Reason #289 you don't want to vacation with us.

Especially WHEN it means you fly with us. There isn't anything, say, WRONG about going somewhere with us on an airplane (after all *knock on wood* none have crashed yet), but I'll let you decided if you want to join us on our next airplane trip.

*original entry for this trip is below if you want to skip this long narrative. this post written for the Sizzlin' Summer Vacation Spectacle and let me tell you it was either this flying thing or me describing just how overboard I go planning our Disney World vacations!

Our adoption journey to China. Yes, the day I had been waiting for during the ENTIRELY TOO LONG wait of 2 years from application to our agency. We had tickets (electronic) in hand, we had schedules, my Mom was here to drive us to the airport, I held on to my boys extra hard and read bedtime story after bedtime story. Then I posted my "Twas the Night Before" story. Our flight was scheduled for 8am, which meant we needed to be up no later than 5am. So, when I say, I was awake at 2am you'll have FULL appreciation for the horror that was to come later.

We get to the airport and we're 2nd in line waiting for the United counter to open. I was surprisingly alert and excited, yet terrified of the very long trip we had ahead of us. I was nervous about going to another country, especially one I did not speak the language. I was nervous to be meeting new people. I was NERVOUS about getting my little girl...FINALLY. So, imagine if you can, hearing "the 8am flight to Washing DC on United has been canceled because it snowed in DC last night and that flight did not get here." Okay, perhaps not those exact words, but the entire thought was finally related to us. They looked to book us the NEXT DAY arriving in Beijing Saturday around 3pm!

Ummm...NO!

Well, we later found out, because we were one of 2 going internationally eventually, that they were a wee bit confused in re-ticketing us. If we had been 30 minutes MORE on the ball (and realized that this flight was canceled earlier) we could have had them switch us to one of the other 2 flights that left around 8am for DC. Lesson #1 always check our flight the morning you leave even if the night before said it was "on-time"...even if it said that a midnight when they already knew that flight was NOT going to be "on-time."

This meant we missed our connection in DC that was going to Beijing. My poor friend Cheri was expecting us to be ON THAT FLIGHT and I had not way to tell her we would miss it.

After a good 2 hours of insisting we get to Beijing as early as possible we had another set of tickets with final arrival in Beijing at 5am. When they were printing out the electronic confirmations, we had to transfer to Air China (or was it China Air) in LA. That confirmation said "Paper ticket required" and the agent on duty in our little airport told us "I'm not sure why this is here, but here is the confirmation number it's ALL you will need and tell them this is your confirmation number...you are confirmed on that flight." We checked 3 times with them.

We left the airport with Mom and boys and went to eat Breakfast, then home again home again jiggity jig. For 3-4 hours. We made it on our little regional jet to Denver, and excitedly we waited for the 2 hour layover we had there. Only, we noticed things were really messed up and lots of flights were late or delayed. It was "late" to us as we had been up since before 5am central time. We fought sleep so we could sleep on that 14 hour flight from LA to Beijing. Good plan, right? Well, we ended up with a 2 hour delay in Denver due to "wind" in LA. They shuttled us off on a flight with other passengers flying internationally. It gave me a tiny little thrill to be included in that group! We were going to make it to our flight in LA!!! well, hopefully, as we had to navigate the security and such.

We landed and raced through the airport, outside the terminal to the international terminal...and stood in shock at the amount of humans standing in the security lines. Wow, the international terminal is BUSY at night in LA. Our flight was scheduled to leave around 1am PST (no sleep yet, and yes, that is 3am CST for those wondering....we'd been up for around 22 hours at this point). I was rather appalled at the treatment the TSA people gave the non-Americans in that line with us, and then I was rather appalled at the conditions in the LA airport terminal. I have been used to more up kept terminals okay. Much smaller too, especially for the number of 747 flights leaving, and the ONE bathroom. I managed to buy 2 20ounce drinks prior to them closing the ONLY place to get drinks while we waited to board our flight. Dh, being the smart man he is, went up to the counter to make sure we had everything we needed to get on this flight. It was 12am, and he stood there for 40 minutes waiting for them to figure out anything. They showed us confirmed on the flight, and they had our seats EMPTY...the only 2 empty seats on the entire flight. They boarded everyone BUT us. Why? We didn't have the paper ticket. They needed the paper ticket to get paid by United for us on this flight. No budging them at all. Dh even talked to United and pleaded with them. Our options? Go back to the ticketing counter at United and GET the paper ticket (they told us this at 12:30), then get back to the gate to board for the 12:50 am departure. 20 minutes...with that LONG line for security. It was not possible. They pulled our luggage and brought it to us. I started sobbing. We had to watch our flight to Beijing leave...without us.

