March 10-31: Trip to America

We came to the US for Staci & Creed’s wedding, and were able to stay 3 weeks. It was a very busy time for us, culminating with the wedding. We took almost no pictures while we were there – probably because someone else was always taking the pictures. So the few pictures we have are some of Zach’s favorite things to do in the US – riding on the mower w/ Poppi, riding his big-wheel, hanging out with Dad, and the last is of him asleep on the plane ride home. Red jammies against the red jacket didn’t turn out that great.



Week 1
Art walked Zach and I to the end of the ATL airport secure area. We had to say goodbye there, as Art needed to catch a plane to New Orleans. We were very lucky – MPI paid for Art’s flight to/from the US because Art attended a conference in New Orleans. Art spent Monday – Friday in N.O. and had a very good time. Part of that good time was because some old Sandia workmates, Corbett, Luke, Justin, and Chandross were all at another conference in the same city and staying just a few blocks away. Zach and I were greeted at the airport by Zach’s Nana. It took over an hour to get all our luggage. Uggh. We headed back to Dunwoody and let Zach reacquaint himself with the house. He ran into the den, where his toys – in particular his car ramp – were kept at Christmas, and got irritated that nothing was there. He ran back into the kitchen and yelled at us, pointing at the den. So cute. I was impressed he remembered. The next day, Tuesday, Zach and I went back to the airport, this time to catch a flight to Savannah. Due to the unfortunate timing of Oma Holland’s death, Art’s parents were still in Holland, and we would not see them until Thursday morning. We got some good quality time with Oma Sweet though. Rosemary Taylor was kind enough to pick us up from the airport and take us back to Clarendon Rd. Zach again remembered the toy room, and ran straight to the big trucks stored under the crib. It was a nice two days with Oma Sweet, and we were all happy to see Oma and Opa on Thursday morning – though they had gone through a harrowing series of flight delays, putting them in Savannah after midnight Wednesday night. Mamma and I got some shopping done on Thursday that I needed to take care of before the weekend (Party City for bachelorette party items for Staci), while Poppa and Zach held down the fort. They did lots of playing outside. I am not sure if the pollen got to him, or if something else occurred, but Zach got sick Thursday night. We had gone to the Taylor’s for dinner, and Zach was very clingy, not wanting to play with Emma and Sarah (very unlike him), and finally melted down. He fell asleep in my arms, and stayed asleep in bed for the 2.5 hours we were at their house, missing dinner. When he finally awoke, we found he had a fever and was just miserable. This fever did not unfortunately go away overnight, as his generally do. It hung on for 4 more days. Friday was awful for Zach – he felt very badly and did a lot of sitting around. He and I had a flight that evening back to ATL, and I was not sure he would make it. He did fine on the flight, except that he threw-up a little. Poor Zachary. Poppi met us at the airport, as his flight from NJ had come in earlier, and we all waited around for about 30 minutes for Art’s flight from N.O. to come in. Zach was clearly feeling badly, but did perk up when he saw Art. The 4 of us took MARTA back to Dunwoody and Zach got put right to bed (it was nearly 10pm). Saturday was no better for the little guy – he felt awful, and the worst part was that he did not want to play or be with anyone except his dad. This was awful for Poppi and all the people that wanted to see him! Staci, Joy, Joanna, and I left for Staci’s bachelorette party day. We met Sierra and Siousien (sp?) at Naked Clay Studio for paint your own pottery. I had budgeted 3 hours there, and everyone thought it would be too much, and were shocked when some people were still not done after 3 hours! It was a good time for everyone. We had cake and fruit and raspberry tea while we painted. Everyone’s pieces looked great. From there, Staci’s party continued with dinner at Norcross Station. Our two Moms met up with us there for dinner, and we had a great little room to ourselves. It was a great dinner! After that, just the sisters retired to a hotel (Hyatt Place) in Norcross for an evening of girl time. We watched the wedding-themed movie 27 Dresses on the 42” flat screen tv, and had a good time just hanging around in our jammies and talking. Sunday, Joy and Joanna were responsible and went to church while Staci and I just took our time getting ready and leaving the hotel. We all spent the afternoon resting before Dad’s 65th birthday celebration dinner. Zach and his Nana stayed at the house so we could have a pleasant dinner out. We ate at Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steak-house where you get unlimited meat to order, or, as in my case, a phenomenal salad bar. Dad and Art told all the other meat guys to stay away, and had JUST the filet guy come around when he had seriously rare filet available. Gluttony at it’s finest. THEN, dessert after all that food! It was a wonderful time out. Later that evening, we performed a little skit for Dad’s birthday present.

