REWIND - Getting Here!

I could write about 100 pages on our trip here, but I know no one would read that!  So, I will just say we had a GREAT trip all things considered!  I will post a slew of pictures and just comment on some of them!  Just a brief summary of our trip... we took off from Nashville, TN flew to New York and changed planes then refueled in Germany (we still had to get off the plane & take all our carry-ons OFF), then to Singapore to change planes then to Jakarta!  We had to go through security at each stop... carrying ALL the carry-on luggage each time, BUT we were well taken care of!  Singapore Airlines was VERY helpful and had employees help us so much!

Our 11 blue bins... they could not weigh more than 50# or
we would have to pay a HUGE fine.  We did pay extra to
bring 4 or 5 extra bins... it was cheaper than shipping
anything or paying the fine for overweight bags!  We were
allowed 2 checked "bags" per person, 50# each, with a
total dimension that I now forget!  BUT it wasn't big
enough for us to have 2 blue bins per person.

Our other checked baggage... each had to be 50# or less.
They are smaller than we wanted to take, but the airline policy
requirements of the total dimension forced us to have small
bags.  It is hard to get 50# in these bags.  Most were only 30#.

Our carry-ons.  Yes... this is too much!  More than I "planned"
but in the end... this was the result.  Each was about 15#!

Miss V2 and me on the "small" plane from Nashville to NY.
She did GREAT on this flight.  It was 2 or 3 hours.  The
following pictures are all the others on the same flight & more
of Miss V2.  There was plenty of room on this flight, & we spread out.
This was the FIRST flight for all the kids!  They did great!
They all LOVED it!  =0)

Mr. W4 playing a little digital game from Wal-Mart that
was just a dollar, I think.  It was race cars.

Blurry picture... represents our trip... a BLUR!!
This was in NY.  The very helpful guy in Nashville
said we wouldn't have to go through security again
til we landed at our final destination.  He was WRONG.
We had to go through security EACH time with ALL our
carry-ons, but only after carrying them on about a mile trip
each time through the airport!  ha!

Riding the train from one terminal to another in NY.
Miss O9 has her American Girl Doll that was given to her by
a special friend in that bright colored bag.  Dano looks thrilled, huh?
Miss V2 rode in her carseat attached to a suitcase.  It didn't work
perfectly, but it worked okay.  Later we checked the chair gate side,
and she rode in the umbrella stroller.    

This is normally how we traveled through each
terminal... Dano led... then the kids were in a single
file behind him and I was at the very back.  We said
we were a sandwich:  Dano was a piece of bread and
so was I.  The kids got to pick what they were.  They
actually thought it was fun.  =0)  We made them earn
their keep.  They carried backpacks and/or pulled carry-ons.  

In New York, we landed about 7 or 8 at night and had about 2 hours, I think, before our flight took off so we thought we had enough time to eat... and we thought we should eat not knowing when our first meal would be served and since we had not eaten supper.  So once we arrived in our correct terminal we ate a fairly quick supper of pizza (if anything ever happens quick with 5 kids) with a bathroom break before and after.  Then we headed to our gate. The picture above is what we saw when we started the journey... a HUGE line for security!  Oh my!  We suddenly realized maybe we didn't have time for that supper!  BUT then a lady asked us who we were... we told her, and she was there to escort us to the plane.  She took us to a short line & helped us get through security quickly and helped us get all the way to the gate!  She was like an angel from Singapore!  Also... some young guys (from the airline) helped us, too!

This was the next "morning" in Germany.  This was the

only picture I took while in Germany.  This is the plane (I think)

we flew into Germany on & left Germany in. 

The first night, Miss V2 had her carseat in her

seat by the window.  It started out great... but then

during the middle of the night she started crying 

and didn't want to be in her seat.  =0(  So... I ended

up holding her a lot.  So neither of us got a lot of sleep.

So when we landed in Germany and had to take everything

off the plane, we just checked her carseat "curbside" along

with our umbrella stroller.  So this is how Miss V2 got some

sleep on the next flight.  Ahhh... much better!  =0)

Miss O9 traveled great... the only complaint
was about the food!  BUT... she's often complaining
about the food... so that was normal!  She sat with me
and Miss V2 in our row of 3 seats next to the window.

