Okay folks, so here’s a crazy story…we’re in Almaty!
Yeah, we know we were supposed to get here eventually, but we originally had our flight booked for tomorrow, not today. So, here’s what happened…
Minutes before noon today we were lounging around waiting for Max to get up from his nap when all of a sudden the phone rang and our coordinator told Rod that she was going to be at our apartment in 5 minutes to pick him up because we needed to fly to Almaty today and we needed to change our tickets. Oh, and could we be packed and ready to leave for the airport in an hour so we can catch our 3pm flight!
No, we’re not kidding.
So picture it, Rod running out the door, somewhat clothed, and Tammy trying to get some lunch into her son that just woke up as she’s doing the mad dash packing race. Picture a hot dog eating contest, but instead of the contestants sitting at a table with a big bib on, they’re rushing around 600 sqft grabbing and smashing stuff into suitcases and duffle bags. AND, one charming and well rested little boy is trying to help by chasing his frantic mother around the apartment and unpacking the suitcases as fast as she can pack them!
Rod arrived just in time to see both of us near complete meltdown and felt that the best solution was to join in the ramming and cramming. Our poor driver, who thought he would come up and grab whichever suitcases were ready, stepped into a complete mad house. The ear to ear grin on his face said it all. We’re really glad he kept the quiet part quiet because one peep out of him may have ended his lovely life.
Now, if you think our day was stressful, just imagine our friend DW who was in the same predicament as us, but didn’t get the call until just after 1pm and in addition to all that we had to do, also had to pick his son up from the baby house (which is on the very opposite end of town as the airport – couldn’t get any farther apart).
So, you’ve heard us talk about adoption being like the movies Groundhog Day and Lost in Translation. Now, as we’ve said, we’ve gone to prime time and we now have The Amazing Race – Baby on Board. These couples on TV have nothing on us. We can do all that, carry a toddler, and somehow change a diaper or two! Oh, and we weren’t packed nearly as light as those lucky contestants.
Oh, and how did Sir Max handle the whole episode? Well, besides a few tears during the packing frenzy, he was amazing. Once we got all our stuff and ourselves crammed into the car, he was totally a trooper. He didn’t fuss whatsoever until the last couple of minutes before we finally got to the apartment here. Now that’s an amazing feat in itself considering the poor guy barely got to eat dinner, was witness to the packing disaster, missed his afternoon nap and didn’t get to eat supper until 7pm (don’t worry, we packed him full of cheerios and biscuits on the plane, so he won’t starve before tomorrow.)
We had planned to post a picture of Max getting ready to leave Ust and take his first plane ride, but for one, we don’t know where we crammed the camera and two, we had to make a choice – take a picture of the plane he would ride on or get on the plane, we didn’t have time for both.
Anyway, so that was our day. How’s things on your side of the world?
Yeah, we know we were supposed to get here eventually, but we originally had our flight booked for tomorrow, not today. So, here’s what happened…
Minutes before noon today we were lounging around waiting for Max to get up from his nap when all of a sudden the phone rang and our coordinator told Rod that she was going to be at our apartment in 5 minutes to pick him up because we needed to fly to Almaty today and we needed to change our tickets. Oh, and could we be packed and ready to leave for the airport in an hour so we can catch our 3pm flight!
No, we’re not kidding.
So picture it, Rod running out the door, somewhat clothed, and Tammy trying to get some lunch into her son that just woke up as she’s doing the mad dash packing race. Picture a hot dog eating contest, but instead of the contestants sitting at a table with a big bib on, they’re rushing around 600 sqft grabbing and smashing stuff into suitcases and duffle bags. AND, one charming and well rested little boy is trying to help by chasing his frantic mother around the apartment and unpacking the suitcases as fast as she can pack them!
Rod arrived just in time to see both of us near complete meltdown and felt that the best solution was to join in the ramming and cramming. Our poor driver, who thought he would come up and grab whichever suitcases were ready, stepped into a complete mad house. The ear to ear grin on his face said it all. We’re really glad he kept the quiet part quiet because one peep out of him may have ended his lovely life.
Now, if you think our day was stressful, just imagine our friend DW who was in the same predicament as us, but didn’t get the call until just after 1pm and in addition to all that we had to do, also had to pick his son up from the baby house (which is on the very opposite end of town as the airport – couldn’t get any farther apart).
So, you’ve heard us talk about adoption being like the movies Groundhog Day and Lost in Translation. Now, as we’ve said, we’ve gone to prime time and we now have The Amazing Race – Baby on Board. These couples on TV have nothing on us. We can do all that, carry a toddler, and somehow change a diaper or two! Oh, and we weren’t packed nearly as light as those lucky contestants.
Oh, and how did Sir Max handle the whole episode? Well, besides a few tears during the packing frenzy, he was amazing. Once we got all our stuff and ourselves crammed into the car, he was totally a trooper. He didn’t fuss whatsoever until the last couple of minutes before we finally got to the apartment here. Now that’s an amazing feat in itself considering the poor guy barely got to eat dinner, was witness to the packing disaster, missed his afternoon nap and didn’t get to eat supper until 7pm (don’t worry, we packed him full of cheerios and biscuits on the plane, so he won’t starve before tomorrow.)
We had planned to post a picture of Max getting ready to leave Ust and take his first plane ride, but for one, we don’t know where we crammed the camera and two, we had to make a choice – take a picture of the plane he would ride on or get on the plane, we didn’t have time for both.
Anyway, so that was our day. How’s things on your side of the world?
5 comments:
Almaty !!! Exciting !!! dispite the rush. One giant step closer to home, nice to hear that Max did well on the flight and that he is such a helpful little fellow when packing. Just two more flights to go. Can't wait for you all to be home !!!
Take care and see you soon.
Love
Catherine and Larry
The excitement just never ends, does it!?! Welcome to Almaty. Once you have time to catch your breath, we hope you enjoy Almaty as much as we did.
Whew! Glad to hear you made it! How many days are you in Almaty as I plan to be there next week.
Gosh.....what adventure. We just came back from a weeks holidays and got caught up on your blog!! The big race is right! I was out of breath just reading!!
Hope you enjoy Almaty - we sure did!! The stir fry in Mad Murphy's is really good.
Contestants # 3 here.
We got the story 2nd hand, from the grinning driver, about 20 mins after he dropped you off... ;)
Glad you made it to Almaty, and earlier than planned. That is always a good thing, n'est ce pas?
You better pack lighter, and get your good dancing shoes on, cause we're hot on your trail!
Have a great day friends.
Nathanael, Isabelle and Andrei
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