So, we slowly walked out of the international terminal, past the long lines of people (which was considerably shorter). We walked somewhere...I was still crying...to United ticketing. I was crying, and a United agent was on her way out. She asked if I was okay. I told her what happened, that we had missed our 2nd scheduled flight to Beijing and that it was because the United person at home had not given us the paper ticket. She knew instantly what had happened, and went back to the desk. She had been on her way home, they closed at 1am. It was around 1:10am. She got us re-booked, handed us everything we would need. Unfortunately security was closed for the night, they would re-open at 4am.

I guess NOW is the time to tell you we were sitting right beside the street with the automatic doors opening and closing at 1:30am in LAX airport. NOT THE SAFEST PLACE. We'd been up for 22 hours. We were both emotionally spent. We had over $5000 in cash on us, had camera and computer equipment, and all our luggage for a 2 week stay in China. We did not sleep. We sat there until 4am when they reopened. (BTW, that's 6am to our bodies, we've officially been up for more than 24 hours). Our new schedule has us flying from LAX to San Francisco, that flight leaves around 8am. Mom thinks we're on the China flight. Our poor travel coordinator had been called in the middle of the night when they wouldn't let us board, and then we called again to tell them the new flight info. I felt SO BAD for her. I remember begging Dh to buy some of the neck pillows so we could sleep. I was nauseated I was so tired. I could barely walk anymore, and oh I was so tired...but I knew, if I fell asleep I would not wake up easily...and we really needed to be on that flight to San Francisco.

We made it (and boy was the gate in an out of the way location). Both dh and I were asleep before the plane pulled away from the gate. We slept for the short 1.5 hour flight (if that long) and arrived in San Francisco. We immediately went to the international terminal and begged them to verify that we had what we needed to in order to board...and then we upgraded to Economy Plus for that flight. The crew was nice, but bewildered as to why we were so worried about it.

We got on that flight and made our way very smoothly on a wonderful flight to Beijing. We landed around 3:15pm Saturday...just about the EXACT same time we would have if we had just taken the first set of "rebookings" with United! We had a total travel time of roughly 45 hours (from first arriving at our first airport to landing in Beijing). With a total of around 9 hours of sleep the entire trip.


the original entry and lookie there...I messed a few times up! Imagine that. LOL

and I so wish I could say that was "it" for airline travel for our family...but then there is this gem.

Then if you go back to our honeymoon, we had a 6 hour delay in the Orlando airport because of "fog" in the Northeast when our flight was to Nashville, TN.

Or there was that time we flew with JM when he was 7 months old and his diaper exploded from a particularly nasty bm. ;) Leaving us with NO diapers for the rest of our trip home, and me in a not so nice smelling outfit.

Of course you can't forget the flight scheduled for 9/22/2001...11 days after 9/11. You can imagine the FUN that one was - rebooked flights, major schedule changes, arrive 3 hours prior to take off....

OH...and if the flight to China was "interesting" our flight from Beijing to Kunming? Well, we took off in a snow storm that closed the airport right after our flight. I choose not to think about it...found it's best that way. ;) I just don't think about the snow/ice covered runway, the ice stuck to the wings....you know...those things. Nothing but my baby girl could have gotten me on that flight.

Luckily most of the rest of the flights back to the US were less eventful, just major turbulence on every single flight!

