Memories by McMillan: October 2011

Our home trip has come and gone and of course I've been too busy to tell you about it! The weeks leading up to the trip as well as the weeks after our return have been busy ones. Hopefully things will calm down a bit once we complete the move to Brisbane but until then our crazy life continues. Now onto the details of our trip.

The trip home was a great one. It wasn't as relaxing as we would have liked (or expected) it to be, but we were able to visit with lots of family and some really great friends. We were excited to try out the new Sydney - Dallas flight, as it meant that our trip was cut by 1 layover and about 5-6 hours. The great thing about it was that on the way back it stops in Brisbane and then continues on to Sydney, so for us that was it. We went Pensacola to Dallas (1hour) had a 3 hour lay over and then Dallas to Brisbane (15 hours) and we were done! We'll get to that part later though. So, our flights from Australia to the US were our biggest concern. Not so much the Perth to Sydney or the Dallas to Pensacola since they were relatively short (5 hours and 1 hour) but the most concerning flight was Sydney to Dallas. It was scheduled to be 16 hours and I had no clue how I was going to entertain an 18 month old for that long! The flight also left at 11:05 Perth time, so for Kylie it was middle of the day. We didn't land until 11ish Dallas time so I needed to get her to sleep at the right time to help with the jet lag. Of course the flight was a disaster! Not only did I not get an infant seat beltt, I didn't get a kids meal or a kids activity pack. Thank goodness I planned ahead and brought tons of food, coloring books and toys. Hell, not 1 crew member even acknowledged that we had a kid, not 1!! It was the WORST service we've ever received on a flight, no joking. The other problem we had was being given the bassinet row.

Now, had Kylie been a year younger or lets say, half her height the bassinet wouldn't have been an issue. Seeing as though she isn't either of those things though it did us no good. We paid for a seat for Kylie even though by age she could have been a lap baby for free. We felt it was worth it not only for the extra space but for comfort as well so that Kylie could lay across the seats to sleep. And it would have been, if the damn arm rest would have lifted up like they do on regular rows. Because we were in the bassinet row they didn't. This resulted in Kylie only sleeping in my arms because she couldn't stretch out in the seat and she's not really old enough to explain to her how she should lay to get comfortable. After a few attempts of getting her to sleep and putting her down failed I gave up. I did eventually get her to sleep for 6 hours, but I had to hold her the entire time which meant no sleep for me. Every time she would try to move I would have to maneuver her as well as the pillows and stuff around her head and legs so she wouldn't wake up. AGHHH! Of course she wouldn't have anything to do with Jamie during this time so I was on my own. When we made it to Dallas I was so relieved to be off that f*&%ing plane I could have kissed the immigration and customs people, seriously! The flight from Dallas to Pensacola was very uneventful and we were extremely happy to be treated to Mexican food on the way to Jamie's parents house, yum!

The first few days were basically spent getting settled, finalizing our will and trust account for Kylie and getting ready for our big trip to Clemson. We were sooo looking forward to this trip not only because we were going to meet up with some great friends that we haven't seen in a few years, but it was also going to be our first 'adults trip' without Kylie and it was much needed! I hated to leave her, but I had lots of surprises planned along with some really fun stuff for the guys and was really excited for it all to begin.

Last year all of the guys turned 30. Since we weren't able to get together then I wanted to make this trip not only a reunion, but a birthday celebration as well. For the guys I had golf balls inscribed with a message and tiger paw, hand painted beer and shot glasses and engraved paperweights. For the girls I had monogrammed tote bags, hand carved coasters and hand painted wine glasses. To top it all off I also got a bottle of Dom Perignon, a bottle of Cristal and arranged for us to have access to the stadium for photos with Howard's Rock. Oh, I almost forgot my cupcake arrangement with the tiger paw on it! Jamie didn't even know about all the stuff I had and I was dying keeping it all in!

All of the goodies were a success and we had a great weekend golfing, shopping, checking out the campus and tailgating the day of the game. Being back there made me realize how much I miss that little town and I know it always makes Jamie a little home sick. We hated that the trip had to come to an end, but we've got loads of great memories and hopefully some new 'reunion trip traditions' to look forward to for next time! I now leave you to enjoy some photos of the Clemson Reunion Trip and Birthday Bash of 2011!

Welcome Home!
Our yearly Betty Webber cake! I'm sure I've talked about it before, but this lady really does make the BEST cakes in the world!!