Normally, there would be a pic of the child pulling a suitcase or getting on the bus here. But...considering the urgency involved...AND the fact that the camera lens fogged up the instant Cliff removed the cover...you'll just have to settle for this artsy shot that Patrick did for a girl before he left.
So Patrick has this awesome opportunity to go to "Far East: Film and Entertainment Arts" in Seoul, Korea. Far East is a program within the Department of Defense schools in the Pacific where kids get to compete against students from other high schools in different sports, arts, etc. Kind of like Regionals, State or what-have-you back in the States. Schools take turns hosting the festivities for the week...so if it's your school's turn to host that year, it's a total bummer...but most times...you get a week long trip to someplace else (not to mention missing school). We have to pay for the billeting and meals, but the school picks up the tab for the airfare. Sweet!
Anyway...all of these trips leave on a Sunday morning and come back on a Friday afternoon. The bus was scheduled to leave the high school at 6 AM for the airport, so we planned on getting him there about 5:45, which means leaving the house about 5:30. Last night Cliff gave Patrick a blessing...and as he and I headed to bed, Patrick was headed to the shower and was going to pack afterward. Evidently he lost his freaking mind in the process and decided to just pack in the morning. Needless to say, it was not a pleasant experience trying to get him out the door.
Did he have a carry-on bag packed smartly with items like...a book to read? His passport and ID? Some snacks? No. But by golly, his suitcase sure had a full arsenal of Nerf darts! Who knows if he even had a toothbrush or underwear in there. Anyway, Cliff left the house with Patrick in tow at about...ohhh...5:48. He was one of the last to get on the bus and it took off.
The phone rang as Cliff walked back in the door. It was Patrick on a chaperon's phone. Apparently, he was supposed to have a re-entry stamp in his passport in order to get back in the country. Was this in the packet of information from the school? NO! Come to find out (from talking to another mom today) the info was passed to the kids ONLY in their in-class informational meeting. Am I the only one that thinks only giving this info verbally to a kid and trusting said info to get to a parent is as good as not doing it at all? I'm sure he mentally discarded the info as soon as it registered that he didn't have a clue what they were talking about.
Evidently, Patrick wasn't the only one, because about 1/3 of the kids didn't have the necessary stamp. We didn't even know if they would be allowed on the plane without it (heck, we still don't know...he could still be thumbing it home from the airport for all we know) but someone had a "hook-up" at the office where they do the stamping and he was hoping to run the rogue passports over there to solve the problem. If he was unable to...we're going to have to fax a copy of Cliff's orders and dependent clearance to Korea in order for Patrick to be allowed back on the flight home. We're still thinking it over.
In other news, we had a lovely dinner with our friends, the Neal's, in part to celebrate Patrick's advancement in Young Men at church...Bro. Neal is our Young Men's President. (We just didn't tell them Patrick wouldn't be there because we really wanted good food we didn't have to cook. A family of six doesn't get a lot of invites...and it wasn't our fault he went to Korea, was it?)
They have two adorable kids. Seriously. Adorable. I think we make pretty cute kids, but even I have to admit we were outdone. Anyway, Jake was having a fun time playing with them. Their little boy was throwing a rubber frog around the room while we were talking about places they've traveled (and we'd like to travel). Suddenly, we heard this huge "splat"...
Hummus score!
And no, other than the hummus, I didn't get any pics of the fabulous food. I was too entranced by the spread in front of me to think about such things. Think Gyros...only with grilled chicken instead of lamb, homemade flatbread (which I had to get the recipe for. To DIE for!) yummy veggies like cucumber, tomato, avocado, lettuce, etc...fresh fruit and dip...and we supplied the brownies.
So, that was our Sunday. Oh, and Cliff gave a really awesome talk about marriage in church. Other than the part where he told everyone my nickname was Carrie-Oki...and made it sound like I actually had to deliberate between going to the O Club to karaoke on Friday, or going out on a date with him. Like there is even a contest!
