We made it. We're alive. The boys were great. Hong Kong is not my scene. At least not after 17 hours of flying with only a 20 minute "break" to sprint to a San Francisco connecting gate. Maybe it will be better in the morning.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Wedding Weekend
It was a crazy, but fun, crazy-fun weekend here in Boulder, CO! We had the rehearsal and wedding for Ryan Rhodes (Johnny's best friend of 15 or so years) and Allie Mohar and the whole Boulder gang was there. This was Johnny's middle school/ high school crowd and the gang we always hung with when we came down to escape Laramie. I've loved these guys since I first met them the Spring break Johnny and I came out to meet the family the month after we got married. Jason even made it from Vienna! We're talking lots of nostalgia and emotion here! Uncle Mike and his girlfriend, Amber, also came up from Texas for the wedding!
Needless to say it was a packed weekend. We left Sheridan for Ft. Collins on Tuesday and spent time relaxing, hanging with Ryan, and seeing an old friend from Hillsdale, Matt Erikson. On Thursday we switched to a hotel in Boulder, much closer to the wedding venue. The rehearsal took place Thursday afternoon and the boys had a blast playing with the wedding party at the rehearsal dinner. The flower girl, Mckenzie, is their newest buddy.
Friday we spent the day hanging with Mike, Amber, and their friend, Kevin. The afternoon dissolved into chaos when I dropped Johnny off at the wedding, rushed down to Pearl Street for some gluten free cupcakes, dash back to the hotel to gather my dress, get Gabey in his suit and get Zack back to the venue in time to get his dashing ring bearer tux on. Gabey and I went to battle over whether or not he would wear his suit and he ended up winning. I was so disappointed; I was so excited to see him in his adorable little 5-piece suit. He had been super excited to wear it, but changed his mind at just the wrong time!! Oh well, after considerable stress I got Zack to the wedding just in time. Best man Daddy got him suited up and the fun began:
Gabey spent the evening playing with his iPod and climbing on lion statues outside. He is a quiet soul; big parties are not his scene.
Zack was so hyped up that he was up with night terrors until nearly 3 a.m. I finally got him to wake up at 2:30 a.m. and he instantly calmed, took a bath, and slept pretty soundly until 8 a.m. Zack always gets night terrors after a big, exciting event or when John goes on a trip.
Today we had a breakfast with Ryan, Allie, and other wedding party people and we all had to say goodbye. :( Those are always the worst parts of any trip. We look forward to seeing our friends again soon. Remember, everyone, there is an extra bedroom sitting empty in Jakarta.
We spent the rest of the day with Mike and Amber and now we're packing up and getting ready to fly out tomorrow!
I seriously doubt I'll have time to blog again before we go so here's my goodbye. It's a 2 day trip to Jakarta. We'll be traveling via San Francisco and Hong Kong. We'll be saying goodbye to America for two whole years! Give us a couple months to get settled and then come visit. I'll be missing everyone so much.
Goodbye, friends, family, and America! I love you! See you Jakarta.
Friday we spent the day hanging with Mike, Amber, and their friend, Kevin. The afternoon dissolved into chaos when I dropped Johnny off at the wedding, rushed down to Pearl Street for some gluten free cupcakes, dash back to the hotel to gather my dress, get Gabey in his suit and get Zack back to the venue in time to get his dashing ring bearer tux on. Gabey and I went to battle over whether or not he would wear his suit and he ended up winning. I was so disappointed; I was so excited to see him in his adorable little 5-piece suit. He had been super excited to wear it, but changed his mind at just the wrong time!! Oh well, after considerable stress I got Zack to the wedding just in time. Best man Daddy got him suited up and the fun began:
My handsome little ring bearer
The handsome groom and his grandma
Stoffel and Mother of the Groom
Best man (I agree!) and Maid of Honor
The most adorable ring bearer in wedding history
The lovely bride
Zack approached Mckenzie and informed her father that he had been promised a danced. He danced with his lady and then proceeded to work it on the dance floor for the next two hours. He danced me into the ground!
Gabey spent the evening playing with his iPod and climbing on lion statues outside. He is a quiet soul; big parties are not his scene.
Zack was so hyped up that he was up with night terrors until nearly 3 a.m. I finally got him to wake up at 2:30 a.m. and he instantly calmed, took a bath, and slept pretty soundly until 8 a.m. Zack always gets night terrors after a big, exciting event or when John goes on a trip.
Today we had a breakfast with Ryan, Allie, and other wedding party people and we all had to say goodbye. :( Those are always the worst parts of any trip. We look forward to seeing our friends again soon. Remember, everyone, there is an extra bedroom sitting empty in Jakarta.