New Orleans

It was a vacation, but not one of our normal vacations. We went to visit with family, and enjoy their company instead of "tour tour tour tour tour...oh yeah and tour some more" kind. While we did do stuff, we mostly walked around the city, ate some really yummy food, let the boys swim, and let Katie enjoy her family. :)

I'm only posting a few here, if you want to see the rest check at the bottom of this post for links.

Samuel - gosh I love his expressions! His eyes, those eyelashes, and his silliness.


Katie's smile and laughter make me happy as well.


My 3 kids, all dressed up and almost fully cooperating!




Thumbnail view OR Slideshow If you do the slideshow, be sure to click the i in the circle on the first image when it comes up - you get "captions" that way. ;)

Flying with us...

or heck, traveling with us, is probably not in your best interests I believe.

6 months ago, we set out on our Adoption Journey to China. Only to hit a few "snafus" with flights. 45 hours later, almost no sleep, we were finally in Beijing. 45 hours, which covered 7 scheduled flights we were supposed to have been on, only 4 of which we actually managed to make it on the flight. It was crazy. It was stressful. We endured, and learned quite a bit ourselves and traveling. Mainly, we would NOT make good Amazing Race contestants.

Our DC vacation, well, what would be an airplane ride without incident in actually getting to take that flight?

On the outbound trip, we got hit with new baggage rules. We could only take 1 checked bag and 1 carry on item. Each. Extra bags, we were told were $10. The day of, the fee had increased to $20. Overweight fee was $29. We checked 5 bags, one was 2.5 pounds over, the other 4 were WELL under the weight. Atlanta charged us $49. *grumble grumble*

On the return flight, our flight was scheduled for 2:53pm. We were told to check in 120 minutes prior to departure, absolutely NO check in 45 min prior to departure. We left our hotel around 9:45am (give or take a few minutes). GPS unit said 1 hour and roughly 30 minutes of travel time. GREAT! We could actually get the rental car turned in without extra fees. We chose against seeing more museums for fear of brains exploding from too much knowledge. ;) We started down I95, all was well for about 5 minutes then we noticed lots of red brake lights. LOTS of them. 3 lanes full of them as far as we could see. We thought, okay, traffic snafu. We got in the HOV lanes, all was well for about 5 minutes (if that). 1 mile prior to "re-entry" to normal interstate, it was a standstill. Complete and total standstill. 5 lanes going into 3 that were already backed up. We managed to merge. (Notice, I would give us having gone roughly 10-15 miles TOTAL at this point) It was now around 10:45am. 1 hour. 1 hour to go a lousy 10-15 miles.

We tried "detour" feature on the GPS. We were cruising along at a pretty good trip, for about 10 minutes, and finally thinking..."we just might get there in plenty of time to eat lunch!" Yeah, until the we hit the thousands of other people who had the same idea as us to use "detour" feature on their GPS units. Brilliant.

We pulled out the laptop, hooked up my cell phone, and searched. "Incident at mile marker 131." Okay. Nice to know, where did that leave us? We had no idea where we were in relation to that. It did mention, "traffic congestion due to incident at mile 131" though. Where was this "congestion?" Mile marker 156. Yes. 25 miles. Our hearts sunk. We tried to detour around the US highway congestion, but learned, the GPS unit doesn't really detour from the detour. It would only send us back to the congested interstate that resembled a parking lot, or send us to the US highway that was the parking lot we were on. We watched the "arrival time" creep up. We decided that surely the interstate was moving faster, got on, around 140 I think. 9 miles. 9 miles took roughly 1 hour. We called the AirTran to see what our options were. We were now in danger of not arriving outside the 45 minute window, and we had to drop off a rental car and check in!