Week 2
This week we spent in ATL exclusively. Unfortunately, at this point, both Zach and I are sick. I cannot breathe out of my nose, and my head throbbed. Zach was a pill to the highest order, refusing to keep the company of anyone but his Dad. Poor Poppi was home on spring break, looking forward to lots of quality time w/ our little guy, and he was just ornery. Poppi did get some time with Zachary however, because Art and I did have some errands to do. We had lunch with Staci at her favorite place, Enoteca, on one day, dinner with Joy another night, and helped Staci pack up her apartment on 2 occasions. Art also ran errands while I got my hair cut by the infamous Daniel. Zachary finally started to be a joy again by Thursday. On Friday evening, after dinner, Mom took Art, Zach and I to Athens to stay with Janneke for the Easter weekend. We were being joined by Karl, Art’s parents, and Oma Sweet. Saturday was nice and relaxing. Everyone took Zach to the park while Oma Sweet and I stayed home to nap. After dinner and Zachary was in bed, we played some cards and everyone went to bed early. Art was starting to get the cold I had. Zach was a pill in the night and refused to stay in his bed. I finally got fed up and put him in our bed, where he lay awake for about an hour, just staring and playing with my face/head and trying to put his paci in my mouth. Sunday morning we went to church, though I was not at all prepared clothing-wise. I should have known better than to listen to Art when he said we would not be going to church – it was Easter after all! We went to Janneke’s church Redeemer and got a very good message. Shortly after lunch everyone packed up and all went our separate ways. It was a very nice visit. When we got back to ATL (courtesy of Karl), Art and I had to pack, for we were leaving VERY early Monday to go to Albuquerque.

Week 3
The busiest of all the weeks. The alarm was set for 4am so we could be at MARTA at 5am to catch a 7:40am flight. Uggh, I am tired just remembering it. I did sleep on the plane some, and then again during our 3 hour layover in Phoenix. Zach got the wonderful wonderful privilege of staying in ATL while we went to ABQ. His Nana and Grandma took care of him on Monday and Tuesday, and his Poppi took over on Wednesday. Our flight arrived in ABQ around 2pm (12 hours after we started our day) and we went straight to Jess & Dave’s. The 5 of us, including Sam, all piled into their Daewoo and went to the storage unit. I desperately wanted to get all the newborn stuff we had and some maternity clothes as well, but was so very worried that it would take forever to retrieve things from the unit – we had no idea where everything was! Plus we were on a limited time schedule since Jess & Dave were throwing us a party that evening that started at 5:30pm. But the Lord is good to us and it only took us about 15 minutes to locate everything I wanted and put all the other stuff back. What a huge relief. The party at Jess & Dave’s was excellent. It was so great to see all of those people again! The people there, if I can remember all of them, were: Ulricksons, Robertsons, Headleys, Trullingers, Wedemeyers, Routsons, Drysdales, Mike Gregson (Maria home sick w/ Maia), Thorntons, Nordquists, McClendons, Jarrets, Blake & JC (can’t spell their last name), Jarozes, and Marina Villa (Daniel home w/ the girls). It was an amazing turnout. Our only regret was that it didn’t leave much time for us to hang out w/ the Ulricksons, especially since Art was asleep by 9:15pm!! We got up early and I drove Art to Sandia in the morning. As I was leaving, via Southern and Juan Tabo, it was a very strange feeling…sort of like déjà vu. Just 2 years ago, I was in the same place, in the same situation – 7 months pregnant and driving down Juan Tabo back home, after dropping Art off. So familiar – like coming home. Anyway, Jess and I spent the day together. Elisa came over at 10am and we all went to lunch at Scarpas. Art got a ride back to the Ulricksons (his talk and meetings all went very well – it appears we have a strong chance of coming back to ABQ) and we hung around there for another hour or so before leaving for Saskia’s. The Kings also hosted a little party for us, with the Battailes, Chandrosses, and Webbs in attendance. It was fun to see all of them again and see how much the girls (Alison and Lora) had grown! We were a little sad that Zach wasn’t there to share in all of that, but not sad enough to have brought him with us! We were up early and out of the house to catch an 8:30am flight back to ATL. The time spent in ABQ, while great, was over much too quickly! After several flight delays and near flight misses, we finally made it back to ATL, took MARTA and made it back to Dunwoody. Zach had been in a great mood while we were gone and everyone had a lot of fun with him. When he saw us, he was happy to see us, but not clingy at all. He was fine to play with anyone – our normal Zach was back! That was a huge relief. Art was still feeling sick, but getting better. Thursday was a day of errands and preparing for the wedding. Staci and I got our nails done and rented a movie for the evening, that we didn’t watch. Friday was a big day as well. It started with Staci’s bridal luncheon at the Swan Coach House. I rode with Staci to go pick up Sierra, and we made our way to the cute, quaint, and very girly restaurant. Brunch was very yummy, and well presented, and dessert was in the shape of a swan. Very cute. Then off to the church to decorate the reception