My Lesson on Stubborness!

So, let me start out by pleading my case though I know it's no excuse. My mother left for Ogden to go see my grandma on Monday and she took my purse with her by accident. She didn't come home until Tuesday evening which meant I couldn't get some things done, like shopping for a Valentine's gift for Greg, until she brought back my purse. So, I made a promise to myself that I would go on Wednesday, before Greg returned home from Pheonix, and get him a gift no matter what.

So, when Hannah got home from school, about 3:45 or so, I was ready and waiting to hop in the truck and go do some shopping. It had begun to snow BUT that wasn't going to stop me!! I was on my way in a 4x4 truck, a little snow didn't even cross my mind. It was difficult to see while driving because the snow was being blown around making it a "white out" situation...but that wasn't going to stop me. I made it all the way out to the stop light in the Ranches (the northern part of Eagle Mountain where we get onto SR 73-the highway that goes to town) when I was rudely redirected back into the Ranches. The Utah State Highway Patrol had shut down the road that went to town. Well, that wasn't going to stop me either, blizzard or not, I was going to make it to Target if it's the last thing I did. So, I was going to show them and just take the back route to Saratoga Springs, which is our neighboring city. From there I could get onto SR 73. So, my trek began. Usually it takes about 10-15 minutes to get to Saratoga Springs on the back road, it took me about 1 1/2 hours!!! Along the way I saw...

a bus, which I didn't take a picture of, that had slid off the road and was tilted sideways so far that I couldn't believe that it was still somewhat upright......but that didn't stop me. Then further down the road I saw this truck (to the left) in a ditch. I thought to myself, "I wonder if I should turn around and just go home?" but again, I decided that this wasn't going to stop me! I kept pushing on...

Then just as I was about to reach the road that headed toward SR 73, I see this demolished van in the middle of the road. I begin to wonder if I have made a bad choice and decided that I needed to turn around and head back home. Well, see the police man that looks like he's holding a flare? Well, he wouldn't let us turn around and so we had to turn towards Smiths (our local grocery store) and forget about going back to our warm home in Eagle Mountain.

So, here we are just sitting on the road to Smiths. The people onthe other side were heading into a "U turn" situation and had no idea. I did feel bad for them and if someone made eye contact with me, I'd try to tell them they may as well just turn around now.














Once we made it to Smiths there was no place to park. The entire parking lot was full so instead I had to park in the Artic Cirlce parking lot which meant the kids and I had to walk about 5 minutes to get to Smiths. I knew once inside we'd be fine...lots of food, drinks, bathrooms, baby needs, etc. but getting there turned out to be a nightmare. I sincerely had a slight inkling of how the pioneers must have felt. When we first headed out, we had our big, nifty IKEA umbrella shielding us from the wind. All it took was one wrong turn and the wind crumpled it like a piece of paper. Hannah began to break down because it was just too much for her. I ensured her that we'd be fine and that we could make it! I wrapped Gabe's blanket around her face and held her close to me. I then stuffed Gabe's head between my face and shoulder, trying to block the stinging snow from pelting him in the face. I kept trudging forward, the whole time trying to stay strong so Hannah wouldn't freak out but my face hurt so bad and the wind was so fierce. I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to make it. I know that sounds silly but I wasn't sure we could. Tears came to my eyes as I realized the situation that I had put us in and the danger that could have come from my "that's not going to stop me" attitude. Hannah wimpered the whole way to Smiths but she stayed strong. It was me who was losing it! Once we made it in, tears of joy filled my eyes as I realized my kid were not subject to the unbelievable weather. I put them in a cart and headed into the store. It only took me about 1 minute to realize that I had left my phone in the truck. My stomach hurt when I thought about having to take the kids back out in the blizzard to get my phone. I knew I had to call Greg to warn him not to come home and just to get a hotel room for the night. My head swarmed with options, most of them undesirable, and then I saw a familiar face. It was Bro. Snider, and wow, was he a sight for sore eyes. He agreed to watch my kids while I braved the excruciating weather. It wasn't as bad as the first time because I could keep up a good pace and shield myself from the elements, not my kids. So, I am very grateful for Bro. Snider for helping me out!!

So, once back in Smiths I took a photo of myself, which is far from flattering but I think it says it all!! This is how I felt & looked after practically being blown away in the storm. Not a pretty sight.















Then it was time to find some dinner. We made our way back to the dairy area and found a place to sit. People were sitting all over the place, mostly on the ground, so we felt very blessed to have found something to sit on. Hannah had decided that it was fun to have a picnic on our little adventure, that's what we were calling it. As the hours passed and there was still no concrete information about when they'd let us back into Eagle Mountain, I began planning out what we were going to do next. I knew I had a full tank of gas (I had filled up as soon as I was on the Smiths parking lot, just incase I would need it) but we lacked pillows & blankets. So, off I went to invest even more money into things that I really don't need! I did find what I needed, along with about 10 other people who were thinking the same thing. Needless to say, the pillows & blankets were gone in a matter of minutes after they announced that SR73 wouldn't be open until the morning.


Here's Gabe snuggled in for a nap in Smiths. At this point I was still trying to decide if I should just head out to the truck and have the kids snuggle in there or just camp out in Smiths. I just didn't want to take the kids back out into the storm.














Hannah had it a bit rougher than Gabe did because she didn't fit inside the cart very comfortably. It was at that point that I decided to go back to the truck. The kids would be much more comfortable there and warmer, I could crank up the heat. But just as I was packing up to go Greg called and said that he had a hotel in Sandy and so he just wanted me to come there since east bound SR73 was open. That sounded like a good idea to me until I saw I-15!!! It was a complete joke!!! It was backed up so far that I couldn't believe it. I thought it would be a smart idea to take the frontage road (feeder road, for you Houstonians) and hop on a few exits down. Once again, not the smartest choice I've ever made. It seriously took me 1 1/2-2 hours to make it from Lehi to Sandy and for those of you who live in Utah, you know it should only take about 20 min.




Here's what it looked like getting onto the highway. There were two lanes merging into one on the on-ramp and then the highway (the lights in the distance) was totally jam-packed. Bumper to bumper!!! I was beside myself. I couldn't believe that my stubborness had got us into this depressing situation.

But my story has a happy ending. We finally made it to the hotel and we were all still in one piece. We made it back home about 10am today and things are getting back to normal EXCEPT Gabe just woke up with a raging temp. There were so many people around us in Smiths that said they were there to pick up their perscriptions because they had the flu. I tried to steer clear as best I could but it may not have worked. So, it looks like my children will suffer because of my stupidity. Totally not fair but true none the less :(

P. S. I never did get Greg a Valentine's Gift so my trip was all in vain. Also, I'm not sure why my formatting on this post is so messed up but I'm sick of trying to figure it out. I guess you'll just have to deal with the big spaces inbetween everything....sorry!