Bittersweet

Not quite two weeks ago, after 19 long hours of travel, one episode of puking (weird, because I've never puked on a plane before, but whatever), and carrying one very crazy, little psychotic dog, I arrived rumpled and exhausted in Los Angeles.  My first memory of arriving back in the good old U.S.A.?  Standing in Customs with some old dude with a generic Euro accent saying "Zee should not allow such creeeetures as zat on board zee aeroplane!", pointing at my ridiculous pooch in my carry-on bag.  Jerk.

Surprisingly, all my flights went exactly as planned.  I fully attribute that to NOT fly UNITED AIRLINES or any of its codeshare flights.  Thank you Delta and KLM as it's codeshare.  My flights were AWESOME (except for the puking and the old mean dude), and all, yes folks! ALL of my luggage arrived with me in LAX.

BFF Iced Latte at LAX.  And my luggage.
You know, the important stuff!

I grabbed a BFF Latte at the airport Starbucks and hopped the Super Shuttle to a car dealership in Beverly Hills where I purchased - wait for it! - a really ugly minivan.  Momma has to have some wheels!  And while I'd prefer the luxury of a kick-ass beautiful SUV, I decided to take one for the family team and get the vehicle that will comfortably hold all the kids when we're reunited in August.  I'll live.

From there, I immediately drove to the closest In-and-Out Burger.  It's been three very long and painful years, and the reunion was glorious!  If you've ever eaten In-and-Out, then I know you understand.  And if you haven't, then I have nothing but condolences for you.  Get out to the West Coast NOW!

Now, this is where things get really crazy.  The day I arrived in Cali, I got word from the hospital I was supposed to start working at the following week that they wanted me to start the very next day if I was available.  Unfortunately, I hadn't yet been to my apartment and I needed to buy furniture, so I told them I couldn't start the next day, but that I'd be available to start the day after that.  TWO DAYS!

Ugly minivan.  But the BFF Latte approves.

So the next morning, I went to LabCorp for my work-required urine toxicology (I've done this test so many times for the military and every hospital I've ever worked for that I can honestly pee on command). And then I went to my new home.  After scouring through Craig's List the entire previous month, I had settled on living in downtown Long Beach.  The hospital I work for is just a little north of Long Beach, but I really wanted to be by the ocean.  I was super lucky and found a pet-friendly apartment building just two blocks from the ocean! With easy access to the freeway!  And it only costs double what our mortgage is in Ohio.  Dude.  Really. It's so easy to forget how expensive it is to live out here.  But, whatever.  It's perfect.  It's not awesome --- the building is a "charming 1920's" complex (translation - a little run-down) --- but it's in a cool location (Long Beach Arts District), with a Starbucks around the corner (BINGO!), and I have access to a parking garage for my mad minivan.  

I unpacked my bags in my apartment and headed out to the mecca of all home stores - Ikea.  I picked up the items I needed and then headed out to the other mecca, Target!, to grab a few items for my teeny tiny kitchen.  I went back and fixed up the apartment, took Starbuck for a much-deserved walk along the beach, and then crashed for the night.

Because the very next morning at 6AM I was in the ER working my first big-girl RN shift!   Oh, it's been a long, long time since I'd had to spend an entire day on my feet!  Initially I was to work 12 hours, but at the end of my shift, I offered to stay over since we were short-staffed.  I put in 16 hours that day and then went home.  Took the pup for a walk and then slept like I've never slept before.

YUMYUMYUMYUMYUMYUMYUM!!!

I worked the next two days.  Had a day off.  And then worked the next five days.  WOWSA!  It's been a whirlwind.  On the bright side, I never really got the chance to be jet-lagged, even though it's a 10-hour difference from Cairo.  Also, I can't even begin to express how wonderful it is being back in the same ER I worked in 2009-2010.  Most of the staff is still the same, and being here with friends I've missed has been incredible.

FaceTime has been absolutely the best.  Nearly every day I get to "see" the kiddos.  Both of the big kids have iPads, and they can reach me anytime they want.  It's very comforting.  Our middlest, Abby, has no real concept of the time difference between Cairo and here, and so nearly every morning at 5AM, when she's getting off the bus in Cairo at 3PM, she calls me.  I love it.  Even if I'm trying to sleep.  The toddler?  He blows me kisses and says "hi, Mamma!" and then runs off to play.  He's doing ok.  And Owen, the tween, he tries to act cool, but I know he's missing me and he likes that he can reach me anytime he wants.

