Update

So, it has been a long day - mostly spent in an airport and in a car trying to get to the airport. But, it is over now. Here is an update on how it all turned out:

After finding out that all the shuttles from the airports were booked and that all the rental cars were taken, Eric, Elena, and Samantha finally found a cab and braved the roads to get back down to our house, so we could regroup and figure out what to do. All the while, the snow was falling fast and deep. When they got back, we discussed options and figured out that Southwest had two tickets available on a flight one hour before mine, at a time when things were forecasted to be cleared up in Portland. It seemed like a good plan, so we snatched them up and flew around the house re-gathering things up to put into the car because we had less than two hours before that new flight to get up to the airport (in the snow), check-in, etc. Thankfully, we made it in plenty of time. Eric and Samantha checked my luggage ahead of time and I kept Elena to go with me on my flight. I was just getting off the shuttle at the airport to go through security, when Eric called me and said they were boarding their plane! We were all ecstatic to think that some flights might actually make it through to Portland. He also told me that they had announced that in the last three days they had one plane who was attempting to make it through and land at the Portland Airport. One plane in three days! About 20 more minutes passed by and I didn't hear anything from them, so I figured their plane had taken off. I made it through security and was headed to our gate, when I got a phone call from Eric. They had gotten all seated on the airplane and were sitting ready to take off, when the captain came on the intercom and told them that their flight had been CANCELED! Aaaahhh!

So, we regrouped again and decided to wait and see what the verdict would be for my flight. If it was still a go, we were going to swtich Samantha on to my flight, so that at least she could make it home and have someone to spend Christmas with. After waiting about 20 more minutes, there was an announcement over the intercom that the Portland Airport had suspended all operations for the rest of the day and so my flight was officially canceled. A few minutes later, they came on again and said that the Portland Airport was completely closed down. So, between that and the fact that there were no more flights until Christmas day, we finally gave up on flying into Portland. So, we stood in customer service lines and debated for another half an hour - fly into Seattle and drive down, drive through California, fly into Northern California and drive up, bag it all together? After talking to the ladies at the customer service counter, researching on the internet, etc., we decided to stay in Utah afterall and Samantha will fly into Seattle on Wednesday morning (the next available flight). Blah. Not what we had in mind for Christmas. But, we'll make it work anyways. We were absolutely beat when we finally left the airport and stopped on our way back at Olive Garden and had a very scrumptious meal. So that is a bright point in our day. And now that we're not travelling, the snow is gorgeous. :)

Dumb weather.