We spent the rest of the day with Mike and Amber and now we're packing up and getting ready to fly out tomorrow!
I seriously doubt I'll have time to blog again before we go so here's my goodbye. It's a 2 day trip to Jakarta. We'll be traveling via San Francisco and Hong Kong. We'll be saying goodbye to America for two whole years! Give us a couple months to get settled and then come visit. I'll be missing everyone so much.
Goodbye, friends, family, and America! I love you! See you Jakarta.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Pack Out
For home leave we have two pack outs, one that packs up all our belongings at our original post and one from our home leave spot that repacks our UAB (unaccompanied air baggage).
Our home leave destination is John's parents' house in Sheridan, WY, so at the end of our stay there we repacked the UAB shipment that had arrived from Delhi and added a few things we had purchased in WY or had been lugging around all summer. It was a nice load off.
Unfortunately, the pack out itself was not so cathartic. You may remember from the previous post that we had a little stress over the scheduling of this pack out. John had to spend quite a bit of time on the phone getting things straightened out. We thought all was well until the movers showed up at 8 a.m. the rescheduled morning (Tuesday, 8/21). Let's just say that these two young men were not among Sheridan's finest sons.
In India the movers took 45 minutes to completely pack and process our UAB. I didn't even unpack the boxes from India and what was left to be packed was considerably less than what we had packed in India. I even did some of the pre-packing, putting all smaller items into two large duffels. Despite all this the entire process took 2 1/2 hours. Their idea of thorough packing was to throw everything into boxes and dump packing peanuts over the top. I even had to walk them through the inventory and sign out process. Needless to say I was practicing my yogic breathing exercises the entire 2 1/2 hours.
But we got through it! John's parents drove us down to Casper, WY to meet up with John and we said goodbye. :( Then we headed down to Ft. Collins, CO to get ready for the wedding.
We picked up John and Zack's suits yesterday and we have the rehearsal tonight. The boys love hotel living, but I am way more than ready to settle down into real life again. 4 days until Indonesia!
Our home leave destination is John's parents' house in Sheridan, WY, so at the end of our stay there we repacked the UAB shipment that had arrived from Delhi and added a few things we had purchased in WY or had been lugging around all summer. It was a nice load off.
Unfortunately, the pack out itself was not so cathartic. You may remember from the previous post that we had a little stress over the scheduling of this pack out. John had to spend quite a bit of time on the phone getting things straightened out. We thought all was well until the movers showed up at 8 a.m. the rescheduled morning (Tuesday, 8/21). Let's just say that these two young men were not among Sheridan's finest sons.
In India the movers took 45 minutes to completely pack and process our UAB. I didn't even unpack the boxes from India and what was left to be packed was considerably less than what we had packed in India. I even did some of the pre-packing, putting all smaller items into two large duffels. Despite all this the entire process took 2 1/2 hours. Their idea of thorough packing was to throw everything into boxes and dump packing peanuts over the top. I even had to walk them through the inventory and sign out process. Needless to say I was practicing my yogic breathing exercises the entire 2 1/2 hours.
But we got through it! John's parents drove us down to Casper, WY to meet up with John and we said goodbye. :( Then we headed down to Ft. Collins, CO to get ready for the wedding.
We picked up John and Zack's suits yesterday and we have the rehearsal tonight. The boys love hotel living, but I am way more than ready to settle down into real life again. 4 days until Indonesia!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Blips
Those of you who work overseas, perhaps particularly with State Department/USAID, will understand and perhaps share the somewhat fatalistic attitude many of us expats take towards a smooth transition between countries. You find yourself utterly shocked if something does indeed run with perfect precision. What? My tickets were all correct? My UAB went where it was supposed to go? My HHE wasn't filled with water? My house is *ready*? WHERE ON EARTH IS MY PASSPORT?!? It's an exciting game of roulette. What will go wrong on this trip and will this be the time we finally crack and end up in a mental institution?
You reach the point at which some of this stuff just doesn't phase you anymore. It's expected. You just deal with it. I've come to label these inconveniences as "blips." Just one more blip on the radar screen of our pack out/move/R&R/home leave. Most of the blips we've faced thus far have been extremely minor, usually nothing more than dealing with us being seated on the other side of the airplane from the kids or airlines refusing to acknowledge that our whole itinerary is international and this include one bag free of charge. Yesterday's blip was a little bigger. While Skyping with my mom I got a rather distressing phone call from the moving company that was supposed to pack up our UAB today. Turns out they would not be coming because USAID HR had just contacted them for the first time on Friday evening (as in 2 days before) to tell them that they needed to do the job today (8/20). So the company was completely unprepared and hadn't even received the shipping supplies they needed from USAID. We would have to reschedule.