Anyway...all of these trips leave on a Sunday morning and come back on a Friday afternoon. The bus was scheduled to leave the high school at 6 AM for the airport, so we planned on getting him there about 5:45, which means leaving the house about 5:30. Last night Cliff gave Patrick a blessing...and as he and I headed to bed, Patrick was headed to the shower and was going to pack afterward. Evidently he lost his freaking mind in the process and decided to just pack in the morning. Needless to say, it was not a pleasant experience trying to get him out the door.
Did he have a carry-on bag packed smartly with items like...a book to read? His passport and ID? Some snacks? No. But by golly, his suitcase sure had a full arsenal of Nerf darts! Who knows if he even had a toothbrush or underwear in there. Anyway, Cliff left the house with Patrick in tow at about...ohhh...5:48. He was one of the last to get on the bus and it took off.
The phone rang as Cliff walked back in the door. It was Patrick on a chaperon's phone. Apparently, he was supposed to have a re-entry stamp in his passport in order to get back in the country. Was this in the packet of information from the school? NO! Come to find out (from talking to another mom today) the info was passed to the kids ONLY in their in-class informational meeting. Am I the only one that thinks only giving this info verbally to a kid and trusting said info to get to a parent is as good as not doing it at all? I'm sure he mentally discarded the info as soon as it registered that he didn't have a clue what they were talking about.
Evidently, Patrick wasn't the only one, because about 1/3 of the kids didn't have the necessary stamp. We didn't even know if they would be allowed on the plane without it (heck, we still don't know...he could still be thumbing it home from the airport for all we know) but someone had a "hook-up" at the office where they do the stamping and he was hoping to run the rogue passports over there to solve the problem. If he was unable to...we're going to have to fax a copy of Cliff's orders and dependent clearance to Korea in order for Patrick to be allowed back on the flight home. We're still thinking it over.
In other news, we had a lovely dinner with our friends, the Neal's, in part to celebrate Patrick's advancement in Young Men at church...Bro. Neal is our Young Men's President. (We just didn't tell them Patrick wouldn't be there because we really wanted good food we didn't have to cook. A family of six doesn't get a lot of invites...and it wasn't our fault he went to Korea, was it?)
They have two adorable kids. Seriously. Adorable. I think we make pretty cute kids, but even I have to admit we were outdone. Anyway, Jake was having a fun time playing with them. Their little boy was throwing a rubber frog around the room while we were talking about places they've traveled (and we'd like to travel). Suddenly, we heard this huge "splat"...
Hummus score!
And no, other than the hummus, I didn't get any pics of the fabulous food. I was too entranced by the spread in front of me to think about such things. Think Gyros...only with grilled chicken instead of lamb, homemade flatbread (which I had to get the recipe for. To DIE for!) yummy veggies like cucumber, tomato, avocado, lettuce, etc...fresh fruit and dip...and we supplied the brownies.
So, that was our Sunday. Oh, and Cliff gave a really awesome talk about marriage in church. Other than the part where he told everyone my nickname was Carrie-Oki...and made it sound like I actually had to deliberate between going to the O Club to karaoke on Friday, or going out on a date with him. Like there is even a contest!
4 comments:
What an adventure. I agree that was super poor planning for the teachers to expect the kids to pass every detail on to the parents. What were they thinking!
Its a good job he was on the bus before he let you know that vital piece of info or he may never have made it out the door without being throttled!!! Hope he gets back without too much fuss.
Don't you LOVE Ali's cooking!!! She is amazing
Kelly...I know, huh?! I bet they'll have it in writing next year (if it's the same group planning it).
Gina...you took the words right out of my mouth!
Sue...she IS amazing. And when she sent me her flatbread recipe...she said I laugh like Brenda...which absolutely made my day!
Hopefully Patrick will be home safe and sound with all this N.Korea craziness going on. I wasn't worried about it until my mom started worrying about it! =^)
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