hall. I headed back to Dunwoody to try and take a quick nap before the babysitters arrived (mom’s friend Jackie and her daughter Natalie). We all rushed around getting ready to make sure we left the house by 4:15pm to get to rehearsal at the church by 5:30pm – yes traffic was THAT BAD! We barely made it by 5:30, and were even some of the first people there. Rehearsal went off just fine and everyone did a good job with their roles. There was even a chair for me to use if I needed to during the ceremony. Art and I rode w/ Patrick and Laura to Brio for the rehearsal dinner. It was on P’tree St., near the old Barnes and Noble we used to go to when we lived there. Dinner was exquisite and we had a good time sharing a table w/ Patrick, Laura, Creed’s groomsman Charles, and an older couple that has been lifelong friends of the Taylors. Mr. Taylor made a little speech, Dad made a little speech, then Karl Edward, then me. Then, Sierra made a great little speech which was very cute! After dinner, I headed back to Dunwoody, packed up my clothes and drove to the hotel suite that Staci and Mom were sharing. After some chatting and helping Mom with a last-minute wedding project, Staci and I finally were in bed by 11:30pm or so. Saturday – wedding day!! The alarm went off at 7, then reset to about 7:30am. I jumped in the shower and went downstairs with Mom to get breakfast for everyone that would be at the hotel suite later. Staci’s hairdresser was coming at 8:30 to do anyone’s hair that wanted it done. Staci, Mom, Joy, and I all got our hair done. Sierra showed up with her two little sisters (they were hired to run the nursery at the church for Zach and Mary Brodmann) to do mine and Staci’s makeup. Joanna came to the hotel for the company, and did her own hair. We got to the church around 11 or a little after and everyone started getting ready while munching on snacks and drinks provided by Karl E. Then it was finally time for us to wait in the bridal waiting room, off of the sanctuary. Then yea! The music starts and we are getting the show on the road – which pleased Staci to no end. She kept asking if we could just go ahead and start, and did we HAVE to wait until 1pm to get started. The ceremony went off without a hitch, and both Staci and Creed seemed very nervous and happy. I never had to use the chair to sit down, but I did have to hand Joy the bridal bouquet during one of the prayers – it just got so heavy! The flowers were gorgeous of course. Afterwards it was picture time. That darn Zachary – he was “supposed” to take a nap during the wedding and be fresh and rested for family pictures and the reception afterwards, but he fell asleep about 5 minutes before the ceremony was over. We elected to just let him sleep instead of trying to force a grumpy kid to take pictures. Sigh. So none of the pictures have him in them, but baby2 is present and accounted for! Creed likes to call him “his little bridesmaid” and says once he is old enough, he will certainly tease him about being a bridesmaid. :) The reception was nice, and the food was good. I was so tired, I didn’t really mingle. I took off my shoes, sat down at a table and didn’t move too much. We all threw flower petals at the happy couple and then proceeded to gather all the left-over stuff to take back home. We got back to Dunwoody around 5 or so. Zach was exhausted. He went down for a “nap” at 5:30pm, and didn’t wake until 8 the next morning. It worked out wonderfully for us, b/c Art, Joy, Joanna, Alex, Dad, Faye, and I all played Settlers of Catan for a few hours – munching on wedding leftovers and cake all evening. Sunday was a part-lazy, part-busy day. Dad left very early, and Joanna and Alex left shortly after lunch. The Taylors came over for brunch around 10:30, and the happy newlyweds came by around 11:30 or so. While they opened their gifts from the wedding, Art did some work for MPI and I got us mostly packed. There was a lot to pack of course – we were bringing back a ton of stuff, mainly stuff for the baby. Poor Creed wasn’t feeling well, and had to go to CVS to get some medicine. After he and Staci both took a nap, we all played Settlers of Catan again. After that, Staci and Creed headed back to their hotel – they were leaving for Aruba on Monday afternoon. We were able to get into bed at a reasonably early hour, being mostly packed. Monday was last-minute packing and finally a trip back to the airport. Mom took us in Faye’s van. We had so much stuff, we never would have fit in Mom’s car! We found out at check-in that our seats were not together and we would have to go to the gate agent to try and get that fixed. So we did not dawdle at security, and just headed straight to the gate. It worked wonderfully, b/c not only did they get us sitting together, but we got the bulkhead seat w/ no one between us! Zach recognized what the bulk head area is used for and immediately laid down on the floor as though he was going to take a nap! And sure enough, after dinner, he had no problem being put on the floor to sleep (we put a Delta blanket down, then my jacket, then Zach). What a huge relief. If only it was as easy for Art and I to sleep! We were both pretty exhausted when we landed, each barely getting a few hours, if that. A taxi ride back to Erwin-Rommel-Str. 6, and we were back home, our whirlwind trip to America over. Boo. The hardest part for me is not knowing when the next time we will be there, but one thing is certain – our next trip will be a family of 4 instead of a family of 3! Exciting and scary!