Our Trip Home

I know, I'm probably kicked off blogging after my husband's hilarious post. He just has a way with words, but if you want something dependable, then you you are stuck with me!

So this is what I dreaded... A plane flight with two toddlers that barely knew us, especially after my first meeting with Ms. Maritu. (She doesn't hide those emotions.) Our plane didn't leave until 11:30 PM, and we had Ayele take us to the airport 4 hours early, so we could get bassinet seating for the kids. With KLM, it's first come, first served. Luckily, we had met a KLM worker at the Hilton who said she would accomadate us. Yes, Bole Rock Guest House was supposed to bring us to the airport, but they once again dropped the ball! They even tried to charge us for late check-out... Ayele to the rescue!!! He didn't charge us for the trip, but there was NO way we were going to accept a free ride. Ayele was a dream come true in Ethiopia. Just when we thought the craziness ended surrounding our trip, I realized when the KLM worker couldn't find our kid's tickets in her computer, that I might have thrown them away. The agent from Global Rule Travel told me that I must not lose them. I was in a panic. Those that know me, know that I am an organized person. I knew right where those tickets were supposed to be, but for the life of me, I could not find them. After searching all our checked luggage that was sitting on the scale and crying inconsolably, we left the line and found a private corner where I could search again. Kenneth was trying to find a way to call Ayele to see if they had fallen out in his trunk. It wasn't long before I found those stupid tickets right where they were supposed to be! Oh my!!!

I will admit that the flight wasn't as bad as I expected-at least the first segment. Both kids slept the entire 6 hour flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Amsterdam. We then had a 5 hour layover before our 9 1/2 hour flight to Houston. Now this flight was less than cozy. Maritu was not the problem. It turned out to be Mamush!!! He cried for a solid hour into the flight. There was not a thing I could do... No, it didn't end when we touched down in Houston. We were then told we had to get in the immigration line for immigrants because our children were Ethiopian citizens. That line was 3 times longer, and it turns out that when we actually made it to an agent an hour later, she asked why we were in this line. Cuss word. Cuss word! I'm still not finished though. After she took our sealed envelope that we could not open and had to guard with our life, we got to go sit in an office for another 3 hours while they called the Health Department. Once again, the TB isssue with Maritu came up! Cuss word. Cuss word!!! Darn you people for being incompetent!

Needless to say, we did make it home...