I left off as we were running out of our apartment to the airport to go to Guayaquil. It was a tense morning waiting for the call from our attorney that we could leave. We were watching the commuter flights to Guayaquil fill up. Finally the phone rang at 11 AM and she said we needed to leave. By this time the only flight that we could tell was available didn't leave until 840 PM but we headed to the airport anyway. The first airline was booked but the second could get on us early afternoon. By 2:30 PM we were pool side in Guayaquil! It is much warmer there so the pool felt great! Danni loves to swim. Good thing he starts swim lessons in June. Our attorney met us that evening and told us that typically we wont get in until mid-day so if we wanted to visit a park that was near by it was okay but don't be more than 10 minutes from the hotel. We decide to skip the park, sleep in and take our time that Tuesday morning. I had showered, Hayden was ironing his shirt and the kids were watching TV - Michelle was fast asleep in her room. 9 AM the phone rings - we are to meet our attorney in the lobby in 10 minutes!!! Boy did we move!!!! I pounded on Michelle's door so she could get Danni ready, Hayden hopped into the shower, I got ready and Emma was the time keeper!! We ran out the hotel room in 10 minutes!!! The US Consulate is across the street, we go through security including a pat down and then to a waiting room where it took about 20 minutes before our name was called. The woman asked us to raise our right hand and swear that everything that we have submitted is true. She then informed us that the face recognition program was running on Danni but had not finished. It was running slow and could take up to 24 hours before complete. Again....we get to wait more!!! We were told to come back at 3PM and see where it was at.
Back to the hotel for breakfast and then to the pool once again! We were swimming about 30 minutes when Emma said she didn't feel well. Long story short...she had issues from both ends! This went on all afternoon. Our attorney comes at 3 PM and tells us everything is finished - we can go home!!! We take a 6 PM flight back to Quito. Emma is sick the whole time. Once back to Quito we finish packing and organizing for our 3:45 AM pick up!! Emma continues to be sick. Very short night for all of us. We check in Wednesday AM at the airport with no problems. We heard of issues but no one questioned us at all. Emma is still sick. Finally at midnight we landed in Minneapolis. Emma is better but not 100%. Everyone is exhausted yet we still have a 90 minute drive home. By 2:30 AM we were all home and in bed. I wasn't sure if Danni would sleep because he sure had BIG eyes wondering around our house looking and playing with all the toys.
I kept Emma home from school Thursday because she was just so tired and weak from not eating. We did go for 30 minutes at the end of the school day to say hello to all her classmates. They were so excited to see her and she got lots of hugs! Her best friend Sarah was in tears! She felt better Thursday night so I sent her to school Friday. All went well! That meant we were clear to head to grandma and grandpa's to pick up the dogs on Saturday. Emma was fine at first but we ended up taking 4 bathroom breaks! Poor kid!! Sunday I took her today to Urgent care and she has a parasite. One that is common and easy to get rid of. We think it was from the pool water. We were so careful of everything we ate and drank. Here we went 8 weeks and no one got sick until the last days! She is in good spirits - just has to use the bathroom A LOT!! :) She should be back to normal in a few days.
We visited my parents and family in WI until today (Monday). We had a little birthday party for Danni on Sunday. He fits right in with everybody! When we got to my parents he ran right up and hugged them both. I think he remembered them from Skyping. He is best buddies with his cousins already! He really, really likes his dogs but I am not so sure what they think of him yet. Kramer, who is quite jealous, barks when ever I pay attention to Danni or pick him up. It may be a long summer for him! Zoey, she is easy going and enjoys giving Danni kisses!!!
It was so hot when we got home to MN that the neighbor kids came over and we got the sprinkler out. Danni loved it! He was the one in the water most of the time. He didn't care how cold it was! Back to school and work tomorrow. I already need a nap!
Thanks for following our travels! Mari, Hayden, Emma and Danni
