Change of plans...

So, 2 days before we were planning on starting our big drive back to arizona for summer break we had a slight change of plans!!! We had been hearing all kinds of crazy scary things about the drive but were trying to stay positive and not really talk about it. It's so expensive to fly into Phoenix, so that just isn't an option for us....not to mention it is nice to have our own car when we're home.......We had been planning this drive for awhile, we did it at Christmas time, we could do it again. I happened to talk with my friend Mady on the phone a few days before and she was telling me the reason why they weren't driving home this time. She said they had read the letter sent out by the U.S. Consulate explaining what had been going on in the state of Sinaloa.....I told her to email it to me so I could read it myself.

This is just a little part of what I read:

"This Warden message informs U.S. citizens traveling to and residing in mexico of the ongoing security concerns for travelers driving the Maxipisto Benito Juarez toll road in the State of Sinaloa. This highway is known to be particularly dangerous night when roadside robberies occur. Sometimes criminals create a roadblock and stop as many cars as they can catch, and then rob the travelers, usually at gunpoint, sometimes also taking the car. Other times the criminals drive up behind a vehicle and divert the victim's car to a side road where they rob the travelers. For this reason, U.S. Consulate General Hermosillo strongly advises all travlers to travel during daylight hours."

Yep, that pretty much did it for me....seeing it first hand. SCARY! This is crazy! So.....as much as I knew this was going to frustrate Erik, I knew I had to tell him about what I'd read and that we FOR SURE weren't going to be driving through the night like we did last time. When he got home from school I had him take a look at the letter and just like I had predicted.....total frustration, for both of us. Ugh. No bueno. Why can't they just have a cheap flight directly into Phoenix? Why does it have to be so difficult?

So, he left to go study.......we were both angry. I hated that. Should I have not said anything? I started second guessing myself! So annoying, I hate it when I do that! Then I quickly reminded myself...."HECK NO!" Mexico is dangerous right now. This is real stuff and we need to take precaution. I did the right thing....we'll think of something.

When Erik got home, he immediately started checking the internet for airline tickets, exploring our options. Thankfully, we found some that would cost the same to fly into TJ as it would to drive.....with gas, tolls, hotels and food. We bought them right away. Thank you GOD! Peace of mind.

We flew into TJ and it was just as easy as it was last time. Again, it felt amazing to be across the border and to be in the good 'ol USA. Les and Alex drove over to spend the weekend with us and then drove us back to arizona on sunday. We had such a great time! It was SO awesome to hang out and see them after 5 months! And, Les is prego too....so we of course had lots of fun comparing bellies and eating lots of sweets!!!! We hung out in pacific beach on saturday......found a place for fish tacos for lunch and then headed down to the beach to let the kids play for awhile.







That night, cousin Kelli and her friend Tyler came over to have dinner with us. Uncle Dirk hooked it up again with amazing food! He's the best! We truly are so spoiled when we're in the Stump household! Love you Uncle Dirk!



It was another amazing weekend in the Diego.....but we were SO excited to get back home to AZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!