4th updates the Charm, right?

Where have I been after the disaster that befell us?

Well we took many months to look at ourselves and our goals introspectively. Adoption isn’t a certain; going to happen thing.  Yes, we do all we can to provide a glimpse into who we are and to put it “out there” but the fact remains you have to hope something resonates with someone to inquire because a  couple page brochure isn’t the whole of who you are. Then your agency goes under out of the blue so Stunned is an understatement. We had no clue what was about to happen.  After talking with multiple news outlets we got the story out there and so did so many other families affected.

Now, it’s June and we are into our 4^th update in our 4^th year. Updates are a redo of all your paperwork, medicals, fingerprints, and additional background checks. They are a pain to get done but we do it because we must if we want to adopt.  We have a new social worker, our other one has retired and while she’s reached out during our difficulties it does fall on our new Social workers shoulders.  We met last week for our current update and she is super sweet and wants to help anyway she can.  I was Super stoked she took some of our old printed IAC letters to alter and send to lawyers and hospitals to hold onto in case of an expectant mother wanting a placement.  I’m still worried it’ll never happen.  This is our last year and then I have to resign myself to be childless.  I keep hoping someone will see us and like us and contact us (who aren’t trying to scam us) but I’m honestly becoming deflated. The majority of my contacts are folks in Cameroon wanting VISAS and other such countries with the same expectations.

So I’m in the realm of independent adoption which means we are on the web, and we apply for situations through lawyers in our inbox.  I’m obviously still on Adoptimist and other websites for us such as our own website but it’s a scary place to be.

Besides that we have recently taken a trip to Miami and Key West with our friends and had a blast.  Now that may make you think of activity after activity but we just relaxed for once.  We walked, went to the beach, ate great food, and drove to the keys where we rented jet skies and shopped in town. It was the calmest vacation we’ve had in a while. We normally are a go see all the things but not this time.

The Golden Mammoth on the Boardwalk in Miami

We Survived a Failed Placement

So I’m starting this post off negatively but if you’ve wondered where we are it’s because we had a failed placement and it's taken me awhile to process it and write it out.  

Now before we get into the thick of it let’s talk basics.  Back in May we signed with a second agency and after a possible match, which I was dragging my feet on and then on day 3 the agency said wait, whoa don’t send in the match fee, we moved on and would eventually match with K. (yes another K name).

Now K was a quiet but an honest young lady.  Our attorney however put a doubt in our mind and it would cause some chaos that I’d maneuver in just a few very stressful days but it worked out.

We matched the end of May and by June I was working the attorney circuit looking for an attorney to represent her and I planned to go out and meet her and her son.  It was an awkward meeting because again she was a quiet person and I’m not good with small talk.  However, I found her to be sweet and her son to be a typical 3 year old.  I enjoyed meeting and spending time with them both. 

So we were texting everyday or every few days and things seemed to be progressing in a natural way.  She was working on getting herself in a better position once birth and placement happened and we were trying to make sure she had what she needed as she needed it.

Now the rub is; looking back; that she hinted at the things that would eventually undo our adoption plan.  Her family was happy she had an adoption plan they didn’t support her at all.  She used to be close to mom until….(not important). So ya the signs were there but I didn’t catch them per se.  I think I instinctively got it because I was so guarded but it wasn’t there at the time in the fore front. They always say in adoption literature and blogs if the family isn’t supportive it’s a BIG RED FLAG! Because 9 out 10 times they come forward at the hospital and offer support thus screwing the adoptive parents who’ve been supporting them for months as was the case with us.

Incoming RANT: 

Oh how I’d love to be able to get restitution on what we spent on support but you know it’s not an adoptive family friendly environment, in fact we have zero protection in these matters.  Honestly we’re the ones taking the financial and emotional risks (and the damn scammers that come with that – hello emotional trauma; again no recourse – WTF!!!!).

Ok Rant over and I feel better, moving on…..

