Boys Day 2 - Money & Aircraft

I cannot wait to hear about all the guys did today... the pictures are simply incredible!

Bureau of Engraving and Printing for a tour on how our money is made

This is real money... all one dollar bills... before its been cut.

Headed to the Air and Space Museum in Virginia.

 

How cool is that?

Girls Day 1 - Welcome to New York!

That 5:00 am alarm sure came awfully early!  But everyone was up and eager to start the day.  We left the house right on time!  Everything went smoothly with check in and security.  Then it was Starbucks for breakfast and a short wait for our plane to load.

We landed in Detroit around 9:00 am and said our goodbyes to Scott and Tyler.  By the time we walked to our gate, they were already loading so we walked right on.  

After a fairly bumpy flight, we grabbed our luggage and headed out to find our car.  Omar was ready and waiting for us so we settled into the backseat for our ride into town.  Technically the route is just over 9 miles and mostly freeways and tunnels... yet it took us about an hour due to traffic.  Hehe... so glad I wasn’t driving!

Our hotel wasn’t quite ready so we left our baggage and went out to explore Time Square and find some lunch.

We must have been pretty hungry because we both finished off a double bacon cheeseburger from Planet Hollywood and they are HUGE.  We both really enjoyed all the movie memorabilia and Halloween decorations.

We took some pics of Time Square and got our bearings of the area.  Then Sammy asked if maybe we could check out the American Girl store.  Now keep in mind we are already planning to spend time there on Thursday and Saturday... but of course, its her trip!

So we walked over to Rockefeller Center and found the two story American Girl store.  It did not disappoint! It was easy to spend time just looking at all the items they had.  Sammy loved seeing some of the bigger sets and accessories and appreciated being able to see and touch firsthand.  We bought a few new outfits for Kit because she didn’t have an appropriate outfit for the show tonight :)

Previously when I called, there were no available appointments at the salon but when we asked today they had an appointment available for Kit and Sammy at 3:30 pm.

We had about 30 minutes before the appointment so we decided to run next door for a quick drink.  Sammy, still smiling from the American Girl store, decided to get Kit dressed for the show BEFORE her hair appt so it didn’t get messed up so we did a quick outfit change in the restaurant and then headed back to the salon.

Both ladies that helped us at the American Girl salon were amazing!  Both Kit and Sammy look great!  

We headed back to the hotel around 4:30 pm.  God must have been smiling on us because there was a break in the rain for most of the 15 minute walk back.  We checked into the hotel... the Hyatt Centric... we are in a King suite on the 52nd floor.  The view is amazing!

We rested for about an hour before getting changed for our show.  We walked over to McDonalds to share some chicken tenders (still full from lunchtime) and then walked to the theater for Lion King tonight!

The show was amazing!  The costumes and animal puppets were incredible!  At one point, Sammy had to lean in to avoid getting bumped by an elephant!  

We stopped for a shake on the walk back and then called Tyler and Scott once we got back and settled in our room.  Its after 10:30 pm now and we have had a VERY big and busy day.  But we have had such a great time, it doesn’t even matter how tired we are!

The Long Trip Home - Day 9

With alarms set for 4:00 am, Mary and I were both surprised when we woke up at 3:30 instead.  Apparently God thought we needed more time this morning!

We packed up our chargers and bath bags had some snacks for breakfast.  We were downstairs waiting on the curb by 4:30... and were still waiting at 4:50 am.  Hmm.  That's not good.   Our ride never showed!  So we asked a security guard if he could help and he called a friend who drove a taxi. The man showed up quickly but only had a mini-van... for 6 of us, 6 luggage, 6 carry-ons, and a stroller.  We squeezed in and were on our way as soon as possible.

The ride to the airport was interesting.  The van lacked suspension in the rear so it was bouncy!  Beyond that, every dash indicator was lit up and the gas tank read empty.  BUT... we were on our way and beggars cannot be choosers.

Once we arrived, we stood in line for 20 minutes waiting to check our bags.  We were already 30 minutes behind from the driver, so I started getting nervous.  But, God just blew open the doors for us as we were never more than 5th in line as we approached each of the 5 security stops.  We had no time to stop for breakfast as we immediately boarded the plane.

The plane ride went really well.  I was grateful that the personal entertainment package offered more movies on this flight.  While waiting for our ride, Sammy dropped my iPad and shattered the screen... I was nervous to be going into a long flight like this without it but Sammy did great!  As soon as we boarded, Sammy synchronized our screens so we could watch Ice Age together.  It was very sweet.

We had about 1.5 hours to get our luggage, get thru immigration and go back through security.  Everything went smoothly and again God took care of the details allowing us short lines and friendly staff.  We were speed-walking through JFK to find our gate... no time to stop for lunch!  As the gate came into sight we looked up at the displays and realized our flight had been delayed an hour.  Ugh!  Although we were disappointed, we appreciated having the time to slow down and made our way back to The Shake Shack for a good lunch.  We relaxed a while longer with a few rounds of Uno and Spot-It.