It's really bittersweet being here. This was once our home - to all of us. Today I took the pup to the dog beach - the same beach that the fab hubby and I used to bring our dog Rusty to play at.  I cruised through Belmont Shore, remembering all the places we used to meet up for lunch.  And I've spent some time across the bridge in San Pedro where we used to live.  I visited old haunts, like the Tide Pools in San Pedro where the big kiddos spent countless hours looking for sea creatures while I sat and listened to the waves crashing on the rocks.  I ate lunch at our favorite chinese restaurant.  I shopped at the local Trader Joe's.  I was pregnant with Kellen here; I ran my 1/2 marathon in 2010 before I found out I was pregnant with him in Huntington Beach.  All these places have special meaning and I just wish all of us were here, together.

I ran along my favorite bike/run trail in Alamitos Beach today, and as I watched kids frolicking into the water and riding the waves, I tried not to let it break my heart.  My Abby and Owen used to do that.  No matter how cold the ocean water was, they'd run into the waves and ride them back to shore.  We spent so many weekends here.  It was our special place.

I know the next five-and-a-half months are going to be tough without them.  But I'll get through it.  Actually, all of us will.  And even though it's heartbreakingly bittersweet, I'm thankful to be in a place that I love with such good memories.  

Me and my favorite pooch, Starbuck.

The Fav Pooch and the BFF Latte.

Tide Pools of San Pedro.  The big kiddos used to play here.

Sunset over the Tide Pools.  Magnificent.

Little trip down memory lane.
San Pedro Tide Pools, New Years Day 2010.

With our dog Rusty.  We miss him.

12 in 2012 and I'm doing a TDY (Sorta)

Email from The Embassy's Donna, who's practically my neighbor (blogging out of Amman) gave me the coolest idea, which she swiped from somewhere else off the blogosphere.  Top 12 moments of 2012.  I've had major writer's block for the past few weeks (I hate to admit it, but I'm still sulking over my recent arthritis diagnosis), so I've decided that I will grab her idea and use it.

I don't know that I'd classify these as the TOP 12 (because they are NOT all awesome and happy) - but I think I would say they were 12 very influential moments in our household in 2012.  So here goes...

12) We spent the beginning of 2012 enjoying Luxor.   Puking our guts out the entire week preceding our journey, we all somehow managed to not only pull it together to fly, but to actually enjoy our trip to see the temples of Luxor and Karnak.  Karnak was my favorite site we've visited in Egypt.

11) Running and I went head-to-head in March.  I threatened to give it up entirely.  The fab hubby was ever so fabulous and told me I was stupid for even thinking I should do so.  I *heart* him.  He was (of course) right, so I signed up for...

10) A MARATHON!  Go big or go home, right?  Well, in my case, this meant leaving home (Cairo) and going to San Francisco for a long weekend and the Nike Women's Marathon.  And it was awesome.  I'm so proud to have (finally) checked this off my list.  I first thought about doing a marathon way back in 2009 when we lived in L.A.  Some dreams take years to fulfill, and this was definitely one of them.

9) We had a awesome R&R in the U.S., visiting Florida for the kiddos, and Ohio to see our families.  Abby lost her iPad in London's Heathrow Airport on the way to the U.S., but a very kind stranger found it and gave it to lost and found at Heathrow.  We actually got it back in time before we returned to Cairo! Random acts of kindness like this always restore my faith in humanity.

8) I learned how monstrously awful UNITED AIRLINES can be to its travelers.  And I will never forgive them.  They lost our luggage not once but twice, and lied to us about sending it back to us.  They cancelled/changed/delayed five (that's right --- FIVE) of our seven flights and attempted to rebook one of those flights two days later at 11:00PM, effectively leaving us stranded in Dulles Airport.  I cried.  And just when I thought it couldn't get worse, they canceled our tickets back to Cairo without telling us.  Yes, I'm bitter.  Yes, I cried again.  And, oh, as an update it took them FOUR MONTHS to reimburse us a lousy $200 for the items I had to buy while we waited for them to track down our lost luggage.  Do not fly UNITED AIRLINES.

