Moscow-London-Dallas-Baton Rouge!

Yes, we made it back home.  It was a long trip but no adventures this time.  The flight from Moscow to London was great.  DMO airport is super modern and so well thought out from check in to boarding.  Because of the lurking strike by British airways  the plane to London was practically empty so the kids could run around without bothering people and the BA personnel was fabulous.  They let Hannah help them pick up stuff, got papercups and ice cubes for Ivan to play with (he thinks they are so much fun!) so that flight was over before we realized it. 

We spent one night in London in an airport hotel and left early Friday morning for our flight back to the US.  We had to get up really early that morning (and were in bed relatively late) so both Hannah and Ivan were out for about the first 2 hours of the flight.  We had bulkhead seats so Ivan was sleeping on the floor at our feed while Marc and I watched a movie.  The last 8 hrs went well but it was a long flight for little kids.  The cartoons on the intertainment system were for older kids so we drew on the etch-a-sketch, played with stickers, Ivan was very interested in the control for the entertainment system so was busy with that for a while, we sang songs (softly) and anything else we could think of to keep a 2 and a 3 year old entertained.

In Dallas everything went very well.  Immigration was very quick and even the extra time we needed for the kids to get their visas stamped etc was very efficient.  All our luggage arrived this time and when we came out of the customs area grandma and grandpa we waiting for us.  It was a quick visit but what a wonderful surprise.  Both kids behaved wonderful and were in a great mood, even after the long flight and made a great impression.

We had to hurry to catch the last flight to Baton Rouge and made it just in time (they were already calling our names!).  This flight was only 1 hr long and Hannah slept through most of that and Ivan was flirting with the flight attendant. 

Baton Rouge is a very small airport so not much trouble there except that my suitcase hadn't made it. Kind of weird since the other 3 did!  But we were going home and the suitcase was full of winter clothes while it was 70F in Baton Rouge so.... not a big deal.

Both kids had no problems with the car seats at all and off home we were for a short 15 min drive.  It was so wonderful to see our home again.  Tessa, our st. bernard was overjoyed to see us and the cats were the cats.  All 4 legged family members looked great though.  Elizabeth, our house/dog/cat sitter did a fabulous job.   She had baked cookies that were on a plate on the dining table and there were 2 huge bows, a pink and a blue one, tied around the post at the beginning of the driveway as a welcome.  These were from the inpatient unit.  What a thoughtfull people I work with!  I plan to bring the kids by sometime in the coming week or 2 while I am still off from work.

We puttered around the house for a bit, showed Tessa her new housemates through the kitchen door window and after the beloved vanna (bath) both Hannah and Ivan slept like angels in their new home.