Summer Vacation 2013 Part 1: Getting There

We'll end up with 2 summer vacations this year. One in December 2012/ January 2013, while we live in Chile; and another upon our return to the US in July 2013. Good stuff! Last year we had 2 winters. Summer is definitely a better option.

Our January summer vacation started with several round-about flights, trying to get to Rome, Italy. We were using frequent flyer points, so our choices were a bit limited, but I'm not complaining - they were FREE!

We started in Santiago, Chile. Took an 9 1/2 hour flight to Atlanta, Georgia, USA. I took Greg's 1st Class seat, and he and the boys toughed it out in Economy Comfort. 

We arrived in Atlanta and spent our 8 1/2 hour layover in the Delta Sky Lounge. THANK GOODNESS for the Delta Sky Lounges and Greg's status that allow us in. We showered, ate (Nutella!), slept, and used their wifi. 

Dad and Alex might have teased a sleeping kid just a little...

First order of business once we landed on US soil? Panda Express!

As we boarded our next plane to Detroit, Michigan, the boys were met with a HUGE surprise: 1st Class Tickets the rest of the way, baby! They were sooo excited! It was their first time flying in "luxury" as they put it.

Once we arrived in Detroit, we had a brief 2 hour layover before boarding our next plane to Paris - De Gaulle. This is where 1st Class REALLY counts! The boys were trying everything out. Pushing buttons, opening cabinets, using the tray, reclining their seats. Checking out every single thing in that free little toiletry kit they give you - putting on the socks... It was pretty comical. They were in heaven. They were also beat after all that travel, and 1st class with its fully reclining seats were just what we all needed. Finally a good night's rest. 

We arrived in Paris a little better rested. At this point, we'd been traveling 2 full days in who knows how many time zones. We were all ready to just land somewhere. We had only a short 4 hour layover there. Just enough time to hit the Delta Lounge and have breakfast. 

See how well rested they look:

The flight from Pairs to Rome was brief. Only 2 hours. That 1st class seat was L-A-M-E! We were all cracking up. Basically, it's a regular 3-row seat, but they've blocked off the middle seat. The food was the same, the seat size was the same. Good thing we didn't PAY for those seats! It didn't matter though, because we were almost there!

The food on THAT flight was the best. Pata Fau Gra (goose liver) - yum! It was topped with some green gelatinous stuff.  Again, yum... Andrew tasted it and told us NOT to even try it. We all went with that. 

Upon our arrival in Rome, we walked across the street from the airport to our hotel room at the Hilton. We had 2 rooms. One for kids, one for adults. We've not ever done that before, but the hotel only allowed 2 people per room so there wasn't any other option. Besides, we were staying in different cabins on the ship - so get used to it mom! They were right next door - they are teenagers - it was fine. (Can you tell I talked myself into it) The boys loved the independence of being in their own room and having their own keys. It was so much fun. 

We planned this trip with our good friends, Ron and Melissa Caudle and their kids. We love them! They arrived in a less round-about way and had been in Rome most of the day. We decided we'd met at Trevi Fountain that night. 

What an amazing way to meet up with friends! We left them in Santiago, Chile and said, "See you at Trevi!" It was fun to be half way around the world with them. 

Trevi was unbelievable at night! The whole city was gorgeous all lit up. You see less of the typical big-city dirty at night. The weather was cool and crisp, but not unbearable. We were in awe at the sights. The museums, the colosseum, the ruins. WOW!

We couldn't wait to get started on our journey the next day. We wanted to be at the cruise port by 10am, so we headed back to our hotel for a real night's sleep. As we waited for the bus, Andrew, Alex, and I leaned against a wall and sat on a narrow little ledge. That's when we encountered a little surprise.

We're sitting there when all of a sudden Andrew starts freaking out and I feel something on my arm. That's about the time we both realize there is a big rat between us. Lots of screaming (from me) and groaning (from Andrew) and questioning (from Alex and Greg). 

Andrew recounts the story like this; "I was just sitting there when I felt this big slap of flesh on my head. I think Alex has just smacked me on my head, so I get up like, 'what the heck dude' when I see the rat. A freakin' rat landed on my head!" 

This rat was trying to scale the brick wall we were leaning against and wasn't getting very far. GROSS!

