The flight over from the U.S. went a lot better than I expected. That is precisely why I like the fact that I often worry about the worst. Because then I am PLEASANTLY surprised when it goes better than that. And this case was no exception. We left Jeff’s parents' home at noon to get to JFK Airport in time for our 6:30pm flight. The night before we left, both boys had trouble going to sleep. Nathan was extra fussy and we finally got him settled around 10pm or so. Christopher was up until 2:00 when Jeff finally decided to just move into the twin bed and Christopher came to bed with me and then slept for 5 hours straight again. Needless to say, we were all tired as we started our journey. We ended up with 6 large suitcases perfectly packed to 49 or 50 pounds each, one 20 lb checked bag for Christopher, 2 car seats, a LARGE stroller, pack ‘n play, two carry-on sized roller bags, three backpacks bursting at the seams, a large grocery bag stuffed full of snacks, and a large teddy bear. Needless to say, we were grateful to have Alison, as well as Jeff’s parents there to help us into the airport. The drive there took about 2 hours and check-in and security took a decent amount of time as well. The lady at the check-in counter was not exactly pleasant, but everything went very smoothly. We had everything weighed correctly and all of our documents in order. Security went well also. Those two things were the most stressful of the day and I am grateful that we are done with security checks at the airport for a while. Or, at least next time when we are traveling, we shouldn’t have as much STUFF!
After a LONG walk, carrying a LOT of stuff, we got to our gate around 3:45 and then took turn changing diapers, using the bathroom, and buying lunch. Unfortunately when our flight crew showed up, the plane that was supposed to leave before ours was STILL at the gate. Even though nothing was wrong with our plane, the plane ahead of us had mechanical problems and there were no open terminals to use for our plane. We ended up having to wait an extra TWO hours to leave! And then, it was only because they finally changed our gate. Of course, even once we got a new gate, we had to wait and wait for whatever reason. Nathan had HAD it (especially with no nap) and fell asleep as we walked to our new gate. The only problem with that is that we had to wake him up to get on the plane and he was NOT happy. He screamed and screamed and I’m sure everyone on the plane was worried about what the flight would be like. On a side note, I must say I love when airlines let the people traveling with kids on FIRST. It’s SO convenient and now that I have kids (and all of their STUFF with me on the plane), I realize how helpful it really is! Speaking of traveling with kids, when I was in the airport, I couldn’t help but think about how traveling has changed for me. I flew a lot at the end of college and for work and I got it down to a science where I took hardly ANYTHING on the plane with me, which made the airport (including security!) A LOT easier and more streamlined. Now I lug a million extra things around because I’m terrified that one of the kids will have a blow out or I’ll run out of diapers or I won’t be able to entertain them or keep them fed! But I digress!
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| Waiting and waiting and waiting for the plane and thankfully sleeping! |
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When we landed I was getting really worried about what customs and immigration would be like, but it was a lot nicer than I expected. First of all, at immigrations, they let us cut ahead in line because we had kids. Once again, SO nice and really really really helpful! Jeff did all of the talking and getting through was no big deal. Then we went to pick up our luggage and go through customs. This was the part I worried about because we had SO MUCH LUGGAGE. We had the stroller piled high and two trolleys piled even higher. Luckily pushing both trolleys wasn’t too hard (for Jeff - hehe) and we walked through customs and didn’t get stopped at all. I didn’t realize that was how customs worked. It was easy as can be and MUCH better than I had pictured it!
When we got to the other side, there were several people standing and waiting. They got WIDE EYED and a pair of them exclaimed, “Now THAT is the most luggage we have seen all day!” Jeff had talked to someone in the ward about helping to pick us up, but because of our late departure and then the time to get through immigration and customs, we were close to two hours late. I was really worried that they would either not be there or they would be upset for having to wait so long. Almost as soon as we walked out the doors though, a man exclaimed, “Jeff!” and helped push the trolleys to a van where another member of the ward was waiting. They laughed and laughed when they saw our luggage and said it was the most they had ever seen. It made me feel pretty embarrassed, but we ARE going to be there for 3 years after all! And really, those are ALL the belongings we brought with us and the majority is baby clothes! One of the men is from Ghana originally, but has lived in the UK for five years. The other is sort of from Nigeria, but has lived in the UK for most of his life. He reminds me a lot (personality wise) of my friend from EY who is also from Nigeria. I couldn’t stop thinking about how grateful I am for our church and the fact that we can go across the ocean and find instant friends who are willing to sacrifice to help out complete strangers! It was really touching!
AMAZINGLY they were able to get ALL of our belongings into the van and we were on our way. Seriously even Jeff didn’t think we would all fit! The van had sliding seats and because of the way the luggage was, the back seat wasn’t locked in all of the way. Jeff and I ended up squished into the back seat and the seat was sliding all the way home! That was interesting! We took one of the main roads that circles around London and it was quite beautiful. It just looked like beautiful English countryside, with a super busy freeway through it! I am excited for when we can go explore a little bit more. In fact, as we were flying in, we could see castles through the plane windows. Awesome!
When we got to our new house, Nathan was SO excited. He ran around finding all of the new toys from Jeff’s boss having so much fun! Jeff took me on a tour of the house and all I could think about was how dirty it was! It really needs to be deep cleaned! I also kept thinking about how strange some of the things are and how we had no food or dish cloths etc etc etc. Plus I was BEYOND tired! Shortly after we got home, all four of us took a long nap (basically until Nathan woke up). And then I was itching to get to the store. I’m so glad that Jeff bought mattresses and a few furnishings before we got here because it has made things much more comfortable. Still, their weren’t sheets for our bed, dish cloths or towels for the kitchen, plates to eat off, or even much to eat, etc!
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| The flat with all the stuff Jeff left in it when he came back to get us, along with all of our luggage. What a mess! (That's teeny tiny Christopher on the sofa!) |
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| Jeff's boss gave us a lot of his daughter's old toys, we brought some from America, and for Nathan's birthday, Jeff had bought him a little train set. Nathan was in heaven, even if I was in shock by the mess and sparseness of the place! |
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| Jeff had been in a hurry when he left several weeks before. He had clothes hanging on the radiators to dry, food still out from breakfast, and mountainous piles of boxes. Look what a few weeks of the bachelor life does! |
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| Our bed. No sheets. No blankets. At least I had convinced Jeff to buy us a mattress before we arrived! |
We took our first outing without a car and with both babies, which was interesting. It’s close, but not SUPER close (later I found out it was about 1.6 miles round trip) and of course there ended up being a cool breeze and a little bit of rain. And Jeff seemed embarrassed that we had our stroller with us, and Nathan got tired and fussy, and the stores are different (I'll admit I was really stressed out by how different everything was), and using pounds is weird. Still, we were able to get several things we need and get just enough food for dinner, which tasted DELICIOUS just because we were all starving!
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| Finally some food! |
In some ways, the time has flown by, and in others it has dragged on so slowly! I wish you the best for the next year, Michelle!
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