Knackered

Well we made it! There were a few times that I thought to myself, 'what have we gotten ourselves into?'.

I'll share a little of what has gone on in the last 30+ hours.

Luggage list:

8 suitcases, all weighing 50 lbs, each.

2 bikes, in boxes

1 very large box with the bike trailer/stroller

5 carry-on pieces of luggage.

It took 2 large trollies to get in from the parking lot.

Check-in, in DSM:

* Showed up to the airport around 12:30 to drop our luggage off.

*As we were walking in to the airport, I noticed that O was leaking (on both sides). Major blow out that Aunt Klaire took care of while we checked in. Thank you, Aunt Klaire!

*Lucky for us there was no one in line, so we walked right up and got checked in. Also, the computer wasn't working, so we were only charged 200 total for both bikes. We were expecting to pay 200 each.

*Only one of the 11 suitcases was overweight and it was only by a pound. Just had to remove a piece of clothing and we were good to go.

*Lunch with family, mexican.

*Once we got to our gate, I got a call from Klaire and Luke had left his sunglasses in her car. She came back and Luke went to meet her, all 20 min before our departure time. Thank you, Klaire!

*Oscar was super tired and was falling apart. I couldn't get him calmed down the whole flight. The man who sat in front of us thought I should know that he flies a lot and, thanks to Oscar, we were now in his Top Ten.

DEN-SFO

*Oscar had a mini blow out walking off the plane. Changed him super quick to save his pants.

*This was, by far, the worst flight I have ever had with kids. Oscar was screaming the second we walked on the plane. And continued to do so until the seatbelt sign was turned off and I could stand and rock him at the back of the plane.

SFO-SYD: (small layover in SFO, ate dinner, let the kids run wild)

*LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Rescue Sleep. Yes, I drugged my child (twice on our 15 hr fight)and don't regret it one bit. Doesn't taste very good, but worked within 5 min and he slept for several hours.

*DVD players ran out of battery and I thought we were all going to loose it. Used the laptop as a quick fix.

Sydney Airport

*Our 3 boxes were waiting for us as we walked up to baggage claim. A nice surprise!

*7 of the 11 suitcases were in a row on the carousel. I would get one set down and have to run to catch the next one, all while keeping watch on the boys.

*Only one lost bag, it got left in SF. Bad thing was that it was our last bag packed so all our day to day things were in it. It is promised to be here Wednesday.

*It took 3 trollies(luggage carts) and me pulling Oscar in his car seat with the GoGoBabyz and the nice guy from the lost baggage department to get us out into fresh air. Thank you Tristan!

*Took a maxi-taxi to the leasing agent to sign lease and pick up house key.

*Stopped at house to check it out/drop all our stuff off. It was so nice that our friends here have helped get us settled. There was a TV and a chair waiting Henry, along with a whole room full of household items. Thank you again; Sue, Josie, and Kort!

The house has interesting details. I'll have to send pictures. I think it will do just fine!

*The boys were hungry, tired and fighting with each other, so we headed to McDonald's to get food and free wifi. Luke booked a hotel room while we ate. Since we have no beds or fridge, we will be in a hotel for 2 nights.

*We ended our day with a nice tram ride downtown. Both boys fell asleep.

I'm trying not to go to sleep, it's almost 6pm. Oscar has been out since the tram (3 hrs. ago) and Henry just cashed out after getting his TV fix.

Can't believe we are here. I'm looking forward to getting settled and meeting neighbors. I saw two moms walk by with their kiddos as we were bringing luggage in. A good sign.

My favorite memory of the day: The boys insisted on pulling their rolling backpacks on and off the airplane and in the airport. Too cute!

pictures to come soon.....