When Mack and Sophia decided to get married they considered lots of dates but in the end chose the 12th partially because Andrew would be home by then. As the time came closer we got his flight plan and realized that he would truly get home just in time for the wedding - 9:35pm the night before. Not enough time to get his suit cleaned but he would be there.
Friday morning I woke up and began the back and forth runs from the airport to get all of my family to Middleton. We enjoyed sitting around and catching up as everyone slowly gathered.
It was Claire's bday so we all went to Red Robin to celebrate.
While there I got a text from Greg saying Andrews flight was delayed... again..again... We went to Val's house to kill time and talk more.
Then the call from Greg that the flight was canceled. The next few hours were a blur as we tried to make plans and waited for communication from Andrew. He was flight home without a cell phone so had now way to contact us without borrowing someone's phone. He also had no debit card, only some cash for meals. But God is in the details. Andrew connected with a fellow passenger on the canceled flight, a 17 year old girl from Middleton who had graduated with Kate. She was all alone and worried so Andrew helped her figure out what to do next and in return she let him use her phone to call us.
Well things got stranger as we helped them get an uber to a hotel where they learned she couldn't check in because she was a minor and he couldn't check in without a debit card, or $150 cash for incidentals. They got a three way call going with her parents (the stake president in the other Middleton stake) and us to tell us their plan. They had just enough cash between them to pay the $150 deposit and get one room. They would sleep in their clothes, not shower, and just sleep. Amids all the jokes and laughter we all approved the plan and Andrew spent the last night of his mission in a hotel room with a 17 year old girl.
It was a wild night as we were working all this out and Natali's flight had also been delayed but thankfully she was able to arrive at 2:00am and Miguel was excited enough to see her that he stayed up late and picked her up.
The next morning we moved pictures back in order to meet Andrew at the airport at 10 just in time to get home and get ready for wedding pictures. He was released at the church right before the wedding. We are so excited to have him home but the arrival felt anticlimactic for him since he only spent about 15 minutes at home before bed that night. However, the mini fridge full of all his favorite drinks right next to his room helped.
Ditten got her own hello too! Welcome home Andrew.
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