The Journey and the Destination

We have safely arrived in St. Louis. I spent the better part of a week packing 8 suitcases and 5 backpacks for the trip. The backpacks were full of activities for the boys for the plane: books, art supplies, ipods, dvd players, Nintendo DSes, and more, plus bags of snacks. The boys were all dressed in kelly green so I could spot them and they could spot each other. On Sunday at 1:30pm we left our house in Beijing and on Sunday at 10:45 we arrived at my Mom and Dad's house in St. Louis. A 16+ hour journey. The only bump in the road was a gate change, in Chicago, that sent us speed walking through O'Hare from the end of one terminal to the end of another.

Throughout our trip people were helpful. We got lots of smiles and, for the first time in an air trip, no negative vibes at the site of a mom and 4 kids ready to board a plane. Hats off to the staff on United 850. They were all very nice and ready to help. A woman (airline employee) at O'Hare asked if she could help me as we were walking towards our first gate. I thanked her but tried to decline. I didn't want her to have to walk out of her way, but she insisted. She said, "you've got a stroller loaded with backpacks, 3 kids carrying their food, a baby hanging from your neck, and you are carrying a tray of drinks, let me help." I accepted, thanked her and said, "I guess I'm an America's Funniest Videos clip waiting to happen, huh?" She laughed.

The boys were amazing. All four behaved beautifully and were complimented at all stages of the trip. It was great. All four slept for various periods of the 13 hour flight and Jed even slept on the 1 hour flight from Chicago. I have to admit, though, that I lost my shine when they announced the late gate change and we were forced to dump the dinners I'd just bought for the boys and scurry through the airport, shlepping heavy backpacks. The boys were champs, though, hardly even muttering a complaint. I am very proud of them.

I am very thankful that we were able to avoid the lines for immigration by using the diplomatic passport lines in Beijing and the military line in Chicago. They save so much time and effort.T he longest line we had to stand in was customs in Chicago. Upon arrival there, we have to claim our bags at baggage claim, load them onto carts and clear customs before they are put back on a carousel to be boarded for the next flight. The customs officer was the one person who was unpleasant during our trip. A friend of mine tried to help me push the 3 carts and stroller through the last part of the line and the customs officer yelled at her for going back to the line. I understand it was against regulations but she did not have to be rude.

We've now had 2 nights in America. The first night, the boys were up at 2:45, which meant I was up at 2:45. Oh well. Zeke slept most of that night, so it could have been worse. Yesterday, the boys all crashed at various points in the day. They slept so hard that nothing could wake them. Jed fell asleep at about 4:30, after a full day at camp, and slept a full 12 hours. Huck napped during the day for several hours, so he was up at about 3:30. Jack napped for about an hour and a half yesterday, went to bed at about 9:30, and is still sleeping now, at 7:50. Zeke didn't fare quite so well. He napped well yesterday, of course, since his body clock said it was night time. He was up a lot last night, though. So we'll see what today holds in store.

All the boys are happy to be here. Jack and Jed reported their top favorite things about America:
clean air,
lots of green grass,
lots of trees to climb,
and family.

It's hard to describe the difference in being outside here vs. China. Everything here feels so clean and fresh and cool, even if it's ninety degrees, seeing the lush, green grass gives the world a clean cool feel. It's great to be here.

Jed saw me buttering his bagel, looked at the tub of butter and asked, "is that the butter? Everything is different in America." Then he said, with enthusiasm, "oh, yeah, we can drink water from the sink here!"

They all find humor in the fact that Zeke is 6 months old and this is his first time in America.

We'll be here until just before the Olympics and then we head back to Beijing.