Paperwork, Packing, Play!

And so, tomorrow I will drive 12 hours to get the adoption paperwork apostilled. That will take the whole day, yes it will. Other than preparing myself for that, I have been busy trying to get the packing organized. I went and bought snacks for the plane ride and some food items to pack in our suitcases which will help us have something to eat upon arrival in Russia. I have also made a packing list and am adding to that almost daily. I can't believe we're leaving on Saturday - so much to do! I looked on the airline website and realized that the carry on luggage has to be 22" x 14" x 9" or smaller to fit in the overhead bins. Of all the nice luggage that Tyler & I own, only ONE of them fits in the category. Each of the kids have a rolling suitcase that looks like this:

It's cute and even has rolling wheels. However, it's really small and doesn't hold very much. Considering the fact that we'll be in Russia for FOUR weeks, I'd like to have something bigger for each child. The issue here is that I don't really want to buy 4 carry on size suitcases for this trip, but it looks as though we will. I am sure you are wondering why we don't just check all of our luggage. While I would do that in a heartbeat, there are many stories of items missing upon arrival in Russia. Plus, it doesn't cost to carry on the luggage, but to check the luggage, it's $25 per suitcase. And my plan was to have each person have one carry on suitcase, one backpack (to take on the plane) and then to check maybe ONE bag with all of the orphanage donations in it. I'm guessing that it would be more cost effective to check the luggage than to buy 4 new suitcases...but I don't know. And top that off with the fact that Tyler is TDY (military term for out of town for the Air Force) and won't be back until Friday. Oh, and we leave on Saturday. !!! As for me, I feel like just playing with my kids instead of cleaning and packing and fretting. :)