All Children and Luggage Accounted For

The boys and I made to Australia in one piece. We had a disastrous flight to Australia two years ago that involved delayed flights, being denied boarding, a forced 24 hour delay in San Francisco, having to fly United and, finally, some lost luggage, so I would be lying if I said I wasn’t just a teeny bit nervous this time.

Now that we’re safely in Australia, and I’m not in danger of jinxing myself, I’m thrilled to share the news that this trip was perfect. Every single flight was on time, I packed enough activities and movies to keep everyone relatively happy and the boys even slept for eight hours on the longest leg. I don’t think it could have gone better if I’d planned it.

So here’s the rundown of our trip with mostly iPhone photos, with a couple of DSLR pics thrown in. Most of the time I was too lazy to pull out the DSLR

1. Got to Portland airport at 2pm and stood in line forever to check our bags while people who checked their bags online moved through at a much faster pace. This is the only gripe I have about our trip (oh, and LAX but I’ll get to that). International flyers aren’t not allowed to check bags online, so why should we be forced to stand in a much longer line, with fewer staff to assist? OK, rant over.

2. Said goodbye to Kei at the security line that practically wrapped around the entire airport (slight exaggeration). Made our way to the gate and waited about 30 minutes before we were allowed to board while my children behaved like little angels. Here’s the proof:

3. Boarded plane #1 to LAX. A quick 2.5 hour trip during which my children drew pictures, read books and continued their angelic behaviour. It was nothing short of miraculous.

4. Landed in LAX and discovered that we had to exit the terminal and catch a shuttle bus to the international terminal, check in again at the Air New Zealand counter and then go through security for the second time in less than four hours.

5. Made it through a surprisingly-short security line and browsed the pathetic selection of airport food. Decided on a Pizza and salad from Wolfgang Puck which was as good as you would imagine and then found a place to hunker down for a couple of hours. Side note: I’ve been through a lot of international airports an LAX is arguably the worst. It feels dirty and the amenities are pretty pathetic. Would have definitely preferred to fly through San Francisco but I was lured by the promise of a SkyCouch on the LAX flight (more on that in a moment).

6. Let the kids watch a couple of episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender during which time I was free to read a book (yes, even I am amazed by that last sentence).

7. Boarded our 14 hour flight to New Zealand at about 9pm (on time). The kids were tired, but excited. Samuel kept asking if we were nearly at Australia but I had to break it to him that this was only flight number 2 and most of the trip still lay before us. He seemed a little disappointed but quickly perked up when he spotted his very own TV in the back of the seat in front of him.

8. Thomas was close to passing out from exhaustion immediately after dinner so we set up the SkyCouch. What an amazing stroke of genius to provide children with somewhere to sleep. While it wasn’t without its faults (hard to get to bags stored under seats, lots of kicking and jostling for room), the kids slept for a full eight hours. EIGHT HOURS! I slept for about four in a seated position, but it was enough to keep me going.

9. Kids woke up and watched about 4 hours of television before we landed in Auckland – although Samuel watched The Lion King about 3 times so I don’t think it counts as too much TV. Only hiccup was that I left my favorite water bottle on the plane. I’m a little sad about that but, as far as hiccups go, I’ll take it.

10. Went through security one more time (overkill) where I forgot to empty the kids water bottles like a travel rookie – a move that was quickly fixed with a quick “skull” (Definition: to drink in a single draught without taking a breath). Found our favorite place to hang out in the Airport and the kids played quietly with Lego while I, again, read a book (gasp!).

11. Headed down to the gate about 15 minutes before our flight boarded. I found a strip of relatively unoccupied space and had the kids run races up and down until they called us for boarding. To all the people who gave me dirty looks while I let my kids run around – YOU ARE WELCOME. You just don’t realize how much more pleasant your trip has become.

12. Boarded our final 3.5 hour flight to Melbourne. I managed to watch the end of a movie that I started on our previous flight while the boys watched their own TV for a while. Samuel then took out the lego so I set up the sky couch to catch any dropped pieces (seriously fantastic invention).

13. Finally touched down in Melbourne and this us what happened: flew through the immigration line (we were the only flight that had landed), grabbed both bags that quickly appeared on the the luggage carousel (huge sigh of relief), breezed through customs (even got to pat the sniffer dog) and then walked out the doors to be greeted by my brother and nephew.

All in all, the perfect trip. The boys behaved wonderfully apart from the appearance of Samuel’s “dark side” on a few occasions. A little yelling and demanding due to over-tiredness but thankfully no all out tantrums. Our flight even landed about 20 minutes early.

Of course I have a lingering fear that we used up all of our good luck on the way over and that our trip home will be disastrous but I think it’s always good to maintain a little bit fear. It keeps you on your toes.

Classic New York

Yes, I’m still wading through my New York photos despite the fact that I’ll soon have a bunch more photos to post from the part of the world I’m in right now. I just keep finding images that I want to share. What can I say? It’s an illness.

The thing about photographing New York is that you often find yourself capturing familiar images like the iconic shots of Radio City Music Hall, the LOVE sculpture and the Empire State Building. And, because you’ve seen those photos so many times before, it’s easy to talk yourself into walking past without pulling out the camera. But the thing about the photos I’m about to share, even if they look a little familiar, is that I was there. That makes them more valuable to me, if not to anyone else.

And every now and again I managed to capture something completely fun and unexpected. So, here’s a small collection of classic (and not so classic) photographs that could only have been taken in New York.