So what happened in our case? Well the very simplified version is she asked for a day alone to reflect and have time to which we agreed.  Our friends were coming into town that day from out of state so we’d only planned on stopping in to visit her and the baby in the morning and then heading out.  She however then sent the late night text the night before asking for a bit of space so we obliged.

We met our friends at a restaurant/pub in the area where we were staying.  We had talked of going to the zoo or maybe visiting another local historical home.  Unfortunately while my friend and I were outside I got a text asking me to come by first thing in the morning that she needed to talk to us but everything was ok. I showed my friend and said that’s it it’s over she’s going to parent.  My friend the forever optimist said no, you don’t know that, just keep the faith.  I knew.  She’d call less than 10 mins later to tell me that she couldn’t do it and that she was only doing it because she didn’t have support and now she did and she just couldn’t go through with it. So bottom line is mom abandoned her when she was pregnant and homeless with a 3 year old but as soon as baby was born in the hospital no way could baby go to a family outside theirs.  

Now It actually happens quite often but if I’d read the signs properly I’d have had those questions answered before we ever got to delivery. There were other signs, some quite blatant but I’m not into the details just the basics here.  Mind you during this time my mom is excitedly asking me if she can post pics and info and I keep her at bay for 2 days and then this happened and I texted “She is going to parent” ya that’s not how I wanted this to go.  As much as I wanted it to be right, it wasn’t.  I wish her the absolute best, honestly. She is a good, kind-hearted, and loving lady.  She has 2 boys to raise and I do hope that offer of support for her and the kids continues to be there for her. I will never not think of her and hope she is doing well.

Now the best part is we have friends in with their son from out of town visiting when I get the phone call.  Don, our friend’s hubby and their son are off playing games and I want Don to have a good day.  I walk off to the bathroom not once but twice during our visit to cry in a stall.

My friend agrees not to say anything and buys me a shot of vodka (so glad to not be driving!), which woo took me a few sips to finish.  We then decide to go downtown and walk around (mind you my friend knows we’ll be leaving and wants us to see the city we’re in before we go.  Also note Don doesn’t know yet!).

After our trip to downtown Nashville to shop, walk, goof off, and eat, they drive us back to our car and follow us back to our friend’s place where we are staying.  It wasn’t until they left that I told Don what had happened 10 hours earlier.  We talked and he went to bed, I then went downstairs and into the family room of our friends where we are staying and told them.

Now I have no idea how I was able to keep it together for 10 hours before telling Don but I did because I wanted him to have a good day with our friends and not think about the adoption.  He even said why didn’t you tell me and I told him X and X were here and I wanted us to have good memories and a great visit.  Mind you we normally take a trip to Atlanta for Labor Day so we’d cancelled that because hello, becoming parents is top priority, but ya now it’s cancelled and we aren’t. So the trip home was rather somber as we explained where the baby was.  We had a car seat and stroller combo and a newborn sleeper that had to be shipped home.  I even had my carry on pulled by TSA because of baby stuff (my carry on had our diaper bag with clothes, diapers and wipes) and we had no baby; ugh!(side note the guy was super nice he was just doing his job).  However the best part was we could’ve taken the baby stroller/car seat combo and baby wrap back for a refund but we chose to bring it home as a symbol that we will be parents! We both still know we’ll be parents but we’re waiting for the right person to come along and make it happen for us and expand our family.

The planets must have aligned because next week we are going to Dragon Con and meeting our friend’s.  We definitely need this trip to be ourselves outside this process. We found new cheap flights and free hotel which is beyond abnormal (bye-bye points we’ve spent you all and then some).  I’m super excited because just last week we couldn’t go and I was a bit mopey.  I’m super excited to go even though half our friends can’t make it.  We’ll have a great time with our friends who experienced our heartbreak with us and helped us through that. Did I mention I'm super excited!

So where does that leave us now:

We are coming up on 3 years live in a short few weeks and we’re only 8 families out of the top 50 with our agency, which means the 50 longest waiting families so maybe this is where we are meant to be. Who can say for sure?  I do know that yesterday I opened Instagram and I saw this posted by a friend and fellow long waiter in this process, who has recently adopted, and it really struck me so I asked if I could share it.

