Day Onetwo

We left on Saturday.
We flew into the night and over it.
So the first two days were like one day.

The week before I was so busy preparing everything.
We've never been away from our children for so long.
But I was leaving them in very capable hands.

I didn't sleep much the night before.
I was kind of on edge.
Jeremy was too.
We tried not to get on each other's nerves.
I love this guy, but we were on edge.

The night before we left Elise asked,
"Why are you going to England?"
"Why aren't you taking us with you?"

My reply:
"This is such a big trip. We want to take you when you are a little older. Daddy and I will check it out first, ok?"
"ok."

Claire said:
 "Mom, I really don't want you to go."

Me:
"I love you. It will be ok. You will have lots of fun with Mummu."

Claire:
 "I know."

I was on edge.
But the morning came and so did the busyness.
At the airport we ran into some friends from our ward who were also waiting for a flight.
To sunny San Diego, I believe. To watch their daughter play soccer.
We made it onto our flight.
The landing in Dallas was rough and windy.
We made our connection and sat amongst strangers and soldiers.

Nine hours. Straight to Heathrow.
Over the black night and into the dawn of an incredible adventure.



Somewhere over Kentucky, just after we were given some drinks, the airplane started to shake.
I've flown plenty of times.
I wasn't worried.
Until
the plane dropped.
Just like that ride a Disneyland. You know, the Tower of Terror? Where the elevator just drops and everyone screams?
Our drinks were going everywhere.
People started to whimper and involuntarily jump out of their seats.
Then the plane stopped.
And shook.
The seat belt sign was flashing and the attendants were scrambling for their seats.
The first thought that came to my mind was weird.
I thought of my mom telling me a few weeks before how traveling is in our blood and how much sense that made to me.
Then the plane dropped again.
I grabbed Jeremy's arm, and we gave each other a kind of crazy look. You know, where your eyebrows are raised and you kind of smile and your face says, "Well this is crazy."
In that moment all my edgyness was gone and despite (or in spite) of the crazy situation I was reminded why I married this guy.
I knew we were going to be fine.

The plane recovered.

The captain came over the speakers and announced:
"Wow. Sorry about that folks. We hit a mean pocket of turbulence. It just came out of no where. We didn't even see it coming."

Wow. Seriously? You're exuding a confidant, capable captain right now, dude.

How about:
"Sorry for the inconvenience. We've got it all under control. We'll be getting you so more drinks now. Thank you."

I read most of "The Goose Girl" and don't really remember the rest of the flight.
Except, somewhere over the Atlantic, I really started missing my children. All the busyness and edgyness was gone and I let my emotions take over a little. I think I whispered to Jeremy,
"Are we doing the right thing?"
I'm pretty sure he said, "Seriously?"

Nevertheless, the landing at Heathrow was smooth.

We found our driver (who later told us he was from Pakistan and that the best curry was at his house), and off we went.
The sun was peeking out from behind some incredibly heavy clouds.
Everything was so green. Vivid and brilliant.
The cherry trees had just opened their buds and looked especially cheerful.

We got to our friend's flat and crashed on their couch. They were still at church.
When they came home we were happy to see these faces:



I think they were a little wary about us at first, but aren't they beautiful?

Sunny served us a yummy dinner of cottage pie, salad and yummy bread.
Then we went for a drive through the city.
Which is huge, by the way. It's a big city in case you had any doubts.
I started to get really excited.
After our drive we walked up Hampstead Heath. (I could be spelling that wrong)
This is what we saw:





It was lovely.

That night I prayed really hard for my children and mom to be safe and was very grateful for our safe journey and good friends. I hoped my emotions would let me enjoy everything and that I brought enough memory for our camera.