7) The fab hubby and I had an amazing time at prom the Marine Ball this year (it was our 2nd Ball) AND we survived bidding season!  The day before the Ball, Jason accepted a handshake to D.C. for summer 2013.  Bring on the Starbucks.

6) Abby turned seven, Owen turned nine, and Kellen turned two.  And sometimes, all three of them make me feel older than I really am.  Blink and they are no longer babies.  Blink again and they are no longer toddlers.  Everyone says it because it is so true - time flies.  Kids grow way too fast.

5) I had the opportunity to go to Bangkok for the State Department this year, as part of the annual nurse continuing education conference.  It was amazing!  Especially since the only other country I've ever been to outside of the U.S. is Egypt.  I had an awesome week meeting nurses from other embassies and I got to explore Bangkok a bit as well.

4)  My Army Reserve career continues to flourish.  I performed well on my annual physical test (PT), acing the run (of course), and survived the sit-ups (barely) and push-ups testing.  In August, I completed my yearly required Annual Training in Ft. Carson, Colorado. I work there every year in the Emergency Department at Evans Army Community Hospital and I love it.  And in October, just one week after finishing my marathon, I found out I was promoted to Captain!

3) I've struggled the past few months, dealing with a new diagnosis of arthritis. In fact, I only blogged once in December - and it was about my arthritis.  I'm still learning how to cope.  Mostly right now, I'm angry and hurt and I'm still working through the emotions.  It's most likely rheumatoid arthritis, but while my physical symptoms are consistent with the diagnosis, my lab work is not.  I'll be seeing a specialist soon (more info to follow on this - keep reading), so I'm hoping to get a more definitive answer.

2) September 11, 2012.  Benghazi.  Khartoum.  Sanaa.  Tunis.  How do you describe the heartache all of the Foreign Service feels?  The anger.  The sadness.  The fear.  For us, it was incredibly personal, as  our embassy here in Cairo was also attacked.  It's hard to feel safe when your walls have been breached.  It's hard to get back to "normal", wondering if it will happen again.

1) And now for some new news, that which was decided in 2012, but I haven't yet blogged about.

In February, I'll be doing a 6-month "TDY" in Los Angeles, California.  The fab hubby and the kids will finish out the assignment here in Cairo, and we'll all catch back up together in August in Virginia (where we'll be living for at least two years).

Here's the thing(s).  My ER RN certifications are expiring in April (that's right, a mere four months) and I can't renew them in Egypt.  If I don't renew them, then I can't work ER.  And those of you who know me, know I LOVE working in the ER.  It's my career 'home.' It's where I always return. I started as a new grad in trauma, and I always miss it when I'm gone from it.  Now, I absolutely LOVE working for the embassy Health Unit, too!  But if I don't get there certifications re-certified, I flat-out can't work ER when we return to the U.S. (at least until I get new certifications - which is a huge pain in the tuckus, of course).

And yes, it was incredibly hard to make this choice but there were other things involved in this decision, like...

My arthritis (see, I said I'd get back to this topic).  I need a specialist and I need follow-ups and more follow-ups.  It's not likely to be a quick fix.  And I can't get it taken care of in Cairo.  I considered a medevac as an alternative option, but a medevac is short and may not give me all the follow-up I need.  My left hand already has a permanent deformity and I don't want there to be any more.  I'm not taking any chances.  Plus...

My required Army Reserves Annual Training has to be completed no later than October 1, 2013.  And while I could possibly squeak it in there sometime in August or September, we would be full-on-crazy-in-the-middle-of-a-move-back-from-Cairo.  Not to mention both the fab hubby and I would be starting new jobs during this time frame.  AND the kids would be starting a new school.  Planning a trip to Colorado to complete my Army training is the crazy icing on a crazy cake during August/September.  Nope.  It would be near impossible to do if I waited to return to the U.S. in August.