We went back to the hotel – SHOWERED (we couldn’t get that ‘rat’ feeling off of us soon enough) - then headed to bed. Excited for the adventures to come!

Where is the Crock-Pot?

We've gotten back from vacation, and the 2nd semester of school has started. Nothing screams "comfort" to my kids more than walking into a house that smells like a roast that has been simmering all day. 

A perfect 2nd day of school welcome home don't you think?

Well, at 1pm when I went in the kitchen to get a drink, I realised that my crock-pot wasn't hot. The lid wasn't steamy and the sides were cool to the touch. I opened the lid and stuck my finger in the water ---- cold. Dang it!

This little transformer SAYS it's strong enough to handle the wattage that my crock-pot needs, but apparently not. The transformer itself was warm (they usually are) but it wasn't making my crock-pot "go". 

So I went upstairs to get the Big Daddy transformer that the kids use on their Playstation. It was too heavy for me to lift. So what was a girl to do? 

Take the crock-pot TO the transformer. Yep. That's my crock-pot chuck-full of yummy-ness at the top of the stairs by my boy's bedrooms. Whatever. Don't judge. I put it on a stool. It's totally sanitary. 

Now that dude is cranked up to HIGH in hopes it will be ready in time for dinner. So much for "planning"> 

Baby We're Back!

It's been an unbelievable month and a half. We've been around the world and back again.

School started today for the kids. Semester 2 AFTER summer break. It's weird. The kids were not thrilled with going back, but eager to wrap up their final semester here in Chile and get back to the states where "school is easy".

I will have to post much more about our travels another day, but as an overview:

We left Santiago on January 9th, flew to Atlanta, then Detroit, then Paris, then Rome. It was a round about way to get to Rome, but when you are flying on frequent flyer points, and in first class, you're just grateful to get where you're going for free.

We arrived in Rome the night before our cruise left. We met our friends from Chile, the Caudles, at Trevi Fountain that evening. It was spectacular at night and so much fun to be with our friends :)

We boarded the ship the next day and had two, well-needed, days at sea. The travel and previous 6 months had taken it's toll on all of us and we needed a few days just to recuperate.

We landed at the following ports of call:
Alyana, Turkey
Cypress
2 unbelievable days in Israel
Crete
Naples
back to Rome

Every single day was beautiful. The only cold spots - Naples and Rome. Italy was definitely in winter. The rest of the time we were comfortable in light jackets. The kids even SWAM in the dead sea - well, floated.

After ending the cruise, we spent 2 days in Rome (including my oldest son, Andrew's 17th birthday) seeing the sights.

It was an amazing adventure!

On day 1 of Israel, (my birthday), we got a call from my mom in the US to our room. It went something like this;
"Greg, This is your mom-in-law. This call is $8 a minute. Your house in Arizona has flooded. You need to call Mitch. Is there anything I can do for you from here? OK. Sorry to ruin your vacation."

Needless to say, that was NOT the call we were expecting to wake up to. But we called Mitch -our amazing friend in Arizona - and he'd already had the clean up crew underway. It was under control. We called the insurance and things were rolling. So we disembarked and headed to Israel. Surprisingly, we didn't think about the mess much. Really, what could we do?

We enjoyed our amazing vacation and returned to Arizona as scheduled and frantically met with contractors, decided on new carpet, paint, etc. etc. That has been a little chaotic. We're still deciding on tile. Not such an easy task from a distance.

It was truly a blessing that it happened when it did and that we have such amazing friends and neighbors who were looking out for us. We are so grateful for all of them.

We stayed in a hotel in Phoenix for the scheduled 5 days and headed to Salt Lake City to visit family there over the weekend. It was so good to see everyone! I love my extended, married-in family! Girls aren't always so lucky!

The kids and I then headed to Missouri to visit family and Greg to Minneapolis for meetings. I got to hold my newest little nephew for the first time and loved catching up with the family. Greg returned to Phoenix for 3 days before we met up in Atlanta for our journey back to Santiago.

We arrived in Santiago to beautiful 80 degree weather. We missed the big earthquake, 3-day water shut-off, and sweltering heat. We couldn't have timed this trip more perfectly!

I can't wait to share photos and stories about our adventures this summer. One day at a time. Today, Greg is working from home and he and I have a hot lunch date! So photos and stories will have to wait.