Two days after Dani’s cast was removed at Scottish Rite we headed north to Tulsa for China Camp 2014 and we had to take part in our usual tradition of stopping in Paul’s Valley, OK. We started at Boomerang’s Diner next door to the Toy and Action Figure museum. Once we were fortified with fried pickles and burgers we headed next door to see what was new in the museum.
Kids meals at Boomerangs
Nadia and Amelie immediately asked for a photo with Lego Movie Batman!
Dani and Daddy waiting on the big girls.
The girls were WAY more excited about the TMNT items this year now that we watch the show.
Dani’s first time riding the on the Batmobile. She wasn’t very sure of it and wasn’t stable at all since she still wasn’t strong enough to sit up on her own.
This year they had a very cool Lego set up that we had fun looking at.I love to take a silly photo each year 🙂
We had a fun time again exploring the museum and seeing what new items were out. I like to spend time looking though the Batcave to see what’s new and looking at all the things I have seen before. It’s also great to see if anything has moved or changed in the diorama that takes up almost an entire wall when you first come in. The Lego display had a bunch of really neat stuff and I took photos of most of them. There was a KISS display that made Nadia ask, “What is the deal with that guys tongue?” HA HA! The girls didn’t play for a long time in the costume area this year, but I think it’s because there happened to be so many other kids. In the past they have been mostly alone. The manager took our family photo once again and remembered us from our prior yearly visits.
Once we arrived in Tulsa, ate dinner and got settled at the hotel we went over to Target for treats and supplies. Nadia said, “Look how hungry I am!!” After our Target run we had to get the girls to bed because China Camp started the next morning and they were SO EXCITED!!!
This week started much like the rest – we were rejoicing that another week had past and gearing up for the big girls to go to VBS. It was going to be the first year in 8 that I hadn’t volunteered, but I needed to be home with Dani. Dani was continuing to spend more time on the floor exercising and giggling with her sisters while trying to join in their fun.
We got a new play mat which Dani loves to scoot around on.Amelie had her 5 year check up and everything was wonderful.Dani's first trip to the dentist.
Dani had her first visit to the dentist and as we suspected she needed some work done. All four molars on the bottom of her mouth had the start of a cavity so the dentist wanted to give them a super fluoride treatment and seal the teeth with cement as soon as we could come in again. Nadia and Amelie also had their teeth checked and everything was good.
The week took a turn when I received a call from my step-dad on Saturday night telling me that my Grandpa was gravely ill and not expected to live long. Mike and I talked about it and decided it would be good for me to go as soon as I could. I checked all the flights and on Sunday I purchased a ticket to fly to California on Monday morning and return on Tuesday night. When I arrived on Monday morning my Grandpa was up and I could hold his hand and talk to him. It was a great blessing to spend time with him over the two days and I am grateful I got to see him before he died.
My Grandma Petlow and IMy mom and IAunt Polly
When my Grandpa was too tired for any more visiting on Monday, my aunt Polly came and picked me up for lunch. It was a bright spot in the day to sit and visit with her outside on the patio at South Coast Deli. Later that night I went to see my brother who I missed seeing on our 2012 trip. On my second day there I went to see Grandpa in the morning, but he was very tired but I still talked with him for a little while and held his hand. When it was time for the nurses to help him I left and went to have lunch with my mom at her office. After that my step dad and I went to see my Grandpa one more time so I could say goodbye and hug my Grandma one more time. Then I started my journey home after a whirlwind, emotional trip. I was very worried that Dani wasn’t going to do well with me being gone, but she did great and I am thankful for everyone who prayed for her while I was gone.
The big girls had a great time at VBS while I was gone and during the rest of the week once I was home. The theme was Space and the Bible passage that it focused on was Genesis 1. Nadia told me over and over that even though she loved the skit, she missed me being one of the characters. I told her that maybe next year I would return to all my VBS activities of the past. I am thankful for all the members of our church who give their time and energy to make VBS happen each year.
This was one of the many places I found Dani exploring over the course of the week. The end is almost here!! WOO HOO!!!
We woke up with the end of our trip in sight! We got up and made sure that our bags were packed, and we headed downstairs for the buffet. After breakfast we checked out and waited around in the Hyatt lobby for the bus to take us back to the airport.
Nadia said she was the queen in this seat in the back of the bus.
The family bathroom in the Seoul airport even had a tiny toilet for little kids.
Once arriving at the airport we went to the Korean Air counter to check our seat situation and the woman said that 10 people bought tickets overnight, but the middle seats were still open with 2 hours to go. We got through security and let the girls play in one of the play areas inside the airport. We boarded the plane first with the other parents of small children and waited to see if anyone would take the seats in between us. They didn’t, so I did a little Snoopy dance in my seat! Our flight took off at 11:35 am on Friday the 14th.
Ready to get home.
Dani happily sat in the seat next to me for the entire flight. She only wanted me to hold her one time, but for the bulk of the flight she was content to sit and play. She slept for about an hour and enjoyed all the meals, snacks and juice that was offered by the flight attendants. She had three small crying fits/tantrums – two when I went to the bathroom and one when I didn’t cut up her tomato fast enough to feed it to her. Amelie sat in the row behind us with Mike and watched movies, colored and slept. Nadia sat on the other side of Dani and watched “Frozen” 6.5 times. She didn’t sleep at all 🙂 We landed in DFW at 9:27 am on Friday the 14th, about two hours before we took off. We explained to Nadia about the time change one more time, but I would have rather just said the airplane was like the TARDIS. We got in the immigration line and after half an hour made it to an officer. He scanned our passports, took our brown envelope, from the consulate, and took us over to a waiting room. In the end it took us 2 hours to get through immigration because there were so many people who flew in around the same time as us.
This is what Dani thought of the wait after only having 1 hour sleep.
We were so happy to see Roger and Paula at the airport. They brought our car so we could drive right home.
First time in the car seat. She was asleep before we got 3 miles down the road.
We got home and the girls were thrilled to see all their stuff and their rooms. We took Dani into our room and just laid her down on a blanket by the bed. We didn’t want her to wake up in her room in a new crib and not know where we were. Then the rest of us changed into our PJ’s and took a nap too since it had been a really long day.
After naps we all went into the backyard to enjoy the sun. My friend Sarah and her girls showed up with fresh veggies, fruit and milk and had a little playdate for the big girls. Once they were gone we took Dani into the house to see her room and play in there for a while so she could get used to it. She was really cute checking out all the new stuff in her room to play with.
We had dinner and got everyone to bed. Dani screamed quite a bit in her sleep and jet lag woke us up so we brought her down with us to play for a bit. She quickly found the Radio Flyer car and had a blast giggling and laughing as she played. Then at around 3 am we tried to get back to sleep at least for a little while.
As always, I was SO HAPPY to be home. I was thrilled we made it through the trip with no one getting sick (a first for us on an adoption trip) and it was so nice to be able to sleep on our nice, soft beds. The girls were happy they didn’t have to worry about the tap water any more, which made me laugh and agree with them. To quote Mary Poppins, this trip was practically perfect in every way. We are so grateful for those who have followed along and offered prayers on our behalf.
