Beebs' Birthday Getaway

I don't quite remember when she made the decision, but sometime after Man Cub and I made our trek up to Utah for my uncle's funeral, Beebs declared that she did not need a birthday party when she turned 5. Instead, she would rather fly up to Utah to visit Nana and Papa for a weekend. I looked into our options and it turned out that I could get us two round trip tickets on Allegiant Air for about the cost of throwing a birthday party. I talked about the possibility with Bruce and he gave the plan a green light. I booked the flights and for the next few months, all Beebs could talk about was what she wanted to do when we visited Nana in Utah.

The trip ended up being a good one, but it started out on a super stressful note. I'm still not to the point where I can laugh about it all yet. Our first attempt at getting to Utah was an unbelievable disaster. That's right. Our first attempt.

Our itinerary had us flying out bright and early (6:20am) on a Friday morning and arriving in Provo just before 8am. Now, let me add, the little airport that Allegiant flies out of here in the valley is well over an hour away. We plan for an hour and a half of travel time, just to get to the airport. Bruce drove Beebs and I over to the airport while it was still pitch black out and dropped us off at the entrance. Got through security, got to the gate and they announced a chance of the flight being delayed or cancelled. I was less than thrilled at the thought of it being cancelled and hoped that it would just be delayed a bit. It was, but eventually we boarded the plan and headed to Utah. Beebs was super nervous about flying and clutched my hand tight as we took off. Luckily, I knew it was a quick and easy flight so I thought it would be a good way to ease her nerves before our March trip to Hawaii which would involve a 6.5 hour flight. Then it turned into the flight from hell.

We arrived in Utah and circled. For a long, long time. I could see the Provo airport below us and we circled for over an hour, with 15 week pregnant me feeling like I was going to throw up with each turn of the plane. The captain came on over the intercom and told us that it was too foggy to land so they were going to take us to the next nearest airport in Ogden instead. The plane started to pick up speed (and travel in a straight line, yay!) and he came on the speaker again and announced that, just kidding, we were heading back to Phoenix to refuel and then we'd try again. Beebs was pretty worked up by this point and cried herself to sleep in my lap. Then came the extra special part- when we landed in Phoenix, they deplaned us all and then announced that our flight was cancelled and we could try again at the same time Saturday morning. I was a wreck. 15 weeks pregnant and extremely hormonal, with a devastated 5 year old who is just beside herself because her birthday trip is not going as planned. Bruce is at work, in a meeting he can't get out of. We are an hour and a half away from home and have idea how we are going to get back there. I called everyone I could think of that might possibly be able to drop everything and drive all the way across the valley to rescue us and couldn't get a hold of anyone. Finally, my wonderful friend Diana picked up her phone and after hearing me sob out our story, dropped everything to drive over and get us. She picked us up, let us cry, stopped so we could drown our sorrows in some waffles and ice cream for lunch, then got us safely back to our side of the valley. By the time we finally walked in the door of our house, Beebs and I had been gone for 11 hours and we were right back where we started.

Once home, I collapsed on the couch. I was so drained, emotionally and physically. I knew Beebs needed something special to help make cheer her up, so I got out my peg painting stuff and let the girls go to town. They each painted a set of dolls and thought it was the most wonderful thing ever. Beebs painted Elsa and Anna. Sunshine did Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. Man Cub just laid next to me on the couch like he was afraid to leave my side. Then Bruce's grandma took the whole family out for dinner so Beebs could eat her favourite food- shrimp! My morning sickness got the best of me at the restaurant... the stress of the day finally caught up to me full force. But Beebs went to sleep that night with a happy tummy and a peaceful mind thanks to some wonderful blessings given by Bruce, to help the two of us be mentally ready to try again the next morning.

