October 2015 And An Odin Story

First off, a cute Odin story. The other day we were driving in the car. Out of the blue we had this conversation:
Odin: Mommy, do you want to go to jail?
Me: Um.... no?
O: Then you should love us. If you love someone, you're a good person. If you don't love people, then you are mean and you go to jail.
Obviously, this is not completely true, but I loved his 3 year-old logic. :)

October was the Las Vegas Greek Food Festival. We went on the first night (Thursday 10/1) because of scheduling conflicts the rest of the time. We once again, had great food (this year the kids were willing to try a few more things). We went to the kid area and were disappointed to find only a few bounce houses instead of the carnival rides they had last year. I wondered if they only rented those for the weekend? But aside from minor disappointment on the ride front, we had a great time! Adelyn brought her "jingly" skirt from last year and had a great time dancing around. She even got me to dance a bit with her. I like this little tradition that we started.

The next week the kids and I "joined" other homeschoolers at the Renaissance Festival. I put joined in quotes because we walked in with a bunch (in order to get in free) but went on our own way after we entered. They had a treasure hunt for the kids that we enjoyed doing (the kids got parasols for their efforts). We had a nice lunch. And we got to see some sword fighting. We ended up there for just a few hours, but I think that was enough... the kids were pretty tired.

At the end of the month Ben and I headed to California to go with Jake and Katie to Escape Music Festival. We had a blast!

Halloween was spent again with the Lantz's and our friends, the Brown's, joined us this year too (they just moved to town). Adelyn was "cheetah girl", Odin was the "one-eyed-one-horned-flying-purple-cupcake monster, Genevieve didn't dress up. I liked that the older kids thought about their costumes and didn't just go with a typical princess or something. Love their creativity!

September 2015

Yes, yes, I know. But life just gets crazy sometimes! But here is a recap of this past September for us.

This fall the kids and I joined a local MOPS group. I saw about this particular group on FaceBook and how it caters to homeschool kids too (typically once your kid hits school-age, there isn't a class for them anyway). Odin was NOT a fan of me leaving him in his class. But he was brave and kept his tears to himself. But, that made me not want to deal with leaving Genevieve too, so I kept her with me. Adelyn loved her class. Odin... didn't speak a word and was glued to one of the teacher's sides. The second meeting was easier. And in the second meeting I got my assigned table - Table 6! I am very blessed with awesome ladies at my table. Seriously. There are 8 of us and only 1 of the moms I don't think I would want to spend time with outside of MOPS. MOPS has been a nice escape for me and the kids have enjoyed it too.

We also found out about a weekly art class for homeschoolers. The lady (Mrs. Wolfe) is very nice and patient. She starts each class with talking about the artist and what is unique about him/her or the style of art. Then the kids get a blank canvas and they work to recreate the weekly featured art piece. Adelyn has been having so much fun with it. And... I have to say, I feel like the classes have improved her art.

Our Anniversary was also this month. That gets its own post.

The kids and Grandma Obert and I went on a field trip to the local dairy. We got to learn how they made ice cream! Best part was that after the tour, we got to eat some. So yummy! It was cool to be able to walk through and see the different steps in bottling the milk too. So thankful that there are moms out there that take the time to set up field trips for the homeschool kids!

We also celebrated Speak Like a Pirate Day. We had a treasure hunt. One of the prizes was a pirate game. We had fun playing that and earning our own gold doubloons. 

A Gift From Adelyn

For years I have been telling people that one great perk about being a mom is it is a great excuse to be a kid again. At the park with the kids and want to swing? No problem. In fact, going to the park at all is not a problem. Hear a song and you feel like dancing? Go for it! I love that I can act goofy with the kids.

At the beginning of the month Ben and I were in Argentina (more on that later). One afternoon we found ourselves at a Polo training camp. As we were walking the grounds and learning about Polo, I saw a bunch of purple petals on the ground beneath its tree. I paused. I thought, "Man, if Adelyn were here, she would want to make a snow angel in these pretty purple petals!" Then, "Maybe I should. Nah. That's a little weird." Took another step. "Wait. Why not?" And so I did. My friend Jeremy captured the moment.

