Saturday 10/24/09
It has been 8 months since we left for Guatemala and we are heading back to the states today for a little break. The day began at 5:30 with a pretty pleasant drive. There wasn't much traffic and limited motion sickness. I did have to sit in the very back seat for a while to let the kids have a chance to see out the window! Chris was really stressed out about getting us to the airport but we drove right there and were able to park. Chris tried to walk us in but they had security people at the front door. (Nobody that isn't flying is generally allowed past that point.) Apparently the security guard was in a good mood or really sympathetic because she allowed Chris to go in to help us get checked in. Even though I know I would have been able to do it, it was reassuring to have Chris with us! After the check in he did have to say good bye when we had to go pay our exit fee and then go through security. Security was unusual for us. They decided to check two of the kids bags. The security officer kept asking me something and neither Morgan or myself could figure out what it was. Some nice gentleman saw our "situation" and came to our rescue. Apparently she wanted to know what airline we were flying on. On the Continental website it says no pointed scissors. So, I told Alysa that she could pack a pair of children blunt tip scissors. No go....they confiscated them! I have never had such a hassle going through security before! Once we got through security we stopped for a quick muffin before going to board our plane. As we entered the ramp to get on the plane, they had another security station where they searched EVERY bag of every person on the plane!! They even confiscated the water that I had bought in the airport!! From that point on though, things went pretty smoothly. We were in 1st class (yes, I got glares from all the adults walking past seeing 4 kids sitting in the big plush seats!!) and the kids were ecstatic! We probably had some of the best food that we've had in 8 months!! Steak, potatoes, veggies, rolls, salad, cheesecake, etc. The kids loved ordering their drinks and being able to pick what meal they wanted. They also enjoyed watching movies and for the most part were very well behaved. Morgan and I kept forgetting that we could talk to people in English!! I probably spent about 5 minutes trying to figure out how to put together a sentence to ask the flight attendant for something and then remembered he spoke English!!
Once back in the good old U.S.A., we had the fun of going through immigration, then picking up all of our luggage, then going through customs, then rechecking our bags, then trying to find our terminal. It was so strange to be surrounded by white people again!
The second flight was even better!! Since we were in first class, we had an entire row and then one extra seat next to a stranger. None of the kids would sit by the guy so I ended up putting Alysa and Laina together, Morgan and Cole together and then me behind them. It worked out wonderfully since the kids all picked cheeseburgers for their meals so they didn't need extra help with their meals. The flight attendant was great also and was more than willing to help the kids out. In addition to this, the airplane had direct t.v. and each kid could watch what they wanted. There were some movies so the kids were completely content for a while. I was even able to rewatch the movie from the previous flight that I only got to listen to bits and pieces of. About half an hour before we landed, Laina finally decided to take a nap!! Great timing on her part as usual!
Welcome to Vegas: On the way out of the airport, Laina had to plug her nose the whole way to the car because she said it stunk so bad! I have to say that I really don't miss all of the smoking and people swearing, and the fast pace of everything!
Sharon (my mother in law) picked us up. What a lifesaver she is! She had put food and stuff in the house to get us through the weekend!! Thanks Sharon!
By the time we got to the house, the kids (and mom!!) were very tired, cranky, and ready for bed! The kids were so excited to see their old rooms that they got a second wind and it seemed to take forever to get them to go to bed!!
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