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I think we will tell our story about the last couple weeks starting with our first day (May 17th) and then working our way to the current stuff. Or else we might spoil the drama. And there is a lot of it. So, without further ado, here it is:
May 17th, 2008: The Flight

Last night we tried to pack all of our containers. Thanks to Laveryne we are still on our way to Germany, after Jodi almost had a mental breakdown and I sat around with my head up my rear and generally acted like the proverbial third nipple. We now have everything we think we are going to need in the next two years in 5 Rubbermaid tubs and two suitcases. (Plus 500 lbs of carry-on, we'll get to that later). The main problem is the actual weight of all of our stuff. In total, we are allowed to have 200 lbs as checked baggage (including Mom G.'s amount). So, if 199.5 lbs is taken up with kids' books, as Jodi wanted, that leaves enough for a pair of briefs. And this is where the wailing and gnashing of teeth began. It was very difficult to cut out some of the stuff we thought was essential to have, so it just felt like - maybe we shouldn't be going at all. Clearer heads prevailed, and we strategically packed all our stuff, leaving behind the xbox, wii, clothes, and 1 more kid book to be brought later. We didn't sleep well last night, we were just to wrought with despair about the coming days. Anyway, so the beginning of today I went to pick up some duct tape and luggage straps to secure the Rubbermaids, and visited with Ryan and Elyse at Peters'. We packed up my Dad's truck and Mom G.'s beetle, and basically wallowed around for the rest of the evening, before leaving for the flight check-in. After one return to Mom G.'s to pick up the forgotten flight tickets, we were off. God sent us our first angel at the check-in counter, and things went pretty well. Turns out we were 80 lbs. over weight (we're not talking about my paunch) - we actually expected this - not to mention the blind eye the check-in lady turned to having about 3 too many carry-ons (which each had about 200 lbs of kid's books and toys. Oh yeah, and the desktop computer. And monitor.) She was a pretty nice gal. It was also really nice to have my parents watching the kids during check-in. So, 350 CDN later for the 80 extra lbs and we were off to play in the family area for about an hour with the kids. After that, we went to security, and you can imagine how easy it was to go through that with two kids and 1000 lbs of carry-on (mostly books). Can you bend over please sir? A little further? I don't get it, everytime I go through security, they have to strip me down. Hmmm. Anyway, Jodi blubbered good-bye (a common theme in the past couple of days, just Jodi, of course not me) to my parents, and we went to the boarding gate to wait for an hour. The kids actually did surprisingly well for being up 3 hours past their usual bedtime (it was 11 pm by this point). Onto the plane we go, after a generous shot of Motrin for Reese (he's teething...). The first little bit wasn't so bad, but it got really bad at about the four hour mark. This is when AirTransat decided to finally turn the lights out. Or so Jodi tells me. The entire flight for me is a blur. After waking our kids up repeatedly for the last three hours, with 'Can I get you this?', or 'Can I get you that?', we finally got some peace (although not quiet, Reese made sure of that). The original plan was for him to sleep on me because I thought I could take his weight for 9 hours, but he had to have mommy. I do remember at one point, Erika was sleeping on me, and Reese was sleeping on Erika's seat between me and Jodi with his head hanging off the side. I think me and Jodi both woke up as he started to roll off (Jodi's one and only hour of sleep). Quality parenting. The meal at the end was kind of fun, and watching France appear beyond the ocean. The flight ended with the best of all of Erika's comments, in a very chipper voice, as we touched down: "That was a quick trip Mom". Everyone in earshot giggled. Needless to say, they left their kids at home. Stay tuned for more updates, next is our travel to Freiburg, and the fiasco at Frankfurt airport.

Jodi and Jeff