Did I feel silly. A bit. Did I have fun? Absolutely! Any regrets? Not a one. Thank you Adelyn for reminding me to take advantage of the simple things in life!

Adelyn Turns 5!

Waaayyyyy back on July 3, my first baby turned 5! It still seems hard to believe that she is already 5. On her birthday we happened to be having plumbing issues in our condo, so we spent a good portion of the morning waiting for someone to show up. Eventually we just gave up. (Good thing because as it turns out, they never did come). Uncle Jake was in town so we all packed up and headed to a surprise... the Monte Carlo pool! Adelyn was pretty excited. They have a wave pool and a lazy river. Adelyn spent most of the time without any floaties on. She was so proud of herself (mommy and daddy too). Her birthday happened to be on a Friday, so we had pizza and movie and cake night. What a night!

We went back to MN a few days later and had a birthday party with family. Adelyn was pretty excited to have Malachi, Simon and Coen at her party.

Adelyn, you are a very special girl. I am so proud of the beautiful person you are and are growing into. You are an awesome big sister. You are a great helper. You are smart. Thoughtful. Caring. Sensitive. You adapt so well to our crazy life. I love your smiles, stories and songs. Your hugs, kisses and snuggles I can never get enough of. Happy birthday Baby Cakes!

Up, Up and Away!

The other day was an exciting day for Adelyn... she got to go on the big ski lift! This was her third time skiing this year. The first time Ben took just her. He taught her how to make pizzas (aka snow plow). She seemed to get it and do well. The second time she went Grandma and Grandpa Roy were in town. That meant Odin got to ski too. He just likes to go fast. Anyway, Adelyn and Daddy went on the tow rope. She did pretty good. A few days later it was just Ben and Adelyn again. They did a few tow rope runs and then they went on the lift! I didn't know this was the plan. Probably a good thing. I think I would have been a nervous mommy until I heard from them. Ben said she did really well. When she got scared, she just sat down. Not the worst plan. We are going to try and get her out a few more times this year. Hopefully the snow will stick round long enough for that... forecast has upper 30's/40's for the next week or so. :-/

22,000 Steps

For a few months we have been talking to Adelyn and Odin about the "Big Surprise." Ben has occasionally given clues to them,for instance, we need to take a plane there. Well, on December 13 the Big Surprise was revealed - Disney World! It was funny... when we got to the property to check into our hotel, we told the kids where we were. We had 2 blank stares. They had no idea what Disney World was. But they quickly found out! We checked into our hotel and went off to the Magic Kingdom.

We spent the most time at the Magic Kingdom, but we also went to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios and Epcot Center. We did all the rides and shows that Adelyn and Odin would like. I was surprised as to how many rides Genevieve could go on with us. That was a nice surprise.

Our typical day was to sleep in, grab breakfast at our hotel, head to a park, go back to the hotel for naps, wake up for night time park fun. The kids did very well on this schedule. It was nice too, because at night the lines to the kiddie rides were very short. Didn't even need Fast Passes!

One day I decided to use the pedometer feature on my phone. By the end of the day I had more than 22,000 steps! The next day was pretty much the same. The amazing part - Adeyln and Odin walked most of those with us. Our last night we had the stroller for Odin, otherwise Genevieve was in it. I am so impressed with the amount of walking they did.

I could write a super long post, but instead I'll just list some highlights.

- Princess lunch with Belle and the other princesses
- Breakfast with Chip and Dale and Goofy
- Lunch with Winnie, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore
- Breakfast in Cinderella's castle
- Random invite to skip the line to see Anna and Elsa
- Everest roller coaster
- Animal safari
- Countless smiles and shrieks of delights

Thankful Tree 2014

In November we started a new family tradition - a Thankful Tree. I bought a stand-up tree from Target and cut out paper leaves. Several times throughout the month, we would share what we were thankful for. Then we added the leaves to the trees. Here is what we were thankful for:

Odin
I'm thankful for...
God
Boo-boo
Grandma reading to me and letting me paint on her tablet.
Mac and cheese and cereal
Watching Mickey Mouse movies on mommy's phone and TV.

Adelyn
I'm thankful for...
Mac and cheese
My family
Mommy and I like your shirt
Genevieve
Muffins

Ben
I'm thankful for...
My children coming in and snuggling with me this morning.
Mommy's back rubs.
My staff hiring someone without my help.