We tossed some snacks back to the boys. Samuel got a little choked (he swallowed a pretzel piece whole), and yes....he vomited. Luckily into a bag. I leaped into the back to help him out. Climbed back up front. Then realized just how badly I needed to stop for a restroom. See, it had been almost 3 hours by this point since we left. We'd gone maybe 30 miles. The van needed gas unless we wanted to pay the $5.80+ a gallon for the rental car to fill it up. We were short on time. The decision was, "Bathroom break worth possibly missing the flight?" I finally said, YES!!!! It took us 5 minutes to refuel and use the necessary. ;) Dh drove great, the kids were troopers, Katie thought we were never going to feed her again! We made it to Richmond Airport 1 hours and 10 minutes prior to departure. Dh dropped me, the kids, and the luggage off to check in. He returned the van. I had us more "evenly packed" and we only had 4 bags, this time all weighing CLOSER to the weight limit.

We made our flight, a little stressed, but going home.

We got to Atlanta, finally got to the van....it wouldn't start. The battery was dead due to 3 interior lights being left on. Thanks kids. AAA to the rescue, and one lost code for the entertainment system in the van meaning NOTHING TO LISTEN TO ON THE WAY HOME! We made it...finally. The bed never felt so good.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

As we were in Washington DC and it's the inaugural season in the new stadium for the Washington Nationals, Dh wanted to see a game. I mean, REALLY wanted to see a game. I told him that we should stick with the "cheap seats" and we could wait until we got there and just buy them at the gate. Good plan!

We got there Tuesday night, for a game against the Phillies, we were there about "right at game time" and thought "we'll get in by the 2nd or 3rd inning. Wrong. We stood in line for 45-60 minutes, and still had at least 30 minutes to go. Dh was keeping track of the game on his "crackberry" and they were already in the 4th inning. We decided to just go on back to the hotel. I mean, what is the point if we don't get to the ticket window until around the 7th inning at the earliest!

We decided to go back, get online and purchase tickets online to be picked up at "Will Call" the next night. It worked! Like a charm! However, we failed to looked at the weather forecast prior to purchasing tickets and it was cold. AND wet.

Beautiful view of the Washington Monument in the sunset....


Did I mention we wanted "cheap seats" as we knew Katie would not stay long? Can't get much cheaper than this.


It was quite chilly way up there in the nosebleed section.

Just how far WERE we actually?

See that fence? It surrounds the top of the stadium. That would be Row X people. The TOP ROW. *faint*


So, how was the game actually? It was supposedly a great game. High scoring. The boys did get to see a homerun, which was exciting. However, with the cold night air, the over abundance of teens hopping in and out of their seats around us (and walking over the rows, standing in front of us, etc.) we did not stay long. Katie and I stayed even less time than the boys did. She wanted to walk around.

Here she is in motion, please ignore the sound...

I'm asking her how she is, how old she has to be to do something...and then how old is she (we're working on that now). She responded in her gibberish but you can't understand her with the crowd noise and wind noise.

More Vacation photos

I'm working to figure out a better way to share photos! Uploading and posting one by one is getting very old, and I'm sure you are bored to tears reading about our vacation. So, I'm trying to join the "new digital photo sharing age" and have a flickr account I just set up.

But, I'm posting a few of my favorites here, and if you are REALLY bored and have time to waste, you can see the rest of them. ;)

As the vacation wore on, I took fewer and fewer photos. I also remember less and less. Something about overload on the brain or something. Or it could have been the stress and gray hairs we got trying to keep Samuel from darting out into the traffic (he only ALMOST stepped out in front of a bus one time...heart stopping OH MY GOSH almost stepped...would have if I had not yanked his shirt back quickly).

Samuel loved the "HIGH" preacher pulpit in the Jamestown church. He could see all the way to the last row.

Katie and Mommy at Mount Vernon (she wanted down to run around)

"Hey there?! Whacha doin? Huh?" Samuel's personality FULLY shines through in this photo. Truly.

I told Dh that the next time he forgets my birthday or our anniversary he can make it up to me by buying this little "bauble" for me. ;)


WOW. Just wow seeing this document in person, and the others. WOWEE.


By the way, "true size" copies of the Declaration of Independence are $8 in the giftshop. The giftshop also sells the National Treasure DVD. ;)


click here to see a slideshow of the rest of the images (all 51) be sure to click the (i) in the middle of the slideshow window to read descriptions

click here to see thumbnails

Day 3 - Jamestown

We were headed back to "snoresville" as JM said after an exciting day at Busch Gardens. I think he was pleasantly surprised at how interesting Jamestown was. He enjoyed it, as did the little kids.

