I flew out of Pensacola on Thursdays afternoon (this airport is so lifeless! There is NO one there. I wasn't able to get my people-watch on. I was literally the ONLY person in security...other than the creepy Chester looking TSA guy who was gawking at me.)
Anyway, when I landed, I have never been more happy to see my mother. I felt like it had been years since I hugged her! When I got home, I was greeted first by my little fluff ball, Sierra. She remembered me!!! (I was fearing she wouldn't). If you know her, she's not really a lap dog (despite being a toy breed, a Pomeranian.) but she wanted nothing more than to sit in my lap =) Then I got to hug my Daddy and sister.
I cannot express how happy I was to be "home". The house I'm familiar with, the couches, the bathroom, the love. It was so surreal. I had feared I would feel like a guest in my parents house since it was no longer "my" house. But I didn't. I fell right into my old "groove" and all my old feelings. (Except I had a new room. My sister took over my old room the DAY I left....little punk. Although, it's much bigger than her room so I don't blame her.)
(AND....another bad thing about home now, since I'm gone there are no real snacks in the house *tear* I was always the junk food one).
The next morning, Friday, my mom and I headed down to Wash U for my scan. After a lot of issues with my insurance, I finally got my scan (separate post coming tomorrow about that). After too many hours there, we headed to lunch. I had been craving St. Louis Bread Co. [...or "Panera" to all you non-St. Louisans.] Leah met us for lunch and we all caught up. I love family time =)
[Side Note...and a gross one: In the middle of lunch, my sandwich got stuck. So I headed to the bathroom for my usual dislodging routine. They have ONE bathroom...yep, one. For the entire establishment. And it was occupied. I waited. And waited. The person was obviously taking a fat dump. And my food had decided it would dislodge itself. But of course not in my favor...it was coming back UP. I didn't know what to do. Can't use a toilet, I guess outside is the next best thing. I briskly walk past my mother and sister and out the door into the parking lot. As I'm crossing the parking lot to the mulched area, it came fire-hosing out of me! Just shooting out, mid-walk, in the middle of the parking lot. I'm sure everyone loved seeing that. It didn't all come up so I continued to make my way to the mulch and puke. With all the passersby watching, pointing, and giving me dirty looks. If only you really knew people. No, I'm not bulimic. Just keep your judgmental eyes and comments to yourself and keep walking. I walk back inside and my sister tells me that she saw it. Their conversation went something like this
Mom: "What is she doing?!" as I walk past their table and outside.
Leah: "Uhh...throwing up. In the middle of the parking lot."
....and apparently the table next to us watched me in disgust too.
To the people in Panera trying to enjoy lunch and good conversations, my sincere apologies.]
And onward. I finish lunch. Mom goes home and Leah & I continue on to do some shopping. [My dear sweet sister bought my pups Mizzou jerseys for the tailgate tomorrow =) ]
Then we head home, packed up our stuff and the cars and we {my mother, sister, and her boyfriend Kyle} hit the road for Columbia, MO!
The car ride was entertaining. Kyle drove half the way...we sang, we danced, I "shot" people out of the way, and I applied fake nails. Successful mini-road trip? I'd say yes!
We arrived at my brother's place, mingled a bit, and then headed to Trops. For those non-Mizzou peeps (which automatically means you lose cool points), Trops, also known as Tropical Liquors, is an alcoholic slushie type place. They have the consistency of an Icee from 7/11 or like a strawberry daiquiri. They have MANY flavors which you can sample before you make your decision AND you can mix. And those bad boys are strong. A medium is about 20 oz and contains about 5 shots of liquor. Of course I got my fav, half Cherry Bomb (cherry vodka mixture) and half Silver Bullet (Everclear mixture). Check out all their flavors HERE.
All my favs were there....Jessie and Jen (my besties), Teeny (lovable cousin), Amber-Head and her fiance Derek, Meagan, Nick and his awesome fiancee Daniella (they are using our photographer AND DJ from our wedding), Totes, and course my amazing family (Mom, Ben, Leah, Randy, and Kyle). We all had a great time. {To the rest of you family members, we missed you all....and YOU missed a great time.}
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| best friends, Jen & Jessie |
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| Friends: Derek, Amber, Daniella, Meagan |
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| my sister, Leah and her boyfriend, Kyle |
The night didn't end there. We all went back to my brothers and hung out. Jessie and Jen were crashing on an air mattress in Ben's kitchen {hotel fell through last minute}. Shortly after we arrived back at Ben's, my wonderful husband and adorable puppies arrived!!! Nick left that afternoon right after his last IFS exam and drove straight through with the pups...what a trooper!
