The frustrating, exhausting, very long day

Well we finally arrived here in Lakenheath, England after two long days of traveling. Thursday morning we woke up to the power being out and it was already warming up quickly inside. It took much longer to finish our last few tasks before hitting the road. I loaded the car and the girls and I headed for DC. We met a college roommate of mine for lunch and then headed to some other friends house for dinner and a ride to the airport. Before heading for the airport, I bathed the girls and got them dressed in their pajamas. Maren was all ready to go and I was finishing helping Whitney get dressed. Next thing we know we find Maren has climbed into the slowly draining tub. Out to the car I run to dig some dry clothes out of the suitcase. We're running a few minutes late now on my timetable but I'd planned to be there plenty early so we wouldn't be rushed at the airport. We arrive at the airport and load the bags onto a cart. I head to the Fast Bag Drop as instructed since I took the time to check-in online to make our check-in go quickly. Get to the desk and they want my printed boarding pass, which I didn't have since I chose the "pick it up at the airport" option not wanting to have to worry about losing them. Since I don't have the printed pass I have to go stand in line behind all those that have yet to check-in. After standing in line for twenty minutes, we are back at the Fast Bag Drop desk to be checked in. Very frustrating! We head off to find security and eventually find our way to the end of the very long line. I was feeling a little crunched for time when we finally neared the ID check as I noticed many of the other passengers were also. Onto the next line to wait "forever" as Whitney said to get through security. We run to catch the shuttle to our terminal and soon as we arrive take off for the gate that happens to be at the far end of the terminal. We arrive at the gate to find our "on time" flight that was supposed to be closing the doors at that time hasn't even started boarding and didn't for another 15 minutes. We get settled and Maren finally falls asleep after eating some dinner. Whitney mentions needing to use the restroom and I told her soon as she is finished eating. I look over a few minutes later and she has fallen asleep while watching her movie and finishing dinner. I decided to set Maren down on the floor (there's lots of space as we are sitting in the bulkhead seats and run to the bathroom before coming back to carry Whitney to the bathroom. I get back and there is a flight attendant there to reprimand me for leaving my child on the floor. For the first time they offer me the use of the infant seat that mounts to a foldout table on the wall in front of us. Sounds great I tell them and two other attendants come to set it up. I go to put Maren in the seat and realize it is not set-up correctly and while fixing it one of the attendants returns to ask if Whitney needs a "nappy" (British for diaper). No, why do you ask? Well, she peed on my foot while I was standing here helping set-up the seat. Great! I dig out the extra clothes and haul Whitney off to the bathroom to clean her up. Luckily, there is an extra seat in our row so I get her settled in that. Finally I can settle back and get some sleep since it is now almost 2 am. I doze off only to be awaken an hour later by the same flight attendant that reprimanded me before about leaving my child on the floor saying I should use a bassinet for her safety in case of turbulence is now telling me that no in fact they can't be in the seat with it's five point harness during turbulence that I need to hold her on my lap instead. Doze off for another hour before they turn on the lights to start serving breakfast and make preparations for landing. We arrive in Heathrow an hour late so I now have an hour and a half to make it through customs and over to the other terminal to catch our shuttle. We cruise through immigration and customs and are headed to the other terminal with over an hour to go. No problem I think but the fun is actually just beginning. I ask one of the friendly customer service people for the fastest/easiest way to get to Terminal 3 and they tell me to take the train. I ask if there is any bus etc. trying to find the easiest way to transport my kids and luggage and again I'm told by two different people to take the train. So off we head with our loaded luggage cart which I can't see over the top of due to the car seats stacked on top and Whitney following behind pushing Maren in her stroller. We make it down to the train platform and I have to shuttle the bags a short distance to the actual platform while we wait for the train. We get all loaded on the train and wait for it to leave. Ten minutes later when it is time to depart they announce that in fact something has malfunctioned and the line is shut down so we need to exit and find a different mode of transportation. This wonderful British couple helps us move the luggage back to a cart and we all head off to find the Tube (subway) as we are informed this is the only way to get to the other terminals now. Of course the tube is located at the opposite end of the terminal from the train. We arrive at the Tube to find we have to shuttle the bags a much further distance to the platform but luckily this great couple is headed the same place and help us out again. At the next Tube station we have to shuttle the bags up an escalator to the next level before we can use a luggage cart. Moving 7 pieces of luggage (4 bags, 2 carseats, and a kid carrier) and two kids is not an easy feat! We head for the nearby central bus terminal arriving 5 minutes after our bus was to depart only to find we are at the wrong place. Back downstairs and through the corridors to another small bus terminal. At this point, Whitney was too tired to push the stroller anymore and would just sit down in the middle of the walkway. Now I'm pushing the luggage cart with one hand and dragging Maren backwards in the stroller with the other. We finally arrive to find, indeed, our bus had already left and it was the last one of the day that went directly to the base. At this point I just want to sit down and cry but I'm too tired to do even that after the long night and then spending two hours traversing the Heathrow airport. We sit and take a break for awhile to think of what our options are. I go to try and call Jim but somebody is on an extended call and I realize I can't use my phone card as I don't have the in country access number. I decided to head back to the other bus terminal to see if I can get a bus to somewhere close to the base. Jim is stuck at work for 6 more hours so he can't drive the 2 hours to pick us up. Upon arriving at the central bus terminal, I'm able to find a bus that gets us within 10 minutes of the base. I'm able to get a number for the base operator from directory assistance and get connected to Jim to let him know our situation. I decided to take a bus 4 hours later so we arrived at a time that Jim could meet us at the station. Twenty nine hours after leaving home we finally arrive at our hotel safe and sound but very exhausted. The girls were such troopers through it all even without sleeping much themselves. It was definitely much more of an adventure than I anticipated but we survived and I haven't sworn off traveling!

