Jason's Christmas Party plus an Extra Adventure!

Last night was Jason's Christmas Party. Faith (who's husband Dan works with Jason) and I decided to carpool together, as the party was in Vernal, which is about three hours away. So, she came to pick me up with her two kids and we headed out to Vernal. We had a great time chatting, and before we knew it, we were there! So, we went to the Christmas Party, which was fun. We ate dinner at a place called Stockman's, and they have INSANE portions. No joke, each dinner would have been better suited for at least three people. And then, Faith, Dan, Jason and I decided we would split a dessert. Because, surely, four people can handle one dessert, right? But- no. Four people cannot handle one dessert at Stockman's. It was like a half gallon of ice cream with four full-size eclairs on top, all smothered in at least one can of whipped cream, and then a whoel jar of fudge topping poured on top. It was leaking over the platter it was on. Then we did the White Elephant gift exchange, which was funny. They like to get joke gifts, so it was pretty good. Well, it was about 10:30 at that point, so Faith and I decided we had better head out.
Everything is going fine, until all of a sudden, there is this weird clunking sound. It appears we have a flat tire. At 12:30 at night. On top of a mountain. So, Faith and I get out to see which tire is flat. Me, being the blonde I am, I was looking at the back tire. For some reason, I was expecting the wheel to be at the very end of the car. Why? I have no idea. But I start freaking out, and I am like "Oh my gosh! The whole wheel is gone!" Faith immediately comes over, and points out the tire, which is a mere foot from where I was looking. To be fair to myself, we didn't have a flashlight or anything, and it was really dark. So we determine that, yes we do have a flat tire, and open the trunk to get out the spare and the jack. But, they are stuck in the trunk! (I will take this moment to point out that neither of us had changed a tire before.) I was pulling and pulling at the jack, and it would just not come off! So, Faith calls her husband and figures out how to get the stuff out of the trunk, as well as a basic set of instructions. So, we start jacking up the car, and after a while, the car slides off the jack. Which, of course makes me scream, since I was the one doing the jack, and Faith is terrified that I have been killed or something. But, we are all okay. We just have to start all over. By this time, we have been out for about half an hour. Faith was wearing a long sleeve thin sweater and some stiletto heel boots. I was wearing a thin sweater, thin dress pants, and shoes made of eyelet lace. Neither of us had a coat, and I wasn't even wearing socks. It was FREEZING!!! Seriously, we thought we were going to have to chop off our toes. Especially since we had not yet even got the car jacked up. Yikes! So, eventually, the car is up enough. I was tired. So, we turn to the task of getting the hubcap off. No visible screws. I tried to pull it off, but it was on pretty good. So, poor Dan gets another phone call asking how to take off the hubcap. It turns out, you just pull it off. But, man, it was on there! The other side of the tire iron had a chisel tip, so we wedged it in there and tried to pry it off. After both of us trying for quite some time (and probably a few dents in the car- Sorry, Faith!) we finally get it off. Now, for the lugnuts. Keep in mind, that we have no light. It's the middle of the night on the top of the mountain, and we are on a slope. And her kids are screaming bloody murder. We couldn't get the lugnuts off! Arrrgh!! Faith was voting for calling a tow truck, but I am too cheap, so we just kept working at it. Finally, it starts to loosen! Yes! One down, four to go! One by one, we get them off. All of them are as hard as the first one. So, now we can pull the tire out!! Only, since I was lazy, the car was not jacked up high enough. So Faith jacked up the car while I pulled on the tire, until finally, it comes off! From there, it was pretty easy. But, we were still freezing! But- I now know that I can change a tire in the worst conditions! I didn't even freak out because it was just us two, vulnerable women, and two kids under the age of three. I am Woman, Hear Me Roar!