and I started pulling out items we wanted to pack and thought we should try out the suit on Macy, to see how it fit her and to make sure she'd be really warm on the trip. (There's always a chance of snow when you are in the Northeast in February and March.)

Here's a little video I shot of us attempting to put Macy into her really cute little pink outfit. We enjoyed making this video, so I hope you enjoy watching it. This clip is almost 3 minutes, so sit back and get comfortable...

Needless to say....the outfit didn't come with us....maybe next winter!!!!

Last Thursday evening, the Sznitken family gathered up way too many of their belongings and headed to the airport for Macy's first airplane ride. We were taking Macy to see her daddy's old stomping grounds and to meet a whole new wave of folks. All of whom were very excited to finally meet her, including her Great Grandma Sally, or GiGi as she's indicated she would like to be called. (Great Grandma...get it?) We arrived on Long Island, late Thursday night, just ahead of a very ugly snow storm. The past few days were so event filled, that I'll definitely have to break the updates into multiple postings.

Ok, naming this post part 1 of 9 is probably a little far-fetched, but we are probably looking at 2-3 posts. Let me start by telling you that I'm writing this update from a very quiet house in Fort Lauderdale. That's because at the moment its just Zoe and I. Annie and Macy are still hanging out on the Island with my family. Sometimes the responsibility of being a daddy and having to make money to pay for these fun trips gets in the way of actually being on the fun trip. I have to be honest, getting on that airplane without my wife and daughter yesterday was one of the most daunting tasks I've had to face in recent months. Luckily I have a huge to-do list at work to keep me distracted.

Annie and Macy are going to spend the next few days with my parents before Annie will somehow find a way to drag two big suitcases and a baby stoller onto a ferry for a trip across the Long Island Sound. Upon their arrival on the Conneticut shores, they will find a very excited Aunt Tori. They will visit with Tori, Americo and Connery before finally heading home to a very anxious daddy on Sunday.

So where should I begin? Probably at the beginning...that seems to work best with most stories. As we were making final preparations for our departure, our stress levels were unfortunately raised by the fact that the Northeast was currently in the midst of a major snow storm that had already started dumping feet of snow in some parts. After fevereshly checking the weather report for Long Island, things seemed ok since they were only calling for rain. We had a direct flight into the Island and the last thing I wanted to face while flying with a 10 week old was extended delays or being diverted to other airports. Luckily we arrived without issue. Due to the amount of luggage we had, we had to enlist both grandpa's and uncle Adam's cars.

As it were, it turns out that our arrival to Acacia Drive was not delayed by our flight, but by another unexpected situation. After the plane touched down, the rain started to turn into freezing rain and then into the beginning of snow flurries. While loading the car, I heard a woman running around yelling "Does anyone know where I can find someone to pay to fix our flat tire?" I didn't pay much attention to this as she was headed towards a groups of police officers. After my third trip in and out of the baggage area. (I told you we had a ton of stuff) I heard the Police explain that they weren't allowed to help her and that she should call a service to come and assist them. They were also laughing at the fact that her husband and the car full of teenagers didn't know how to change a tire. It seems that AAA or whatever service they were using couldn't come for over 2 hours. I looked at Annie at this point and asked if I should go help them. Annie responded as only Annie can, asking if SHE should go change the tire. I couldn't let this woman's husband be COMPLETELY humiliated, so Annie and Macy headed home with my folks, and Adam headed off to the cellphone lot to await a call from me that I had finished changing their tire. (Turns out that the police not only couldn't help with the flat tire, but they also wouldn't let Adam sit behind the disabled car and wait for me...ugh)

So there I am with my Floridian blood, standing with frozen rain pelting off my face, teaching the teenage son how I'm changing his parent's flat tire. Not really how I imagined the weekend beginning. Needless to say, I eventually got the donut on the car, sent them on their way and was able to summon Adam to pick me up. So with a slight delay, I was off to begin my mini-vacation.

Since there is no one else here to cook while I sit at the computer typing, I'm going to stop the story and go make some dinner. (When I say "make dinner", what I really mean is go heat up some items that Annie specifically left in the freezer for me....My wife ROCKS!!!) If things are quiet tonight, maybe I'll get a head start on part 2 of 9.....