For months, I'd been receiving recruiter emails to work a travel nursing contract.  And I once was a travel nurse (2008 - I went to Bakersfield, CA on a ER contract assignment), and I loved it.  So why not consider it?  The contracts are good in the ER, the timing is perfect, and it gets me back to the U.S. to accomplish all the above items I need to do before we arrive in Virginia in August.  Arthritis specialist.  Annual military training.  ER re-certifications.

Is it hard to leave my kids and hubby for six months?  Dude.  Don't even ask that question.  Because yes!  Yes, it is.  Will my heart ache while I'm missing them?  Yes.  Will I cry? Yes.  But is it best for our family?  YES.  And that is what ultimately drives me (well, actually US) to do it.

How many of us have lived through our spouse doing a TDY for their job, whether 90 days, 6 months, or a full year in AIP (Afghanistan/Iraq/Pakistan)?!  It's done all the time.  (And don't forget - we've actually done it.  The hubby was in Baghdad for a year 2010-2011.)  This is just, well, slightly different in that I'm not going someplace crappy for 6 months.  Really, if you ask me, the fab hubby has the very short end of this stick - he's going to end up doing pack-out all by himself AND flying solo from Cairo to the U.S. with three kids.  Not to mention the six months of solo-parenting he'll be doing.  Ouch.  He's going to have tough job.  Truly, tougher than mine.

But wouldn't you know it, he's on-board with it 100%.  Because we both sat down and talked about it and realized this is what's best for our family.  August will be here soon enough, and we'll be back together as a family, just like we belong.

So there you have it, folks.  2012 in nutshell for us.  Some of it was bad, some of it was good, and some of it was a mix of both.  Just like every other year, huh?  So welcome, 2013.  We're looking forward to a new year.  Lots of changes for us are coming up, but we are ready for them.

How United Airlines Made Me Cry...Again

Consider this an unwelcome "Part 2" in the Series.  I can only hope there won't be a Part 3 ever.  And warning...this is a long one.

We've been back in Cairo now for two weeks, and I've still been seething over the treatment we received from UNITED AIRLINES.  NOT ONCE (delayed and cancelled flights), NOT TWICE (lies about when our lost luggage was sent to us --- gone for a week!), BUT THREE TIMES (you'll read about this one soon enough...).

Remember our travel saga from the beginning of our R&R?  If you missed it, click RIGHT HERE, and you too can relive our first United Airlines nightmare.

In summary, on R&R from Cairo, we decided to take the kidlets to Orlando.  We cost-constructed our travel as follows: Cairo --> Orlando ---> Pittsburgh (we're from NE Ohio) --->Cairo.

Our first leg was a UNITED AIRLINES codeshare with Lufthansa (4AM flight out of Cairo) which was cancelled 2 hours before takeoff.  Not cool.  Rebooked on another airline, we made it to Orlando eons later than initially planned.  Our checked baggage and stroller didn't arrive with us, but US Airways (which I now have a lot of love in my heart for) gave us a rental stroller, toiletries, and information about how to submit claims for expenses due to delayed baggage.  Our baggage arrived to our rented condo 48 hours later, our stroller 72 hours later, and US Airways kept in contact with us daily with updates until it all arrived.  In fact, US Airways is so awesome, that they have already sent us a check for the costs incurred due to our delayed luggage.  If only we could have flown on US Airways for all our flights!

Fast forward one week.  Our flights were booked Orlando to Dulles to Pittsburgh. To make a very long and painful story short(ish), United delayed our first flight by so much that nearly missed the flight in Dulles.  But the flight in Dulles to Pittsburgh was cancelled, so it ultimately didn't matter.  UNITED AIRLINES offered us this:  rebook 48 HOURS LATER (as in 11:00PM on a Saturday night) and a 10% coupon to an airport-adjacent hotel.  Wow. Just. Wow. 48 HOURS.  A worthless 10% off the hotel rack rates.  No way to get home.

So we decided to grab our luggage and rent a car and drive to Ohio.  But if you remember, they sent one of our bags RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.  Why? They had no idea and told us so.  I went to Colorado (for the military for my annual training) two days later with not a stitch of personal clothing.  I can only say, thank goodness they didn't send my military gear to Richmond.

Honestly, I kinda sorta thought that when we came to the end of our R&R, the Universe (or at least UNITED AIRLINES) owed us one.