As we headed back to our gate, I received a notice on my phone that they had upped the time of our flight and it was LEAVING in 15 minutes.  Again, we had to speed walk to get to the gate and walked right on the plane.  The flight staff was quick to settle us all in our seats so we could take off and make up some of the time... until we had a glitch with the boarding agent and needed to wait 30 minutes for take off.

Eventually we did take off and we had another uneventful flight.  The kids did amazing!

I made a Starbucks run while we waited for the stroller.  Then we made our way through the Detroit airport to find our bags.  When we arrived, the carousal was stopped and our 6 were the only remaining bags on the belt.  Wonderful!  We grabbed them and headed out for our trolley to the parking lot.

Since we drove two vehicles, the girls loaded up the black truck while the boys headed on to the red one.  Scott was surprised to find his battery was dead!  So we waited just a second while the driver went to get jumper cables and were on the road in minutes!

We were leaving Detroit right around 5:00 pm so the traffic was pretty heavy for quite a while.

From the outside it seems we had a lot of things go wrong today... but none of them caused issue.  Each time we felt God intervene and take care of the situation on our behalf.  It was an adventure and so fun to see our Heavenly Father at work.

We drove home, stopping at Wendy's in Howell for supper.  We pulled in the driveway minutes before 8:00 pm.  Its been 16 hours of travel and we are tired and ready for bed.  It is good to be home!

We Have Arrived! - Day 2

The continental breakfast opened in the concierge lounge at 6:30 am so we decided to wait til then to leave the hotel with breakfast in hand.  But then, it seemed like it shouldn't take too long to quick eat it at the lounge so we didn't have to worry about it.

We left the hotel a bit before 7:00 am and headed over for check-in.  The line for security was SO LONG... literally it passed the check in counters and almost hit where we needed to go first.

When we got to our counter, there was a small error on JC's ticket so we had to walk to the other end of the terminal check-in to ask another Delta employee to fix it.  We did and it was handled quite quickly but as she was finishing she said something like, you'll have to hurry, your plane boards in 20 minutes... Um, what?

Stress levels went up quite a bit!  So we ran around the HUGE line at security and asked if our entire party could go through the handicap line with Sammy.  Thank goodness they agreed!  We made it through fairly quickly and then rushed on to our gate.  We sat down with a wipe of the brow and huge sigh of relief... only to realize... the lady had been wrong.  The plane wouldn't board for 30-40 minutes still, we had plenty of time.  That said, had we gone through the actual security line, I really doubt we would have made it.

Sammy started getting a bit feisty with me in the airport.  Perhaps she sensed my stress or maybe it was the lack of sleep and all the rushing, but I started getting pretty nervous about it.

When it was time to board, the kids asked if they could sit together.  I agreed hoping that Tyler would have better luck entertaining Sammy than I might.  Sammy did really well except she got a bit antsy while we waited at the front of the plane for the restroom to open up.  Eventually I gave up waiting and brought her to the bathroom at the back of the plane which ended up being much larger.  This is a big deal since she insisted I join her in the bathroom.   Overall though it was a very smooth trip over to NYC.

It was overcast and drizzling rain when we arrived so we didn't have a chance to see much of the city or the high-rises as we landed.  Once deplaned, we headed to our next gate and stopped on the way for a burger at the Shake Shack.  It was one of the best fast-food burgers I've ever tasted!

By the time we finished and used the restrooms, it was time to board our next plane.  The plane was a 3-3 configuration so our party of 6 took up a whole row.  It was fun being able to talk and pass snacks back and forth.

The airlines schedule almost 4 hours for this flight... which includes taxiing, deicing, and the 3 hr 16 min flight time.  Either way, that's a long time to be in a plane.  Luckily this was a newer plane and came with the personal entertainment package in the seat back in front of you.  Essentially you have a large selection of movies at your fingertips.  But unfortunately, Sammy didn't like any of the 4 kid movies they had.  Although eventually she did settle in and pick one.

Tyler wanted a window seat so he sat by JC and Mary while Sammy sat on the row by Scott and I.  She was super sweet and snuggled in for a while when we all watched movies.  She and I had made a plan ahead of time for how to help pass the time... the flight included two bathroom breaks, several packages of smarties, 2 cups of ice with a fork to eat it, small Zootopia toys that she could chose every 20 minutes.  When that plane landed, uneventful, I gave her a HUGE hug and said how proud I was of her.  She looked back with a HUGE smile as if she completely understood the magnitude of what she had just done.  It was very sweet.

Once we got off the plane and picked up the stroller, we headed for immigration.  We had filled out our forms on the plane but when we saw the line our jaws dropped.  Unbelievable!  Eventually we realized that one line we could skip completely since I had prepurchased our tourist cards.  As we were asking random Spanish-speakers to confirm we were in the right line, we noticed a very short handicap line at the far end of the room and decided to go there.   It was obviously much quicker and they did allow us all to stay together.  Phew!  That could have been rough!  It was crowded and so very HOT in there.