So that's it we've survived a failed placement and are so very lucky for our support network. We have adjusted and are moving on in the right direction. Hopefully our meant to be is just around the corner.

It's Summer

Wow it's July and I haven't posted in quite awhile.  Life has been crazy busy since our last post in May.

So after our trip to Florida we settled back into the daily life, Don going to work and me working on the adoption stuff, pretty much non-stop.  We did a bunch of things around the house to keep busy and Don helped me in the garden to weed the overgrowth.  Sadly I've been busy and the weather hasn't cooperated as much as I'd like so the weeds are back and I have a ton of work to finish up out there.

In June I flew to Nashville and met up with some friends I'd never met.  I know sounds strange but I've "known them" about 9 years thanks to World of Warcraft and we were finally able to meet up in real life.  Now, I've actually met one of their sons 2 years ago in Atlanta for Dragon Con and Don has met 2 of their sons who also played with us so I wasn't worried. Some of our best friends we met through our guild in game.  Of course it was over the course of years before we agreed to meet anyone but they have become some of our best friends and being able to see them is always great! I even drove to Knoxville for a few days to spend time with my best friend. Don was on a business trip but was able to drive from Ohio down to TN on Thursday and we stayed with our friends then left in the morning to catch flights out of Nashville.  It was really a great trip.

Summer upon us we planned for our friend and his son to come for a visit.  That is always a great time over the fourth having them here.  I really wish we saw them more than 2-3x a year but it's life and we all move to where we live and work.  We're lucky to still be in active (not just Facebook friends kind of contact) contact over the years we've known each other.  We had hoped to stay here for the fourth of July and then drive to Oregon with them but it didn't work out.  You see we'd won a weekend stay at the beach through a charity auction last year and we needed to use the time. Unfortunately, his Son is in swimming so they couldn't go due to his matches but we did the weekend following their return home.

 Cruising the lake on the boat

  Jack loves being on the boat - it wasn't warm enough to swim but still a fun day

 The 4th of July BBQ

One of the fireworks

The drive to the beach on the Oregon coast was interesting.  It's a part of Washington and Oregon we don't usually see.  In fact we've never been to the Oregon coast so it was fun to see and visit.  The beach was great albeit cold.  We unfortunately had a weekend where it poured cats n dogs 90% of the time.  We did get a respite on Saturday morning and took the opportunity to walk the dogs down the trail to the beach and then along it.  Two miles later we were back at the house just in time as the rain re-started with a fury about 30 minutes later. We decided to leave on Sunday instead of Monday so Don could get a full days work in and boy that was a drive home.  The roads in and out are two lanes so we get 30 minutes past Astoria and then we're at a stop.  Accident Road closed the vehicle says as it passes our parked vehicle.  Ah ya ok so how long to wait? Well we debated the wait and turned around. Needless to say our 3 hour drive turned into 6.  It was a long day and made me glad we'd come home a day early.

 Our view from the beach house

 I'd say they loved their beach walk

 The trail to the beach

 Little beach shrine on the trail

 When we said we were going home - ya they didn't want to go

As soon as the car was packed (mind you it had been raining) this was our last view from the house

Next month we are flying to visit friends in Atlanta and will hopefully hear that their foster daughter is their adopted daughter (meaning mom has signed in front of a lawyer so the adoption process can begin).  Things are in motion but it's Foster Care Adoption so anything can and has happened to them.  Crossing our fingers this one comes to pass.
Happy Summer to All!

San Diego - The rains came!

Our trip to San Diego came about for a few reasons. 

1.        We had tickets to meet our potential match that fell through so the tickets had to be rescheduled into a personal trip.
2.        We discussed where to go and back to Hawaii was one of them and San Diego was the other.  With the rescheduling fees and the cost to go to Hawaii in winter being so high we Chose San Diego.
3.      .  Even though I grew up in Southern California, San Diego was only visited a couple times as a small child to go to the Zoo and Sea World.  The only time prior to this trip I’d gone to San Diego as an adult was to get a hotel with Don and some friends so we could cross the border and go to Tijuana when I was 18. We only slept in San Diego so it’s not really a visit I consider as being in San Diego.

