Packing Adventures and My Last Night At Home

So, packing was an adventure in itself. Thank goodness for my mom because I don't think I would have been able to do it without her! She is a genius when it comes to making odd shaped things fit in even odder open spaces in a suitcase. It was amazing watching how much stuff she was able to stuff into 2 checked bags and 2 carry on bags. Oh, and don't forget, checked bags have to be 50 lbs. or less! Let me tell you, it was a nightmare trying to get the bags to the weight requirements. But, it was kind of funny watching as my dad kept standing on the bathroom scale with each of my suitcases in turn. In the end, after countless hours of repacking and rearranging and double checking to make sure I had everything I needed, I am proud to announce that I am packed and ready for Walt Disney World!! However, according to my mom, the minute I open my suitcases in Florida, they are going to explode like a can of trick peanuts from a joke shop! (Oh, I really hope THAT doesn't happen!)

This is my last night at home. I spent it with my family and my boyfriend, Michael. It was decided that we would have hamburgers on the grill for dinner (my sisters have also decided that this is going to be my welcome home dinner in January) and watch the movie "Up in the Air" with George Clooney and  Anna Kendrick (from the Twilight Saga movies). However, we had to keep pausing it because the phone kept ringing or the dogs were barking. And then my mom, sisters and I took a 30 minute field trip over to my grandparents' house to pick up some dress clothes that my grandma was altering for me (thus leaving Michael and my dad together along. Still not sure if that was a good idea or not. LOL.) In the end, er only made it about 40 minutes into the movie because none of us found it very entertaining. Maybe one day we'll finish it, I guess it's suppose to be really good or funny or something. (If you've seen it, let me know when it starts getting good.)  So, needless to say, we opted out of movie night. For the rest of the evening, Michael and I, and occasionally my sister, too, talked, laughed and played on facebook and YouTube. I had a blast just hanging out with my family and Michael tonight. I am going to miss each of them so much. And as funny as it sounds, I was doing everything possible not to start crying over my hamburger just knowing that it would be the last home-cooked meal my parents will have prepared for me for the next 5 months. All night long I was choking back tears; sometimes I was successful, other times the flood gates opened wide.

The hardest part of the evening so far was saying goodbye to Michael. Before he left, I made him eat his very first EVER snowman ice cream bar. He saw the pictures I posted of us eating them during our Christmas in July celebration and mentioned once he'd never seen them before. So, me being me, decided it was time to fix that problem. So, I took pictures of him eating his ice cream and then we took one final picture together (in my garage of all places! Hahaha!). It was so hard watching him pull out of the driveway and head for his own house. I had tears rolling down my cheeks long before he even made it out of the drive. I knew it would be hard to say goodbye, I just wasn't expecting it to be that hard. So that was my night in a nutshell. Time to get some shut eye, because I've got a plane to catch bright and early. The next time you hear from me, I will either be in the air or in Florida. Until then, good night and sweet dreams! :) <3