We Are In Russia!!!!

Well we made it!!!! We are in Sakhalin! We finally got in yesterday at about 1:20 pm. It was a VERY long trip--- I have learned that traveling around the world with a 5 year old and a 2 1/2 year old is definitely not an easy task! But, we made it alive-- so that is all that counts. It is now 4:05 am on Tuesday 5/13. The girls are wide awake (since 2 AM!!!). Last night we all fell asleep at 7:30pm despite ourselves. Tonight I have Got to keep them up till about 9 pm, or they will continue to wake up too early...



Here is a quick synopsis of our trip. We left Atlanta at 10:30 pm on Friday 5/9 and flew to London. The girls slept well on the flight to London. We arrived at London Heathrow Airport on 5/10 at 12:00pm. We stayed overnight at the Hilton by the airport--overpriced and NOT luxurious. Little A woke up on Sunday 5/11 with a swollen, red face and a terrible rash all over her body. I'm not sure if she had an allergic reaction or had some kind of virus, but it was bad. Benedryl did not seem to help. We left London at 8:55 am on 5/11 and flew 4 hours to Moscow. The girls were not good during the trip! They were restless and loud. There were two Russian boys and their Mother behind us on the plane, and the girls played with them over the seats. They had a great time, but they simply would not keep their voices down and were definitely playing too rough. The other passengers were getting mad. The Mother spoke fluent English and the boys spoke a little English. Despite the communication difficulties, the kids got along very well. Finally, the last 45 minutes of the trip, the girls fell asleep. We arrived in Moscow about 4:00 pm on 5/11. A very nice WACAP representative met us at the gate. He helped us get our bags and took us to the other section of the airport to wait for our connection. He helped me order the girls food at the restaurant, and he waited with us for our entire lay over---we didn't leave Moscow until 9:55 pm!! He was a young guy-- a college student, and he spoke very good English. A very handsome young man, and he was very good with the girls, too. I was very impressed. He took us to a better section of the airport to wait during our layover. We waited in a quiet corner, so the girls had room to run around and let off steam. The flight to Yuzhno was 9 hours-- full of loud, drunk men. The girls slept well, despite the unsavory company. At one point, while I was taking Big A to the bathroom, a man actually got out of his seat, laid down on the isle floor in front of us, and passed out. The flight attendants tried to rouse him, and the other drunks, began slapping him (very hard) in the face. Finally, they got him up into his seat. Big A just watched the whole scene quietly. Pretty weird.

Svetlana met us in Yuzhno, and got us to our hotel ( the Sapporo). As before, it is very nice-- clean and large room. Today "D" arrives, so I will get to see him this morning, and maybe the girls will get to meet him this afternoon!!! How exciting!!!