The Catch-Up Post

We got back tonight from our whirlwind tour of Illinois. So much to talk about...where do I start?

We left for Chicago Thursday morning. We had left a little later than we had intended but that was okay. The kids were good, as was the weather, so we were moving right along. We had stopped for a late lunch outside of Des Moines and we got back on the road. We were hoping to make it to the IL border before stopping again.

Not long after switching roads, the sun began to set and the fog set in. Drizzle and fog are not my favorite things to drive in but traffic was still moving and we were making good time. I had Mike call mom and dad to see if they knew when the drizzle/fog would lift and they said that they had it too so we could pretty much expect it all of the way in. Nice. Okay. We can deal with it. After Mike got off of the phone, Daniel starts screaming that he has to pee. Ugh. Fine, I guess I could gas up as well. So, we carefully pull off of the road and get gas, use the restrooms and load up on snacks. Soon, we're off into the fog again.

We were trudging right along and were about 2 hours (probably less) from our destination when the kids decided they were hungry. There was an oasis ahead so we thought that the kids could have McDonald's and Mike and I would have Chinese. We pull in and Mike takes Oriana for a quick walk. I grab my purse and quickly realize that I didn't have my wallet. I begin tearing the van apart while Mike takes the kids inside to get dinner. The big problem was that we couldn't remember the name of the town we had stopped in to get gas. I'm running back and forth between inside and the car...insisting that the wallet has to be in the car. If the chili cheese Fritos made it, then the wallet had to have! I make the realization that my credit card is, for whatever reason, in my purse and not in my wallet so all we have to worry about is the debit card.

I call Mom and Dad to see if they remembered if we had called before or after Iowa City and they couldn't remember. Like it would have helped anyway. We called a couple of gas stations in the chain with no luck. We got in touch with the bank and cancelled the card and decided to get on our way. I've never felt more stupid in my life. How could I have left my wallet somewhere? Grrrr...

So, we get to Mike's parents' house and I tear the van apart again. No luck. I probably only slept 3 hours that night just replaying over and over how I left it. It was getting pretty annoying to Mike who told me just to let it go...everything in there was cancelled and I could get a new license when we got back. Fine.

Mike and his Dad ran out to get everyone lunch when he calls to tell me that we need some bank info, would I mind calling? Sure. So, I call and the guy says to me that someone from a gas station called to say they found my wallet. If Mike hadn't needed some numbers, I would have never known! So, I call the gas station and after telling her what the wallet looked like, she agreed to mail it to me. This could not have ended better. Yay!!!

So, that's the big story from the trip. I'll post more tomorrow when I'm a little more awake than I am now.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and Hanukkah!