Happy Fathers’ Day…Somewhere in the World

His children are on the other side of the world and in a different time zone so I can be fairly certain that the father of my children is enjoying his Fathers’ Day with just the golf to keep him company. We celebrated a day early with brunch – which was especially important since the kids and I literally missed Fathers’ Day. As in we crossed the dateline and Sunday disappeared.

Happy Fathers’ Day to the best Dad I know. We miss you already.

Last Day of Kindergarten

Nine short months ago….

Today. (taken with my iPhone)

Is it just me or does he look like a giant?

To say someone was excited for his last day of school is an understatement. For me, of course, it’s bittersweet.

I tried to maintain my composure while I took one last look around at the kindergarten hallway. And then Thomas’ English teacher came up to me and told me what a joy it was to teach him this year and how she’ll remember our family all year as she looks at the photo desk calendar I gave to her as a gift for Christmas. And then I thanked her for being such a wonderful teacher. And that’s when we both lost it a little bit.

I shouldn’t be allowed to do the last day of school drop off. I’m far too emotional.

Around Here…

Craziness abounds at the Ishida house as we near the end of the year for school, sports and, well, patios.

A quick peek at what we’ve been up to…

The last T-Ball game of the season narrowly avoided a washout. In fact the baseball diamond was covered in so many puddles that the game was moved to the middle of the field.

Samuel showed his support with a big hug – while Thomas was trying to throw his glove my way.

Bear hug!

After the game, the team gathered for a BBQ and the all-important trophy presentation. While introducing Thomas, his coach said he’s surprised he’s not playing in the majors already.

Thomas spent the rest of the weekend carrying around his trophy (but without the fake grin).

Of course everyone is winner in T-Ball.

Samuel was there too. Here’s proof.

Recent weekends have also consisted of multiple trips to rock and paver stores, Home Depot and, by default, mall wastelands. This one is currently “under construction” which means they’re in the process of demolishing and rebuilding the entire thing. It’s a rather depressing sight. Also depressing? Those dark clouds that have hovered over Portland pretty constantly for the past 6 months.

And here’s the paving in action. Just a few more to lay and we have a mud-free and very pretty solution for our backyard. Step number 2 in our 20 year plan to get it exactly how we want it. And when I say “we” I must admit that Kei has been doing most of the work. I’ve been lending support by fetching glasses of water, cooking meals and taking the kids with me to the grocery store, hardware store and shoe store.

So, as you can see, our weekends have been incredibly exciting recently. I’m looking forward to a change in scenery over the next few weeks, even if it means I have to put up with some more rain.

Discovering St Patrick’s Cathedral, New York

Sharing more photos from New York while life keeps me too busy to blog.

I love photographing Cathedrals. There’s something beautiful to look at around every corner and, although I’m not Catholic, it’s difficult not to feel a sense of peace when surrounded by such beauty and tradition.

Wordless Wednesday: Grand Central Station, New York City

So incredibly glad I dropped by the Grand Central Terminal on my way to visit one of our New York City Offices. What an amazing building – even if part of it was overshadowed by an obnoxious Apple “store”. Wonder how much they paid for that real estate.

Grand Central is one of those buildings that remind you of how important it is to always look up.

During my quick visit, I happened upon a Transit Authority award ceremony, complete with bagpipes. I love stumbling across unexpected surprises while traveling. I managed to take quite a few sneak photos through the curtain before I was told it wasn’t allowed. Oops. I supposed if they were serious about it, they wouldn’t have let me stand there for a good 10 minutes before they asked me to stop.

I love New York.

Yeah, What He Said…

“I am looking forward to going to Australia.”

Me too… Even if there’s a danger that we may be attacked by a giant Kangaroo or Platypus. Good thing they keep them in cages.

Love the art work of a six-year-old.

Happy Friday.

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night…

I love thunderstorms. I have so many memories of lying in bed at night after a steamy hot day in Melbourne, listening to the thunder and pelting rain while the temperature dropped 15 degrees celsius in 30 minutes.

Of course my children don’t have those memories so when a couple of rare thunderstorms hit our neighborhood over the weekend first there was a little bit of fear, followed by fascination and excitement and, finally, disinterest.

I did send Thomas out to rescue his soccer ball at one point. I think it’s important that he experience running through a downpour at least once in his life – assuming the thunder and lightening has passed, of course.

Our rain chains had trouble handling the deluge.

As did the gutters.

And we started filling a pool in our backyard.

Thomas recently borrowed a book from the library called “It was a Dark and Stormy Night” and saw this as the perfect opportunity for a reenactment. He cuddled up under a blanket in his bedroom to read a lego magazine.

Never the one to be left out, Samuel soon photo bombed the picture perfect moment.

Thankfully the house was still standing the next morning, although the same can’t be said for a massive elm tree branch up the street.

Feeling vindicated in the decision to cut down a 40 foot Doug Fir that towered over our house 6 years ago… Luckily the only victim this time was a rental truck.

A Stroll Through the NY Public Library

I took a lot of photos in NY (A LOT!), so expect them to appear here over the next few weeks.

I happened upon the gorgeous NY Public Library building quite by accident during my walk around midtown. While it was on my list of things to see during my visit to New York, I didn’t expect to bump into it while I walked blindly through the city on my first day. It was one of those wonderful discoveries that can creep up on you – one minute you’re navigating your way down streets lined with skyscrapers and then you turn a corner and happen upon park that covers two city blocks and, arguably, one of the most famous landmarks in the world (only partly due to Ghostbusters).