Mildenhall Reunion-day of travel

On June 18, we started our trip to Panama City Beach, FL for the Mildenhall Reunion:  2085 miles (x 8 people).  Stacey was so good to drive us in our van to the airport, and we flew fairly quickly to Denver.  As we got off the plane, Emily noticed a sign like this:

and asked if Denver had a lot of tornadoes.  I halfway heard, and sort of answered, "I don't think so--you must've noticed one special corner of the airport."
We did lose 4 of our children on the train system, since Lucy was suddenly petrified of getting on (and there is no time for decision-making once the doors open)--we hand-signaled "A" for the older ones to get off, and they were so savvy as to be there waiting for us when Brian and I got there w/ the younger 2--schwew! (but all of that drama was quickly forgotten once we learned about why there are "Tornado Shelter" signs all over the airport (not in one small corner)

Half an our into our 2 hour layover,the dark clouds turned darker and deeper, and soon there were announcements of a tornado warning, and that we would all need to retreat to safer places, either in bathrooms or down the stairwells.  Down the stairs we went, for quite a few flights, until we were in the belly of the airport, underneath conveyer belts for luggage, etc., and sitting on greasy pavement used for vehicles:

Fortunately, tornadoes are quick in nature, so after about 45 minutes, we could resurface, and hope that our plane wasn't too late.  It almost wasn't held up, but due to running out of fuel, and the storm moving, our flight WAS delayed about 4 hours, so we had 6 hours instead of 2 in the airport, where we became expert at moving sidewalks, riding trains (without losing each other), and eating the days' supply of snacks we all had packed into our carry-on's.  Maddie and Emily had also helped out by stocking up on some toys and prizes at the Dollar store (and wrapping them up!), so we had that to pass the time as well.  The girls made fast friends w/ nearby children traveling to Atlanta, and had a great little picnic sharing snacks and toys :)

With the tornado delay, we landed in Atlanta at 12:30 AM instead of 8:30 PM, and were debating about how far to try driving that night/morning.  Brian picked up our rental van, and wanted to at least get started.  By Columbus, he was wearing out (I was still pregnant, and already WORN out and fairly useless!), but he stopped at a gas station for a pit stop and 2 bottles of Coke while the children slept, and came back ready to go.  He drove ALL THE WAY through to Florida, and we got to the beach house just as Cal and Katie were coming out for a walk to the beach :)! (5:30 AM).  We said hi to the few up, then went to bed for a few hours, getting up for a late breakfast, and slow-paced happy beach day.  It was SO nice to be there though!, and so good to see everyone! We also found out our little baby will have 2 cousins born around the same time!!--since Scott and Rebekah, AND Taylor and Kristen are both expecting! :)