Planes, trains, and autmobiles (and a bus or two)

My husband and I have discovered that though we like to travel, we don't always do it well when we're together. We each have our own system of doing things. Mine, clearly the superior way, is to organize everything in a folder, arrive at least hours ahead of time and saunter calmly through all the security checkpoints. His is, well, a little less stringent. That being said, when we decided how and when to arrive in the US, we agreed that I would travel with the children and he would travel with the cat. Our Russian cat is very beautiful, but it's not her beauty that has secured her position with this family. It's the fact that she can pee on the toilet. Enough said.

Obtaining the documents necessary for the cat to travel was slightly more involved than we were first aware. The Russian veterinarian came to our house to give the updated shots and sign the cat's passport. The shots were 2200 rubles ($66) and the document was an additional 2200 rubles. A small price to pay for no kitty litter.

The kids and I left Moscow on December 22. Our flight left in the afternoon and the morning was torturous as we said several goodbyes to our dear friends and neighbors. They took these photos of our departure, but my friend was sobbing her eyes out as we pulled away. I had no idea it would be so sad to leave.

Our flights were pretty smooth and we even got upgraded to comfort seating on our 10.5 hour flight. We had a two hour delay in Chicago and our flight slid on the runway in Grand Rapids due to icy conditions. Here's Number Two's solution to the delay.



After so many hours of travel, I went a little nuts when the cabbie told me our luggage wouldn't fit into one car and that I needed to hire a second. I said, not so politely, "I'll load it myself!" and I did. The kids told me later I was slightly frightening in that moment. The cabbie didn't charge me for baggage.

My husband arrived on Christmas Eve, on time. That alone was a Christmas miracle! The next day, this is what we saw out of our windows.