Welcome To Sweden!

After getting settled on the plane in Chicago, the kids started to draw, read their books and play some games on the monitors. They also watched "Rio 2". They were tired, but I knew that they better stay awake, as they needed to eat!

As I have some picky eaters, and as I knew that I needed them to really eat on the plane too, and knowing that it's not often very kid friendly meals that they serve, I had pre ordered two kid meals for the twins. Chicken nuggets. I know, might not be the most healthy choice, but hey, it would be something that the kids would eat! When they stewardess came with the drinks I had asked if they would start serving the kids meals ahead of the other meals, and she said yes! I was relived, the kids were hungry, and that would mean that if their meals came soon, I could help them and then get them settled with a movie, upon I could maybe eat myself. 

Well, no meals came. I didn't reflect on it right away, as the kids were busy with other things, but when I spotted the wagon further down the aisle, I asked one of them if the kid menus were about to come. No, we don't have any more, she said. Only three that they had had this time, and they were already given out! Seriously!!?? I had asked ahead of time, I had booked and showed her the printed out copy, and she just said, I'm sorry, but there is nothing we can do.. Really?! I was so upset, the kids were hungry and no they were supposed to eat rice and some meatballs that had more cilantro in them than meat..plus in some sauce. Really? I tried to talk to them and convince them that they would have to try, but with nothing but frustrated and angry kids. It wasn't good either, and Cassie and myself tried to eat some rice and some breads at least. I asked again if they would maybe have something in first class that would be more suitable for the kids, as the menu would be different, and as this was clearly not MY fault but THEIRS, it would be in their interest to "fix the problem". But no, they served some fish in lobster sauce, and no, the kids would not eat that either. Still, she came with some fruits, and the kids had some banana. Not much of a dinner, but better than nothing.

To cheer the kids up, I promised them that they would get the little dogs that SAS were selling in the duty free shop on board. They were really cute, and the kids asked me again after the "dinner" if they could please have them. I asked the stewardess when she walked by, if they could please get me two of these dogs, and she said that I'd have to wait until the duty free wagon came around. That took some time...

When they came around maybe two hours later, there was only ONE dog left. They just sold the other one out of TWO dogs that they had on board for this flight. Seriously!?? She tried to talk me into buying one dog, for two kids...clearly she didn't have any kids herself. Cassie had looked at a bracelet that she wanted, and surprisingly (not!) they didn't have that one either.

Well, one can understand that I was NOT impressed with SAS after this flight! The tickets are so expensive anyway, and then you can at least hope that you get good service, get the food that you have ordered etc...

The kids were not happy either, and started to get really tired, but with so much light on everywhere, it was not easy to get them to rest or to sleep. All four seats in front of us had their reading lights on, so did the row on our back, so it was bright everywhere. Then they were of course uncomfortable, and couldn't lay the way they wanted. Not easy, and no sleep. I sat with Isabella in my lap for a long time, trying to get her to sleep, Ben was slowly drifting off to sleep, but then we were already flying over Iceland, and not much more time to go..

Isabella finally fell asleep, somewhere over Norway, and after 30 minutes of sleeping, where I finally thought great, I get a brake, they switched on all the lights again, and it was time for breakfast! To get the kids to lay on the seats, I had to stand up or sit on the very edge on my seat, with the little ones laying next to each other across three seats. Poor Cassie didn't sleep much either.

Finally sleeping, see that spot on Isabella's seat where her red blanket is? That's the spot I got to sit on trying to get them to sleep...here standing on the other side leaning over Cassie that was resting on the other part of these 4 seats in a row..

Well, got a coffee and the kids woke up after all the commotion all around and were not happy as they didn't sleep more than about 1-2 hours. But when I told them that we were finally there, soon we would land the plane and we would be in Sweden, they were happy and were waking up to sit up in their seats again.

Soon, time to land!!

We made it, and luckily so did all our luggage! What a relief it is every time when you fly and your luggage is there. We were finally in Sweden! The first time the little ones step on Swedish soil, and somehow that felt pretty big. They got their stamps in their passports, and they thought that was pretty special. Got these pictures from them when we had gotten our luggage and were leaving to get out in the terminal looking for our friend Linda that was picking us up. Tired, but very happy to be there, we finally had arrived!

Welcome to Sweden my darlings!

Hello Chicago

Chicago O'Hare International Airport from the sky.

O'Hare is the fifth busiest airport in the world, after Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Beijing Capital International Airport, London Heathrow and Tokyo Haneda Airport. It was pretty nice weather and clear views over the airport and over Chicago's skyline, which made me want to take pictures. The camera was of course stored in the carry on the overhead compartment, so the cellphone had to do it, therefore not the best quality of the pictures.

Chicago Skyline by the waterfront.

I tried to get a good shot of the Willis Tower (former Sears Tower) or the Batman tower if you like me have a little boy that is all into the Superheroes. Here I just got it within the picture, the black, tallest building in the background, just by the wing. The Willis tower is a 108-story, 1,451-foot (442 m) skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, United States. According to some facts about this building, it's the tallest building in North America and the number 10 tallest in the world. 

