We're Home!!

Kind of dark but had to capture of their first flight! (Sebastian and Cate with mom)
John and Grandma...he is already preparing for takeoff by eating!!

Sebastian was fascinated by all of the airplanes and had to point out each and every one of them!

This is a picture with one of the flight attendants. She was fabulous, along with all of the others. They were constantly asking us if we needed anything and were all so interested in our story. We waited to get off the plane till everyone else was off because she wanted pictures with the kids. She took the kids into the cockpit. I think she was more excited about taking them in there than the kids were!

Cate with an early wake-up call. This picture says it all!

We are home and it feels so good! Although our time in Bogota was short compared to what it could have been, it still feels like it has been REALLY a long time that we were away from home.

Tuesday morning, the day started at about 5:00am. We got to the airport at about 7:00 for a 9:30 flight...we were pushing it for time. With 3 kids, everything takes much longer...no surprise! We finally boarded the plane and all 5 of us were situated in our seat and then the pilot came on and said there was an airshow that was supposed to take place at 10:00am but they were starting early so we would be delayed 2 hours. This was the first time I have ever experienced anything being "early" in Colombia. So, I was scared to death we would be "those people" on the news that had to sit on an airplane the whole time. Thankfully after a little while the pilot came back on and said we would be able to de-plane. Thank God! So, we got off, got the kids breakfast and diapers changed and then around 12:15 we boarded again. The flight went pretty good. Cate and John fell asleep right as we were taking off and slept for a 1/2 hour. The rest of the 4 1/2 hour flight, we had 3 awake and very active kids! The flight attendants said they were wonderful but it was very tiring for my mom and I as we were trying to keep them busy. Let's just say, we were very happy to land in Atlanta and stay overnight there. I would not have been able to make another flight.

We had to go through customs and immigration and turn in all of our paperwork that is sealed in an envelope. That took quite awhile and by the time we got to the hotel which is only a couple minute train ride from the airport, it was about 9:30. Our original return flight only gave us a 3 hour and 14 minute layover and from the time we got off the plane to the time we got to the hotel, it was well over 3 hours...so we would have never made our connection had we taken a flight that same night. Then on Wed., we had to be off to the airport again by 6:00am. Again, we pulled in right at boarding time for an 8:30 flight. The kids did well, but I will not be taking them on an airplane anytime soon, they are just too young to expect them to be able to sit for 4 1/2 hours or even the 2 hours, 45 minutes from Atlanta to Mpls. We were all exhausted by the time we landed!

Once we got to Mpls., we had Rhett, my dad, brother, aunt Pat, sister, brother-in-law, 2 nieces and nephew there to greet us. I was amazed, the kids went by each of them. I think it really helped that we had pictures that we looked at while in Colombia. We then went out to lunch and the kids did really well, especially after little sleep and 2 days of travel. They all fell asleep on the way home but unfortunately, they did not fall asleep again once we got home. The good part is they went to bed very easy on Wed. night. We got home and my sister and her family and some neighbors came over to play on the new playset. I can tell the kids are not used to this heat, they all sweat ALOT! Sebastian actually drips!

On Thursday, my first day without my mom or Rhett, I was blessed to have my 9 year old niece here with me. I could not have done it on my own...she is such a big help since Cate is a mommy's girl, Maddie was a huge help with the boys! They love playing with her and I love the extra set of eyes. On Thurs. night we went to Maddie and Luke's soccer games. The kids had a blast! It is so fun to get them outside with room to run and clean air to breathe in.

Today, Maddie came again to help! We were able to get outside this morning for a nice walk and then we had a nice visit with a neighbor and my friend Mandy and her family. The kids had a fun time playing with all of them!

This weekend is going to be a weekend for Rhett to "bond" with the kids as I have a lot of grocery shopping to do and a Costco and Target run! I am all caught up on laundry, now I just need to organize the kids clothes. I had everything taken out before we left that is 2T and 3T and John is more in 18 months and Sebastian is in 2T so I need to figure out what is going to fit them to finish out the summer! I don't expect they will be in those sizes long as I can already see them changing! I am not saying they are growing yet, but I can already tell they are both picking up even more English. John was not really talking while we were in Colombia (well, he was talking but you couldn't understand anything) and now he is really starting to repeat. He still has "NO" mastered but he is starting to mix in some other words! The Embassy doctor said that we shouldn't worry about their height because once they get in clean MN air, they should start growing...I am not sure what the clean air has to do with height but we shall see.

Time for me to run, the kids need to get up from their naps. I hate waking them, but I hate the bedtime routine worse if they sleep too long during the day. Last night, I was up with Cate till 11:30 because she had a 2 hour nap. I learned that the hard way!

Holly