 So to those who asked “Why San Diego?” the answer is above all Why Not!? It’s usually temperate weather and has plenty to see and do for a couple days. Well, El Nino had other plans this year which put a damper on what we could do but we still had fun.

I checked the forecast about a week before our trip and noted that it had a 50% chance of rain.  Now California has been predicted to get rain to pretty much no avail, usually if it does “rain” it’s more a dew mist and gone or a light rain which is why they’ve been in a severe drought for years.  I checked the forecast a few days later and it was up to 70% and 90% rain but still no big deal, right? Wrong! I forgot just how rain happens in Southern California after living in Western Washington for so long.  When it says Thunderstorms that translates into flash floods and 3” of rain dumped on you in minutes causing said floods. Even Thunderstorm flooding in Texas doesn’t happen that quickly, at least in the area where we lived.  So now you know it dumped on us for the 4 days we were there and I’ve never had so many flash flood warnings on my phone as I did there for 4 days.

Day one:

Arrival

This was our day flying in and we planned to just check into the hotel, find a store for drinks and snacks for the room and head over to Coronado.  This is also the day we got a call from LA on our 800# that I missed. 

We find our hotel and joy! It’s under renovation.  I was skeptical but our room was already renovated and was nice and clean. So I grab my lap top and check on said call, no message.  So we left for the Coronado Hotel.  It’s the first time I’ve seen an ice skating rink on the beach.  We stayed for the sunset and headed back to Old Town for dinner at a place Don went to with a friend back in 2006.  They serve traditional moles and have at least 2000 types of Tequila. They had guava margaritas this time (Don said they didn’t have margaritas 10 years ago).  We both had one of those and I had the chicken verde (I don’t like moles; too much going on and usually too sweet) because ground up green chilies is yummy and Don had the tamarind mole with langostino.  I tried his sauce and yep, too sweet glad I got what I did.  So day one complete and if you’re wondering, yes, it’s raining.

 having an appetizer to tide us over until dinner 

 Coronado Hotel

 Sunset on Coronado Beach

The ice skating rink on the beach (behind the barricades)

 Guava Margarita Selfie

 Don's dinner

My meal

Day two:

San Diego Zoo, Stars Wars and more

This is the day I wanted to go to Disneyland.  After some convincing though we chose not to because it was also 100% rain in Anaheim so we decided on Balboa Park with the museums and zoo.  Well it isn’t really raining although the chance for it increases through the afternoon so we chose the Zoo.  Don had never been and I hadn’t been since I was around 7 years old.  We have umbrellas so we’re set.  Yes, the rain would have the last laugh. The first thing we did was take the bus tour so we got to see a bunch of animals that wouldn’t be out later as we walked the park. Ok the rain and wind started so we stopped by a shop to buy hats, I wanted one to cover my ears so I picked a panda hat and Don just opted for a baseball cap.  As it would have it I really wanted to see the pandas and they’re in the back of the park and by the time we get back there it’s raining so hard the animals went back to their rooms and we missed them.  Of course by now I’m soaked head to toe, we’re at the back lower part of the park and the water is flowing everywhere especially over my shoes.

Now at home this wouldn’t be such a big deal, go home change and throw the clothes in the wash.  However, silly me, queen of taking too many shoes, only brought the one pair on this trip. So soaking wet we’re off to find another pair of shoes I can wear so we can go to the movies (Star Wars, finally!) and later dinner.  Found a pair that weren’t 6 shades of neon but they are boots and I don’t have socks for boots which leads us back to the mall on the morning of day 3 after they were rubbing my calf raw.

Lesson learned always take more shoes even if you think you won’t wear them and avoid this situation altogether.