Me
I'm thankful for...
That we can spend time with friends.
That even though we [the girls] live far apart we are still super close.
Play dates.
That daddy let me go for a run.
Adelyn puts a smile on my face.

Woof: I'm thankful for grandma coming.

Dolly: I'm thankful for mommy.

Grandma: I'm thankful for being able to spend time with my 3 special grandchildren.

Heather: Girlfriends who travel lots of miles for a last minute weekend.

Andrea: I'm thankful for Grandparents and that they make girls weekend possible.

Cassie: I'm thankful for annual girls weekend. 11 Years and 6 Years.

October Fun

Yikes! I am way behind on this. I thought about skipping October and going straight to November, but there are some things I wanted to document, so here I am. In no particular order...

Oktoberfest - One thing I like about other countries is their culture. Being in America, I feel like we have a lack of culture. A while back I decided that perhaps we can do things as a family that is a reflection of our heritage. If nothing else, it's a fun family thing to look forward to. For our Oktoberfest I wanted to have a German breakfast. For us, that means brotchen. I looked up a few recipes and was all set to make it when I thought about the logistics. Quickly I decided that I didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night to make it. Fortunately, I found a German bakery. The kids and I headed over there in the morning. We picked up the brotchen along with kinder chocolate and real German gummies. We had a yummy breakfast with brotchen, salami, and cheese. For lunch we had Nuremberg brats from Trader Joe's. They are Ben's favorite from his time in Germany. After lunch I taught the kids how to polka. We finished our fest with the Chicken Dance. We were going to make pretzels, but ran out of time. Next year!

Halloween - This year we once again headed over to the Lantz's for Halloween. We headed over there in the afternoon for some play time. Then we went to their club house for an early dinner. Dinner was good, but service was slow! After that it was time to change. Adelyn was Rapunzel again (she liked the pink and purple costume the best), Odin was Thomas the Train and Genevieve was Cinderella. We had a lot of fun. The kids got a lot of candy. We actually still have most of it left! The kids were more interested in playing with it than eating it.

Genevieve - Genevieve had her 2 month well check. She did great during the ridiculously long appointment. The appointment was at 11:30 and we got out of there after 1. We are switching doctors for sure! She weighed in at 11 pounds 4 oz and was 22 inches long.

Vegetables - The kids and I headed over to Gilcrease Orchards to pick some veggies. We ended up there the week before Halloween. It was packed! Everyone was busy getting their pumpkins. We picked beets, zucchini, sweet potatoes and a pumpkin. With two little helpers, it was a kind of pathetic haul, but it was fun. For a treat we had some of their apple donuts. Those were pretty amazing. I will definitely go back,but next time I will bring Ben and the baby carrier for G.

Brian's Birthday Party

When we first moved to Vegas, we spent a lot of time at the Platinum Hotel. The location was good. Prices decent. We had a kitchen and washer/dryer. But most of all, the staff were amazing! Most of our contact was with the valet guys. They knew us by name and were always super friendly. Especially to the kids. In addition to the valet crew, there was a guy, Brian, that worked security. He would pop into the lobby when he saw us and blow bubbles for the kids. The kids LOVED this. When we moved into our condo, Adelyn was missing her friends at the Platinum. So, one day we made cookies and pictures and went for a visit.

Fast forward to last week. Adelyn started being sad that we weren't at the Platinum. Somehow she got it into her head that it was Brian's birthday and that we should make a cake and have a party. Wasn't sure about the party part, but I figured we could always bring a cake over. Adelyn was so excited!! I let her pick out a cake mix and frosting at the store (pink and pink because she insisted he loved pink). We made the cake and headed over there.

Unfortunately... Brian no longer works there. Adelyn was so disappointed. But I give her tons of credit - she handled it so well! After talking through our options, she decided we could give the cake to the valet guys. So we stepped outside and were immediately greeted by name! It was a slow time so we chatted for a few minutes with them. It felt like seeing friends again!

Adelyn's 4 Year Well Check

Adelyn has been asking for weeks when she gets to go to the doctor. The combination of me going weekly and her fascination with Doc MCStuffins has fueled this. I'll take it! I finally got all medical records transferred and new insurance in place. On Friday she finally got her appointment.