When the fab hubby's parents dropped us off at the airport in Pittsburgh, I was ready.  I'd already checked the flight status --- On Time!  *Happy Dance* Toddler strapped in Britax on rolling cart? CHECK! Big kids loaded up with electronic goodies and sugary snacks? CHECK!  We were headed to Cairo.

But, of course, disaster, also know as UNITED AIRLINES, strikes.  When the fab hubby tried to check us in at the counter, we were in for a shock.  They had no record of our itinerary.  NO FREAKING WAY.  We pulled out our travel info and the ticket dude frantically looked for something in the computer, anything, about us.  He said "Were you on a flight from Dulles to Pittsburgh three weeks ago that we cancelled and tried to rebook you two days later?"  DUDE.  WERE WE EVER. "Ummm...someone deleted your tickets to Cairo."

This was where I became a wee bit psychotic.  I stepped up to the counter.  "Listen. We had tickets to go to Cairo today.  I don't care what YOU have to do to get us home.  But you're going to get us home and I don't care how.  I don't care if you have to fly us from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles to China to CAIRO, but you are getting us home and it's not gonna be next week.  It's going to be today."  The poor kid.  He was actually nice and trying his hardest, but he was obviously frightened of me.  I had *that look*.  Plus, my left eyeball was twitching uncontrollably.

*typing*typing*typing*typing*franticphonecall*typing*franticphonecall* -- that was the United guy trying to help us out.

Ultimately, he wasn't able to get us out of the airport that day.  Instead, he booked us on nearly identical flights (Pittsburgh-->Dulles-->Frankfurt-->Cairo), but with a 9 hour layover in Dulles (shoot me).  I was waiting for an offer of help from United (one would think they would put us up in a posh hotel for this error), but no.  No offer, no assistance.  How very UNITED AIRLINES of them.

We called the fab hubby's super fab parents and they came and picked us up.  I felt pretty bad, because we'd already said our goodbyes. What an emotional roller coaster.

Plus, I was already mentally checked-out.  I was ready for home.  Our own beds, our own stuff, our car, our dogs, our jobs.  Our life.  It's in Cairo.  Hmmm...considering how I was feeling about Cairo just three months ago, maybe I should thank UNITED AIRLINES for helping me to see just how much Cairo had become home.  I didn't realize how much I loved it until I couldn't get to it.  So I guess in this muddle, there was a little silver lining.  But I think I would have preferred to have found out a different way.

In any case, we returned back to Ohio, did our best to enjoy the day and then readied for a different day of travel.  We arrived back at the airport bright and early the next morning.  As we checked in at the counter, we were told to "hold on, we might be rebooking you on different flights."  I looked at the fab hubby.  I quietly said "I can't take it.  If anything happens today, I'm just warning you, I'm gonna lose it."  And I stepped away.  The ticket counter girl retuned after a long phone call and said we were remaining on the booked flights.  She handed us our boarding passes - we noted that none of the seats on the Frankfurt to Cairo flight were seated together.  Not even close.  But we decided that we'd deal with that issue once we got to Frankfurt.  We found our terminal.  Sat down.  And waited and waited.  And waited.

DELAYED flight.  ARG!!  Of course.  An hour late, but still with the layover scheduled in Dulles, we had time.  The fab hubby took the kids for a walk; I sunk into the chair to play some Words With Friends.  And then it happened.  An announcement.  "Attention United Flyers.  Flight XXX to Dulles has been cancelled.  Please step up to the customer service counter in a single line.  Thank you."

That was it. I was done.  I grabbed all of our stuff (because the fab hubby was walking the kids) and hauled myself over to the line as fast as possible. I know the game - you gotta get in line up front or you'll be waiting for hours.  I could feel it.  The pin pricks behind my eyes.  The tingle.  Blink blink blink.  Don't let it happen.  Don't be that girl.  Don't.Cry.

The fab hubby and the kids were walking back - I saw them in the distance.  Jason mouthed to me "What's Wrong?" And like that, I was full-on insane.  My voice boomed across the terminal, "THEY CANCELLED THE FLIGHT".  It came out of my mouth in a deep, throaty, demon-like pitch.  I had no idea my voice could even sound like that.  Everyone around me moved about 10 feet away.  You could hear a pin drop.