We get back to the hotel and as we enter from the parking garage we noticed lots of people milling about and someone in the lobby saying we have to move you…..then as we approached we noticed part of the ceiling had come down.  UGH! They explained the water had gotten in and fried the electrical so we had been placed with other hotels in the area because we can’t stay in a hotel without fire alarms, water damage, and that they would fix it over night and we could return tomorrow.  So we walked up to our room on the top floor, packed and made a couple trips back down to the garage and were off to the hotel down the street.  Don talked to the guy at the desk to just switch our reservation to them for the remainder of the trip and he said he only had that night.  Once we arrived in room, Don got on the phone with the hotel customer service and our room reservations had changed.  We stayed in that hotel for the remainder of the trip. Thankfully he did that because they were still working on the other hotel the next day when we stopped by to verify we’d been checked out.

Day Three:

USS Midway Museum

This is what Don really wanted to do on this trip.  He loves ships and I’d never been on a carrier. After being in subs and WWII battleships I must say it’s super roomy.  It was nice that the majority of the rain could be experienced inside but we did go on deck and Don took some video and the end shows me bundled up, wind whipping my hair in my face and him asking what I think of carrier life to which I replied “It Sucks!” Seriously feel for the men and women who serve and deal with the high winds and rain who work on the flight deck.  After the flight deck we braved to stay outside and wait in line for a tour of the captains’ deck.  That was a cool tour given by a navy vet who actually worked on the ship.

After the captains’ deck tour I was ready to go relax back at the hotel and warm up for a bit before dinner.  Good thing we left when we did because I’d get flash flood warnings on my phone 5 mins into the drive back to Old Town.  Sure enough about 5 minutes back in our room and the street outside started to flood. That changed our dinner plans, especially after watching the news and seeing just how high the water was in some areas of the city. So goody we got to go back to El Agave which was across the street from the new hotel. I wasn’t really hungry because we had a late lunch on the ship so I had a margarita while Don ate and then ordered quesadillas to go.  Not sure what I ate later that night but it really wasn’t good, I should’ve just ordered the verde again. Now what they serve as quesadilla was 4 small tortillas one had mashed potato, another was a funky mole mushroom, and one had green chili which was good and chicken vegetable.  They didn’t have cheese as listed on the menu, which to me is what makes a quesadilla. Even Don said his dinner was just ok that night so if you visit go for the 2000 tequila varieties and the Moles.

Day four:

Disneyland 60^th Anniversary

It’s about a 90 minute drive from San Diego to Anaheim and Thursday proved to be the best day to go.  I’d prepaid for our parking pass and tickets so if it was raining we could just use them another time before the end of the year.  Luckily it was dry in Anaheim and on the way we stopped for In n Out burger at probably the largest location I’ve ever seen.  The last time I was at Disneyland I was 18. We’ve been to Disney world just haven’t been back to the one in California in forever and good grief it’s the same and yet so different. They are taking out a big chunk of the park and making into the Stars Wars theme so it was a big deal for me to get to see the park as I remembered it.  They have changed so much over the years but it’s mostly untouched as far as layout and what rides they have.  Space Mountain is still there but they changed the name and removed the Black Hole stuff and made it Star Wars but the ride remains super fun. I made a point of doing a few of the story land rides (kid rides) and Peter Pan is still the best. The best part for me was that the holiday decorations were in place.  I’ve wanted to go to Disneyland or Disney World during the holidays for a long time.  Not just to see the decorations but because the Haunted Mansion ride gets turned into the Nightmare Before Christmas.  I was not disappointed and really wished I could’ve taken more pictures.  I also wish I could’ve taken pictures on the Jungle Cruise because that was decorated really well but it was dark when we took it, the downside to Disney in winter is how early the sunsets. At one point we stopped to have an afternoon snack and sat down in the town square just across from Sleeping Beauty’s castle.  There was a duck that stopped by to grab up a crumb that dropped, so I pulled a small piece off and she stepped right between my feet, doe eyes up, neck stretched and took it from my hand and came back again.  I really wish I could have gotten a picture of her doing that she was so dang cute. Someone else tried to feed her and her mate but they ran away.  When I was done I walked over and handed her a parting piece and tossed one to him as he was a bit more wary. I took a photo of her as I was leaving.  When we crossed the square we noticed someone else feeding a mallard some of their corn as well as I had done with the female in our area.