She weighed in at 40.0 pounds (78 percentile) and is 42 inches tall (83 percentile).

She was being a little shy, so she wasn't talking much when the doctor came in. So, naturally the doctor asked if she had any problems speaking, forming sentences, etc. I chuckled. She's been a talker for so long now, I barely remember her not talking in complete sentences! Meanwhile, Odin wasn't shy, so he was busy telling the doctor lots of things. She was impressed with his speaking too. I wonder where my kids get it...

Adelyn did end up needing shots. Uh oh. In Minnesota she didn't need any until 5. But here, they do the last round before school at 4. So, she got 2 shots. We talked about it while we waited for the nurse to return. She was so brave! After the nurse left the room again, she let out a little sob and said, "Mommy, that did hurt a little bit!" But that was it. I think knowing that a sucker was coming helped.

First Broken Heart

The other day I was going downstairs to let Zoey out. Odin followed me down. Zoey was in the middle of doing her "business" when I heard Adelyn upstairs crying hysterically. I hurried Zoey along and ran upstairs. Adelyn was sitting in her chair in the library, holding her blanket. I asked her what was wrong.

Adelyn: He broke my heart!
Me: Who, sweetie?
A: Odin!
Me: How did he do that?
A: He told me I couldn't go downstairs with you and that just broke my heart!

Happy 4th Birthday Adelyn!

What a lucky girl this year - she got two birthday parties!

On July 1 we celebrated with Grandpa and Grandma O, Uncle Pranob, Auntie Krys and Asher, Uncle Jake and Katie and Uncle Doug and Aunt Jane. Asher's birthday is July 4, so we had a combined party for the two cousins. Pranob and Krys made some yummy tandoori chicken. Adelyn and I made cupcakes. She picked out a recipe that she thought Asher would like. They were supposed to look like this:

They didn't quite work out that way, but they sure were tasty! 

As we were singing the happy birthday song, I realized that it was the first celebration without my grandma (more on that later). Typically with my family we sing also sing the birthday song from "Howdy Doody." I was really hoping that no one starting in on that after the typical birthday song, because there was no way I was going to be able to keep it together. Fortunately for me, no one tried to start it up. Phew.

On July 3, we headed up to the lake. There was a party waiting for us there! Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle John, Aunt Sara, Malachi, Simon and Coen were waiting for us. They had games and prizes set up for the kids. Adelyn had so much fun. Well, I think all the kids did. 

Adelyn, I love you so much. You are growing into such a fun and spunky girl. I love that you love to dress up, even if that leaves your room a disaster. You are sensitive and kind. You are a great helper in the kitchen. You love books. You are willing to try new things. You still bring use your purple blanket, but it doesn't have to come everywhere with us. You like crafts. In so many ways, you are like a little me. Happy Birthday, Little Lou!

Blow Flowers

While it makes sense, I'm not sure why Adelyn calls dandelions "blow flowers." She was so excited the other day to find a bunch of blow flowers at Como Zoo.

 

The other day Odin waved and said, "Bye! Going [to] Timbuktu!"

This morning around 6:30, Adelyn said, "Mom! Mommy, come to my room quick!" I jumped out of bed and "ran" to her room. "What is it?" She replied,"Mommy, can you open my window so I can hear the frogs and birds?" She is so like me!

First Play

I will admit that while there is some sketchiness around the libraries in Vegas, they also have a lot of things going on.

On Friday, May 16 the kids and I went to a puppet play at one of the libraries. It was free. And it was a real play too (meaning a traveling puppet troupe, Tears of Joy, was in town for the event, not just the librarians doing a show). It was pretty neat. It was "Malika: Queen of the Cats." It's a Palestinian story about a poor lady who was very generous and kind. She is rewarded with a gift from Malika. Towards the end, Adelyn whispered to me, "Can we go now?" I thought this was a strange question since she seemed to be enjoying herself. The play ended about 5 minutes later. They had a Q&A session. Adelyn raised her hand. I was a little scared about what she might be asking, so I asked her what her question was. Sure enough, she wanted to ask why it was so long. Silly girl. Fortunately, she wasn't called on. But when we left the theater, she did ask the one puppeteer why it was so long.

