Getting to Baku

We arrived in Baku Thursday one week ago, but for a moment there I wasn't sure we would arrive at all. We didn't get the girl's visas in time for our scheduled May 5 departure and so Jason went on ahead with the cats and some of the suitcases. We had to re-schedule with another date and picked the following Thursday hoping we would get them in time. Jason's boss had no problem with him flying back to accompany us for the trip. However, it takes a full day of travel (three flights) to get from Stavanger to Baku (and vice versa) so by the time we got word late Tuesday afternoon that the visas were ready and being mailed to arrive Wednesday there wasn't time for Jason to fly back and accompany us.

I had the idea for him to meet us in Frankfurt which is the longest leg and would mean that he would be there to help with customs clearance and collecting all the baggage. The first two flights were just a 45 min to Oslo and a 1 hour, 30 min to Frankfurt. I knew that I could handle those by myself.

We have the most amazing friends. Kemi and her husband Jan Erik gave us an extra suitcase, helped load baggage, and watched the girls Wednesday afternoon. Joy and Ron met us bright and early at the airport with all of the ridiculous amount of bags and helped unload, watch babies, put on luggage tags, plastic wrap suitcases, and get them check in. Tim and Sandy met me at the house to help get the girls ready and load the last bit of luggage and also accompanied us to the airport to help get us off. There is no way I would have been able to do that on my own. It took 3 vehicles and 5 adults y'all. It's a good thing we had so many hands on deck because when I went to check in they told me I wasn't allowed to fly...

So here's the airline rules for anyone not seasoned with air travel with littles. You are allowed to travel with a child and two infants so long as at least one infant is in an FAA approved car seat. A child is considered anyone over 2 years old (when they aren't allowed to be a lap infant). I know these rules because I have flown before with all three girls and booked the tickets that way. We purchased a seat for all four of us and planned to bring both car seats on the plane. No problem right? Wrong. Apparently SAS doesn't know their own policies. (Side note - super unimpressed with SAS - it took Jason over an hour to check the cats in because they screwed up their reservation and then they did the payment wrong and he almost wasn't allowed to board in Frankfurt. Add the hassle and rudeness we experienced with their representatives adding the cats reservation and now my hassle, we are through with SAS airlines and that's now two of the three Star Alliance that I refuse to fly any more. End side rant.)

After arguing with me that I was trying to travel with three infants and having an SAS representative tell me she was a grandmother of twins and I was being unsafe and putting my children at risk, I was pretty fed up. Someone somewhere must have been praying for me because God is the only thing that kept me from losing my cool I was so irate and frustrated. When they finally confirmed that I was correct and I was allowed to fly they told me they couldn't promise that Lufthansa would allow me to board in Oslo and that while they don't recommend or condone my choice to fly with all three solo I would be allowed to check in and board if I wanted. Damn straight I will take that risk and be done with you SAS. All in all it was over an hour and a half this mess took. So then we could finally check in our 16 pieces of luggage (which had been sitting at the check in counter blocking like four lanes - HA!)

Besides that little hiccup, I can honestly say that everyone was amazing during the actual travel. The SAS flight crew, the Lufthansa flight crew, and the passengers on all the flights. They helped me carry luggage and car seats on board, helped with Madi, and were all amazing. Again, huge answers to prayers from all those who had been praying for safe transit. We had a tight connection in Oslo (where again SAS screwed up my request for assistance by giving us a wheelchair instead of a cart like I had asked), but we made it to the gate with a little time to spare. Jason was able to meet us at the gate in Frankfurt and it was smooth, but exhausting to arrive in Baku late Thursday evening.

We got through customs and gathered our luggage fairly quickly and were off to our new home! I am so glad that we were able to get on the flights and that Jason was able to meet us in Frankfurt. I was pretty exhausted by that point from the early morning and check-in drama and ready for our family to be reunited! Here are the few pics that I snapped during the travel. All three girls were incredibly well-behaved (love our seasoned travelers). :-)

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First Week in Baku

Well y'all - it's been one week in Baku. I wish I could say the transition has been seamless and easy - that I haven't burst into tears five out of the seven days we've been here, that I didn't miss Norway and being able to drive myself and make a quick run to the store or friend's house easily, that having three at home isn't hard work and that I don't seriously miss barnehage and our old routine, that we haven't had any issues with the house that have been frustrating to resolve. But none of that is true. It's been hard. I know that in the long run these little things will be forgotten and seem trivial. I know that things will get easier as we go along and get comfortable. The logical part of me knows all of this, but the emotional part is having a rough go. Just being real.

