Brief explanation of the massive amount of debt we've incurred

So, Nathaniel and I like to go to Hawaii. Besides the obvious lure of the beach and gorgeous climate, Nathaniel's aunt and uncle live here. They teach at BYU-Hawaii and are some of the most generous people I've ever met. So they kick their daughters out of their room and let us sleep in their beds. It's wonderful. They're super fun to talk to and live close to the beach.

For those who don't know, my stepmom works for Delta. This means I get standby plane tickets really cheap. You can go online and find out which flights have empty seats and how many employees want them.

All this means is that Nathaniel and I can go to Hawaii for under $500. Last year we went and had an amazing experience. So we wanted to replicate that this year.

So we found the planes that had lots of empty seats and went on our way.

On the way over, things worked out pretty well. Nathaniel go to fly first class (oh, yeah, you can fly first class if there are empty seats). I would have flown first class too if I didn't have Summer with me.

The trip was great. Hawaii is awesome, and Chad and Cynthia just make it even more awesome. I love this family.

On the way back, on Monday, the planets aligned in just the wrong way and flights that once had twenty empty seats were suddenly oversold by five. There was no way we were getting out of Honolulu.

This wouldn't be a problem, except that Nathaniel was going to start orientation at law school last Wednesday.

So we decided to be creative. There was a flight from Kona, a city on the Big Island, to Salt Lake City that looked great. So we listed on that flight, bought fifty dollar plane tickets to Kona, and congratulated ourselves in finding a solution to getting back home.

And the we realized that Delta's online program for those flying standby was being tricky. It turned out that that "empty" flight to SLC consisted of an oversold flight to LA and then a good flight to SLC. But the next day's flight to LA looked good, and we had already bought the tickets to Kona. So we went to the Big Island.

We didn't get on the flight that night, so we decided to get a hotel. We wanted one with an airport shuttle. And guess what?

None of the hotels close to the airport had an airport shuttle.

So decided that we had enough of this whole spending money thing and decided to rent a van and sleep in it.

But we didn't. We got a hotel. I'm glad. Sleeping in a van in a strange land with a baby sounds really awful. What was I thinking?

The next day, we looked at our flight again. You remember, the one that had lots of empty seats?

Full.

Staying in Kona waiting for a decent flight was not an option. The cost of rental cars and hotels can add up fast.

So we looked at the flights from Honolulu back home. Full. The next day? Full. The day after that? Full. What was happening? And how on earth were we getting home?

So Nathaniel did it. He bought a ticket home, last minute. What was he supposed to do? Miss school waiting around for a flight with an empty seat?

And me? I bought a ticket back to Oahu.

Being away from my husband sucks.

I looked at flights from Honolulu to back home for me. I figured I'd just hunker down at the Compton's with Summer until there was a flight.

I told you this family was generous.

I looked at all my options, and found out that the next flight out of Honolulu that wasn't oversold left September 10th. It was August 20th. No way.

So I, too bought a flight back to the mainland.

Can we afford this? Um, no.

So what do can we learn from this?

1. Standby sucks. Standby has, for the most part, been very good to me. For years I flew anywhere Delta flew. For free. Sure, I had to sleep in an airport or two, but it was totally worth it. I've been to Spain, Italy, Costa Rica, Romania (to visit my mission), the UK, France, and all over the US for free because of Delta. Then I turned 23 and had to pay for my ticket, but I still get to fly last minute for very little money (It cost me fifty dollars to go to Seattle).

BUT, I only fly if there are seats available in the plane. With the recession, Delta is clearly changing their policies and packing their planes like cans of sardines. So flying standby is obviously more risky now. I don't think that's a risk we can afford to take.

2. I haven't learned this yet, but we are now going to have to get by on very little money to pay for this trip. It should be interesting. I'll keep you posted.

About pictures: Nathaniel absconded with the camera. I'll post them as soon as he sends me pictures. Or maybe he'll post them.

About Part 5: It's coming. I promise.

About the title of this post: Okay, it's actually a pretty long explanation of our trip. But I could make it longer, I assure you.