 Couldn't resist wearing this shirt to Disney now that they own Star Wars

 My Duck friend 

 Haunted Mansion

Town Square tree

We had a drive ahead of us so we left before the parade and as soon as we crossed the San Diego county line it began to pour.  It was just so weird to vacation in Southern California and have it actually rain the whole time, we only got a reprieve by going to Disney but it was still a bit windy and chilly.

Friday we flew home.  It was a quick but fairly eventful trip. We tried to make the most of the crappy weather and I think we did pretty well by seeing as and goodness knows California absolutely needs the rain.

December 2015 - Where I've been

Good-bye 2015 and Hello to a New Year!

I haven’t written in a month and I needed that time off to focus on us and getting the house back in order after the construction completed.  Seems like it’s all I’ve talked about recently but we really accomplished a lot of small and not so small jobs around the house this last year.   It feels great to finally get some of these things done.

 Our first project was redoing the basement bathroom

Then we moved on to flooring

 We also repainted and added cabinets to this room

 We hired a contractor to redo this half of the basement and stairwell

Finished and furnished - new living room

So December was full of fun.  We returned from California late on Sunday after Thanksgiving and Don had to get on a plane the next morning for Houston.  I took the time to dig out the decorations so I was ready when Don got home that weekend to go pick out our tree.  I am like a kid in the candy shop on a shopping spree giddy about getting the tree.  If we do nothing else I just want a Christmas tree and the ability to decorate it and the house while listening to Christmas music.  Don is less interested because live trees are heavy but he does it for me every year (and I tell him every year he must really love me!).  I do look every year for a fake tree that I like without being a pre-lit tree but to no avail.  While I’d still probably get a small live tree, I have to admit having a fake one in the garage would be great. 

 This is now our dining room all decorated for Christmas

Ok, so the tree is home and set up, we have 12 days until Christmas.  Then we planned a gaming party for the Monday and Tuesday before Christmas.  As I’ve mentioned before Construction leaves a huge amount of dust and it just keeps coming even after cleaning up so I asked Don to help clean the kitchen walls, ceiling etc.  He went up to the kitchen and said you know if we’re clearing out the kitchen to deep clean, we may as well repaint and replace the temporary cabinet we put in 12 years ago.  Now if he is up to paint, I’m all for it so I jumped at it.  He made his way to the big box store on Tuesday while I began clearing everything from the kitchen. He picked out the paint which is something I normally do and he chose well.  It’s a sort of cranberry color which goes well with the other accessories in the kitchen and our floor is grey so we painted the ceiling grey instead of white.  It sounds quick and easy on paper but it’s a kitchen.  The walls were cleaned twice, as well as sanded down and wiped down again and they were still resisting the paint. We should have had it done in a couple days but I finally finished putting the kitchen back together on Sunday night at 10pm. Our guests were due to arrive around noon the following day.  Whew! At least it got done.

 new cabinets and kitchen color

The game day holiday party we hosted was a lot of fun.  We played every expansion of Talisman (hence the 2 days and we still didn’t finish it before people had to head home). Our friends from up north just stayed over and a good thing too since it snowed all afternoon and evening. We were supposed to have a white Christmas this year but it happened a few days early.  Our yard is great to sled in when it snows but we didn’t get enough on the ground.

 Talisman game

snowing 

Christmas day was great! My mom was able to come which is something I’d worried she wouldn’t be able to do.  She was released from the Hospital the 2^nd week of December but I was worried about her not being able to sit for very long.  They did leave shortly after dessert though since they’d stopped and saw my grandma for a few hours before coming up here. I’m just glad she is on the mend and getting better every day.

my mom showing me the blouse I got her as one of her Christmas presents

our nephew showing off his new shoes

So that’s pretty much the December review.  Not much else happened after Christmas except making homemade Donuts the day after Christmas. Our nephew ( the one pictured above) had surgery today to remove a tumor from his foot and luckily it was benign, yesterday they thought it was cancer after looking at his MRI. So ya seriously over 2015!  We stayed in for New Years Eve this year which was great. 