(click on image for bigger picture)

As we were making a loop over the skyline, before turning in over the airport, the sun was coming against us making the light hard to adjust in the picture taking. Still, it was fun to see this skyline, as I've actually never been to Chicago before. The kids were happy to finally be there, surviving their first flight. Now in my plan, we had a couple of hours to spend, but with this big airport, there was no time for a lot of shopping, but to make sure to get to the right terminal and gate as soon as possible. I don't even exaggerate when I say that we had to more or less run to get to the right place in time. I had thought that we would have time to sit down and eat something in peace and quiet, but with the 3 hour layover that I had planned for, I somehow totally missed to take in consideration that there is 2 hours time difference between Phoenix and Chicago, which made our layover just about an hour!! After getting on the train to take us to the right terminal, we literally ran all the way to the gate. The kids did great, considering that they were starting to get really hungry and tired now, only having breakfast and a snack and no time for lunch.

Waiting for the train.

We're in Illinois!

Boarding this plane went so much easier, we were tired after all the running and from the stress, but at least the kids knew what to expect and Ben was not scared anymore. So no tears getting on this plane!! More about the last part of our trips later as I have to download the pictures from the iPad first. The cellphone died, and the only power we had left was in my iPad, and after downloading and saving so many photos, I just realized that those are still to be saved...to be continued..

Next stop Sweden!

First Flight For The Twins

As this is a blog where I document most of the things that happens in the family and with the kids, I have to not just sum up our trip to Sweden, but also write and post more pictures about it. As the first time on an airplane is pretty big, we shall start with the pictures from the trip to Sweden in June.

Most Swedish kids living abroad have mostly been on an airplane very early in life. Going back to visit family in Sweden is something that feels important and something that you'd like to do. When Cassandra was born in Germany, her first time on an airplane was going back to Sweden when she was around one year old. That ride wasn't that long from Frankfurt to Stockholm, and she sat in my lap during the flight.

With the twins, it's been different. As I've written about before, we haven't been able to go back to Sweden since they were born. Due to many factors, with difficulty flying on my own with them for a longer time, as my husband wouldn't be able to take long vacations, and moving within the US, and of course, it's very expensive. So it was quite exciting starting this trip, not knowing at all how they would react or behave on the flight. It's one thing preparing and talking a lot about it, showing movies, pictures and other things that relate to the experience, but still,  you don't know if they are going to like it or if they will get scared. Being such a long trip too, I knew that I needed a lot of entertainment for them to keep happy and especially if they weren't going to sleep..

Ready to go, waiting in the check in line at Phoenix airport. We had one flight from Phoenix- Chicago, and then from Chicago-Stockholm. We went to Phoenix one day prior to the departure, as it's a 3 hour long drive and we had to get to the airport early in the morning. Got the kids out of the beds at 5am to get in the airport early. So far the kids thought it was all exciting and were anticipating what was going to happen.

Then when we had checked in our luggage it was time to go through the security and therefore also time to say goodbye to daddy. So hard to let go and say goodbye, and here Ben started to feel a little bit upset already, not knowing what was about to happen. Isabella was doing fine, we were waving goodbye as long as we could in the line before daddy was out of sight.

Here we go!!

Security went well, no major lines and we were soon ready to board, walking through the long line the kids got their first glimpse of the airplane that we were about to go on. Ben was getting more and more upset, and I had to talk and try to calm him down, but he cried and said that he didn't want to go on the plane, he didn't want to and he was scared. Poor guy, I tried my best to explain, to talk calmly and to carry him, to make him feel more safe, but he was not happy. Still, there was no time to sit around, we had to board, and the boarding was chaotic to say the least! We hadn't gotten seats next to each other, which was so upsetting. At the check in, they told us to fix that at the gate, and at the gate they told us to get that fixed on the plane...Of course it would be more difficult to change it then, but was that my fault? Getting on, trying to get the girls, carrying a screaming, crying Ben, three backpacks, carry on bag, and large handbag, it wasn't the easiest let me tell you. There were no flight attendants close by and I tried to talk to the lady next to me in the three seat row, to get Isabella there with me too, as we had two spaces in one row and two seats much further back.

The flight attendants tried very much to talk to the lady and her husband, who sat across the isle from us, if they couldn't take our two seats further back in the plane, to make it easier for us, but NO!! I couldn't believe it, she was so stubborn, and there was no reasoning with her..

During this time, Ben was crying on top of his lungs, screaming and it was very stressful, it was hot and luckily Isabella was happy with Cassandra and luckily the stewardess got the two of them across the isle next to the husband of the stubborn lady..

My poor little guy was holding my hand so hard, tears slowly drying but wouldn't let go of my hand, or Spiderman. Look at the picture, his fingers turning red out of his pressure! So happy that Isabella was thinking this was a lot of fun and had a great time across the isle (and across the not so helpful older couple..)

Wanting to keep the window open, but with sun streaming in, 

borrowing her older sister's shades.

And slowly, slowly after awhile, Ben started to calm down and I even got a smile from him!

He even "dared" to look outside, looking down on the clouds!

And after a while, he was his silly himself again, turning into a Smurf with a blue lollipop!

