Eastern Europe, Here We Come!

My in-laws are serving in the Kiev, Ukraine temple on a mission and Joe and I are excited to take the opportunity to go visit them and some other countries in Eastern Europe.  We had a great time researching and planning our trip and can't wait to visit Ukraine, Romania, and Hungary.

Steph came down on Wednesday, June 5 with her three munchkins in tow to watch our kids while we go to Europe for the next couple of weeks.  Jim is unfortunately out of town with some military training so she is doing this whole thing solo.  I was excited to spend a few days with her before we head out plus I had to give her all the necessary instructions to run my family!

I had to steal these pictures from her blog because she is truly amazing to put up with my crazy kids AND hers for the next two weeks.  But my kids are so excited.  They love Aunt Steph and she admitted that she is excited to "relax, lay out by the pool, and have some fun with my 2 nieces, 2 nephews, my 2 kids and my cute little baby."  :)

Wait...that's 6 kids and a baby!  7 kiddos ranging from ages 13 to 3 months!  That means I'm going to be making meals for 8 people 3X a day!  7 kiddos I'm going to have to pick up after, one of them I'm going to be doing diaper changes 6X a day for.  Oh, think of the laundry piles!  Not to mention keeping track of all of them and keeping up with the daily schedule of my sister's life and making sure her house is spic and span just the way she likes it!  What am I getting myself into???!!!

 

Hmmm...is it too late to turn back?  Just kidding!  Let the fun begin!

Isn't she great?  Joe and I left for the airport early on Sunday morning, June 9 around 5:00 a.m.  With our plans to hop trains and move from place to place, we decided to pack our things in backpacks.  They would be a lot easier to carry around than rolling and lifting luggage up stairs, escalators, and across cobble-stoned streets.

Our flight left at 7:00 a.m. and flew to JFK Airport in New York, through Amsterdam, Netherlands, and into Kiev.  The flight was a bit cold but we watched movies, tried to sleep, and enjoyed our meals and snacks.  We arrived in Kiev on Monday afternoon around 1:00 p.m.  We are so excited for this adventure.