It all sounds so negative when I put it that way, but really we had a great three weeks in the states...it just happened to have a rough beginning and a rough end.
April 9, 2010 - April 13, 2010 ---- Portland Part 1
Up at 3AM...got the girls up at 3:30AM and out the door at 4AM. Our one hour drive to the airport turned into two hours with a little GPS issue. Maddie and Bella both got carsick - TWICE. That was how we started with vomit. Luckily we had little plastic sandwich baggies that served as barf bags and we managed to keep the damage to the car at a minimum...but it was a rough first few hours.
The flights themselves were just fine. Our first flight was from Nurnberg to Amsterdam (1.5 hours) and it was quick and easy. Our flight attendant was a british guy that was very friendly. He was trying to get Maddie to laugh by telling jokes and teasing her, but she deadpanned him. He gave her a water bottle and she thanked him and then announced to him that she had barfed from carsickness that morning and went into detail about what happened. She talked so fast I didn't have a chance to tell her he probaby wasn't interested in all that when she turned red, looked at me and said, "oops...I think I just shared too much information." It was very funny and the flight attendant was a great sport....especially when he brought her flight sickness bags..."just in case."
Our second flight was from Amsterdam to Portland (11 hours) and also was easy. I was feeling quite lucky at being one of those flyers with children that actually got complimented on the behavior of the girls. **insert proud mama smile**
The flight attendants kept us well hydrated...
Maddie and Bella played barbies and colored together...
and they both got in a little nap...about 2.5 hours each. Maddie made friends with her seat-mate and he let her snuggle up over the seat between them...while he kind of looks creepy in this photo he was actually a very nice man.
So, I thought we had an easy flight...I didn't feel stress and anxiety. I was tired, but it was manageable...and then we landed...got off the airplane...went through customs and as soon as I saw John's parents (Bobbi and Bop) I burst into tears.
Huh...I guess I was more stressed out than I thought I was...
Maddie left shortly after we arrived to go to her mom's house...Bella and I hung around Bobbi and Bops house until we just couldn't keep our eyes open anymore. We stayed our first night at our friend Barbara's house. We had planned it this way because John's parents had a full house of grandkids and I wanted to make sure we had a quiet place that Bella and I could sleep off some of our jet lag. As it turned out...the grandkids plan was kaboshed and so their house was empty, but we didn't have a crib set up...As it turned out that ended up not being a problem either as we made a nest on the floor for Bella, but that first night we just decided to stick to the plan and enjoyed our first night at "hotel barbara!"
Barbara has a dog...and oh what that poor Cocoa endured...you can see Bella checking out Cocoa's eyes...he also endured ear pulls, tail pulls, rubs, yanks, baby scratches and a whole lot of other toddleresque animal love... What a sweet dog.
Saturday morning (April 10th) we headed back to Bobbi and Bops house and Bop took Bella outside to play...she went out the backdoor and was in love at first sight.
What looks like Bella hunting Easter eggs is actually her picking up golf balls. Bop has been practicing his golf swing and she couldn't stop saying "ball ball ball ball ball ball ball..."
That afternoon we headed to the zoo for a meetup with some of my girlfriends...they were all from out of town so it was especially nice that we managed to all meetup on this Saturday in Portland.
Christy and Cynthia enjoying the sunshine and watching us chase the girls around...
We stayed until the zoo closed and while we had planned to go out for dinner together, Bella was getting pretty grumpy and Grace was already asleep so we said our goodbyes in the zoo parking lot. Bella crashed about 30 seconds after I belted her in her carseat and was fast asleep before I even got her stroller in the trunk and drove out of the parking lot. She was so tired that she skipped dinner completely and slept all the way through to Sunday morning.
Sunday morning Bella was extra spoiled by Bobbi who let her have not one, but TWO apples to bite little teeth marks into.
Of course they also read stories...
The rest of our Portland time seemed a whirlwind of shopping, visiting, and sleeping. We loved a visit from Dede and her fiance, Ryan and little Ella...
Last, but not least, we attended a birthday party for Maddie put on by her mom's side of the family. It was a lot of fun...
Eric, Orion and Bella
Happy Birthday dear Maddie.....
Bella's Pump it Up balloon..
Did you make it all the way through this horrifically long blog? I just realized I never even finished my Easter posts...but alas..such is the rub when one forgets her usb cable and cannot download photos off her digital camera to blog about in a timely manner.
So ends the first 5 days of our stay in Portland...Stay tuned for the next episode where Bella and mama fly to Tucson and spend a week with Daddy in Sierra Vista.
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