 Happy New Year!

I’m seriously glad 2015 is over.  It was a rough year but it’s made my resolve all that more strong. 

We have a trip coming up in a few days and I can’t wait to get someplace warmer for a few days. 

Here's hoping for a great year for all of us in 2016.

Our Yearly Vacation to Atlanta

Dragon con was a blast this year! It’s always fun to go and hang out with friend’s but this year we both dressed up both Friday and Saturday and while HOT, especially Friday’s costumes, was a lot of fun.  Don and I had planned on the Wreck it Ralph and Vanellope Von Shweetz costumes for Friday. We even ran into a Fix it Felix. Lara and someone else we know were going to the Archer shoot as Kreiger and Kreiger's virtual girlfriend so Lara met us in our room for us to all go to the shoot together.

While shopping on Saturday I decided I’d go ahead and buy things for the steampunk costume for next year. Don was taking a large box back to our room so I headed off with our friend’s Corey and

Carol to look around.  Corey was looking for a few things for his costume while Carol waited with me to try on Corset’s.  The second one was perfect, so now to find the rest of the outfit, which I did at the fourth shop minus the hat.  I didn’t have time to pick up a bunch of accessories after the hat shop so I figured it was ok because I was going to wear my Nightmare Before Christmas dress that night anyway.  That idea didn’t last long as Carol and Katrina talked me into using the steampunk stuff anyway.  As we were talking Don mentioned he didn’t have a costume for the night and our friend’s said hey we have 2 cloaks you should be Red Riding Hood and he could use my black wig from the Vanellope costume, and then they dared him to do it. Corey and Don went back into the shopping area in search for a t-shirt that would work for the costume. They came back with a perfect one. We went back to our separate hotels to change and Don went into the store there looking for a basket.  He got lucky and borrowed a picnic basket which had been used in a display.

 pictured with another Red Riding Hood

It was time to get me into the corset, which sounds simple but for people who’ve never done it, it was a bit tougher.  Thankfully You Tube had videos on how to lace your corset by yourself.   Don redid the corset and then we went to our friend’s hotel to meet up and get Don and Kevin their cloaks. Four of our friend’s were at the same hotel so we took pictures in the courtyard before going out to get dinner and head off to the hotels. We had planned on getting Lara or someone else to take our picture together but by the time we met up it was all but forgotten.  We went to the Marriott Marquis and outside it was a giant dance party which was a blast. I figured out who the guys were walking around with the speakers on their shoulders and it was Future Beat.  After a while we left and 5 of us went to get food while the other 4 went back to their rooms.

  Selfie with Lara unicorn

 Waiting in line for a midnight show

Sunday was rough for all of us.  We stayed out way too late so it was rough having to get up, pack, and check out.  We still had 4 hours to kill before going to the airport so we met up for lunch with everyone to say good-bye. After Lunch we split up Corey and Carol went back to their room, Kevin and Don went shopping, Lara and Shannon went to her group photo shoot, and Chris, Katrina, and I went to the autograph room.

Say Hi to Richard Hatch

Now here’s the fun part – Landing in Seattle 6 hours later only to realize I had left stuff in the drawer of the bedside table, like the car and house keys and my headphones. OUCH! I’ve never ever done something like that but here we were and we had to figure out what to do.  Our Brother in law drove out and brought us keys. We are lucky that our friend’s stayed through Monday so they could swing by and get my stuff, which is now being overnight shipped to me.  Moral of the story, ALWAYS check the drawers before leaving (which we normally do but for some reason didn’t this time).

Outside that snafu we had a fantastic time and are planning to meet up with everyone again next year, maybe even extending the trip to a full week. Can't wait to see what costumes everyone does.