Cinco and MOPS

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo. We sort of celebrated.

In the morning Ben wanted to go rock climbing (indoor. He joined a local place). We decided to take the kids along so they would know what we were talking about. We got there about 10:30 to discover that it didn't open until 11. So... we found a park a few blocks away. Turned out to be a pretty awesome park. Very creative equipment in a woods theme. And there was a splash pad too. We will definitely be back there! Once it was 11 we headed back.

We watched Ben climb a few runs. Then the kids said they wanted to try. So, we got them geared up. Adelyn did great. Until she decided that she was scared of how high she was (maybe 3 feet off the ground). We tried to show her how the belay system worked. That backfired. She was caught off guard and ended up hitting her leg against the wall. Oops. Odin did great too! Until he was too short to reach the next hand grip. But we were proud of the kiddos for trying. We will try again when they are a little older.

After climbing we went to Chipotle. Yum. That was part of our Cinco celebration. When we got home we had a pinata for the kids. Note to self: an almost 4 year old and a 2 year old can't really break open a pinata on their own. They thought it was fun hitting it.  Daddy had to give it a few good whacks to get it open. The kids were excited to find bouncy balls, watercolors, place mats, bath stuff and some Oreo cookies.

Today the kids and I attended our first MOPS meeting. I have thought about it for some time. And now that we're here for a month, I figured we could check it out. The one we attended meets twice a month during the school year. So, this week and in two weeks we can attend. Then not again until the fall.

I wasn't sure what to expect. Turns out it's a pretty large group. I think there were about 35 of us. When I went to drop off the kids I found out that Adelyn and Odin would be in separate classes. Hmmm... He's really not used to being without mommy AND big sister. I let the lady in that room know that he might not be thrilled with the arrangement and that she could get me. He made it about 40 minutes before they said he was crying. So he got to join mommy and the other moms. I am very thankful that he is a pretty chill guy. He had some fruit with me and then was happy to take notes on the guest speaker and finally put some puzzles together on my phone.

Adelyn had a good time, but she did say it was a long time (it was 2 hours). I had fun. The ladies at my table were very nice. And we all come from very different backgrounds. We had some nice discussions and laughs. Now to get Odin on board with going back...

Another Fun Week

Yesterday Odin and I were talking. I can't remember what I said, but his response was, "Major pain." Oh my goodness that little boy cracks me up!

March 14-19
Friday the 14 was Pi Day. When I was in high school the math team would decorate the math hall doorways with giant Pi's and would sell pie in the cafeteria. I'm always up for random reasons to celebrate, so I try to remember to celebrate my nerdiness with this "holiday." This year it worked perfectly that it was on a Friday. We had pizza and I made a blueberry pie. With the Pi symbol cut into the top crust. Our friend Jason came into town to celebrate with us. OK. Maybe he didn't. But he did come for the weekend.

This weekend was a Summit family weekend. The kids and I sneaked into a few of the events. On Saturday we sat in on a paper airplane demonstration from the current Guinness Book of World Records holder for longest paper airplane launch. Then we played outside in an igloo that Summit had built. We came inside to warm up. After playing in the basement and creating box houses and tunnels, Odin and I got to meet a few owls and a hawk from a bird handler. Adelyn stayed downstairs to play with the Summit girls. Odin thought it was pretty cool to touch an owl. When I came back down, Simone had made a pair of ballet slippers out of duct tape and pipe cleaners for Adelyn. She thought that was very cool. Sunday the kids got their faces painted and we went to a dance class. Adelyn was convinced it was going to be ballet. But it was hip hop. Adelyn was so cute trying to follow along. As soon as the music was put on, she bent over with her booty in the air and shuck it. I was laughing so hard. Good times.

Monday was St. Patrick's Day. I had read somewhere that corned beef and cabbage isn't really traditionally Irish. So, I made boxty (potato pancakes) instead. I tried to make them like Kip's in Minneapolis. So, I topped them with shredded chicken and pepper Jack cheese. It wasn't an exact match, but it was pretty close. We also made cole slaw and Watergate Salad. Not sure how authentic those were, but they were green and yummy.

