Going to the Big Apple

Ok, so I am pretty sure that most of my family knows by now that in about 2 weeks yes just 2 weeks from today I am going to be having dinner with one of my best friends and lucky enough for me one of my cousins in NYC. I am going to visit Natalie and Miles for 5 fun filled and I am sure chaotic days in a city that I have always dreamed of seeing and for a long time thought that it would just remain a dream.

I cannot believc what my next vacation holds for me, just thinking about all of the things that there are do see and so in that city blows my mind. I am so happy that I am going to be able to see it with family and friends. This trip was just a thought I had a few months back and then Nat and I started emailing and all of the pieces just fell into place for me to be there over Conference weekend.

I was talking to my awsome Gram Ekstrom this last weekend while I was in SLC to see a friend of mine, and we were discussing how lucky we are as a family to have the friendships that we do with our cousins. I get strange looks from so many people when they find out that I am flying across the country in almost every sense of the word to visit a cousin, not a brother or a sister, they think that it is odd that I feel such a bond to my extended family that I would make that kind of effort. I cannot imagine any other kind of relationships, we are such a close family, and I am so grateful for that. For those of you out there that I have not been able to see in the last year, I miss you and I wish that there were more days in the month and more months in the year to visit you. As we grow up and spread out and start our lives as husbands and wives and mothers and fathers, we had great examples set for us by our parents and our grandparents. They taught us to love and to forgive and I don't think that there is any greater gift in the world than the relationships that we share now. I consider my family my friends and my friends my family, you are all so important to me and have had an impact on my life and I love you all for that.

So, as I am getting ready to go on the biggest adventure that I have ever had in my life, I cannot wait to see the city and feel the energy, to experience NYC and all that it can offer me in the short time that I will have there, I am more excited to see Natalie and Miles, it has been to long and I hope it is never this long again.

I know that no one from my dads side of the family reads this but to them I have to say that I love you guys and that you have played and important role in my life. I am going to Ellis Island while I am in NYC, I want to go back to the place that brought our family to the USA and made all that is my life possible. Without the courage of my Grandmother and my Great-Grandparents to leave all that they had known in England and start a new life, our lives would never have been possible. Thank you Grandma Mabey, and Great Grandma and Grandpa Hartley you are an inspiration to me, to want to make my life all that it can be, and to do that I must be willing to do things that may be scary and may even seem impossible but in the end are worth every prayer, tear, and heartache.

My Family

Today I had the chance to be here in Idaho Falls while my oldest brother Shawn blessed the last edition to their little family Porter. I am so blessed myself to have such a great family. It amazes me to spend time with them and to see them with their children and the way that we have all grown up and where our lives have taken us.

I have 8 nephews and 1 niece and 1 niece on the way and I can't wait to meet her and see what kind of person she turns out to be. I have really enjoyed watching the others learn and grow and become little people that have opinions and fears and everything that we feel. I can't wait until I have the chance to have children of my own and see what kind of little people they become.

I also started thinking about the rest of my family, my many cousins and the families that they have started and the little people that they are raising. I just can't be anything but greatful for the amazing people that I have in my life and the examples that they have set for me.

To all of you out there and I am sure that most of you know who you are, You are great and amazing parents and I pray that someday I can grow up to be as great as you are. I love you all.

Airlines.....UGH

So I guess if anyone really watches the news you know that the travel industry is less than stable these days. Well yesterday the 2nd airline in the last year pulled its service out of Boise. I know that may not seem like big news to those of you that travel out of places like SLC and JFK and all those really big airports but it is a big deal here when there are only 7 airlines here to start with. The only benefit is that the customers have to go somewhere else to buy the tickets so hopefully our business will pick up soon. Things have been really slow since school started again and there is always a bit of a lull this time of year, but in 7 years of doing this I have never seen one like this. I just pray that Horizon will keep on doing whatever it is that they have been doing so that they don't have to lay off anyone. It seems like an endless battle to please the customer and keep the business alive. The big companies like United, Delta and Northwest start making big changes in the fees that they charge and the customers get mad and start traveling other companies like Horizon/Alaska and Southwest but then we have to follow suit in order not to go under ourselves and then the people just seem to stop traveling all together. I know alot of families that normally would have gone on some big vacation this year stayed home because the cost of gas was to much to drive anywhere and the cost of airfare was to much to justify paying. I know that the ecomony is bad and that people have to make changes in the way that they are spending, I just hope that I don't have to find a new job because of it.

PS.. I don't see travel getting any cheaper in the near future, I guess it is going back to the way it used to be, Flying somewhere used to be something that the rich and fabulous could afford. We came to a place where it became easy for the masses to afford a ticket, and now I see it swinging back in favor of the rich and fabulous again.

I want to take a poll.... Please awnser one question for me....

Would you rather....
Pay more for your plane ticket and be able to check more luggage..
or
Have cheaper airfare and have to pay for your extra luggage....?
Keep in mind that if it is just you traveling and not your entire family aka your kids and all the stuff you need for them how many bags could you pack into and would you have to check them or could you carry it. Since Horizon changed its policy to only allow each passenger only 1 checked bag free of charge, it amazes me how many people can carry on what they need for a 2 day trip.