Home again, home again...

It was not quite as simple as the "jiggety jog" of Mother Goose fame, but nevertheless quite uneventful.

The kids and I had a great time in California. What can I say? Two sets of grandparents make for very happy toddlers. They were in "attention" heaven. Both kids remembered "Mima," "Papa," "Mamacita," and "Papo." Benjamin, especially, was elated to see them all and gave immediate hugs and kisses.

Our flights were miraculously smooth. In fact, I would say this trip went much more smoothly than some of our flights with both parents present! We had a difficult itinerary, traveling from Louisville to Atlanta before turning west to arrive in Orange County. Seems rather counterproductive to me. Our first plane was only about 20% occupied so we had plenty of room to spread out. Although that was the short flight (only an hour) it was still nice to have an extra seat for Talia. We had a bit of a run to catch our next flight, but we made it to the gate on-time. Unfortunately, this plane had a lot less space and was very crowded, but the gentleman sitting next to us graciously allowed us the aisle and middle seats and then turned on his ipod and went to sleep. It was nice to not have to worry about bothering him too much. Meanwhile, there were several kind and helpful people around us who helped in various ways and we made it through without any major catastrophes. I have to say the kids were very well-behaved through some pretty stretching circumstances (including in-seat diaper and clothes changes...it's a long story!)

Our homeward flights went almost as smoothly. On the long stretch we had a near-miracle: the person who was supposed to occupy the third seat in our row didn't show up. I told the flight attendant, I'm sorry he missed his flight, but it sure made my day a lot easier! We were able to spread out a bit on an otherwise jam-packed flight, which proved to be fortunate as Talia was not exactly in a peachy mood. She was NOT interested in sitting next to Benjamin, even to watch a Baby Einstein DVD, so it was nice that I was able to sit between them and keep the peace. We were well-equipped with treats and snacks, thanks to the grandmas, so between fruit snacks, Veggie Tales, raisins, and Baby Einstein we made it through the 4 1/2 hour flight with relatively little disturbance to the people around us. I tried to make sure that Benjamin understood we had to get on another airplane before we would be able to see Daddy. With a missed nap and a long day of sitting still he was pretty fragile. At least the long flight was first this time. The second flight was easy with a sympathetic flight attendant and another (2 seat) row to ourselves. When we arrived at the Louisville airport Benjamin was all chatter. As we exited the airplane he told the flight attendant very seriously, "I go see Daddy."

Seth was waiting for us just outside the security area. Benjamin was walking alongside the stroller, but as we came out of the hallway, Benjamin spotted him and took off running. We had been talking all day about how he wanted to give Daddy a BIIIIIG hug...and he did! It was so sweet. Talia was exhausted and therefore quiet and somewhat shy, but she was also happy to see her Daddy. She really missed him.

The kids are happy to be home. They slept long and hard last night (excepting Benjamin falling out of bed around 4:30am) and are on their way to recovering from the long day of travel. Thank you for all your prayers for us. We know God's hand was on our travels.