A World without walls
everyday life while homeschooling overseas
Whew. I am SO DRAINED. I hardly know where to start. Well, Claire was finally able to get off. After a fun day of back and forth, and being up ALL night long in order to coordinate, we were able to get her flight transferred to a different airline that allowed her not only to do a non-stop flight to SLC, but to do it all alone. Sheesh. And it was painful. I had so many forms to fill out and all the info for the person who was picking her up had to be updated over and over again. I got to help her check in, go through security with her, sit and wait with her in the boarding area, and watch the plane take off! It was pretty exciting! We ate food (really REALLY expensive airport food, but what can you do?) and people watched for almost 3 hours waiting for her flight to board. She got to be the very first person to board the plane, too! She was so excited for her VIP treatment! She boarded first, and sat by another unaccompanied minor girl, and they got lots of treats on the flight, and there were even movies! Wow! Pretty great for a short hop across the US! This was Friday afternoon. I basically spent 5 hours traveling to and from the airport and sitting in waiting areas. It wasn't SO bad, and I think the boys enjoyed a day of tv watching and iPad playing. Saturday, we had breakfast in our apartment...then breakfast provided by the complex...then brunch with a work friend...we were all SO FULL! Sheesh. Then we did some last minute shopping for Josh...who sort of forgot to look ahead and check what things he needed for his Iceland trip. Just TRY finding winter gloves in Washington DC in the summer. I dare you! We searched everywhere! Finally, I had an idea of going to a sports store. They would have SOME sort of glove there! Plus, he needed a sleeping bag, too. And he and the little boys all needed new shoes. Well, Josh and I searched the store over. We found workout gloves, batting gloves, baseball gloves (ha ha), tennis gloves, golfing gloves...but nothing that would be warm. We finally asked a manager guy, and he took us back and checked in the back stock--and HOORAY!!!! Found the perfect thing! Glove liners and fleece gloves! They're awesome, and I think they'll work well for him. We found him a sleeping bag and all the boys got new tennis shoes. Whew. Sunday, we got to go to church on the bus! Yay! It was super cool! We found a great route and enjoyed our travels. We made it to church with plenty of time to spare. We met lots of people--lots of foreign service people there--and after sacrament was over, Devin took Peter up to pay tithing...and I looked over and Devin's hugging some lady! What??!? I figured it must be someone we know, so I go up , and it's our friends Jon and Leora! YAY! So crazy! They had just arrived a few days after us! Neat! So we got to chat and have friends to hang out with. It was pretty awesome! Sunday evening we walked over to the Iwo Jima monument. It was a nice afternoon for a walk. Peter took over my camera and so he gets the credit for pretty much all of the pictures (except the one with everyone at the bus stop, and the boys swimming, obviously). Today...well today was another day for me to enjoy dealing with my big kids and their travels. Claire left Utah on the shuttle the same time I was taking Josh over to the airport to catch his flight to JFK to meet up with his group to go to Iceland. Josh and I were on the metro when Claire called to say that she was boarding her shuttle. She had a transfer at the airport...so I just had to hope that she would catch the transfer--that someone would help her out!
I got Josh all checked in and watched him pass through security with no problems at all. Then I came home to the little boys. We ate lunch (french fries and ice cream--luckily the three of us don't actually like that stuff, so I don't think we'll be doing that again!!), then we went swimming. It was SO HOT and the pool was in the sun, so that didn't last long. We came back inside and just watched tv until Devin came home at 4. At that time I got a message from Josh...he was wondering where he was supposed to meet his group. I KNOW I told him a thousand times he was supposed to meet them at the check in area...but he just went in on auto-pilot and had checked himself in on the flight! Ha! He'd scanned his passport, printed his boarding pass, dropped off his checked bag, gone through security...and now wondered where to go because the gate wasn't posted yet! Doh! After some back and forth, Devin called the emergency line for Nat Geo and explained what had happened so they could call the trip leaders and let them know that Josh was already through and would just wait at the gate. I sat and chatted with Josh for a while just to keep him company. Then Devin wanted me to go to Target with him and the boys so I could release some of my stressed out energy. Right before we left, Claire called to say she was in Idaho--HOORAY!!! So I had one all set, at least. We went to Target and got dinner (oranges, strawberries, cherries, bananas, grapes, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes...FINALLY! Read Food!), then came back to find that Josh wasn't alone anymore...but it wasn't the rest of his group. Apparently another kid had done the same thing! Ha! Well, that was a bit reassuring, actually. I finally ended up calling the emergency line one more time, since it was just over an hour before departure and the group still wasn't there...and the guy on the phone just let me know that the group had been stuck in a very long security line, and were just about through, that Josh was not alone (I knew there was the other boy there, but apparently there was a girl there, too), and that they'd all be there soon. About 15 minutes later, he wrote to tell me they'd all made it, and, well, that's that! I probably won't hear from him again until he's at JFK again in a few weeks at the end of his trip! I'll see pictures on the group blog and stuff, but he's a boy of few words, so I don't expect a lot of writing home. And now, Devin is reading to the little boys, and I'm sitting all alone and quiet writing in my blog/journal. It's so strange to not have Claire or Josh chatting with me. I know they're having a great time in their respective places in the world, and that's happy. I love that my kids get to have these experiences! They're growing up so fast. And giving their poor old mom ulcers. Neat.
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Who Am I?
As a Stay At Home Mom of 4 wonderful children, I have the amazing opportunity not only to home school them, but to do so in many different places! I am married to the most amazingly wonderful (and handsome) man in the whole world! Together, we seek out, every day, that Joy in the Journey that makes life exciting! Archives
November 2020
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Emily's books
by Dan Brown
I like that the plot twists and turns a lot...and it makes you think. However, I don't appreciate Dan Brown's endings in his books. I find the endings incongruent with the rest of his stories--why make it a romance for the last chapter...
by Shannon Hale
I loved this book. I'm a sucker for fairy tales/fantasy. This was so well written! I can't wait to read all the rest of her books!
by Shannon Hale
I'm reading this one again. I liked it the first time I read it. I'm still liking it for the second time around. I like all of Shannon Hales' books.
**Still lots of fun the second time around! I do like this book for a comfortable...
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