Welcome to the Wandering Drays!

Not all who wander are lost...

Welcome to my blog dedicated to my family and our crazy foreign service life. Never content with staying in one place, we are excited to share our journey. We've survived two unaccompanied tour (Baghdad 2010-2011 and Baghdad again in 2015-2016), multiple TDYs, and enjoyed a two-year family assignment in Cairo, Egypt. The fab hubby is currently learning Turkish for our next assignment...Istanbul, Turkey! We leave for Turkey sometime in summer 2017. I write about what I know. Which is mainly kids, tween drama, gross pets, dealing with lots of government info, our moving adventures, being a nurse, yoga, running, living on too-little sleep, and an addiction to coffee lattes. I hope you'll enjoy this glimpse into our lives.

Friday, August 3, 2012

More Happy Stuff and Pictures from Disney!

It was three weeks ago, when we embarked on our first family R&R from Egypt.  Ah, memories...running, literally, through Heathrow Airport to catch a plan to Philadelphia (and ultimately, Orlando)...only to discover when we were in the depths of security, far beyond the terminal in which we had arrived, that Abby had left her beloved iPad on the plane.  At that moment we had to choose between the iPad and America.  We chose America.

Abby with her iPad - she got it
for her 7th birthday in March.
Poor Abby.  She was heartbroken.  But she took the news like a champ, fessed up to forgetting it in the seat pocket in front of her on the plane.  She didn't cry.  She hardly even sniffled.  I promised her that I would check with the airport and see if anyone had found it and turned it in.  But, honestly, I thought I was just appeasing her.  I never thought she'd see that iPad again.

We got to Orlando and I checked online with the airport.  You'd be shocked to learn how many very expensive (yet critical to family travel missions) electronic devices are found in the airport.  The airport listed no fewer than ten iPads found and turned it.  Could one of those be ours?

Thank you, Apple.  For keeping awesome records of my purchases.  I found the serial code in my Apple account and sent as much info about the iPad as I could.   Serial number.   "Leather-like blue cover."  "Mostly kid games/aps."  "Pictures of her with her baby brother - blond hair, blue eyes, and videos of giggling and silliness."  

Please.  Oh, please oh please oh please.  Let someone have turned it in.  Let someone have taken the time to open it and realize that it belongs to a kid.  Because my baby is really heartbroken.  She FaceTimes with her friends and family with it.  She reads books on it.  She emails me the sweetest emails.  Please oh please oh please.

Three days later.  I got an email from Heathrow!  It was found!  Thank you, dear stranger, for taking the time to turn it in!!!

I filled out info to have it shipped and paid the shipping fees.

When I left for Colorado, it wasn't delivered yet.  I panicked, because recently the US Post Office has changed it's shipping policy on electronics. Now, items with lithium batteries can no longer be shipped to an APO.  If the iPad didn't arrive to my fab in-laws house before we left for Egypt, Abby wouldn't see that iPad for about a year!  

No worries though! Because today when I got home from work, I had this sweet email in my inbox waiting for me from my little Abby:


On Aug 2, 2012, at 5:28 PM, Abz wrote:

I miss you
Sent from my iPad

*My Heart Melts*  Thank you, DHL; Thank you, Apple; Thank you, Heathrow Airport; and especially...Thank you, Kind Stranger.

And now some more R&R pics.  This time from our trip to Disney's Animal Kingdom.  Our favorite Disney Park!

The whole family!

Abby bought this bear with her own money!

Learning about fossils.  (Owen had all the answers!)

He's always been an amazing climber.


Bubs trying his hardest to climb!  I remember about 7 years ago we took
a trip to Disney, and Owen was this age doing the same thing.
This photo really brings back memories.



Explorer Bubs.

Kellen is a little angry here - he wants to keep climbing!

My favorite picture of the day.


Kellen rockin' a Beatles shirt.


Abby's favorite - the elephants (look really closely at the background).

Watching for lions.


Love her toothless grin.







6 comments:

  1. omg you've just restored my faith in humanity! What a wonderful story!!

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  2. Looks like so much fun! And YAY for the iPad return! That is amazing! Karma rocks!

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  3. Lovin' that your little girl got her iPad back! YAY random kind stranger!!!

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  4. Thanks all! It is pretty amazing, huh?

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  5. Heather, I love the pictures of your family adventures. Little did you know here how the end of the trip would go, (lost luggage and cancel tickets.) I suspect that the fun you had on the beach, in Legoland and at Disney was worth the hassle because you were all safe and together.
    From what I remember, Kellen looks a lot like his older brother when he was Kellen's age. And when Owen was a toddler, you couldn't stop that baby from smiling! He was so cute.
    I love your favorite pic of the day, too! I also love the family group photo! You guys are awesome! Your friend... Cole

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