Kansas City

We ditched the kids and went to Kansas City. Doesn't sound like a place you'd really love to vacation, but it is actually a very nice city. Btw, even though it is "Kansas" City, most of it is in Missouri.
Like everything I do, it was not an uneventful trip! My shrink asked me what's the biggest stressor in my life and I just laughed! I told him my life is quite simply bananas all the time. You could tell he was trying not to give me "that didn't answer my question crazy lady" look. Oh well. Guess that's why I need a shrink. :) Anyway, back to what I was saying... Since I decided to go last minute, I didn't have the exact same flights as Chad. It was only the first leg of the trip that was different - I was 2 hours earlier. (I never went back to sleep after feeding Seth at 2am)Except we had that Tropical Storm roll in about then, and our plane was grounded for 45 min. Good thing my connection wasn't for 3 hours anyway. I make it to Atlanta and they are asking people to jump on an earlier flight if they can because the later one (mine) was overbooked. I wasn't going to, but I thought how it might help someone else out and wouldn't I be grateful if I was in the reverse position? I couldn't discuss it with Chad because he was in-flight. So I scribbled him a note and left it at the desk for him, sent him a text telling him he had a "note at gate" and ran to the other flight 2 gates away. Guess my text wasn't clear enough because Chad totally freaked out that he couldn't find me for a while before he finally decided to ask at the gate desk, where he was handed my note. Oops.
So I got to KC early and went to grab the rental car. It was a NASCAR weekend and they didn't have our car on the lot, so they gave us a free upgrade to a Red Dodge Charger! I circled the airport a couple times before deciding to pull into the parking garage and wait before I had a nervous breakdown. Me and driving don't get along very well, and that Charger is BIG with horrible visibility. But very cool. :) Then my cell lets me know my battery is low. Great.. still waiting for Chad. We did meet up before my phone died, thank goodness and we even had GPS to get us around - which was totally appreciated.
We drove first to Independence to see the visitor's center for the temple lot. It was a very nice set-up and we enjoyed talking to the sister missionary there, But we got a shock with how rundown most of Independence is. (rundown, reads as "crap hole") But there's always those parts in any city that is so old. We went from there to look at houses, and found some far nicer neighborhoods thanks to the realtor. Not as cheap as Texas, but definitely more affordable than Wilmington.
We could finally check in to our hotel and had just enough time to shower and get ready to be wined and dined by a private practice, who paid for much of our trip. It was really nice and we really liked the other doctors and their wives who were present. I could see us fitting in very well. My biggest concern is becoming too stuck-up with them. And we finally headed back to the hotel where I fell into an exhausted sleep. Talking with strange people does NOT invigorate me!
We woke early and Chad left to go meet some more big-wigs. I took a nap, did a bali dance workout, went for a walk, talked to my mom, and just lazed about. I was supposed to join Chad for lunch, but a miscommunication made it not happen. Oh well. But if I couldn't get to lunch, how was I was going to get to my massage? Thankfully, the front desk arranged a ride for me since it was just on the other side of the freeway. (I was going to walk until I saw where my .6 mile walk would take me) That was nice! Except I think I may be a little bruised on one spot on my back. Oops! Oh, and cucumber slices in your water is so much more refreshing than citrus slices!
Then we stopped by for interview #2 which couldn't have been more different. They serve the "underserved" community, or however you want to put that. I was really impressed with their hospital and how passionate everyone was about helping others. I think a place like that would keep us very well grounded. Not the nicest place nor with the best salary, but definitely a unique opportunity.
So that was KC... oh wait, I forgot. We got stuck on the runway coming back and missed our flight by about 10 min! Frustrating! Luckily we got on a flight leaving 1.5 hrs later. Finally home! I think the kids needed this break as much as we did. They have been angels since we've been home. And we haven't been so cross either.
Monday we leave for Utah for another interview, this time with the whole fam (minus the dog) and we are so looking forward to seeing out families, though very briefly. Interview trip 1= successful. Trip 2, hoping for the same. Well, but no more flight delays please!