The rest of the flight went well, the kids a snack on the flight, did some coloring and reading some books. Soon, we came closer to Chicago, and that was very fun to see from the sky, and I even got to show Benjamin the "Batman tower"! Pictures of Chicago from the sky in the next post.

Two Months Later...

Yes, we have been back in the US since August 5th, but it's been so much that has been going on since then, so there has been no time for me to catch up on the blog at all. I don't really know how I'll be able to sum this summer up in a few entries, so I'll for sure photo bomb you with lots of summer pictures in coming entries. I'm excited to be back in the blog world, to check out all my favorite blogs to see what's been going on and how everyone's summer was. It will take me some time to catch up on your blogs as well as my own blog.

So in short terms, what's been going on here since we came back?

- Trying to cope with the heat. We came back from a warm Sweden to a hot Arizona. It's summer and it's HOT. I haven't missed the everyday temperatures around 40-45C/105-115F. It's been really hard on the kids too, that loved being outside everyday in Sweden. From waking up and playing outside before breakfast, having breakfast, lunch and endless beach days coming back home and have dinner outside. They were outside almost all of their waking time, and they loved it. Not being able to do that here, play the same games, having to get used to play more indoors or shorter periods but feeling too hot and sweaty anyway outside, has been a hard reality for the kids, and for me that have had very upset kids here. "I want to go back to Sweden, I love Sweden"...is comments that we have had to listen to. To be able to get out of the house at all, we went to the pool over the weekend.

- When we came back to Yuma, my husband was not able to get days off as planned, so he was in and out of work "checking out" as it's called when they leave the unit for a while. After only a week "together" here at home, he left for his Staff Academy in San Diego last Wednesday. He will have a hard 7 weeks of duty, school and lots and lots of PT (physical training). It's not a walk in the park, that's for sure. It felt pretty sad that we didn't get more time together, after being in Sweden for 6 weeks, and now he'll be gone for 7 weeks. But, that's life, and this was not a choice but something that he has been on the list to do for a long time, and that we knew about. Still, I had hardly put the suitcases away, when it was time to take two back out for him to pack this time.

- School's started for Cassie on August 11th! She is now a 7th Grader! We were there for an open house the Friday before they started, to meet all the new teachers and check out what they were going to work on and what school supplies needed to be bought. More about that later when I've downloaded pictures!

- Another delay on why I couldn't start the blog again, was that our sweet little rabbit had been naughty one day when he was out hopping around in the house. When I have him out, I always make sure that all cables and everything else that could be dangerous and not rabbit safe, is out of his way, and my husband didn't think of this as much as I normally do while we were gone. This resulted in me finding the computer power cord chewed up and the laptop was close to drained of power. Great! Luckily, at least he didn't get hurt and the cord wasn't plugged in while he bit through the wires..! Now a new cord is purchased, and blogging can begin!

- All kids have had dentist appointments for their 6 months checkup, and not all on the same day. Then Cassie had gone back to getting her weekly allergy shots, so it's been a lot of going back and forth from Dr. offices.

 They both did wonderful and have no problems with their teeth = Happy mommy! 

New toothbrushes with Ariel and Thor on them = Happy kids!

- Then we had an exciting home visit from Benjamin and Isabella's Preschool teachers! Very exciting times for them and myself and lots of things to think about before they start Preschool on August 26th! More about that in a separate post!

- Cassie has had play dates and sleepovers since we have been home. So much to catch up on with her friends, and it's great that she has a few good close ones! We had Emma here over the weekend and we rented some movies at the nearby Red Box. The girls were excited to watch "Divergent" and if you haven't seen it, watch it! I really liked it too, and for you who don't know about this movie, it's kind of like the the "Hungergames". Cassie has read the first book of the series, and there is a few more to go.

 Getting some movies.

 Nailart....

Brownies in the making!

- Monsoon season is here! We have had a few bad storms here and the thunder, wind and rain that comes with these storms are crazy! We had one raking through the Foothills where I live with around 70mph winds and sand were everywhere. I'm just relieved that we have been able to keep the power all the time. Not like last year when I got stuck in a Sand storm with Isabella or two years ago where we were without power for around 30 hours..Nothing that I'd like to go through again. Just thinking of it makes me feel sick, no AC in the heat...Every other night now it's been thunder and the other night the lightening struck the neighbors house across the street and set off his alarm. Crazy weather and thunder, but no rain this time. The owner of this house doesn't live there all year around, so it took about an hour for someone to come and turn off the alarm, which was loud! The other neighbor had spoken to the owner over the phone and sent someone to come and check everything out.

 Normally we have a clear view over the mountains over these houses...notice the trashcans blowing around one in the front and two more further back down the street....

Houses built without gutters makes for flooded entryways...

Next day the aftermath is just not big puddles but often as here trees ripped out of the ground/sand. Not much hold for these trees in the sand and the roots have no strong foundation here in the desert. This smaller tree was in the front yard next door, but many more and many much bigger trees were down all around the area.

The oncoming thunderstorms are pretty amazing looking 

when clouds are gathering in the sunset.

Well, that's kind of what's been going on here since we came back. Now I'm onto sorting through many pictures from our amazing summer!!