Yorktown beach...

The weather has been great this week to be at the beach so we've tried to take advantage of living so close which we don't do often enough. Tuesday evening we spent an hour hanging out at a nearby beach. Friday we met up with some friends at Yorktown beach for a few hours to picnic and play. The girls both loved the shallow, calm water and had a blast playing in the sand with the other girls.

There was a cool "pirate" ship (as Whitney called it) sitting at the dock so that was also fun to see.

Maren has also started doing this funny headstand and random times during the day. She's very close to doing a somersault on her own though.

First beach day....

It's that time of year again! We've been enjoying the mild spring but now the temperatures are starting to creep up so it's time to head to the beach and pool again. Unfortunately the water is still a bit chilly at both places but it doesn't stop Whitney from enjoying herself. Last week we headed to V. Beach one of the days Jim was off to play some disc golf at a course down there and then headed to the beach. Whitney enjoyed bodysurfing in her life jacket and playing in the sand. Maren would turn and run every time the water came close to her feet. I don't blame her it was cold! They spent the rest of the time digging in the sand and being buried by their dad. Yesterday, the girls and I walked over to the pool and spent about an hour swimming.

Gymnastics and Crossfit...

Whitney finished up her gymnastics class this week with a little performance and awarding of medals. She seemed to love all the attention and liked showing off and being silly. I wished that would have translated over to her Primary talk today which she refused to give. Guess she needs to go to bed earlier and practice a little more next time so we don't have the meltdown. The girls are becoming little Crossfit junkies like their parents. We were at the park the other day and they both loved playing on the monkey bars trying to do pull-ups. Whitney commented that these bars need tape on them because she was getting sores on her hands. Check out Crossfit.com if you're looking for a tough workout, it's kicks my tail daily! Earlier this week I was planning on going for a bike ride with a friend up to Yorktown. Jim decided the night before that he wanted to come along. We ended up riding 50 miles on that ride. He's not so sure he wants to go ride with the girls anymore especially without any warning on the length of the ride.

Strawberry picking...

On Friday we enjoyed a trip across the water to a local strawberry farm with some friends. We had gone last year and thoroughly enjoyed it and the berries were so delicious so we were anxiously awaiting strawberry season again this year. Whitney enjoyed running up and down the rows and picking buckets of berries with her friends. Maren just enjoyed stuffing her mouth full with berries and she didn't care if they were red or green. It was a nice cool and overcast day which made it perfect for picking. I came home and made three batches of freezer jam so we should be stocked up again for another year.

Little climber...

Over the last few months we have discovered that Maren has a penchant for climbing. Frequently she is found on the table, in the window above the couch, or at various heights around the house that she can get herself to. She's now getting smarter and starting to find tools to aid her ascents. I caught her the other day carrying around a small fold-up camping chair to use for climbing onto the computer desk. When necessary she'll stack her items to get higher. Below is a picture of her using a container of cookies on top of the bathroom stool to be able to reach the bathroom sink and counter. A future 5.13 climber in the making!

Are you my father?

So Whitney has been on this kick lately of calling me mother (too formal for me personally but whatever). Today she tells me "Mommy, did you know that Daddy is my father? I didn't know I had a father!"