Then we called it a night.
Saturday was Game Day!!!! It was Mizzou's 100th Homecoming....they began the tradition of "Homecoming" back in 1911 so this was our centennial. I LOVE my Alma mater and there was NO way I was missing this. I coincided my scan and doctor appointments with Mizzou Homecoming =)
Anyway....game day....Jen, Jessie, and I got up early and headed to the Yager tailgate (Jessie's family). It was so great to see her family. I really do love them. They're like a second family.
Then we walked to my family's tailgate (which was only a 2 minute walk...score!). We drank, ate, laughed, socialized...it was great! Vino and Yadi were there in their Mizzou jerseys.
They were SO well behaved. They just sat or laid there. Didn't bother people while they ate. Didn't bark or jump on passersby. My aunt and uncle were throwing this tailgate with about 40 of their friends. We had SO many of them compliment our dogs...not just on how beautiful they are, but on how well behaved they were. They were so ridiculously amazed that they were puppies and acting so well....that most adult dogs don't even behave this well, let alone puppies. Made me proud (but in all honesty, I knew they'd behave. We wouldn't have wanted to bring them to the tailgate if they were going to act like assholes and cause us to fuss and stress over them. Plus, we've trained them well (and they are crazy intelligent.) I love my dogs so much!
After a few hours of tailgating, we headed inside to watch the game (we being Jessie, Jen, Nick, Mom, and I). Leah, Ben, and Kyle took the dogs back to his place and headed to a bar to watch the game.
The game was not exciting at all.
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| Nick and Jessie at the game |
We were completing crushing the Iowa Cyclones. So we left shortly after halftime and headed back to the tailgate. We weren't the only ones with this idea. I'd say more than half of the tailgate was back before the game was over. We continued to grill out, drink, and socialize until about 7pm.
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| my brother, Ben, and my cousin, Christine |
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| My two favorite men: my brother and my husband |
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| my brothers: Ben and Josh |
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| <3 Hubs |
I decided not to go out that night with my girls. I hadn't had quality time with my brother since I got here and I don't know when I will (another post for another time). We just sat around, hanging out, and being our laughable, obnoxious family. This was the best part of my weekend and I'm glad I decided to stay in =)
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| My mother and sister cuddling with my two fur babies |
Sunday, we got up and hung out some more. We said goodbye and made our trek back to St. Louis. We stopped at Nick's aunt and uncles house to hang out for a bit. We got to congratulate Mike and his new fiancee in person and see her gorgeous ring =) And they got to meet our little fur babies. Then we stopped off at my other best friend, Julie's house. Then it was off to my Grandparents house where the rest of my aunts, uncles, and cousin (and new boy toy) were there. I was so happy to see them all, update them on my life, and let them meet my little babies!!!
Our time with each family was so short and FLEW by. But when you have ONE day to see everyone, you can't stay in one place long. Hopefully we have more time over Christmas =/
We left the G-rents and stopped at Imo's for dinner. Imo's is a St. Louis specialty...amazing pizza! We miss it so freaking much now that we're gone (well, Nick has been missing it since he enlisted...poor guy). Then it was home for my Dad to meet his grandpups and for them to meet their stepsister, Sierra (and Zoey). Dad loved the dogs as I knew he would....although he was more partial to Vino but that's because she's just one big cuddle bug. Sierra wasn't a fan but then again, she's not a fan of any dog in her domain. But thankfully Zoey and Yadi got along well and played together great.
It was so great to spend this last night hanging out with my family, watching the Cardinals game, eating Imo's and having it be like old times. I didn't want to go to bed. I didn't want my family to go to bed. I wanted this trip to last much longer.
But we had to go to bed because we had an early doctor appointment =(
So the next morning we went to the doctor for my results (CLEAR!!!....but more on that later). We then headed home, packed up the car and started the 12 hour drive "home." Saying goodbye wasn't as hard this time. Mainly because I was just so happy and grateful to have been home and get that precious time with my family. I was happy to have my family meet my new little "family". I was happy to hug my parents and my siblings. Happy to hug my Sierra. Happy and thankful. Thankful for this short but sweet trip home. I wish I had much longer at home...to spend with more family and friends and old co-workers. MUCH MORE time to spend with my brothers and sister and parents.
But the holidays are around the corner, right? At least, that's what I keep telling myself.
So there you have it...my "abbreviated" trip back home to Missouri. Short but sweet.
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