Packing, Planes, and Time Changes...Oh MY!

So, we finally made the flight across the ocean. That's right! We are now in Germany. It has been very busy and crazy recently, so that is why I have not been around to blog. I figured I had a bit before the next thing on our plate, so I decided to update all (probably only around 3 people :p) my readers about our trip.

The packing for our trip was nuts! I have never seen so much luggage for one trip in my life. Here's the rundown. We had the following:

Checked:

3 - 28" bags
1 - Garment Bag
1 - Pack n Play
1 - Rolling Duffel Bag
1 - Army Duffel Bag

Carry On:

2 - Rolling Bags
1 - Dora Backpack for Genevieve
1 - Backpack for diapers and such
1 - Black Bag with Documents
2 - Laptop Bags
2 - Car Seats
1 - Double Stroller

We looked like a ban of crazies coming into the airport. It was hard to plan to get us all there with everything, but it was even more difficult to pack it all. Can you imagine trying to make sure that all those bags were packed with everything and under the weight limit? It was like playing musical bags or something.

We were very thankful that my cousin Mandi let us stay with her. She lives near DFW, and I just happen to remember when setting things up that she was around there. I called and asked if we could take over her and her family's lives for a couple of days. I was so happy when she said yes.

Our drive down went good. It was surprisingly easy. The kids did great on the drive not needing to stop but two times. We made great time, and we got in pretty early. The next day was spent cleaning our van and getting it ready to ship. I think Mandi was surprised at how well things had to be cleaned for the van to ship. All our hard work paid off though when the van passed with flying colors, and the process took a lot less time than we thought.

The night before the flight Mandi and I sat up until about midnight (give or take about an hour) talking about how we were going to get our stuff to the airport and all that fun stuff. I called DFW to see if they would give guest passes to have help back to the gate. They told me it was up to the airline. We tried to talk about all the options we had and couldn't even begin to think that it would work out as easy as it did.

The morning of the flight seemed almost lazy. It didn't even feel like we were taking off that day. We got all the odds and ends taken care of, and they loaded the car for us. For once someone was too fast for my husband. His shoes didn't make it in before all the bags were in the car. We stopped by the post office to take care of a few things I needed to mail, and we made it to DFW (despite the rain) about 3 hours early.

When we arrived, we realized that there was parking right at the gates. We parked and EVERYONE had to wheel something in. Oddly enough we parked very close to the check in area, and it was very empty. When we got to the check in desk the guy looked at us like we were mad. He didn't think we'd be able to get all our stuff on the plane without paying. We let him know we were allowed 8 pieces of luggage, and that we only had 7. His eyes were real big, and we almost had to argue that it could all go free of charge. We got it all taken care of and off to security we went...That went just about as well as security in an airport with 2 kids, and that many bags.

I am happy to report that after an hour delay due to the plane needing a part, we made it safe and sound. The kids both pretty much slept the entire flight. I honestly am very surprised at how fast it all went, and how well everything went. The time change on the other hand...not so good. We have all been messed up. We all seem to wake up around 2 or 3 AM and can't go back to sleep. Samuel on the other hand sleeps pretty much all night long. We will get there, but it has been hard trying to get adjusted.

Thank you to everyone who has kept us in your thoughts and prayers. As you can read, they really did help. We are thankful to have this experience, and we will soon have a place for people to come visit. Mandi, I can't thank you enough for all you did for us. Thank you so much for opening your home, changing your schedule, and just helping us out. It means so much to us.