Leaving on a Jet Plane

Well, we have officially arrived in Istanbul!!!!! Our adventure officially started when we finished packing up our bags-officially we had 18 pieces with us including car seats and carry-ons! Our fantastic friend Steve graciously offered to drive us to the airport, and we loaded up and were off! Time flew those last few hours of last minute re-arranging and it when it was time to go I still thought we had an hour, ahh!! Needless to say, I was sad that I didn't get to make any last minute runs to say goodbye to a few folks. (sorry guys, just know that you will be missed) Anyway, we loaded up and were off!

(this photo does not include my huge purse, noah's bag, or the boys backpacks)

(Ronan closed the door the last time for us. Goodbye Oakwood and friends, we will miss you!)

Check-in all went smoothly and we were thrilled to see a Potbelly's Sandwiches directly across from our gate! We all enjoyed some delicious sandwiches for our last meal in America and settled into to wait for our turn. The boys made up a great game with their straws and lids from their soda bottles that kept them busy for most of the wait. They called it "hockey-pockey". It was pretty cute.

(they were hilarious, all stretched out. Literally, Ronan's feet were IN Porter's face half of this time! If only we could all be this way on planes!)

The boys watched DVD's and sat nicely for the first 4 hours, then we turned the movie off and told them it was bed-time. It was a gamble that actually paid off! They each snuggled up next to one of us and closed their eyes! They slept the entire last 3 hours and through the landing! We had to wake them up to get off the plane. Good job boys!! We got a little snack on our layover and tried to corral the boys for a little while. This was the most difficult part of the trip I think, as they were both wound up all of a sudden and it was a packed waiting area. Not my idea of fun, but we made it through. They gave the boys coloring books and a little stuffed animal for the last flight and we popped in another DVD now that they were awake, and they made it like champs!


When we arrived in Turkey we were thrilled that they had a special diplomatic window and we got to walk right up! It was awesome! We got all of our luggage and met our sponsors who were there to pick us up. They loaded us into the van and we were off. We got our first adventure in Turkey though, as a few minutes later (probably from the weight of all our luggage:) the tire on the van blew out! They needed a different tool however I think than what they had though to change the tire and we had to wait until another gentleman from the the motor pool was able to come help out. So yup, we were chillin in the van on the side of a Turkish highway for like an hour. I mostly felt bad for the driver, because he stood outside waiting/looking out for the other guy to get there and it was really hot outside!! Poor guy...what a trooper. Anyway, after they got it fixed we were back on the road and home in just a few minutes more! Our place is gorgeous, and our sponsors had washed the dishes, put food in the fridge and made the beds for us! It was so nice to get there and to realize we could just relax for a bit and settle in. We took some showers, and in an effort to stave off the jet-lag we took a little walk around to explore the neighborhood! It was a good use of energy and helped us stay up until a reasonable dinner time. Our sponsors also made us dinner for the evening, so we chowed down then tucked ourselves into bed! phew. We made it, and are so excited to finally be here and starting this new adventure! More to come soon....