The Holi-Canoli! Whirlwind Trip That Wasn't Supposed to Be About This Page:

[MattUGA]

Originally Posted by Meggera

Let the Journey Begin!

I think I am finally ready to begin this TR. I have been working on pictures and getting them uploaded, resized, etc. So, let me start at the beginning, a very good place to start.

Monday, October 19, 2009 - Sneaky Packing the Car Day

As most of you know, Victoria had no idea we were going to be meeting her daddy in Orlando. As it worked out, I got sick on our last trip and thus had a day left on our tickets that would expire in December if we didn't use them. What a great excuse to go back to Disney! But, since Victoria didn't know about the extra two weeks we'd be on the road, I had to somehow pack extra clothes for her and get the car loaded without her noticing.

I homeschool Victoria. So, throughout this day, I would sneak into her room while she was reading The Odyssey, grab some clothes from her dresser, and sneak into my room where I had a suitcase I was packing for her. This occurred throughout the day. I also washed all of her dirty clothes and packed them, too. I managed to pack a suitcase for her, and she never questioned where any of her clothes were. So far, so good.

Victoria babysits 2-year-old triplets at least once a month, all day. Thankfully, Victoria had a babysitting day this week, and I was able to wash all of Michael's clothes so they smelled really good for him. I packed his suitcase and put it in the trunk.

Once Victoria went to bed, I began the process of loading the car. I would sneak things out to the trunk and put them in. I packed up all the food and cooking stuff I would need for our trip and put them in the trunk as well. I unhooked our Wii and packed it along with the Wii Fit Board. After it was all said and done, the trunk was completely full. This didn't include our suitcases, including the small one I packed for Victoria. We ended up putting our luggage in the backseat. Victoria never questioned why. I thought it was so funny. She just goes with the flow. If she had asked, I was prepared to tell her that it would be easier to get our luggage out from the backseat than to go back and forth to the trunk. Lame, I know. Thankfully, she never asked.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - Departure Day
I had wanted to leave at 4 a.m., but since I had stayed up until 1 a.m., loading everything as quietly as possible into the car, I knew I would be too tired to drive. My alarm went off at 3:30 a.m., and I went to Victoria's room to tell her to go back to bed until 6:00 a.m. She was happy to do so.

We got up at 6:00 a.m., and were finally out the door at 7 a.m. Our first stop on our trip would be Mobile, AL, to stay with my father's brother and his wife. They are an awesome couple. My Uncle Chester is 84 years old and in the best of health. My Aunt Donnie is 82. They are so cute together. They have been married 62 years and say, "Yeah. I just don't know if it is going to work out." For those of you who read my last TR, Jennifer is their granddaughter.

We made it to Mobile around 5 p.m. It was so good to see them. They have lived in the same house for over 40 years, so it is the only home I have ever known for them. Everything looked the same. Once we got settled in and chatted a bit, we went out to dinner to the Original Oyster House. It was fabulous! You can't go to Mobile and not get seafood.

We really enjoyed our evening with them and got into bed around 11 p.m. It had been a long day.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 - Visit More Family Day
We got up in the morning around 8 a.m. Aunt Donnie fixed us pancakes with homemade blueberry syrup. It was to die for. I got the recipe and can't wait to fix it for Michael when he comes home. We spent some more time with them and got back on the road around 10 a.m. This time, we were headed north to Camden, AL, to visit my mother's sister and her husband, Aunt Jo and Uncle Andy. They have been married for 45 years or so. We got to there house around 1 p.m., and Aunt Jo had BBQ for us for lunch. It was very good. Aunt Jo and Uncle Andy are expecting their second grandbaby and have come up with names they would like to be called. Aunt Jo told me that when she was a child, her nickname was Jody and that's what everyone called her. I had no idea. So, she wants the grandchildren to call her Jody. Cute! They want the grands to call Uncle Andy.....Grandy! I think that is so cute! Jody and Grandy! Gotta love it.

Anyway, our stay with my aunt and uncle was wonderful. We enjoyed our visit, slept like rocks, and were on our way the next day around noon. This time, we were headed to my hometown, Dothan, AL, to visit with my dad and stay with my stepsister.

Thursday, October 22, 2009 - Visit Even More Family Day
Dad lives in a nursing home after he had a massive stroke a couple of years ago. He is 79. He was shocked when we walked in the door! He couldn't believe we were there. It was so good to see him. We left dad's and went to Cami's house. I loved catching up with her and her family. Cami and her DD were headed to New Orleans the next morning for a mission trip. They left at 6 a.m. I can't remember what time Victoria and I got up and left. We went back to the nursing home to see dad again and visit with him for a while. Then, it was on the road again to Orlando!