Once we left immigration, we claimed our bags, made two more security stops and then walked out to find our driver.  However, he wasn't there.  We didn't have a local number to call so I tried the condo owner in the states.  Call wouldn't go through.  Next I sent a series of emails to him using every possible means to communicate... no answer.  We decided to give it a bit and our driver arrived after maybe a 25 minute wait.

It was a hot one!  Luis estimated it was in the mid-90s today.  And since we haven't felt the sun in months, these Michiganders were hot and sticky!

Luis, our driver, was a very nice man.  He lived in the US for some time and spoke English well.  He works in sales in the medical field.  He drove a full size van with room for all our luggage... nothing like the crazy transportation last year.  On our way out of the capital of Santo Domingo, he stopped at a large grocery store.  The Wielhouwers and I ran in for some food for the week, leaving Luis, Scott and the kids in the car (and the A/C).

The supermarket was very nice.  It was much like you'd expect to see in the US.  The produce and meat appeared slightly less than our standards, but we had no trouble finding food for the week.   We stuck out like sore thumbs... sweating, white, English... everyone noticed us.  Once we were satisfied with our cart, we headed to the check out.  $6,447.00 later (don't worry the exchange rate is awesome!) we headed out.

As we arrived, Juan Ernesto, the property manager, met us and helped us haul our luggage and groceries up to the unit.  He made sure we were settled and then both Luis and Ernesto headed out.

Ahh, we made it!  Today was huge for both kiddos but they amazed us!  We had absolutely NO issues.  Traveling can be hard though.  "Hurry up and wait.  Stay close.  Be quiet.  Sit still."  No wonder we were all so tired!!

We decided to eat on site at the pool restaurant and enjoyed the cool ocean breezes.  It was 7:30 pm when we finished up and the kids begged to hit the pool for the last 30 minutes before it closed.  So while the rest of the adults waited for the check and finished sharing stories, I headed up with the kids to get on swim suits and get our new snorkel equipment to try out.

We didn't have long but it was worth it!  The water felt amazing and the snorkeling equipment worked great.

We headed back up to the condo and got cleaned up and ready for bed.  Once the kids were settled in bed at 9:00 pm, the adults sat out on the balcony sharing stories and enjoying the sounds of the ocean.  This is my favorite spot!  Its relaxing and oh so beautiful!

Headed to bed around 11:00 pm.   Everyone is tired after a long day of travel but grateful to be here!

Getting There - Day One

The kids' alarms went off at 7:00 am.  We are a quick breakfast and lived on Daddy before we headed out at 7:30 am

Stopped at church and picked up Katie by 8:10... We were on our way!

The drive to Detroit lasted 2.5 hours and was very smooth.  We parked and waited for the shuttle to pick us up.  When walking through the airport we used the people movers... You know the conveyer belts that help you move faster.  But when we got to the end, Sammy (who was at the front of the line) couldn't navigate the end with her luggage and fell right over.  I hopped over the mess and tried to help but the conveyer belt continued to push the line of people toward us.  It was hillarious as we watched the domino effect that ensued.  But sweet Sammy got up, dusted herself off and pressed on :)

We checked our bags and made it through security with only a few delays.  Sammy was growing quite impatient so I was particularly grateful that a TSA rep opened a new line just for us to go through.  

We had been promising Sammy lunch so as soon as we finished with security we rounded the corner only to see a McDonalds calling to us... Those Golden Arches never shined so bright!  So burgers and nuggets it was for lunch.

Our gate was almost literally next door so we headed over and began boarding almost instantly.

The flight was good... A little bumpy but my travel companions were rock stars!  Sammy earned three toys for good behavior throughout the flight.

Tyler spent the entire time trying out his new games on his IPad.

We arrived right on time and grabbed our luggage and rental van.  We decided to wait on groceries and instead rush to the condo to get out and see that beautiful ocean.  So we grabbed a snack at Steak and Shake and continued to the Margate.

We dropped off the luggage, said a quick hello to Uncle Roger, Aunt Gretchen, Dean and Jenny and headed down to dip our toes in the water.  It was 4:00ish when we finally made it...

We spent some time on the beach.  Katie and I waded out to our knees but soon found our clothes drenched!  Oops... Too much fun.

Next we hit the pool and hot tub.  While at the pool, Tyler spotted a paper airplane floating down from the 27th floor.  Never would we imagine that he could actually catch it... but HE DID!!  The hotel guests standing on their balconies erupted in cheers!  This kid was SO excited!

After showers, we decided to head out for supper and grab groceries.  We went to Wal-Mart thinking it would be a quick trip with four of us shopping but BOY were we wrong!  It was total chaos!

 After the most stressful grocery trip of all time, we grabbed take out from Olive Garden and headed back to the condo to eat.

Finally whack home, we welcomed the Adema family for brownies and ice cream (waiting for us at check-in... Thanks Gretchen).  

We have Daddy a call and headed to bed around 10:30 pm... We will all sleep well tonight!

Highlights

• Sammy:  Uncle Roger and Aunt Gretchen
• Tyler:  Going through airport security was interesting
• Katie:  How warm the ocean felt
• Jen:  Sitting on the airplane with both kids at my side, without a care in the world

Weather: overcast skies, high 70s