Welcome Home, KaiLi!

I will regret writing this tomorrow, since I am starting this at 3:27am CST, but the kids just went down and I am wide awake...   Our journey home.

First, I need to thank the Lord for delivering on my prayers for a short, no drama, much less ear pressure trip home!  God is good!

MeiLin was first up at 7:45am in Beijing.  I couldn't believe we slept that long!  I still had my cough that I was pretty sure would get me quarantined by immigration and still had pressure in my ears, but I did genuinely feel much better than the day before.  I was determined to tough out the day without Benadryl because I had to help Brandon get all of us and our belongings home.

We got dressed and headed to the breakfast buffet downstairs.  Not as much selection as the larger hotels, but enough American-ish food for us to get in a good meal!  I rested when we got back to the room while the girls played together (that is greatness!) and Brandon started packing up.  The record temperatures in Bejing (the low reached 1 degrees, nice!) and the blizzard hitting the East Coast dominated all of the English news stations.  We decided to do showers for the girls, since there wasn't a bathtub, and we knew it was going to be a long day.

This was the best picture I could get at breakfast!

In the elevator back to the room. Look, the ceiling is mirrored!

Playing in the room together.  MeiLin wanted to read The Three Little Pigs to KaiLi!

MeiLin wanted to hold KaiLi's water!

It was so nice to not have to rush. Before we knew it, it was time to head downstairs for lunch.  Because of the cold weather, we didn't want to bother leaving the hotel.  Their menu items were lacking but we found enough variety from dinner to make due.   Back up to the room, finished packing, and then we headed down for check-out.  We must have looked like my co-worker, Viki Tracey, on her Arctic expedition heading out of that hotel.  I only wanted eyeballs to be visible!  KaiLi didn't even get that as I was clutching her to my shoulder.  It had warmed up to a balmy 6 degrees at 2:00pm when we boarded the shuttle bus!  Luckily the van had been running, so it was warm inside.  It was a quick 10 minute drive.

Waiting for the shuttle bus, before getting bundled up!

We got dropped off in a parking garage; that was interesting.  He pointed to an elevator and it said Terminal D.  Well, neither the wait room for the elevator, the elevator, nor the entrance to the airport where heated.  That was unexpected, so I was glad we bundled up!  We took a series of escalators and went through a series of two doors to the check in area where it was finally heated, whew!   We walked around trying to find the American Airlines check-in, but there must have been 200 gates here with 45 different airlines.  Finally we found a board that alternated between Chinese and English where we found our ticket counter.  There must have been a hundred people waiting in that line, it was insane!  But thanks to my Aunt Wanna, we got to use the Priority check-in, which had no one in line!  They let us know that we could use a partner airline executive lounge as we waited, double awesome!  We wanted to reduce how much we brought on the plane with us, so we went ahead and put our hats, gloves and scarves into our checked luggage.

Next up, we took the monorail (is that what they are called?) over to Terminal D to wait for 2 hours before our flight.  Much to our surprise, when we stepped off of the monorail, a frigid, cold wind hit us in the face.  Yeah, this section of the airport isn't heated.  We were shocked!  Each time they were loading or unloading a plane in one of the 40 gates in this terminal, the 6 degree winds, blowing strong outside, would whip through the terminal.  (As I noted earlier, we had checked our cold weather gear...)  There were all kinds of people fully decked with hats, gloves and scarves while the rest of us just wished we were!  Finally Brandon had to get on to me for mentioning how cold it was too many times because it wasn't helping.  And he was right...

When we arrived at the lounge, we got some food to feed the kiddos.  KaiLi hadn't gotten her nap today, which I new was likely to be an issue, but she was too stimulated.  Sure enough she had a tantrum.  I couldn't calm her, so Brandon walked around and rocked her for about 20 minutes.  When she feel asleep, he was able to transition her into the stroller.  Brandon is my hero!  I was thankful she slept until 4:30 when we boarded the plane.  At about 4:15, Brandon took MeiLin to the restroom.  That was when we realized the bathrooms were heated.  If I had know that, I would have camped out in there the whole time!

