U.S. Trip - Part 3

We spent a couple of days in Chicago before returning to Dublin.  Although the weather wasn't great, we had an enjoyable time as always with our hosts TK and JK (and their kids).

On the first day, LBJ and JK went shopping while TK and I took the kids to the Field Museum.  I hadn't been there in years (decades).  It has been extensively renovated, and it shows.  Plus, they even had decent food, as the fast food places had been replaced with a food court.  We had Singapore noodles with chicken (and some fries).

The girls were suitably impressed with the dinosaur skeleton Sue:

Note daughter #3 on loan from TK (i.e. LK).

I could have spent all day at the museum - it was great.  I think the kids were a touch overwhelmed, but they still had a good time.

That afternoon FABJ and AK played in the snow for 15 minutes or so until they got too cold (as it was well below freezing).  LBJ and JK had some success shopping, and TK and I had a good microbrew that I brought from Iowa.

The next day, we went to Legoland.  I quite enjoyed playing with all the legos.  I think the kids did, too.  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the ride - kind of like a carousel except that you're in "cars" about 10-15 feet in the air as you go around.  ORBJ had so much fun we went twice.

FABJ had a wobble en route, as she accidentally broke something.  She refused to say sorry.  However, faced with the option of standing outside - it was snowing- while everyone else went to Legoland, she decided that saying sorry wasn't nearly such a bad option.  She had another wobble at lunch although I forgot why.

ORBJ is not sure she wants her picture taken

Who's that inside the lion

We were worried about making it back to Dublin.  It snowed (not too heavily) much of the afternoon, but we had no troubles driving to the airport, returning the car, or catching the plane - sure, it was 30 minutes late due to the need to get de-iced a second time.

U.S. Trip - Part 2

Ok, once we arrived in Iowa, we had a nice visit.  Admittedly, it was pretty cold.  Too cold for sledding, which we had intended to take the girls.

We went to one of our favorite places in Cedar Rapids, NewBo market.  I've written about it before.  Anyway, we had a couple of tasty lunches there.  More importantly, the balloon guy was there, so the girls were quite happy.

Balloons!

Behind them is an enjoyable Mexican restaurant.  I particularly like the "Hecho in Iowa" sign with the Hawkeye.

Anyway, it was great to see the family and give the kids some quality Jepsen time.  They got to see Frozen in the theatre - on the second attempt.  Given the lousy weather and lack of kids movies, the movie sold out quickly.  But they were able to get tickets for the next showing.

The girls also got to have a sleepover with PL (my sister) and UM (brother-in-law).  So LBJ and I had a nice dinner (later birthday dinner for LBJ) at the restaurant run by the local community college - called A Class Act.  It was an excellent dinner, only hampered by the steady snowfall outside.  But the rental car handled the snow with no troubles.

Another highlight for the girls was a New Year's Eve event for kids sponsored by the Cedar Rapids arena football team.  It was a lot of fun for them - bouncy castle, slides, etc.  At noon there was a big balloon drop.

A rare sighting of the two-headed giggle monster

The balloons shortly before dropping

One of the highlights for me was going to a University of Iowa basketball game.  The next night, PL and Papa took Fiona to a University of Northern Iowa basketball game.

The biggest smile seen on Papa in years!

Although the weather was too cold for sledding, it didn't stop FABJ, LBJ, and Papa from throwing a few snowballs:

FABJ strikes first

Check out the action photography by PL, not to mention LBJ's good aim

It was great to see the family, but it's a tough time of year to visit - can't do much outside, and the heating makes everything so dry inside.  Maybe we'll visit at Easter next year.

U.S Trip - Part 1

Our New Year's trip to the U.S. did not get off to a good start.  We were due to fly out of Dublin on December 27th.  But the weather was so bad that our flight was eventually cancelled.  All the Aer Lingus flights were delayed, and they kept the flight time order.  The first flight we noticed was to JFK, which was about 5 hours late.  Next was Boston, also 5+ hours late.  We eventually had an aircraft lined up, but the crew was timed out at that point.  Apparently, two of the crew refused to fly because we were so late.  So, they cancelled the flight and chartered a plane for the next day.

Waiting for the airport bus on the day we were supposed to leave

LBJ had the brilliant idea to divide and conquer, so she stood in line for the hotel arrangements (with the kids) while I got out bags (they wouldn't store them over night).  We got a room with a sofa bed and a regular bed, and we convinced the girls that it was a special treat to sleep on a sofa that also turned into a bed.  Anyway, we divided and conquered again at the hotel, with LBJ lining up for the room while I got the luggage.  This reduced the wait at both places, especially since LBJ got in the wrong line at the hotel - the empty line that was for everyone EXCEPT those on the cancelled Aer Lingus flight.  We received dinner and breakfast (apparently an EU requirement).  The girls were great until dinner - they were just too tired.  Then, we could not figure out how to turn off the heat in the room, so we had an unpleasant night's sleep in an unbearably hot room.  At one point during the night I opened the window, but I foolishly closed the window 10 minutes later.  Oh how I wish I hadn't done that.

So everyone was tired and cranky the next morning.  We were told to be ready for the bus at 715, so we went to breakfast at 645.  Too bad breakfast didn't open until 7.  The line at the airport was extremely long despite being told yesterday that there would be a couple of dedicated counters for our flight.  Airline staff didn't seem to know what was going on.  But, since we were plenty early for our scheduled 11am departure, we survived.

Not surprisingly, we didn't leave at 11.  We finally left around 1pm.  The airplane was fairly nice, with individual tv screens.  Too bad that NONE of the 10+ movies on offer were appropriate for a 6 or 4 year old.  Good thing that the girls be-friended another 6 year old on the flight, and we happened to have an extra seat by us.  So the three girls had an enjoyable flight together, and LBJ and I used our airline vouchers from the previous day for beverages.

Finally, on the airplane - with stuff

FABJ and her new fan

Once we arrived in Chicago, everything was very smooth.  Our bags arrived in reasonable time (we had already cleared U.S. customs - for the second time in two days - in Dublin).  The shuttle arrived pretty quickly to take us to the rental car place.  The rental car place was quite fast.  The drive was uneventful - clear skies and clear roads.  The girls slept nearly all the way to Iowa, waking to eat a reasonable amount of Chinese food for dinner at the DeKalb Oasis on I-88.  LBJ and I were able to stay awake without problems.   We arrived at my parents' place before 8:30pm after leaving the car rental place at 4:03pm (not that I was keeping track).

Christmas!

The girls were very good about getting to bed at a reasonable hour on Christmas Eve.  Surprisingly good.

They got up around 730 on Christmas, apparently much later than I slept in on Christmas morning.

The gifts were a pretty big hit (as expected).  However, not everyone wanted to have their picture taken:

Perhaps if you average the expressions, you get a kind of angry bird?

The biggest disappointment was that the kids were not interested in playing with their legos until much later in the day...

Angry Dada Smirk?

More Christmas photos...

ORBJ and LBJ with their new presents

FABJ ready for pony camp

The rest of the day followed the usual plan.  Noontime gathering with LBJ's relatives (cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.) followed by a few hours with LBJ's parents.  Unfortunately, her dad was recovering from a nasty cold (the same bug that wiped me out for nearly 2 weeks), so it was a low-key affair with just the six of us.  Still, it was quite enjoyable.