On Wednesday we invited Haru over for dinner. We also had Mike and Nayri over. We decided to wow! this famous chef with salsa burgers, 7 layer dip, guac and corona. We had a little issue starting up the grill (we didn't have a lighter or matches, so we had to get creative). Other than that, the night was at least a mild success. We had a great evening of table pounding (that's what Haru does when he gets excited) and conversation. He even had two burgers, so I guess they weren't too terrible. I do sort of wish we weren't moving in a week. It would be fun to hang out some more with him. And our other friends here too.

And Then She Ran to Her Mother

One thing that always cracks me up is how Adelyn will narrate what she's doing in the third person. She's been doing this for a long time. I know she was doing it in December of 2012 because I was telling our friends about it when we were in Mexico for the Maverick Mayan trip.

Odin has started putting words together. He also tends to repeat things. Two of my favorites are, "Dude" (said like doo-dah) and "What the deuce?"

March 11-14
On Tuesday, Rick and Mickey came for a visit. This was the first time for them to see "our" mountain. We still had Nikki and Damien too, so it was a busy house! During the days Nikki was busy visiting family, and Damien and Ben were out skiing. That left the grandparents and the kids and me to have some fun.

On Wednesday we went to Kangaroo Zoo. The kids and I had passed it a few times so I had looked it up to see what it actually was. Looked like fun. When we got there Odin went into one of the bounce houses. Then he realized that his big sister was scared and decided he should be too. So we spent the next 20 minutes (maybe more) trying to get them to try out the different bounce houses. We even had a little girl try and show Adelyn around. FINALLY, they both decided it was a lot of fun. And it was hard to get them to leave.

On Thursday we met Ben for lunch on the mountain. Then we took the kids skiing. Make that kid. It was a nice and sunny and warm day. Adelyn just had her light jacket on. After getting her ski boots on, she started to freak that she needed her winter jacket. In the end she didn't go skiing. But little mister sure did! I steered him down the little hill a few times, then I went back to Adelyn. Ben got Odin to go down unassisted a few times. Odin had a great time. After naps we headed back up for a village tour to show R&M our home site. Rick went on a snowmobile with Joe the rest of us hopped into the new toy that's like a dune buggy on treads. I'm sure it has a name. When we got to our street, we strapped on snowshoes and walked around the property. It was so nice and clear. We had great views. I'm so excited to build!

Friday R&M left right after a quick breakfast. 

Balboa Park

We are in sunny San Diego! Ben is here for Traffic and Conversion conference. It's HUGE! It's about 2000 people. He said he knows more people at this event than were at our wedding. And I believe it. He has been very busy juggling the conference, additional sessions, meeting with people he hasn't seen and spending time with us. Needless to say, we have had a lot of time on our hands while he has been out.

Yesterday the kids and I went to Balboa Park. We started off at the playground. Adelyn went right to playing. Odin... well, for some reason he wanted to observe for a long time before playing. I have no clue why. When we got there, there were only a few people there. But anyway, he soon discovered the joys of throwing wood chips in his hair. Then both kids went to work on making "snow" angels in the wood chips. I do have a picture. I need to figure out how to get it off my phone and onto here.

After the playground we headed to another portion of the park. We got to the old church tower just as they were starting the noon bell performance. It was prerecorded, but it was still very cool. It would be very neat to watch them do the recordings.

At that point we decided we were hungry. We made our way to the hot dog stand (the only food we had seen up to that point). Adelyn had money in her pocket and she insisted that she pay. So she proudly handed the guy a coin. From Singapore. He was amused and she was happy. The kids love to throw things away. In fact, some times there are fights as to who gets to throw things away. After we were done eating, I divided our garbage so they would each have a few items to throw. There was a foreign couple sitting next to us. Every time Odin or Adelyn threw something away, they cheered. This made the kids even more excited to throw things away!

After lunch we wandered to the fountains and flower gardens. As we were walking back, I told Adelyn it was time to go back to the hotel for Odin's nap. Her response? "But mom! We haven't been to the museum yet!" How could I resist? So we walked through a portion of the free art museum before heading home.

On our way out, we passed the hot dog guy again. Adelyn asked to get some popcorn. I would have said no, but figured it was a good way to keep Odin awake in the car. So I gave Adelyn the money and she went up and bought the popcorn all by herself! Such a big girl.