Part of me feels like I should have been more panicked, but, like I said, it's a blip. John got it all sorted out and they'll be coming tomorrow morning instead and our plans to leave for Colorado late tomorrow morning should still work out. Another blip eliminated!
So instead of pack out today we went to the fish hatchery in Story, WY and fed trout.
We also played on the nearby playground.
Grandpa caught a 10 lb. walleye!! I know what we're having for dinner tonight!
You reach the point at which some of this stuff just doesn't phase you anymore. It's expected. You just deal with it. I've come to label these inconveniences as "blips." Just one more blip on the radar screen of our pack out/move/R&R/home leave. Most of the blips we've faced thus far have been extremely minor, usually nothing more than dealing with us being seated on the other side of the airplane from the kids or airlines refusing to acknowledge that our whole itinerary is international and this include one bag free of charge. Yesterday's blip was a little bigger. While Skyping with my mom I got a rather distressing phone call from the moving company that was supposed to pack up our UAB today. Turns out they would not be coming because USAID HR had just contacted them for the first time on Friday evening (as in 2 days before) to tell them that they needed to do the job today (8/20). So the company was completely unprepared and hadn't even received the shipping supplies they needed from USAID. We would have to reschedule.
Part of me feels like I should have been more panicked, but, like I said, it's a blip. John got it all sorted out and they'll be coming tomorrow morning instead and our plans to leave for Colorado late tomorrow morning should still work out. Another blip eliminated!
So instead of pack out today we went to the fish hatchery in Story, WY and fed trout.
We also played on the nearby playground.
Grandpa caught a 10 lb. walleye!! I know what we're having for dinner tonight!
Sunday, August 19, 2012
The Dramamine Experiment
When we first embarked on our foreign service life a couple pediatricians and several friends advised that we give the boys Benadryl to settle them down and help them sleep on the plane. This was the basic result:
A couple of these mothers said that their children also had hyperactive reactions to Benadryl, so I decided to give it a try. As with the Benadryl experiment I have elected to give it a try before the 15 hour flight. Sunday afternoon seems like as a good a time as any. I've set them on the couch watching "Oliver and Company." At 12:50 p.m. I tried to give each boy half a tablet as recommended by the box. Zack took his quickly and easily; I only managed to get part of it down Gabriel.
Observation time! Results to come.
Well, it's been an hour and the results are pretty ambiguous. Zack seems a little more subdued. Gabriel seems normal, but that makes sense given that he didn't take the whole dose. But the results are not negative, so I think I'll be willing to give it a shot on the airplane. Maybe being strapped down in their seats and coaxed to sleep will work with medicinal help. At least they're not bouncing off the walls like they were after Benadryl!
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Less Facebook, More Writing
I've decided to take a break from Facebook for many reasons. I've actually always loved Facebook as an excellent way to keep in touch with people back home, to share pictures and stories, etc. But I have allowed Facebook to become a breeding ground for several negative habits and feelings in me lately.
First of all, I tend to automatically go to it when I begin to become bored; it's like a nervous tick. There are far more constructive ways to spend my time and I intend to cultivate them for a while.
Next, it has bred obsession in me. The easy access to fairly innocuous information isn't healthy.
Further, I have to fight to prevent myself from becoming involved in the most vacuous conversations/debates. I succeeded in removing myself from all political discussions, but found myself moving on to other subjects. I have found that debates on Facebook are utterly inane and their results tend to breed stubbornness and anger, two very unhealthy results of debate.
Along the same ground, I am so sick of hearing and seeing the political garbage all over Facebook I just can't stand it anymore. People are using Facebook for propaganda, sharing ridiculous memes that support ignorance, hatred, and bigoted labeling. People say things on the internet that they would never have the guts, stupidity, and/or social inadequacy to say in person.
In summation, Facebook has resulted in unnecessary stress and tension for me and it's time to stop. Maybe I'll come back to it eventually, but for now it's most healthy for me to focus on the very important things I'm dealing with in my life right now: a new country, new language, finding a Christian community, being a loving wife, raising my children, connecting with my nieces, keeping up with my friends, helping my husband in his career, etc.
I have a lot of projects in the works. I need to start on the boys' India scrapbooks. I need to make a living and dining area sophisticated enough for confidently hosting John's work superiors. I need to revisit the piano, improve my ear-playing, and learn to sing easily in harmony. I need to continue building the very strong personal relationship I've developed with God. I need to continue to improve my health. I have an amazing, beautiful life and I intend to focus on it.
