**warning: ridiculously long post to follow**

We didn't have a cutesy V-day this year (not that it has been a major holiday for us before). However, this year, Valentine's Day and President's day were the same weekend - meaning the Queen Mary Scottish Festival! Matt was planning on soloing there anyway - and then his California band decided to compete there as well.

We left Friday morning, dropped Bhuvan off at Grandma Biggs' again to be bird-sat, then went to Santaquin to pick up Shawn (because heaven knows I can't pipe for my husband lol). Then we embarked on our 9 hour journey. Blah. Seriously one of the lamest drives ever, especially when you do it once or twice a month! We took an early stop in St. George to get gas, have lunch, and pay Matt's car payment before we left the realm of Mountain America Credit Union. Naturally, we got stuck in the stupid construction at Vegas. Shouldnt it be done by now??? However, we did get to see two jets take off from Nellis AFB as we approached Vegas. That was pretty cool. Uncool was the snow in freaking California. I was not too happy to leave snow only to find more of it. However, we managed to make it into Long Beach with enough time to check into our hotel and relax a minute before heading down to the boat so Matt could rehearse with the drum corps.

After rehearsal, it was kind of late - and we were exhausted and hungry, so we drove aimlessly around downtown Long Beach waiting for the GPS to find us (it thought we were in the bay - silly thing) so we could look up restaurants nearby. We went to BK and then headed back to our hotel where we went to sleep pretty promptly since Matt had his solo in the morning.

So on Valentine's Day, we awoke, had breakfast at the hotel (a complete hole, btw), packed the car up, and drove down to the boat. We found Andrew, and he had Matt play his solo drum. So we hung out and watched drum solos most of the morning. After that, we found where the band was hanging out, and hauled all our stuff over there (my shoulders were so sore). JJC didn't have to play massed bands since they were playing for the Drum Major competition both days. While they hung out and got ready for that, Shawn and I decided to shop the vendors. We also picked up Matt's judging sheet. Before the D/M comp started, we hung out with the band, then Jennifer (wife of another of the snare players, Dave) and I went back up to the registration table to pick up Dave and Andrew's sheets. We watched some of the D/M comp, but I could only handle so much. So Shawn and I shopped some more. After awhile, my feet were sore, so we decided to have a sit and listen to Highland Way for a bit before heading back out to watch the D/M competition some more. Once they were finally done with that, we had ourselves some lunch. Overpriced (as expected), but not bad. Then we left Matt to rehearse and prep for competition that afternoon. Shawn and I did make it back to watch all three bands compete in the combined grade 1/2 contest. Then there was more hanging out until the awards were handed out - then we got to go rest back at the hotel. We were all so tired (strange since I didn't do anything...), so we ordered pizza from the local pizza hut, whose number was conveniently located on our hotel key. We spent a nice, quiet evening in. Ian came over and shared our food, and ended up staying with us that night, as well as the following night. (Can I just say that gay men are way more drama than teenage girls? sheesh!) Matt and I found a random movie on Netflix instant play. It was all about babies! *sigh* I want a baby. Shawn wouldn't let me buy any of the cute baby stuff the vendors had. End Saturday.

Sunday was nice. We got to sleep in. We didn't have to be at the boat until 11am. We also decided not to bring as much stuff (like our chairs and my homework) since we didn't use them much the day before, making my shoulder a little happier. Sunday was pretty much more of the same. The band played for the Drum Majors, got lunch, and rehearsed for the MSR competition. Matt didn't compete in MSR with them, so we decided to use our $5 coupon to the Promenade Cafe and have a nice lunch. I consider that (along with the wii, obviously) our Valentine's celebration. We had a little table next to the window on the boat, with a pretty view of the Long Beach coast line. Long Beach actually looks attractive from that angle. After lunch, we went back to watch the band get ready for competition. We did take a slight break to watch LA Scots grade 3 compete, since the SL Scots drum corps is playing with them, and we have friends there (and of course, you too, Ed!). Matt didn't want to watch Oran Mor and LA grade 1 compete, so I hung out with Greg (a tenor drummer)'s girlfriend to watch the competition. Matt and Shawn came over to watch JJC compete. We didn't stay for the awards. Dinner consisted of left over pizza and Cocoa Pebbles (thanks to Shawn and Ian braving the streets to walk to CVS Pharmacy). We watched TV, and Achmed the Dead Terrorist on You Tube. The plan was to wake up early to get on the road early Monday - but we sucked at that.

We left about an hour later than planned. We just thought that would mean getting home an hour later. Silly us. No, no. It still decided to snow in freaking California. Due to this - they closed I-15 at the Cajon pass. We were just past the exit they closed it at - so we spent at least an hour and a half to get to the on ramp of the same exit, where we were routed back up and off the road. Did you know there are no convenient alternatives to get to Utah from there? Because there aren't. We took a potty break and got snacks in the very crowded gas station while we called people to help us find alternate routes or a place to stay the night. We talked to Seumas about staying at his place, but he had to get back to us once he talked to Norma. We did find one road that looked promising, so we headed that direction. We probably should have taken it and got in at 1am, but once we got there, we opted for only a 2 hour drive further into Phoenix, where we stayed with my step-sister.

Phoenix was so nice and sunny. It was nice to hang out with family for a little while. Not only that, but it solidified moving this summer! We stopped by one house on our way out of town. I can't wait until April when we'll actually walk through houses and hopefully make an offer! Anyway - we finally got left for the 10 hour drive back home. Arizona has cool scenery. So we come into Vegas - take a lunch and gas break - and head to the I-15 junction. I-15 is no longer our friend. The junction was closed (stupid construction), so they routed us through town and up. On the plus side, I could see the Vegas temple in the background :). After that, it was smooth sailing. We didn't hit any bad weather - just extreme boredom. We made it home by 8pm Tuesday and then crashed. Long drives suck.