Bathroom Humor

Odin is definitely showing interest in using the bathroom. Several times he has grabbed my hand, said, "Poo!" and has gone potty in the toilet! My little man is growing up too fast!

A week or so before we left for Asia, the kids and I were in the bathroom. We had just gotten up, so I was changing Odin's diaper. Adelyn was going to the bathroom too. Or at least, that is what was supposed to be happening. I'm not sure exactly what happened since my attention was on Odin. All of a sudden there was a splash and a scream! Poor Adelyn somehow fell into the toilet! She was so upset. I was trying hard not to laugh out loud. I got her calmed down, dried off and we went on with our day.

Cleared for Take Off

On Wednesday we "left" for Asia. I put that in quotes because instead of being in Asia at the end of the day, we only made it as far as Detroit. Michigan.

We flew from Vegas to Detroit. When trying to board the next plane, we found out that they really were serious that we needed the paper tickets for Odin since he was an infant in arms and we needed to pay taxes since we were leaving the country. We explained that we had just moved so we missed the tickets somehow. No problem. You just have to buy them again. But don't worry - when we find the original ones, we can just call and get a refund. Ben sent Adelyn and I onto the plane so we could try and get some overhead bin space. Odin and Ben got the ticket thing figured out. They got on the plane. We left the gate. Sat around for a while. Then we got an announcement that during their final check something came up. We had to go back to the gate for maintenance to get on and fix whatever. After a while, they announced that they hoped to have it fixed in an hour. So we sat some more. The children were great! They were busy entertaining themselves. They didn't seem to notice we hadn't moved at all. An hour passed. "It shouldn't be too much longer," we were told. After some more time, we were told that we needed to switch planes. As we left the aircraft we scanned our boarding passes to get vouchers. Odin and Ben got off before Adelyn and I did. When I got to the boys, Ben asked where the boarding passes were. I said that I had mine and Adelyn's. Did he remember to get his and Odin's passes and passports from his seat back? ... No... So, I went to the ticket agent and told them what we forgot. We had to wait for the entire plane to deplane before someone would go look for them. Finally, we got tickets and passports in hand. Then was the tricky part to figure out how to spend the vouchers. The lines were long and we didn't have a whole lot of time. And our stroller wasn't given back to us so we were carrying everything, including an occasional kid. We ended up with McFlurry's and a new travel pillow.

We got to our new gate and new plane right before boarding started. We got back on the plane. Got settled again. It was a bit chilly because they were loading up the plane with food, etc. right near us. We were snuggling with Mr. O and his blanket and the Delta blankets as the 30 degree air kept blowing around us. Well, they had loaded everything up, but there was still cold air blowing. And we were past our new departure time. Hmmm.... Yep. Sure enough, a little while later another announcement: they couldn't get one of the doors closed. Maintenance was coming. Great. So, we continued to huddle against the cold as we waited. And waited. A few more announcements and apologies later, we were getting off the plane. This time for the night. They were handing out hotel vouchers with your boarding pass. Ben grabbed as much as he could and got off as quickly as he could since we had heard that sometimes the first few off get a better hotel. I was left with the children. When we finally reunited (no cool hotel for anyone) I realized we didn't have my backpack. Back to the gate agent. By now we were on a first name basis. They were able to get my backpack for me. Then we got to wait outside for the hotel shuttle. After a few minutes, we decided to just take a taxi. There were so many people waiting that we were at least waiting for two more shuttle runs before we would get on one. And it was late. Almost 11. So we took a taxi so we could get settled in and try and get more sleep. Before we went to bed, we found out our new flight was at noon.

The next morning, we put our clothes back on and went back to the airport. Got on the airplane. And waited. But this time, the plane actually took off! The kids did great on the long flight. We decided to just let them do whatever as far as sleeping goes. Those with kids know that to keep them awake or get them to sleep is sometimes just not worth it. We got off the plane in Japan and got right back on. But for our last leg they upgraded us to business class! Adelyn was in her own little pod and she did great. She thought it was pretty cool that her seat turned into a bed. Odin slept most of that flight.

And finally, we were in the Philippines. Hooray!