Dano & the other three kiddos in the 4 seats in the middle.
The kids were watching movies on the back of the seat.  We
had just bought the Tangled DVD for Miss E6 for
her birthday and watched it about 100 times before
leaving TN.  Guess which movie was one of the
FEW kid movies to choose from... yep...
TANGLED!  The kids did not mind!  They
could also play video games on that TV.  

Dano snoozing!

No pix in Singapore... we were too busy racing
through the airport to get to the next terminal.  Really
we had NO down time between flights!  RUSH, RUSH, RUSH!
This picture is in the airport in JAKARTA, JAVA in Indonesia!
We made it... approximately 30 hours after we left!  This is the
immigration line... notice how short it is?  This is AMAZING!
This process was much quicker than we could have imagined.  Also,
I'm not sure if you noticed... but everyone (except Virginia) is still
wearing the same clothes as when we left the US!  While we had time
to change on the plane, we didn't really have ROOM to change on
the plane. If we'd had more TIME in the airports, maybe we would
have been able to change at least once... but NOPE!  So we arrived
at the immigration desk feeling a little less than "fresh," and
hoping they would overlook that and let us in!  Thankfully,
they did!  Of course, I think the kids helped smooth the way.
We had no problems at all... all our paperwork & visas were in order!

For the first time in our lives, this was the line we got in.

These are the exhausted kids waiting while our
paperwork is looked at.

This is what an exhausted 4 year old does!  Thankfully,
no fit was involved!  

When we went to get our luggage, it had already been
collected for us by all these gentlemen!  Unfortunately,
one bag had been left in Singapore.  While I went to take
care of the paperwork for that, Dano & the kids entertained
these men.  When I returned, the men were taking turns
having their picture taken with our family (minus me).
They especially loved Miss V2 who was enjoying all the
attention!  Thankfully our missing bag was delivered
the next morning!  Yea!  It had all our shoes!  Before
we left the airport, we had to go through customs.  It
was a breeze!  Everyone seemed excited to welcome us
to their country!    

Outside the airport...

Our ride taking us from Jakarta to Kota Baru... notice...
no boosters, no seatbelts, no carseats!  There were none!
Of course, we had Miss V2's seat... but you can't install it
without a seatbelt... besides there wasn't even room for it!

You think they look tired??  Hot??
I was sitting next to (or under Virginia).  Dano sat in
the front next to the driver (from our company).

Can you see the Pizza Hut sign?

Jakarta... the capital... about 2 or 3 hours (depending
on traffic) away from us now.  There isn't a lot of traffic
in this picture... it got much worse!

Yep... that says Starbucks!
We don't have one near us, but there
is one about 30 to 40 minutes away.
We haven't been yet!

This is where we stopped to eat lunch
on the way to our temporary house.
That little truck has all our luggage.
Is KFC the same here?  The chicken
does taste the same, but instead of a
biscuit... you get rice.  And much to
Miss O9's disappointment... they don't
have mac n cheese.  I can't remember
what the side dishes were... we just had
fried chicken and rice and water!

Not sure why I took this picture... this is a nice clear spot
of traffic.  In Jakarta, it was bumper to bumper and door
to door!  AND people would be working along the side
sweeping up the trash!  I wish I had pictures of the
beautiful landscape we saw as we drove.  

This was our final destination... our temporary
housing in Kota Baru.  It was NOT what
we were used to in America in some areas,
but it was VERY nice and had many rooms.
We called it "home" for two weeks and 2
days while we arranged our permanent housing.
It was in a very nice neighborhood with many
"cookie cutter" houses.  This is where middle
class and upper middle class and rich people
live.  This is where a lot of expats live.  Also,
Indonesians who have a lot of money may have
a weekend home here in Kota Baru.  This is VERY
different from how the "average" Indonesia lives.
We are now living like the "average" Indonesian
in a lot of ways... but not really.  Eventually, I will
show you our new house! 

We are so thankful for the wonderful trip and for arriving safely and for our company helping us get from the airport to our temporary housing (which they arranged) and the week or so they stayed to help us get settled and learn our way around!  

Okay... that might have been close to 100 pages... and it only scratched the surface of our trip!  If you didn't fall asleep, please leave us a comment!