Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Since there is a post for you to read I'm sure you've guessed that we made the trip from Perth to Pensacola. The flight was LONG and sometimes uncomfortable, but we managed to make it in one piece.

Of course, if you've read previous posts you know all too well that it's not a McMillan vacation unless there is at least one issue. Everything was going well until we hit LA, where we were told we did not have all the necessary paperwork to board the flight that was going to take us to Houston. In Sydney we were given three boarding passes, one for the flight to LA, one for the LA to Houston leg, and the last one was for Houston to Pensacola. We specifically asked if we would need to check in for these flights and we were told that we were good to just be at the gates for boarding.

For whatever reason our elite status did not print out on our tickets for the LA to Houston leg. Our seats were in the front of the plane, so we were the last ones to board. With five minutes left before take off (they were behind in boarding due to all the layovers and issues with the storms up north) our boarding passes would not scan and we were told we had to wait for a supervisor. They kept asking us if we were given an additional paper and we kept telling them no. After attempting to fix the issue with no luck, they were nice enough to let us board the flight anyway stating that they would fix the problem later. We still did not understand what was wrong but were extremely excited they let us on the flight since there would have been no other way to get out of LA that day. Every flight out had standby lists with people trying to re-route their flights that had been cancelled/delayed in the previous days.

When we arrived in Houston we thought it would be a good idea to make sure our tickets were okay. Once again, our boarding passes were not valid but this time they were not going to let us board the flight until they were fixed. The gate attendant worked on it for 30 minutes with no luck and in the end we were told we had to contact the travel agent in Australia because it was their screw-up. It only too the travel agency about 15 minutes to agree that it was their problem. His only solution however, was for us to purchase the tickets again and then request a refund when we got back to Perth. There were several problems with this solution.

1. The flight was completely sold out with a stand by list for this flight and others the next day.
2. The price of the tickets would have been OUTRAGEOUS, since we were buying them at the gate.
3. We would have this same problem when we tried to take the return flights back. So we would have had to purchase a round trip ticket from Houston to Pensacola and then a one way ticket from Houston to LA. If any of these flights were now sold out our entire itinerary would be messed up.
4. And this is probably the most important point of all.... It was their screw up, not mine. Why should I have to pay for it and then do all the work to request the refund???

After another 30 minutes or so of arguing with him about this and then passing him off to the gate agent to try multiple solutions the problem was fixed and we arrived in Pensacola on time. We still don't know if the flights back have been fixed, but I'm sure we'll figure it out pretty quickly when we get ready to leave.

So, with the drama of the flights behind us we've been able to spend some quality time with the family. Christmas was great, and we've got sooooo much baby stuff to bring back. We're almost positive most of it will have to be mailed or separated by sizes with the larger ones being brought over by parents when they come to visit next year. Sad thing is, there's still more to come! Monday night we are having a dinner shower with family and close friends of the family.

I'm almost 6 months along now (about 23 weeks) and I am happy to say that over the past two weeks I've actually developed a "baby bump"! Jamie and I were amazed at how quickly it popped out, and I went from nothing to actually looking like I was pregnant. We even had to go shopping a few days ago, as I had to do away with my regular pants and buy some new ones. I probably could have stuck it out a few more weeks but since we were in the states we thought we'd take advantage of the prices and go ahead and buy some here.

Kylie is kicking away now, and she and Jamie actually have a game they play where they poke each other. He will poke at a spot and she will kick back where he was poking a few seconds before. This can go on several times, usually until Jamie gets his fill and decides to leave her alone for a while. A few hours later they do it again. It's so cute!

We hope everyone had a great Christmas and that you'll be able to enjoy your New Years as well.

It doesn't feel like Christmas :(

As most of you know we spent Christmas in Singapore last year. It was really hard to get into the "Christmas spirit" but I finally managed. One of the best things about Singapore (in my opinion) is that they really go all out for Christmas. They decorate the Orchard shopping area and it looks amazing. They put up so many lights and change the theme every year so it's always different.

Jamie and I purchased our first fake tree and because we were staying in town we had gifts all around it. Not to mention that it was close to monsoon season so at night we could lay out on the balcony and with the wind you would get a slight chill, it was quite nice. But Perth is a different story.

It's hot here! Being from Florida and spending time in Louisiana and Texas I don't expect a snowy Christmas, but people are celebrating summer break here. I did put our Christmas tree up, thinking that it would at least look like Christmas but I started to regret it as soon as I put the lights up. I have no other decorations for the house, nor do I have any gifts to put under it because I have done the majority of our shopping online. This way we didn't have to carry a bunch of stuff over and I won't have to spend so much time trying to get it done in the week before Christmas. Jamie and I will have to do some shopping for each other, but most everyone else will already be done. When we were back in the US I would usually have all of my shopping done before Thanksgiving, simply because I HATE the big crowds. People get rude, the stores are a mess, and I can't stand the lines everywhere. I wanted to cut that out as much as possible this year so I didn't spend my time at home pissed off!

So I'm here in Perth (loving it don't get me wrong), with a Christmas tree up, no gifts under it, and a husband who has been gone 18 out of the last 21 days. No wonder I can't get into the Christmas Spirit!

Hope everyone back home decorated this year because by the time we get there I will need a big pick-me-up! We are only 13 days away from out trip home and even though I say it every time it REALLY couldn't come any sooner!

Meet Kylie!!

Today Jamie and I went for my 19 week anatomy scan of the baby. It's amazing to see how much she's grown just in the last few weeks and see the details that you couldn't really see before. She seems to be quite stubborn, as every time we do a scan she makes sure to move away from the screen and cover her face but we were able to get a few good shots this time.

The ultrasound tech kept poking and shaking my stomach to make her move and after doing this a few times Kylie looked at the screen and gave us the finger! Guess she truly is a McMillan! We all got a kick out of it, even if she doesn't really know what shes doing yet.

Below are a few photos and a cute video of her scratching her nose. As she goes through the motions you can see her go from what looks like a smile to a nice, almost perfected little pout! If that's the face we have to look forward to seeing when we tell her no Jamie's in for a rough ride!








Other than that no excitement around here. Jamie came home this past Saturday after a 2 week trip to Singapore and Bangkok. Unfortunatly he will be leaving again Wednesday morning to head back over to Singapore (yes, again!!). Hopefully this will be his last trip before we head back home for the holidays, but who knows? We've got only 18 more days until our departure and we can't wait! Hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving and were able to relax and enjoy the family time!