We have one week left in America and, barring unforeseen circumstances, we will not be back to our country for 2 years. We're looking forward to this new adventure. On Monday we pack up our UAB, which will be sent by air from Sheridan to Jakarta. On Tuesday my lovely MIL, Beth, will drive us to Casper, WY where John will meet us and take us the rest of the way to Ft. Collins, CO. Friday will be Ryan and Allie's wedding (yay!). Saturday the boys and I fly for Hong Kong via San Francisco. We have 45 minutes to get from our Denver to San Fran flight to our gate bound for Hong Kong!! John will go to D.C. for a couple days for consultations, rushing to Jakarta to make it in time for Zack's 5th birthday.
The Hong Kong flight might be tough to negotiate, because although we leave at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time, we will be adjusting for 4:30 a.m. Hong Kong time. My goal will be to get the boys to nap as fast as possible, waking them up at 9 a.m. Hong Kong time. The flight is about 15 hours. I will be experimenting with dramamine this weekend to see how it affects the boys. Benadryl, unfortunately, has about the same affect on them as caffeine.
We'll arrive at 6:15 p.m. Hong Kong time, dash to our hotel, and head back out for some HK street food. Zack loves meat-on-a-stick like nothing else on earth. Gabriel will love the Victoria Harbor ferry.
We leave Hong Kong at 4 p.m. the next day and arrive in Jakarta at 7:30 p.m. Jakarta time (one hour off from HK). I don't know what we're doing from there because I still don't know where we're staying! Our house might not be ready. All part of the experience.
It's going to be a big week! I'm so proud of my little family that can take on all this excitement and adventure together. We're a great team.
First of all, I tend to automatically go to it when I begin to become bored; it's like a nervous tick. There are far more constructive ways to spend my time and I intend to cultivate them for a while.
Next, it has bred obsession in me. The easy access to fairly innocuous information isn't healthy.
Further, I have to fight to prevent myself from becoming involved in the most vacuous conversations/debates. I succeeded in removing myself from all political discussions, but found myself moving on to other subjects. I have found that debates on Facebook are utterly inane and their results tend to breed stubbornness and anger, two very unhealthy results of debate.
Along the same ground, I am so sick of hearing and seeing the political garbage all over Facebook I just can't stand it anymore. People are using Facebook for propaganda, sharing ridiculous memes that support ignorance, hatred, and bigoted labeling. People say things on the internet that they would never have the guts, stupidity, and/or social inadequacy to say in person.
In summation, Facebook has resulted in unnecessary stress and tension for me and it's time to stop. Maybe I'll come back to it eventually, but for now it's most healthy for me to focus on the very important things I'm dealing with in my life right now: a new country, new language, finding a Christian community, being a loving wife, raising my children, connecting with my nieces, keeping up with my friends, helping my husband in his career, etc.
I have a lot of projects in the works. I need to start on the boys' India scrapbooks. I need to make a living and dining area sophisticated enough for confidently hosting John's work superiors. I need to revisit the piano, improve my ear-playing, and learn to sing easily in harmony. I need to continue building the very strong personal relationship I've developed with God. I need to continue to improve my health. I have an amazing, beautiful life and I intend to focus on it.
We have one week left in America and, barring unforeseen circumstances, we will not be back to our country for 2 years. We're looking forward to this new adventure. On Monday we pack up our UAB, which will be sent by air from Sheridan to Jakarta. On Tuesday my lovely MIL, Beth, will drive us to Casper, WY where John will meet us and take us the rest of the way to Ft. Collins, CO. Friday will be Ryan and Allie's wedding (yay!). Saturday the boys and I fly for Hong Kong via San Francisco. We have 45 minutes to get from our Denver to San Fran flight to our gate bound for Hong Kong!! John will go to D.C. for a couple days for consultations, rushing to Jakarta to make it in time for Zack's 5th birthday.
The Hong Kong flight might be tough to negotiate, because although we leave at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time, we will be adjusting for 4:30 a.m. Hong Kong time. My goal will be to get the boys to nap as fast as possible, waking them up at 9 a.m. Hong Kong time. The flight is about 15 hours. I will be experimenting with dramamine this weekend to see how it affects the boys. Benadryl, unfortunately, has about the same affect on them as caffeine.
We'll arrive at 6:15 p.m. Hong Kong time, dash to our hotel, and head back out for some HK street food. Zack loves meat-on-a-stick like nothing else on earth. Gabriel will love the Victoria Harbor ferry.
We leave Hong Kong at 4 p.m. the next day and arrive in Jakarta at 7:30 p.m. Jakarta time (one hour off from HK). I don't know what we're doing from there because I still don't know where we're staying! Our house might not be ready. All part of the experience.
It's going to be a big week! I'm so proud of my little family that can take on all this excitement and adventure together. We're a great team.
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