My uncontrollable left eye twitch was back and with a vengeance.  Jason came up and calmly looked at me.  "I'll take your place in line.  Go with the kids."  I nodded.  I would not cry I would not cry I would not cry.

About 45 minutes went by and the fab hubby was back.  We were to be put on a flight to Newark and then to Frankfurt and then Cairo.  Two issues though:  1)the flight to Newark had the potential to be cancelled (it was currently delayed) and 2) we were on standby.  I wish I could say I was an awesome wife and I hugged him and told him he was so awesome getting us a new flight, even though it had issues.  Nope.  Instead I directed all my raging psychopathic anger on him.  I coolly looked at him (with my twitching eyeball) and said "and you left the counter?!!??  I wouldn't have left the counter.  You idiot.  You just got screwed.  Because either they are going to cancel that flight or we just won't get seats."  Damn.  I hate myself.  (Just now, typing out what I said is painful.  I now realize I was full-on crazy and I can't believe I treated him like that.)  But the fab hubby?  He went on being extra fabulous, sat down and started reading.  He refused to fight with me about it.  He took the high road, and with grace.  *More pin pricks at my eyes.* I could feel the tears coming.  I took a walk through the terminal and managed to brush them away.

I just wanted to go home.

An hour later, a miracle occurred.  The flight to Newark wasn't cancelled (they brought in a different plane, since the originally scheduled one was having 'technical difficulties' and was unflyable.  BTW - that's why the flight to Dulles was cancelled.  The plane didn't pass the pre-flight checks.)

And then about fifteen minutes later, another miracle occurred.  A really nice, really helpful UNITED AIRLINES employee brought us boarding passes to the Newark flight.  Three tickets for first class and two tickets for the row just behind first class.  Bona fide tickets.  I nearly cried, but out of happiness.  Of course, since I was so awful to the hubby, I desperately made sure he (and the big kids) sat first class; the toddler and I took the seats behind.

But then.  I looked out the window.  I saw our checked bags and the stroller on the tarmac from our originally planned Dulles flight. I knew immediately that we would get to Cairo but that it was incredibly questionable as to whether or not our bags (and the beloved stroller) would get there.  I asked the person who had helped us with the tickets and she said they were keeping them there to board them onto the Newark flight with us.  I didn't want to push the issue.  Gawd.  She could take our tickets away. (Really.  UNITED AIRLINES had already proven how easy it is to delete tickets.)

We subsequently made it to Newark and then Frankfurt.  In Frankfurt, my husband checked at the counter about our flight.  Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that when we were in Pittsburgh, UNITED AIRLINES had been unable to print one of the boarding passes for our Frankfurt to Cairo flight for Jason.  They told us it was because they had booked him first class and that they couldn't print first class boarding passes out.  When he checked in at Lufthansa, they told him that UNITED AIRLINES couldn't even issues first class tickets out!  And because of this, he, along with two of the kids' tickets had been cancelled (no idea why two of the kids' tickets were cancelled, but they were).  ARRG!!!  Lufthansa was able to fix the errors and issued us all boarding passes - and in roughly (and I really do mean just roughly) the same area of the plane.  *sigh of relief*

We found our terminal and sat down to relax.  While waiting, we saw three people from Cairo we knew!  Ah, the small world of the Foreign Service. I love it.  We were going home!

The flight home from Frankfurt was pretty uneventful.  Three of us were seated beside each other (and only because someone was kind and switched seats with Abby).  Owen was seated in the middle of a row behind me (with a very kind women who was happy to talk with him during most of the flight).  The fab hubby had a seat right behind Owen.  Truly, we were just happy to have seats.

Next thing I knew, we were in Cairo.  As I watched the conveyor belt spit out only one of our checked bags, I was pretty resigned.  We filed for the two lost bags and the stroller.  Inshallah, they would show up in a few days.

(And miracles of miracles, they did.)

Home. Home. Home. Home. Home.  We were home.