But - there's always positives. The people here have been so amazing! Everyone has been friendly and helpful and kind in answering questions, including us in playdates and activities, lending us things we need, and taking me on a much-needed grocery shopping orientation. Huge blessings. Today I attended a women's Bible study and the host's daughter watched all three girls for me. I needed that break more than I realized and when we did a unique activity and washed each other's feet and prayed over one another I lost it and the tears came (again). I needed those prayers and that fellowship. God is so good in providing just what we need at the right time.

So now that I've poured my heart out and been honest about the hard part of the transition, here's some of the fun parts. We have a wonderful community and a great park super close. We've been out exploring the park and the soccer fields and going for wagon rides. The twins have loved having their big sister home with them to play and I have enjoyed my extra time with Madi even though it's made for very busy days having all three by myself. So here's some of the joy we are experiencing in our new home. :-)

1. Madi loving on CeCe. Those cats missed her!
2. Madi pushing her baby sisters on the swings.
3. The girls had a blast! The house behind is not our house, but we are just one to the right and ours is identical on the outside.
4. Matching pink jelly shoes.
5. More park fun.
6. View of an old platform from the rooftop terrace of the house.
7. A ridiculous day of steps. By the end of the day it was at 39,602! This was last Friday when I was unpacking our 16 pieces of luggage. HA! It's also the result of having three floors now with the bedrooms on the top floor and the living room and kitchen on the first floor!
8. First wagon ride!
9. More wagon ride. The girls all loved it. :-)

1. Testing out the chicken and roasted veggies.
2. Happy babies!
3. Delivered Starbucks. Jason worked late and then left early for a meeting downtown (which is right by Starbucks) and dropped this beauty off to me on his way back to the office. Lovely!
4. A surprise gift basket from a fellow twin mom in the neighborhood. So sweet.
5. Evy smiles! A friend lent us an activity cube and a jumperoo - both of which the girls are ecstatic to have.
6. Liv smiles.
7. Playing in the park.
8. More park fun.
9. Madi helping me pull the wagon.

And because I know y'all are dying to see the inside of the house... here's two quick iPhone snaps. You'll have to wait until we have our stuff and are more settled for a full house tour. ;-)

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Halfway Through May

Well y'all - we are halfway through May. And guess where I'm posting from? Baku!! We finally got the girl's visas last week and made the long flight out here Thursday. We almost didn't make it out of Norway (that deserves a post of its own), but in the end everything worked out and we arrived late Thursday night - exhausted, but excited to be together again. :-)

We had a fabulous time the beginning part of May while we were still in Norway so here's a recap of those first couple of weeks.

The girl's and Jason's residence permits for Norway expired May 1. That landed us with an 18 hour trip to London where we literally stayed at the hotel and flew back early the following morning. The trip was so short that at the airport in Stavanger they printed and accidentally gave us Jason and Evelyn's London to Stavanger boarding passes instead of the reverse. Yikes! Jason let me go off shopping for the few hours we had Sunday afternoon and I headed back to the hotel just in time to join them for dinner.

We didn't get the girl's visas in time for our schedule May 5 flight. Unfortunately things are crazy busy for Jason and so he needed to get back. He took the cats and three suitcases and got moved into the house to await our arrival.

The weather was unusually warm the second week in May and we spent a lot of time outside enjoying it!

And seriously, how cute are these two??

Our amazing friend Sandy spent a whole day with me and the girls. It was great to have help and adult company! We visited Sandved park to enjoy the beautiful weather.

We had a Starbucks date and enjoyed walking around downtown.

Our final day in Norway we visited the beloved Leo's Lekeland with the Kolesar family. We barely saw the oldest three and both Levi and Liv protested naps and instead played together and got caught giving kisses. Aw, young love. ;-)

It was a hard and sad goodbye at the end - especially when Kara's oldest boys started crying. That set Kara and I off. :-(

We had such an amazing last couple of weeks in Stavanger and it was hard to say goodbye to so many amazing friends we've met over the years.

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