I did have an the advantage of having actually stayed there before for a high school activity. My husband was thoughtful in knowing we should go in and check out exactly where I would be testing but against my better judgement, I decided not to. I thought, surely I had been here before and could easily ask them in the morning the right room to go to. Instead of going in, I followed my tummy and we went to find something to eat.
I prefer not to spend money on Sunday but we did need to eat that night :) we had some coupons for Wendy's and we did get a great deal! We got a small chicken sandwich, large chicken sandwich, a burger, fries, chili fries, and a small drink for under 6 bucks! We headed back to the hotel and a little later, jumped in the swimming pool. Oh boy, it was quite chilly! We thought since it said 'heated pool' when we booked the place, that it would be warmer than the air outside but alas, it was not. So we didn't spend much time in there but did enjoy the hot tub for a while after that. :)
I knew I needed to get up early the next morning for my test, so off to bed we went. I tossed and turned all night. At about 3 am, I was certain it had to almost be 6 am until I saw the clock. At 5:40 am, I just decided there was no use fighting sleep anymore. I laid there contemplating my exam until Sam rolled over and the alarm went off. I was feeling pretty good while getting ready. Sam brought water and some Nutri-grain bars back from the front desk and suddenly I was faced with eating. My stomach churned and the nausea burned my throat. I was getting nervous and my usual morning nausea was hitting me (no I'm not pregnant that I know of). I could not eat. By the time we were leaving the hotel, I thought for sure I was going to hurl. It took me a little longer to get to the car than I wanted but when I did, I found 2 dollars lying on the ground! I hoped that was a good sign.
We drove straight to the hotel downtown and Sam dropped me off. I gathered all my things and mustered up a little confidence. I saw the receptionist with a couple of men giving them information and their room keys. I waited patiently until they left and asked the nice lady where I could go for cosmetology licensing. She could not have given me a worse answer, unless she was completely rude. She was confused and so was I. We came to the conclusion rather quickly, that this was not the right hotel. I hastily looked for my admission paper that had the name of the hotel. When I pulled it out she said that it was a different hotel and that she had directions. As soon as she stepped to the side to grab it, I pulled out my phone and called Sam, "Come back! Come back! Come back! This isn't the right hotel!"
I raced to the doors and as soon as I hung up the phone, I was dialing for an instructors number. I was not sure if they would still let me in if I was only 15 minutes early instead of their 30 minute wish. Miss Barb answered her phone but her comments only made me burst into tears. She said if it was already passed 8, they would not let me in. At this point it was probably just over the hour. I panicked but she said to just go see what they say and see if I could get into the afternoon test. So I finally pulled myself together and we got to the hotel just about the time we had planned.
I jumped out and walked briskly to the front desk and they directed me to a line of cosmetology students waiting to check in with their IDs. By that time, I realized for certain that Miss Barb must have thought the actual test started at 8 but it started at 8:30 and I made it! *phew* I let Sam know and then entered the testing room. Surprisingly, my nerves had settled much more than expected and I was ready to test. Everything went seemingly well. No big messes, drops, or issues I could think of. It may not have been fabulous on some tasks but I never felt a rigid fail. When it was over, my relief was great. I took my time packing up my things and had time to wait for Sam to come to get me.
Since every detail is not the most exciting, I think I can jump around here. The only exciting thing about our new hotel room was at 6 pm, there was lots of noise outside and Sam latched the door shut because he could see some people standing outside the door. It was jut a reaction but then a few mins later, they knocked on the door, "Housekeeping!" And tried walking right in. At 6pm!? It made no sense. Then for the rest of the night, we went to my Aunt Dawnele's for pizza with my family. It was like our 'goodbye' dinner for my little brother, Henry. We had a really nice time with the fam.
In the morning, we ate a little breakfast and then headed to the airport to see Henry off. We were the first to arrive and then we all met up near the luggage check-in. My dad was last because he apparently got on the wrong shuttle bus after he had parked. At the security check in, we took pictures and gave him hugs. A few tears came to his sisters, and when our nephew started crying for him as he turned and walked toward the check in, many more tears flowed. My little bro is gone for 2 years, going to preach the word if God in Mexico. I'm so happy. We went to the roof top and watched airplanes take off for a while, including what we think was Henry's plane.
Afterwards, Sam and I drove to Scottsdale, where I took my written license exam. There was only one other girl there for the same test and two guys there for a different test. I was not as worried about this test until I started reading the questions. When I went back to check the questions I had marked unsure, I was still getting worried. Then I went back through ALL the questions and I realized, I had answered the bulk of the questions with answers I was pretty sure of. So when I finished up, I was certain I had to have at least passed. :) And I did. I will not know about my practical for another week or so but this one they tell us right away.
Once again, relief.
I will not bore you with any more details but that we celebrated with Olive Garden and Baskin Robbins and that on the way home, we stopped at Balentin trail, following my parents, Caleb, and Lizzie. We hiked to the creek and just had a nice time with them. Then we headed home behind my parents with a stop at Del Taco where as a group we at 30 tacos.
. Delish.
