After spending the day with Craig he took me to the airport to return my car and catch my flight. It was a long waiting period, but I would rather be early than late and I can't complain because he was willing to take me which saved on cab fare and allowed me to go to Redeemer on Friday morning.
I flew United, which wasn't all that bad. They were really the cheapest (for a nonstop flight) and they allowed economy passengers to upgrade their seats. That was a huge plus for me. That meant that I got to have a seat with extra leg room. Yes, I had to pay more for it but it was well worth it!!
Getting through security wasn't a problem it just never ceases to surprise me how many times you have to go through security: once before you even check in, once after check in, once before entering the international area, and finally before boarding the plane. Lots of security. Due to heightened security they were manually searching all bags prior to boarding the plane. That caused a delay, but it was more than made up during flight time.
The flight wasn't bad at all. Not much turbulence and not being disturbed too much for food and snacks. Dinner was served at about 1:30 am (UAE time). Weird I know, but I guess they're trying to get you on the schedule of your destination. Dinner was some rice and beef combination with a salad and a roll. Not bad, but not all that great either. I had McDonalds at the airport so I wasn't all that hungry I just knew it would be a long time before breakfast was served at 4:00am (USA time). So I ate. After dinner I watched most of Hunger Games, but I fell asleep at the end. Oh well. I didn't really want to watch it in the first place, it was just something to do. I think I slept for about 5 hours, although not 5 uninterrupted hours. After my nap, I read, did some word searches, and watched 1000 Words. Then it was time for breakfast. Breakfast was terrible. It was some egg thing with something that looked like red hashbrown potatoes and hotdogs. I didn't eat much. I figured I could grab breakfast when I got to Washington Dulles. Which I did.
We got to Washington around 5:30am which was 45 minutes early. Arriving early is supposed to be a good thing right? Well, that's only true when you don't have to wait for customs and passport control to open at 6:00am. We had to wait on the plane for about 20 minutes. Quite frustrating. Passport control and customs were no problem, although I didn't hear the standard "Welcome Home" that I was expecting. Oh well.
My flight to Detroit was delayed for over an hour while we waited for the crew to arrive. Since the flight was delayed that meant a change in plans. I was going to have lunch at Mark's and visit with the kids but it would now be near nap time when I arrived so we had dinner with them instead. I was warmly greeted at the airport by Mom! It was great to see her and she even said "Welcome Home!!" So I got the welcome home from a more important person than some silly customs official!! On the way home from the airport we stopped and got some fresh tomatoes for BLTs for lunch and some chapstick since I lost mine because it fell out of the hole in my pocket. After lunch I took a shower and a short nap before heading to Mark's to see the kids.
This year's greeting from Alexa was much better than last year's. She remembered me!! As soon as I walked in she said "Aunt Sara!!!" What a sound to hear! Mason on the other hand wasn't all that sure about me. He did warm up quite quickly though, even though he kept calling me Amy. Well he's only 2, what can you expect?! I had a wonderful afternoon playing with the kids. We played baseball, went for a walk, played jump rope, and I even got a free spa treatment! Dinner was smoked meatloaf and potatoes followed by a Mark creation of S'mores pie. It was a nice night, but I was beginning to feel exhausted by 7:00 so we went home so I could go back to bed.
Amy and I went to church on Sunday and then we took Alexa to Chuck E. Cheese for her birthday and then shopping. Since I missed her 5th birthday party I decided to take her out shopping. It was Amy's idea to go to Chuck E. Cheese. I thought it was a great idea. We got a pizza, 3 drinks, and 50 tokens for only $25! Not a bad way to spend the afternoon and a birthday! Alexa enjoyed the day and it was fun to spend time with her and Amy. She wanted a movie for her birthday and I had to try to find a camera charger so we went to Best Buy. No luck on the camera charger, but she got her movie.After a busy day with Alexa I was feeling quite tired so I went home for a nap and another early bedtime.
Monday was spent in Portland catching up with Michelle and Angie. It was another long, but good day with promises to see each other again before I head back to the UAE in August.
Today I worked on my tan. Believe it or not I am not tan at all. I just don't spend much time outside. It's too hot and when I am outside I have to be fully covered so I don't get much sun. I went down to the pool after going to the bank and I am slowly getting some color! Time to go outside now and add to it!
Continue to check back for updates as to how I spent my summer vacation and remember to check out the pictures on Facebook; that is if you want to see my awesome niece and nephew!!
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