November 10

With three cancelled flights noted on our travel docs, Adam, Brady, and I are still at our hotel in the Chicago suburbs. We're currently booked onto a flight that's supposed to get us to Oakland at 11ish tomorrow morning, a mere 21 hours after we were originally supposed to touch down. So you could say that today did not go according to plan.

But (after we ponied up to extend our rental car and hotel stay) our unexpected bonus day in Chicagoland wasn't without its unexpected blessings.

Brady was delighted to wake up and see snow on the ground. As a California boy through and through, he's fascinated by the cold, fluffy stuff and took every opportunity to pack it into balls. (He even managed to pelt a snowball off the "p" on the big IHOP sign.)

The three of us enjoyed a tasty brunch at said-IHOP. I'm not a huge blueberry girl, but the super blueberry pancakes sounded really good in the moment and --surprise!-- they were very tasty.

Afterward we walked around Walmart in search of socks (as Brady was out of clean ones and he needs clean socks like a runner needs water) and, in a moment of whimsy, Adam and Brady got matching shirts to wear on the plane tomorrow. We also took the opportunity to get one last birthday gift for Abby; she's asked for a polaroid camera a few times, so we made it happen. 

Then we went back to the hotel, where the guys watched a "Spiderman" movie while I walked on the treadmill down in the fitness room. When that film ended I suggested we visit Sonic for a mid-afternoon drink run, so we did that, and Brady ordered his second extremely green beverage of the week. Then they settled back on the bed and watched a second Marvel movie; this go-round, I partly watched, and partly played phone games.

When that movie ended, we drove over to pick up Abby from her dorm, and went on to Chipotle for dinner. She was a in a cheerful mood this evening, which made my heart happy, and I especially enjoyed the moment when she suited up inside the doorway after dinner and then bolted toward the car as Brady tossed a snowball in her direction. They're funny kiddos. From there we drove back to the hotel to give her the camera, and then Adam dropped her off at her dorm.

Now we're watching Monday Night Football. Although it was an unexpectedly blessed day, I'm hoping that tomorrow's travel plans will actually stick.