One Week

[annuin]

In one week we'll be on a plane to Australia. Or at the airport, I don't know what our flight time is exactly.

Our first trip back in over 6 years, I can't believe it's been that long. I'm looking forward to being back, even if it's only for 3 weeks. I'm not really looking forward to the long flight with Dashiell in tow. He was fine when we took him to South Africa last year in February/March, but he was a hell of a lot less mobile and active than he is now, and he slept more, so it's going to be a real challenge. At least this time he has his own seat, and nowadays you strap in the car seat into the airline seat, so at least I can restrain him during meals and such so I can eat without having to try and consume food with a flailing child. Also it'll be nice to not have to have him on my lap most of the time, though with an infant you do get a bulkhead seat with a cot that they can attach to the wall... but bulkhead seats in economy mean fuck-all leg room (we got bulkhead seats in business class once, when we got upgraded due to some problem, loads of legroom there, hehe).

Apparently Prez's dad told him that the main reason he's excited we're coming is because of Dashiell. Ah, grandparents :P It's so nice to feel wanted.

We arrive in Sydney Sunday morning the 23rd, at oh-god-something in the morning. Every time I've flown in there the flight's been like an hour early due to great weather conditions, so it ends up being close to 6am (airport opening time) when we arrive.

Tuesday through Friday we'll be going out to the Blue Mountains. We had been thinking about a trip out there, and the other day decided on seeing if we could get a cottage and invite some people along rather than go by ourselves. Grandparents were called and invited, and I invited the lovely nikkles along too. A cottage is nicer when you have a kiddo around, and if there's several people that are coming, it's more economical than a hotel room.



The place looks really nice, and I'm looking forward to this little trip. The cottage is in Katoomba, which is well situated in the Blue Mountains. We're hoping to go to Jenolan Caves as well while we're there.

Once back in Sydney on the 28th, we have no fixed plans until we leave the following week on Thursday to go to Melbourne. Our attendance is required at a wedding on Saturday, and that will be very awesome too. The wedding itself is out in the country, and we won't be in Melbourne proper until Sunday afternoon, where we'll stay until Tuesday evening when we have a flight back to Sydney.

A couple more for-now unscheduled days until we leave to go back to the US on, I think, the Sunday the 14th. I wish we were able to stay longer than 3 weeks, but I'll take what we can get.

Bring on vacation!

Comments

[ladyattercop.livejournal.com]

Have FUN!

Since my brother had his Little One, I've discovered that parents are far more excited to see their grandchildren than their own kids. d-:

[catdraco.livejournal.com]

*nods* Ain't that the truth. Last time my mother visited, I felt I could have just handed her the baby and left town, and she wouldn't have noticed.

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

In a way I don't mind, it gives me the opportunity to have some cling-on free time ;) Sometimes it's nice to have some space too, and when you have people fighting over who can entertain the boy for a while, bonus :)

[catdraco.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's true. I feel like that about most other rellies. It's just that I only see my mother every few months, it'd be nice to get some eye contact.

(Says me, when Dash sees his grandparents how often? Ah well).

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

(Says me, when Dash sees his grandparents how often? Ah well).

Hehe, well, we do all have our own frame of reference after all :)

Sadly, it's a side effect of living abroad, and it's one of the things that makes it hard. You really do miss having that kind of family network and back-up system. I'd love to live closer to either of my parents (which would make it Holland or the UK at present), or Prez's parents (AU). Obviously so that they could see him more often, but also the convenience of having grandparent babysitting in a pinch, and the support you get from family, especially my fairly extended and close-knit and all living close-by family in Holland.

In my small home town there's my mother, and 2 of her siblings live within the city walls (it's a tiny walled city) as does one of my slightly younger cousins, my maternal grandmother lives about a kilometer down the road my mother's youngest sister lives in the next village, about 1-2 km's away, as does one of my slightly older cousins with his wife and 4 kids, one of my other cousins lives another km or two further than that with his wife and 2 small kids, and my mother's eldest brother recently moved to the town across the river, so also about a km away.

So on my maternal side, a large portion of my family is grouped close together, are all pretty close together, and several of my cousins (particularly the older ones, I'm the youngest with offspring at present) have kids in Dashiell's age range. So it's tough missing out on that to be honest, especially when you've been used to being able to just walk up the street to drop in on an aunt for a cuppa and such.

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

Well, we're older and old hat at this point ;)

And often grandkids aren't seen quite that much, especially in the case of Dashiell... PreZ's parents last saw him pretty much exactly 2 years ago by the time we get there (funny, I just realised that our respective trips overlap almost exactly), then he was 2-3 months, now he'll be 2 years and 2-3 months. A bigger handful, but far more interesting for them too.

My dad got to see him last year in Feb/March, so he was about 8-9 months, and my mother saw him for an hour or two then at the airport, and again when he turned one, and then earlier this year in February at 18m.

Either way, I'm sure they'd all like to see him more. The downside of living far away :(

[bonny-katie.livejournal.com]

Have fun!!! Oh and I'm glad Dash is okay from his fall :)

Any word on the other thing? I'm praying it goes well, let me know when you find out.

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

Nothing happening until we get back though, and we should get the results before the end of October, being that it takes 7-10 days, and it's on the 19th.

[alasharia-la.livejournal.com]

Whose place are you staying at when not up the Mountains?
I think I still have Irene's phone number around somewhere... unless she's changed it