 

3:30 the next morning, we were back on the road and heading across town yet again. I was scared out of my mind about the same thing happening, especially since our flight was showing a delay already. The night before I had taught myself to read airport weather data, so the entire drive I was checking the official government site for the Provo Airport and I was relieved to see that the weather conditions were much more favourable than the day before. I tried my best to have faith, and Beebs and I said farewell to Bruce once again. Our flight was delayed a bit, but eventually we got on the plane and just over an hour later, we landed in Provo where a very happy Nana and Aunt Tressie greeted us. Beebs actually really enjoyed the flight to Utah that day... she made a friend on the plane and they sat together playing games on the iPad the entire way there. But as much as she enjoyed the flight, she was beyond excited to be on the ground and finally starting her birthday getaway.

Beebs had a list of things she wanted to do while we were there, and now, missing out on an entire day of our trip, we were trying to cram a lot into just a few days time. First things first- Beebs headed straight to the pile of snow outside my parent's house. She had been hoping and praying for snow while we were there. Of course, none fell from the sky our entire stay. And then they got dumped on the day after we left. She also got some Mollie hugs before we set off for our first event of the weekend.

 

We started our stay by attending my youngest sister's bridal shower.  It had been planned that day knowing that Beebs and I would be in town for it and we only just arrived in time. The shower was great- yummy food, friends for Beebs to play with and lots of fun presents for Tressie. After the shower we headed back to my parents house where we debated what we were going to do with our afternoon. I was absolutely wiped out from the events of the day before, but Beebs was dying to go to Salt Lake and visit the zoo, so that's what we did.

It was a slightly drizzly day at the zoo which made for lots of active animals. We spent a lot of time watching the seals and sea lions as well as checking out the tiger who was making quite a ruckus. Tressie's fiance who is a supervisor at the zoo spoiled Beebs with little zoo treasures and absolutely made her day.

After the zoo we headed to our favourite Salt Lake City restaurant- Red Iguana, where Beebs and I split our favourite enchiladas. By this point, the stress and excitement of the past two days started to catch up with Beebs and she fell asleep in my lap before she could even manage a handful of bites of her food.

Sunday all the stress caught up with Beebs in a big way, and church ended up being a huge disaster. But after a little rest at my parents house, she was ready to enjoy life again. I still look back on that Sunday morning in Utah and I am sad for how it all went down. I was exhausted, Beebs was exhausted and it was just not a good morning. But we made up for it that afternoon with a big family dinner and lots of snuggles and game playing. Sunday ended up being a pretty low key day which was just what we needed.

Monday, our return flight was delayed by a bit, so we took advantage of the opportunity to squeeze in a little more time with my family and cross a couple more items off Beebs' Utah to do list. We ate donuts from the best little grocery store around for breakfast, we had lunch at Noodles and Company, then stopped by our favourite cupcake shop for some birthday dessert. We even managed a stop at the British store in Orem where I stocked up on curry powder and enjoyed a bag of Walkers crisps. Beebs got a bag to take on the airplane and she thoroughly enjoyed her crisps as we flew back home to Phoenix.

The flight home was uneventful. Bruce was at the airport to pick us up and we stopped for dinner on the way home. Beebs insisted on holding his hand the entire time we were eating. As much as she did end up enjoying her birthday getaway, she was very happy to be back home with her Daddy.

Overall, we did really enjoy our time in Utah. The process of getting there just put a damper on things and left us with so little energy once we actually arrived. We still had fun and enjoyed the chance to be with my family and the mommy-Beebs time was so good for both of us. It just wasn't quite the magical trip we had both imagined.

And as a final note- We have since flown with Allegiant again and had a decent experience. After flying Hawaiian Air, nothing will ever compare, but getting to Provo for my sister's wedding in April was uneventful, for which I am so grateful! Unfortunately, the convenience of being able to fly right into Provo will probably keep us using Allegiant despite the terrible first flight up to Provo for Beebs' birthday, but now, I just know not to expect much from them by way of customer service or satisfaction. You most definitely get what you pay for, and with Allegiant, that means not much!