The trip to get to Tepa, Jalisco July 1st

Because Im not sure where to start Ill begin with the trip to get here. It was pretty rough. Shawn and I packed up the car the night before. He literally stuffed all my bags into the trunk of my Altima. When he was done it looked like we had lowered the back end. Yikes. We all got up early the next morning and after waking up Kyle so he could ride with Shawn back home we said our last good byes to mom and the girls. Man that was hard but I was so excited to go it helped a little. The drive to St. Louis was no big deal and was kinda funny seeing Kyle and Shawn practically sitting in each others laps in the back seat. When we got to the air port aside from having to rearrange a few things in my luggage and paying for the extra load in a couple of them things went smooth. Paw Paw Jay met us there to say his last good byes. Wow we will miss him being around sooooo much. Alana just loves Paw Paw Jay. Anyway that was hard also but again excitement made it better. The fuss of getting through security was made 10 times easier by Shawndras assistance. Geess that sucked doing by myself all those times. We soon found our gate and checked to be sure we had appropriate seats together. The first flight was uneventful except for Alana screaming "Seat belt, be safe." until the friendly pregnant stewardess gave us an extra belt to put around her. Alana then went to sleep feeling safe. All we could see out the window was the plane engine and I was determined to get a good seat so Shawndra could see out on the next flight. Dalas airport is big but we didn't even have to get on the little tram to get to our flight. Im telling you this trip was soooooo smooth at first. Oh except there was no where for Shawndra to smoke. And I must say that she handled it all quite well. We napped on and off for the 3 hour flight and Alana did wonderful as usual. Ok so now we feel a little jet lagged and tired of travel right. We know that we have to get on a buss now and that the bus is to leave about 1 and 1/2 hours after we land in Mexico City. The only declaration papers they had were in Spanish. Here we are trying to fill our our forms before we get in line and thankfully some dude notices our troubles and comes to our assistance. When we get in line I say,"Ok this doesn't usually take long." Why did I say that. Instantly three of the five desks or emptied and there are only 2 officers helping an entire flight of Americans. "Dang it!" A lot of frustration and a poopy diaper later we are safely through immigration and customs with Alana in Issacs arms and me close beside. Twenty minuets to spare until we need to be at the bus station on the other side of Mexico City, which if you haven't heard is no small place. Thank God for Issacs uncle at this point. Shawndra, Alana, Issac and I all crawl into a cab after waiting in another line and speed through the bumpy rough roads of the city. At this point Im so sick I cant hardly see strait. People drive crazy there, and this is coming from someone who drives in St. Louis. We make it just in time to get on the bus before it leaves, counting our bags as they put them on so we dont miss any when we get off (nine all together). I should explain here that the reason we flew to Mexico city and not Guadalajara is because at the time we bought our tickets Issac thought he was going to have us live in Mexico city. Thank God he changed his mind. Ok this is where the trip got really bad. "How are you honey." Issac asked. I can only imagine how green my face was at this point. Thankfully I felt secure that between him and Shawndra Alana was taken care of. I get horrible motion sickness even without a crazy cab driver in a crazy city. The bus was actually quite comfy and after a sandwich, water and a long time of having my face smashed up against the window and a plastic bag in my lap, I started to feel better. The bus ride was 5 hours. Yes you read it right 5 freaking long and boring, restless, sleepless hours over night. Ohhh but Alana slept through the whole thing which was a major blessing for all on the bus. Finally there........ But Where........ What the heck we are standing on the side of the road, in a small town, in the rain, at 5am. Alana is still being such an angel laying back in her comfy stroller looking around like,"What the heck are we doing." Oh and its cold, Shawndra and I are in tank tops. Thankfully Issac expected this and brought enough sweaters for all. Soon his aunt and uncle show up in a bronco,all happy and giddy almost. Weird people can be that full of energy at that time of day. Now just 45 min to go. Yeahhaaaa!!!!!!! Where finally here. Really this time. We go in through the big black metal doors and up three flights of stairs into my new home. Its about 7am at this point and Alanas well rested and ready to play. HEE Heee. Kinda glad I don't have pictures of me and Shawndra at this point. Then get this, Issac goes to work. Poor Issac had to go put in a full 8 hour after that trip. Wow maybe I should save the stories of the first week for another blog. Sorry this was so long but I felt like sharing. Shawndra thank you soooooooooooooooo much. I love you.