Our big trip!

We are officially settled in Japan! (And by settled, I mean we are here and staying with friends) Since I want to get into the habit of blogging our life, here are some pictures of the flights over and the past 2 days.

Us and alllll our luggage. That's 4 checked bags, 2 carry-ons, 1 car seat, and a partridge in a pear tree!

Kisses from Auntie K

Saying goodbye to Auntie K and Grammo

Our first flight was 4.5 hours from Columbus, Ohio to Las Vegas, Nevada! Sometimes I can be pretty pessimistic about how rude people can be. But I must say, we had SO many people offering to help us out throughout our entire trip! From strangers in the airport, to the airline workers and flight attendants, we were shown so much kindness! And I also cannot stress enough how lucky I am to have a laid-back baby. Heidi was SO good. She slept for at least half of our first flight, and then we ate and played and before we knew it, we had arrived! The people in front of us didn't even realize I had a baby with me until we landed.

Sleepy baby

When we got to Las Vegas, we met up with a friend of mine and her almost 1-year-old for a playdate! Heidi was super excited to crawl around and get some energy out. Unfortunately for me, having to lug everything  out of security and back was a bit taxing. But totally worth it! I also had another kind stranger helping me for part of it, which was great. For now, I will just post a pic of Heidi on her own, and if I get permission from the other mama, I'll show you guys the two kiddos playing together. They were too cute!

Other notable things in Vegas: I spotted a "celebrity" (a guy from the Kardashian show), I left my brand new coat on the previous plane (but Southwest is amazing and got it back to me right away!), and Starbucks kept me sane.

Finally some wiggle room!

After Las Vegas, it was most definitely the worst part of our journey. It seemed like nothing could go right! First, our flight was delayed by an hour and a half. Not that big of a problem, except we were stuck in the plane on the tarmac the entire time. What was supposed to be a 2.5 hour hop over to Seattle turned into another 4 hours on the plane, and a 12:30 am arrival time. Good grief! Once again I'm so lucky I have a calm, easygoing child.

Because of the time we landed, Heidi and I had to go straight to the AMC counter to get our boarding passes for Yokota. Basically, this meant that we got off the plane and immediately had to stand in a 2 hour-long line before we could eat or rest (of course, I had baby food for Heidi, so she was okay). I very much wished that I had been able to bring our stroller with us. I was tired, Heidi was exhausted (but couldn't sleep because of the bright airport lights), and it was a bit of a disaster. After all, it was 3:30 am "our time" when we landed! Yikes.

Finally, we got our tickets and were able to go to the USO to get some much-needed rest. What an amazing place. They had food, snacks, a couch for us to sleep on, blankets, pillows, toys... everything we could have needed! They even set a wake-up call for us so we didn't miss our flight!

Well, at least they were supposed to. Apparently, the person who set our wake-up call didn't do it correctly. After passing out for a few hours with Heidi in my arms, I suddenly awoke. The USO (which had been packed full of people waiting to get on the same plane) was all but empty. I started panicking and asked one of the volunteers what time it was. 6:15.  Umm. Our flight was scheduled to start boarding in 15 minutes! I still needed to get through security, take a train to another part of the airport, and then get to our gate. All while lugging the baby, our 2 carry-ons, and the carseat. I'll be honest. I started crying. But, by the grace of God, and lots of special people (I swear they were angels!), we were fast tracked through security and got to the plane just in time to walk on the plane.

Only 10 more hours to go!

What a huge relief it was when we took our seats. Sadly, we had to gate check the car seat. BUT, it ended up being a good thing because we had two seats all to ourselves and no one to sit next to. I simply stretched out and put Heidi on my lap for the entirety of the flight. I was even able to lay down with her and get some sleep!

The views from the plane were incredible... well, when we were actually over land, that is!

Here is Alaska:

Goodbye America!

And here is Japan! I wish this were bigger... it seemed enormous in real life!

Hello Fuji-san!

After all the insanity, it was absolutely worth it. We're so happy to be here! Even though we don't have a house yet, it already feels like home. (Mostly due to some amazing people!) Here's a few pics from the last few days!

Off base at the Seiyu (Walmart). 

The baby carts rock! If you push a button, the whole seat tilts back so she can sleep.

Heidi with our new friend Kelsey! She has watched her twice already for me and Wit.

Christmas party! Yay for some adult time!

Jake and Amy. They are sweet enough to have opened their home to us so we don't have to stay in lodging!

Merry Christmas!

Lots of love to everyone reading this!