Our First Trip Back to California

In early January, one of the airlines was having a great sale. Tickets were almost half price. It was the last day of the sale and Derek didn't know his work schedule and whether he would be able to take time off. Too good to pass up, I purchased the tickets with hopes that Derek would be able to join us for some part of the trip. Because the sale required that we only fly on certain days, the trip was for 14 days... and Derek ended up not being able to join us.  =(

My kids and Julie's kids were so excited. They were all counting down the days. It was a long 41 days!

Thankfully, we learned about an escort pass that would allow Derek to come with me through the airport and to the gate. I wasn't too worried about the girls on the plane. I knew a new coloring book, some stickers and my iPhone (along with the excitement of seeing their cousins) would keep them busy for the 4 1/2 hour flight. I was most worried about how Kyle would do. He loves to stand and cruise and needs constant entertainment. But he ended up sleeping for half the flight and doing great the rest of the time! 

When we got off the plane, Marzano was at the door ready to help me. Yay! It was nice to have an extra set of hands with the stroller, car seat, carry-ons and kids. Julie and Jessi were waiting for us at baggage claim with balloons. So fun!

We spent the next 14 days just being a part of the Lee family. Each day, we ate breakfast with them, saw them off to school and welcomed them when they came home. The girls joined in on their cousins' bedtime routine, brushing their teeth alongside them and listening to a Bible story. It was one big, 2-week slumber party!

The kids and I went down to Irvine a few times to visit some friends. It was good to see and catch up with them. But the majority of the time, we spent with the family. The girls loved spending the afternoons playing with Jacob and Jessi. They also loved playing with new toys and in their backyard.

  

We spent a lot of time outside in the warm sun. Jacob, Kyle and I took a walk to the grocery store one Sunday afternoon. I got Diet Coke, Kyle got some celery and Jacob got some Nilla wafers. It was fun to have alone time with Jacob and talk to him all about school, his friends and what his favorite car is.

We also went to the park a couple times and had a picnic.

On our last Saturday, we all went to an outdoor mall to play in the water fountain, eat frozen yogurt, visit the bookstore and go on a train ride.

  

We went to Julie's church on both Sundays. The girls love having Julie for the teacher and Jacob and Jessi as the teacher helpers. Here they are praying before their snacks.

Julie loved on the kids like she always does, she fed them, and helped take care of them. We hate living so far away from her and her family.

Fourteen days was a long time to be away from Derek. We missed him terribly and he didn't enjoy coming home and sleeping in an empty house. With as loud and busy as our home typically is, it was quite an adjustment for him. We talked and/or Facetime'd him every day. Karis was especially having a hard time, not knowing how to deal with her emotions. At times she didn't want to talk with Daddy because it made it worse. We were sad to leave California, but so happy to see Daddy. 

Derek met us at the gate. The entire terminal could hear the squeals of "Daddy! Daddy!" from the girls. 

The plane ride back was definitely more challenging. The kids were exhausted. Kyle fought taking a nap, slept for only an hour and threw down everything I gave him to try to keep him entertained. The girls were whiney and cried over everything. Thankfully the flight was only four hours on the return and just when I thought I couldn't do it anymore, we started our descent. As we were deplaning, a lady across the aisle complimented me on how great my kids were. I rolled my eyes and thanked her...

Young Travelers

We just returned from spending five days in Texas visiting with friends.  I have to say that our young travelers did really well (more on them later).  We travelled with two large suitcases, two car seats, one car seat base, a large stroller, a heavy backpack, a diaper bag and a carry-on bag.  Poor Derek.  He envied the business man on the shuttle bus who just stayed cool with his little briefcase in hand.

Since we booked our plane tickets through Expedia, we didn’t have assigned seats.  We were disappointed when we checked in and found out that we couldn’t get seats together.  Derek sat with Makena and I sat with Kyle and Karis.  They both did well on the three hour flight.  They stayed busy with a couple of electronic toys, a coloring book, stickers and some snacks.

