Trip Report Always two there are. No more. No less.

Remember how in the final push for my previous TR when I had to make a bullet point list of the wild events in my last year?

Here comes a list of the things that happened in between writing the end of the last TR and the start of this one.

“How much could have possibly happened in a day and a half BES?!?” you are surely asking yourself.

Well…

• There’s an area rug sized hole in our family room ceiling.
• We have to replace a furnace
• DH decided not to go on the trip (due to above)

There might have been more stuff tbh but I’m too tired to fully process all of this now. More detailed explanations coming later.

So now it’s just me and lil BES on the trip.

I still don’t have full use of my left hand due to my fracture in November. I’ve only gotten a few hours of sleep. And lil BES has thrown some epic tantrums lately.

If I wasn’t sticking with Star Wars themed titles the runner up was:

Special lady time the vacation edition has already commenced.

May the Force be with us all.

Spoiler: Track 1:

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

So I’ve done it again. I’ve abandoned you all on cliffhanger while I’ve just gone on to experience the chaos of what is now apparently my life.

Since February:

• Had to cover for my boss’s maternity leave.
  • During which we had several Grey’s Anatomy level events and a big inspection
• Had my husband’s family visit from out of state 3 times.
  • One of the visits they arrived on the day of my grandma’s funeral (they did offer to arrive in the evening rather than the afternoon)
  • Another visit I found out within an hour of their arrival that we (I) was supposed to host a lunch at our home for my in-laws and another couple less than 24 hours later…
• Lost my favorite grandparent, my maternal grandma.
• Had lil BES’s first real birthday party with friends. (Lilo and Stitch themed!)
• Got a cat.

Life is settling back into more normalcy.

My boss is back so work is better.

Lil BES just seems so much older and chiller since she turned 4.

So now perhaps I can return to this TR. It was such a special and fun trip and lil BES still talks about it often.

Before I get going again I know I have to pay the cat tax. Meet (wait for it…) Cherry Carrots Rhiannon Seashell Tally:

Spoiler: Track #3:

 

[cgersic]

Oh my goodness! So glad you are back, and the newest little is adorable!!

 

[Wicked Sisters]

What an adorable little fluff ball your cat is. So pleased to see you back.

 

[erstwo]

So I’ve done it again. I’ve abandoned you all on cliffhanger while I’ve just gone on to experience the chaos of what is now apparently my life.

Since February:

• Had to cover for my boss’s maternity leave.
  • During which we had several Grey’s Anatomy level events and a big inspection
• Had my husband’s family visit from out of state 3 times.
  • One of the visits they arrived on the day of my grandma’s funeral (they did offer to arrive in the evening rather than the afternoon)
  • Another visit I found out within an hour of their arrival that we (I) was supposed to host a lunch at our home for my in-laws and another couple less than 24 hours later…
• Lost my favorite grandparent, my maternal grandma.
• Had lil BES’s first real birthday party with friends. (Lilo and Stitch themed!)
• Got a cat.

Life is settling back into more normalcy.

My boss is back so work is better.

Lil BES just seems so much older and chiller since she turned 4.

So now perhaps I can return to this TR. It was such a special and fun trip and lil BES still talks about it often.

Before I get going again I know I have to pay the cat tax. Meet (wait for it…) Cherry Carrots Rhiannon Seashell Tally:

View attachment 874204

Spoiler: Track #3:

So sorry about your grandmother- 22 years later and I still miss my maternal grandma. .

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

Oh my goodness! So glad you are back, and the newest little is adorable!!

Thanks! Hopefully I can also get caught up on everyone else’s adventures.

What an adorable little fluff ball your cat is. So pleased to see you back.

Aww thanks! It’s nice to be back.

So sorry about your grandmother- 22 years later and I still miss my maternal grandma. .

Thank you. I am grateful she did get to know lil BES but I wish they had had more time together.


Ok. One more Cherry pic:

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

Day 0 (Day before trip):

Let’s go back to the day before the trip- where all the unmagic happened…

Thursday morning I was kinda glad to see lil BES’s preschool was again canceled due to icy roads. This would give her an additional day to rest up (and one less opportunity to acquire more germs).

Due to my call-in Tuesday I had a lot of work to cram into my Thursday. My goal was to get out on time.

Everything was going ok until DH cold-called me around 1030am. No hello.

“There’s water leaking from the family room ceiling. What do I do?!? This is bad.”

I calmed him down a bit. And told him to send me a picture and call a plumber.

This was the picture I got:

It didn’t look as bad as DH’s panicked voice made it seem. The location of the spots didn’t line up with our upstairs bathroom which seemed weird.

DH got a hold of a plumber who could come same day.

About an hour later I get a text that the plumber thinks it’s a furnace problem and now DH is waiting for an HVAC guy and a water damage guy.

Then DH wanted to know about our house insurance information.

And then let me know they had to cut a huge chunk of drywall out for the drying process.

Then the news that the furnace needed replacement not repair. (This furnace is weirdly above the family room)

I ended up home later than intended and called my mom during my drive to update her on the events of the day.

My parents were on board for helping in whatever way they could before and during the trip. They assured me it would be no trouble at all to let workers in and out of the house etc while we were gone.

I did use this as an opportunity to ask my dad a question about an issue we were having with a thermostat in the house unaffected by the bad furnace.

He volunteered to come right over and take a look. I figured we should at least have heat in half the house.

This was the family room I came home to:

My dad came over. It took a bit but he got the issue sorted. He again voiced that he could let workers in, check on house temperature etc while we were gone.

Lil BES was in fantastic spirits for her Papa. She danced. She sang. She laughed…

Spoiler: Track #4: