We Made It To Moscow!!!

Well, we made it to Moscow – and survived the plane trip – although I think Bryan and I are quite a bit grayer than when we started. Struggling with 4 suitcases, two carry-ons, a stroller, and two active little boys was a bit much to handle. We got to the airport and the lady at the ticket stand did not know how to access our e-tickets. She said that she could see them on the screen, but could not access them and she would have to contact her supervisor. Just about that time, I saw that our flight had been delayed 2 hours. So, there we sat in the airport and waited. The boys did ok waiting, and finally we were allowed to get back in line (you can only check in 2 hours prior to the flight – and not a second sooner). So, once back in line we thought a supervisor would have made it – or maybe she had and she did not know how to do it. Khabarovsk is very behind times and they don’t have people travel by e-ticket (obviously). Finally, someone was able to figure it all out and we got our tickets. Our plane had 3 seats on the left, 3 in the middle, and 3 on the right. So, I sat in the middle with Sawyer on one side and Sutton on the other. Bryan sat in the aisle seat next to our row. Sutton had his bubble gum and Sawyer had his sippy cup – we took off and of course Sawyer began throwing a fit because he did not want to wear his seat belt. Sutton had to push every button 100 times – stewardess button, light button, air button – you name it – if it was accessible by button, he pushed it. Bryan and I were very short on patience after 3 hours of saying “No, No” – and finally Sutton sat in his lap and I layed Sawyer down on the other 2 seats. He fell asleep and then Sutton fell asleep in his Papa’s arms. The boys slept for about 2 hours and then we had to wake them up to put on seat belts for the decent. An hour later, we descended – I kept Sawyer distracted with picture books and magazines to keep his mind off the seatbelt. Bryan and I were frazzled, but we were a lot better than another family a few seats in front of us. They had a 14 mos. Girl who never slept, cried often, and I think they were worse off than us.
So, here we are in Moscow, and WOW, what a difference. Moscow is a booming metropolis that reminds me a lot of New York City. There are high-end shops down the main street that leads to the
Red Square and Kremlin. We decided to walk to the Red Square today since our interpreter said it would be a 30 minute walk – Ok – she lied. It was a good hour’s walk to the Red Square. The boys were great all the way there. We stopped at McDonald’s for a 6pack of McNuggets – each boy had 2 nuggets and Bryan and I had one. Then we were off again. The Red Square is absolutely magnificent. We took some pictures – We also got pictures of St. Basil Cathedral as well. Then it was back to the hotel , and this is when the walk became tiresome. It was past noon and the boys were hungry. We made it to TGI Fridays and stopped to have lunch. Then we left for the hotel. It was after 1pm and the boys were cranky because we have been pretty tight with their schedule and 1pm is nap time. We put them down for a nap at 2:30 – and felt bad when we woke them at 3:30pm. But, we had to because the boys have not been sleeping through the night (due to the time change). Last night, Bryan awoke around 2pm to a sudden surprise – Sutton had wet the bed. So, all 4 of us got into my bed . Sawyer could not handle that because he needs the whole bed to stretch out and toss in – so, I made Sawyer a bed on the floor – That seemed to work for all of us.

Tomorrow morning we leave the hotel at 8:45am for the boys’ medicals (required by the American Embassy). After that, we go to the Embassy to turn in the paperwork and apply for their Visas. Then, I believe we will go sight-seeing. Sawyer has been very cranky – no fever, but still congested. I don’t know if his crankiness is due to the time change or the boredom because we are now in a hotel and there is not much room to run and play. Everything in Moscow is EXTREMELY expensive. Bryan and I can eat for about $60 – but that is each meal . We have purchased a few items from the grocery store, but with no kitchen and no refrigerator, we are stuck to dry foods. That is ok – at least we are in a city that has a few Western conveniences. The internet access for 1 hour is about $40, so we have decided to only blog twice before our trip back home. This is the first hour – we will blog again on Wednesday (the day before we are to return home). We hope all is well with everyone. We are so excited that this journey is almost over so that we can get the boys home and set up some sense of normalcy – whatever that might look like with 2 anxious and active little boys. God Bless!