It was a blessing in disguise that we sat separately on our flight out. When we arrived in Dallas/Ft. Worth, it took awhile to get the rental car and for Derek to install all the car seats.  Since the girls sat separately, they had different stuff on the plane.  They got to switch stuff while waiting for the car and that kept them happy and busy, despite the travelling and dinner hour.  Phew!

Karis loved staying in a hotel. It was great staying in a hotel that had a suite and free breakfast in the morning.  Getting the girls to nap and go to bed were the toughest part.  That, along with the time change, resulted in not sleeping well/enough and both of them getting sick.  We're all fighting mild colds.  

pillow fight!

 

Kyle was by far the best traveler.  He just went with the flow and napped on the go.  He only cried twice during the whole trip.  Those were times when he was hungry and I couldn’t feed him on time.  One time he even had to wait two hours past his feeding time! 

Karis said the best part of the trip was the airplane ride.  On the way to Texas , we sat next to a really nice lady who gave Karis her window seat during the take-off and landing so she could see out the window.  On the way back, she slept almost the entire time (we had a three hour delay so it was bedtime by the time we finally took off).  She woke up while we were descending. She was sad the flight was seemingly so short.  I told her it was short because she slept the whole time.  She didn't believe me.  

We learned that Makena is a homebody. She kept asking to go home. I think that was mainly because we told her we left her pacifier at home and she was really missing it.  Towards the end of the trip she kept asking to watch Peppa Pig and she even asked to go to the store (something the kids and I do regularly).  I guess she was missing her daily routine. 

I thought the trip overall went pretty well.  Perhaps because our last trip on an airplane was so tough.  Maybe next time will be even easier!  =)

Over the river and through the desert, to Grandmother's house we go!

We spent Mother's Day weekend at Grandma's house.  The kids loved spending time with their Nana and her dog Riley.

It was hot!  Karis played in the inflatable pool while Makena was entertained by drinking from a water bottle.

After dinner from the grill, the girls got special treats from Nana.

After church on Sunday, I found Karis, fully clothed, in the pool.  I asked her what happened and she said, "Nana got me wet!"  Busted!

Makena was either going through a growth spurt or the hot Arizona heat got to her.  She slept 13 to 15 hours at night (she typically sleeps 11 to 12 hours) and that was even with a 4-hour nap.

Grandma and Karis played golf in the backyard -- one of the many little toys Grandma bought for the girls.

Karis took a break from golf to play with Nana's phone.

Hungry Bird eating breakfast with Nana.

One of Karis' favorite things to do was to take Riley for a walk and give her treats.

Karis did great on the seven hour car ride to and from Surprise.  A couple of electronic toys, the iPod, snacks and an hour nap kept her content.  

Makena on the other hand was a different story.  She doesn't like "long" (more than 20 minutes) car rides, plus she's cutting in several new teeth.  She slept only 20 minutes on the way there (at the very end) and about 40 mins on the way back.  The rest of time, she whimpered and cried on and off.  

On the way back, Karis said she had to go pee-pee.  We were in the middle of the desert with no exit in sight, so we pulled over on the side of the highway and took out the portable potty.  Derek and I were frustrated because she didn't have to go, yet she insisted that she did.  We wanted to get her back in the car, not only because it was dangerous to be on the side of the freeway, but because we wanted to hurry up and get back home.  But, little Miss Karis was oblivious to it all and she took her time as she enjoyed the scenery.  Ahh, to be a kid again...

Our Summer Vacation: Kim Family Reunion

While in the DC area, we had a Kim family reunion. All three daughters and their families met at Dad's home in Maryland. We had dinner and celebrated the many birthdays our families have in June.

Here is a photo of the eight grandchildren, from age 6 months old to 13 years old.

Here is a photo of the three girl grandbabies (one from each family). Each of them have Heijah as their middle name, which is their late grandmother's Korean name.


We spent a day in Harrisburg, PA to spend some extra time with my sister and her family. Here is a photo of Derek and my brother-in-law.

Our Summer Vacation - Karis' New Friends

On our trip, Karis made lots of new friends. As you can see from the photos, both the big kids and little kids alike loved to play with her...or just look at her.