First, we walked to the historic area....it was a rather "long" walk to Katie. ;)


JM was a HUGE help this vacation by being able to carry a backpack!



Once we got down to the dock and the ships, I had the responsibility of watching Samuel (making sure he didn't go into the water). ;)


He loved the dock!


JM got to try his hand at steering, and found it was rather more difficult than the thought.

Um...Samuel?! SAMUEL!!!! Oh yeah, I was supposed to be watching him. ;) He was looking to see if he could see the rutter. *wrong end buddy* Yes, we did get on to him, and no he did not fall into the water. Scared us a little though. It was a foreshadowing of our trip in DC though. I now officially have a few more gray hairs.


Safely back on land, the boys learn about how to carve out a canoe.


They then tried their hand at rowing a canoe...yes, on dry land. We learned that these canoes could be walked in without capsizing though. JM would like to do this a as a school project. We tried explaining to him that it was a LONG process. He is convinced we can do it. I think we'll wait a few months at least!

Day 2 - Busch Gardens!!!

Okay, the funny story behind this is that we were planning our vacation and I mentioned going to Busch Gardens. JM said, "Great. A gardens. Mom just loves taking pictures of flowers and us in gardens." He made it way too easy to just play along and not tell him that it was more of a "garden of roller coasters" that we were going to!

He was THRILLED when we got there. It was definitely a highlight of his trip.

Samuel and Katie rode a few rides, but we quickly learned that Katie does NOT care for riding without her parents at all.

We rode the Tea Cups as a family, and unlike the Tea cups in Disney these spun so fast. Katie clung to me and did not like it at all.

Samuel, poor thing, is too short for most of the roller coasters, and here he was showing me that he FIT in the seat. I had to explain that while he fit, it was more his body size and the gravity forces that the coaster would put on him that he could not handle.


All was better when he got to ride his FIRST big rollercoaster - Big Bad Wolf. :)

It was a good day all in all, and the kids loved going to the "gardens" after all.

observation from the point and shoot

Since we gave Samuel the camera a few times, and we know he's short (roughly 43 inches), it's amazing the perspectives we get sometimes. For example, I think I look so different from his height. What he find important to take photos of can seem odd.

I hope you enjoy "Samuel's View" of Williamsburg. I know I do.

The end of the Neverending Day

Well, honestly, the end of the visit to Colonial Williamsburg in the daytime. We did end the day by doing a night time event there - The Gunpowder Incident. I have no photos of that, but suffice it to say, we LOVED it. Actually, I might have point and shoot images prior to the event as I did give Samuel the camera - thus the movie of his feet. ;)

But, somewhere around 2:30pm, Samuel wore himself out. While Katie was still going strong wanting to walk everywhere, Samuel claimed the stroller. We went to sit in the shade and hear "Thomas Jefferson" speak. If you are ever there, do make a point to listen to him. GREAT presentation!





That night, like tonight, I am worn out. Long day in the sun, long day with the kids, and it's time for some relaxation. Hope you enjoyed "Day 1" of our vacation.

The never ending day - part4

see, I told you it was never-ending. It seemed that way to us as well.

The kids all loved the Harpsichord that we were allowed to play.


JM didn't care to pose for me, but he did stop. Just didn't smile. Funky color though, not sure why.

We paused to look off of bridges. Katie "posed" for me, then because I was squatting to take her photo, she squatted as well.



The boys begged us to hurry it up!

Katie danced and played at every building we went to see. I was chasing her. Dh was "learning" new and interesting things while corralling the boys and trying to get them to learn the same new and interesting things.

The never ending day - part3

Remember Samuel's propensity for touching things?


Then we also enjoyed many of Katie's faces - I love how she gives us that funny look then smiles so big!


Then the boys found a tree perfect for climbing on, which made them happy.


Katie was just happy walking around.