Friday, October 23, 2009 - Destination: Orlando!
We got a later start than I had planned, so we arrived in Orlando around 6 p.m. It worked out all right. We checked into our hotel and went to dinner. I don't remember where.

By this point, I was giddy and couldn't show it. Michael was supposed to be arriving in Orlando in two days, Sunday the 25th. I told Victoria we would probably just chill out on Saturday. Perhaps go to DTD and shop around. She was okay with that.

Saturday, October 24, 2009
We both slept well. I got up the next morning and got a shower and got dressed, and the phone rang. It was Michael. He asked where we were. I told him we were in Orlando. He said, "Good because I'm in Atlanta and will be there around 1:30 p.m." YAY!!!! He was a day early!!!!! During the phone call, he was pretending to be my cousin Jennifer. I hung up and got Victoria up and going and told her our plans would have to change today. I told her that Jennifer was going to be flying in and needed us to pick her up since she was still having car troubles. Victoria bought it hook, line, and sinker. She was a little disappointed since our plans would have to change, but she was okay with it since Jennifer is so much fun.

Surprisingly, the time went by quickly. I had butterflies in my stomach all morning. I was more excited than I have been in ages and yet I maintained my composure with Victoria. It was crazy!

We left for the airport around 12:30 p.m. I didn't want to have to wait too long. We arrived easy enough and found the parking deck. Before I got out of the car, I wrote a little note on a scrap piece of paper to show the airline folks. It said, "Hello. I am meeting my husband from Iraq, and it is a complete surprise for our daughter. Could we please meet him at the gate, and could you please not say anything about it since she doesn't know? Thanks!"

I went to the Delta counter and handed the lady my ID and the note. She read the note, gave me a little smile, got my pass to the gate, and never said a word. It was awesome! I have no idea what Victoria was thinking through all of this. I told her it might be nice to surprise Jennifer at the gate.

We got to security, and I showed the lady my note, my ID, and the gate pass. She got a little confused and thought I was escorting my minor child to the gate to fly. She kept saying Victoria needed a boarding pass. I finally pointed out to her what it said on the gate pass - that I was escorting her to meet her daddy coming home from Iraq. She finally stamped the pass and let us through.

No sooner had we found the gate and sat down than Michael's plane pulled up. It was early! I told Victoria it was here, and suggested we stand up and wait at the door for "Jennifer." The passengers quickly started filing off the plane. I saw one soldier come off, but I kept looking for my honey. I soon saw him, and I looked at Victoria with this huge smile on my face. Victoria said, "Do you see Jennifer?" And she craned her neck to see "Jennifer." Then she saw her daddy! I am tearing up just from remembering her reaction.

Victoria gasped and said, "Daddy?!?!?!" He came straight to us, and I let them hug first. All Victoria could say was, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" over and over again. It was so sweet.

I finally got my chance to hug my sweet husband. There are no words to describe the multitude of emotions that go through you so I won't even try. I cried. Victoria cried. Michael tried hard not to cry. It was very hard to hold it together. We shared a big group hug for a while. It was wonderful. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

I did it. I pulled it off. Victoria had no clue we were meeting her daddy. It was so awesome. We all walked hand in hand to baggage. We laughed and talked. It was wonderful. Once again, words are not adequate.

It took forever to get his bag. I don't know what the hold up was, but we waited for the baggage to arrive for about 20 minutes, and it was really hot in there. While we waited, I finally pulled out my camera.



What's neat is Victoria wore this shirt that says, "My Dad's my hero." She had no idea we were picking him up.

A businessman asked if we would like him to take a family picture. We gladly said yes.


We finally got his bag and went to the car. As we walked, we told Victoria all the sneaky things I had done to pull this off. I asked her why she hadn't wondered why we were putting our luggage in the backseat, and she said she didn't think anything about it. I thought that was weird since we NEVER put stuff in the backseat. It drives me crazy. But, it worked. I'm glad she wasn't too curious.

So, there is the reveal and the start of this TR. Stay tuned. There's a lot of magic to come.

UP NEXT: Lunch and DTD with Daddy!

I'm going to honestly say this might be the first ever post in a TR that I actually teared up in. I can't even imagine how happy you were during all of this and your daughter as well. I am so glad I read this today. It picked up my spirits!