So, recap.  In a nutshell.  Our R&R travel nightmare. UNITED AIRLINES and our codeshare flights:
*Originally seven booked flights
*FIVE delayed/cancelled flights
*An attempt by UNITED AIRLINES to rebook us 48 HOURS later on a crappy late-night flight
*No help for hotel or rental car
*Luggage lost three times (only two related to UNITED AIRLINES), Stroller lost twice (only once related to UNITED AIRLINES)
*An ENTIRE DAY lost because UNITED AIRLINES deleted our tickets
*No offer of hotel even though it was UNITED AIRLINES that deleted our tickets
*Two flights affected by faulty planes (but thank you, UNITED AIRLINES, for not flying them.)

The flight from Pittsburgh to Newark.  Happy Bubs.
He's actually become a super traveller.

Love this.  Abby snuggled up to me on the flight to
Frankfort as best she could.

Exhausted.  Flight to Frankfort.

Coming to an End

Our month-long R&R is coming to an end here in the U.S.  Lots of emotions about that, and I'm not sure I'm ready just yet to pour those emotions out into words.

For now, I'll leave it at this:  It's been awesome.

We're leaving to head back to Cairo in two short days. On Monday we'll embark on yet THREE more UNITED AIRLINES flights.  Painful.

But we did get our luggage back from them, all of it.  And again, thank you kind stranger in London for finding and returning Abby's beloved iPad.  It means the world to her.

Enjoy these pics.  They are from our trip to Melbourne Beach, Florida.  We spent a week in Florida this trip, taking the kids to Disney and LegoLand.  But of course, we had to visit the beach!  We spent the afternoon frolicking and watching storms roll by.  It was beautiful.

My favorite shot.  Note the storm rolling by.

Abby has always loved the ocean.

 

Waiting for that perfect wave.

Kellen's middle name is Murphy.  It means "sea-warrior."  Fitting.

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.

Happy Stuff and Pictures From Legoland!

R&R is awesome.

First of all, there is a Starbucks practically everywhere I go.  REALLY.  Every.Where.  I'm sure in my pre-Cairo days, I knew this.  But somehow, over the past year, I forgot.  I keep worrying, actually panicking!, when I see one that it will be the last Starbucks for hundreds, if not thousands, of miles.  And so, I go to nearly every Starbucks I see.  I'm not gonna lie.  It's completely, totally, undeniably awesome.

Enjoying a cake pop from
STARBUCKS!

Second, UNITED AIRLINES returned our bag! One week, countless phone calls, and one final demanding call from me saying "GIVE ME YOUR SUPERVISOR" resulted in a FedExed bag to Ohio. Sure, I've been working for the Army these past two weeks in Colorado and haven't seen my clothes yet, but the fab hubby back in Ohio assures me that all is there.  And, UNITED AIRLINES did give me a nice clothing allowance to compensate me for having no clothes while I'm in Colorado.  I think maybe they were just worried that I was going to show up on YouTube butt-nekkid singing something like "UNITED AIRLINES took my underwear and won't give it back."

Stop taking this for granted!

Third.  And dude.  THIS IS AWESOME.  Taco Bell makes tacos with shells made out of Doritos.  Yes, this bloggy entry is full of italics AND CAPITALS.  I say again, TACOS WITH SHELLS MADE OUT OF DORITOS.  My fellow Americans!  Stop taking this awesomeness for granted!! Go out and get a taco! And a latte!

And so, what you've been waiting for.  Lots of photos from our family R&R.  Tonight, I bring you pics from our Legoland Florida days.  If you have kids like ours who absolutely looooove Legos, then you need to go there.  Lots more photos from R&R to follow throughout the next few weeks!

That's right!  WELCOME!

If only I could get Owen to smile!  So hard being a 'tween'.

His first merry-go-round ride!

One of my favs.  All three getting along.

Little Bubs tried to run away.  Luckily, he's got a super fast big bro!

While the big kids and the fab hubby were on a rollar coaster, I took
Kellen to the kiddie area.  He had a blast!

Just before the ride.  I think Owen might be nervous.
Abby practiced her fly arms.

But they ended up loving it!

And finally!  When he's not looking at me...
I caught him smiling!

Fake Egypt. Fake Donkey.  Amused.

More fake Egypt!

Lego kid in-training.

Sassy Latte.

Even Lego Darth Vader needs a Latte every now and then.

Legoland has a water park!  This is the only pic we got,
since we were all busy swimming!

Cooling down with popsicles!