We left to board the plane.  The terminal had nothing on the tarmac, it was literally 6 degrees in there, but the windchill had to be below zero, because it created a wind tunnel. Literally my hair was blowing backwards.  Awesome!  And much to our surprise, there IN THE TARMAC, they had a carry-on bag search station. Excuse me, what?  So we all had to stand in line, while 5 officers searched through each persons bag and opened all of the zippers.  We were frozen. Poor KaiLi was woken up by this onslaught and just wailed her head off.  Can you blame her?  Also, no liquids were allowed, so we had to pour out all of their sippy cups we had just filled...  Finally Brandon took the rest of the bags and told me to just go with the girls. We ran!  It broke out into two sections: Priority and general so I followed a few people ahead of me and went down the Priority tunnel.  I am sure you see this coming, but it was closed off. We all had to turn around, run back up, and go to the other tunnel. That was where we met back up with Brandon.  I told him to not ask, and we went down the other tunnel to then wait in line.

Finally, we were able to board the HEATED airplane!  The only downside to flying Business Class on the way back, though, is that we literally had the seats right by the boarding door...  So we got to enjoy the cold air until the doors were closed. But there was a wall that blocked the wind and it was much warmer than those tunnels!  Even the flight attendants at the doors had on hats, gloves, and scarves.  I didn't even realize one was a flight attendant for about 20 minutes she was so bundled up!

MeiLin all snuggled in her seat for warmth!

There is not much to write about the flight itself.  KaiLi quietly sat on my lap during take-off while we played games together.  They feed us dinner, we got the girls ready for bed, and a bottle for KaiLi.  KaiLi drifted right off to sleep.  MeiLin started a movie but then feel asleep.  I watched a movie and then fell asleep for 6 hours myself!  Brandon kept watching the girls and ended up getting no sleep during the flight...  They woke everyone up 1 1/2 hours before landing and we had breakfast.   We started the decent with me holding KaiLi.  I still had my horrendous cough, but felt much better.  When the pressure started to kick-in, Brandon had to take her.   I felt bad because she fussed (she wanted Mommy!).  Then the pressure ended up not being as bad as last time, but it still had me holding my breath...

This was the best picture of KaiLi I could get before takeoff; she was a wiggle worm!

Watching a movie with BaBa!

We landed around 5:30pm.  Dallas!  First we went through Immigration.  Since we had a Chinese citizen traveling in our party, we had to use the non-US line.  I swore to myself that under no circumstances would I cough while in Immigration, and luckily, I stuck to it!  We handed the officer our packet of all the vital information.  She walked us down to another officer station. They processed the documents and congratulated the newest United States Citizen, KaiLi!  Her certificate should arrive in the mail within 6 weeks!

Next, we were off to baggage claim. It took about 10 minutes for the belt to move, but our 2 bags were one of the first ones off!  We had to wait in the customs line and then we were through!  Much to our surprise my Dad and Aunt Linda were waiting for us in the airport.  They had made a poster board sign that said, Welcome Home, Waldeck's!  It was so cute and thoughtful. MeiLin loved it!  (So much so that it is now hanging in the girls room!).  They had brought gifts for the girls and some medicine for me!  KaiLi was being shy, but pretty sure she flashed some smiles!

Aunt Linda and Dad at the airport with their sign!

Here we came!  MeiLin was like, "Look, it's PaPa!"

The whole family!  (Not sure why the girls aren't smiling!)

We were exhausted, they walked us outside where Rogge was waiting to pick us up.  KaiLi was NOT a fan of the car seat, as we expected.  She didn't want to play with the new toys from my Dad and Aunt Linda but that Benadryl box was pretty fascinating. Hey, whatever it takes!  So we made the 20 minute drive home.  

Welcome home, KaiLi!

We pulled into the drive way and got the girls out of the car.  KaiLi was basically terrified of the dogs, as we expected, so we locked them in the mud room.  The bags were hauled in, and then I glanced at the clock - 6:45pm CST.  Only 18 hours and 45 minutes from hotel to home, that was amazing!  Totally worth the overnight stay in Bejing!  Our family and our journey were now complete.

That evening - The girls playing with toys in the play area!

KaiLi was so excited she was a blur...

The next morning - The girls coloring!

We went on a walk and MeiLin wanted to ride her bike. KaiLi sure wants one to ride!

And this one pretty much sums it up...  (with a Fantastic photo bomb, Ha!)  I pray that these two sisters have fun growing up together and become lifelong friends. 

The end.