Is it 2 p.m. already?!!!

You'll have to read on to understand the headline....

Hello from Nashville! Well we finally made it home from our week excursion to Russia and of course we have a few more stories of our last day of travelling.

You learn to appreciate the litte things in life when you haven't had them in a week. We woke up on Friday morning at 6 am (Moscow Standard Time, or whatever time zone they're in) and got ready to come HOME!

The hotel we were staying in, a very nice Holiday Inn, as Brandy described in the previous blog, offered a buffet breakfast as part of our 8,350 Rubles (you do the math) we paid to stay for one night. But at least it was a smoking room so that made it nice, not!

So as we're getting ready, we can only imagine the things this buffet is going to have. Maybe some buckwheat and some overfried eggs, like we've been having for breakfast every morning, and definitely no butter for our bread, because we don't know how to ask for it in Russian.

Boy were we wrong!!! We go downstairs and oh what a spread. Like a breakfast buffet on the Vegas strip. The people there must've thought we were crazy because we walked hand and hand and admired everything before we actually picked up a plate.

It went something like this....(walk, walk walk) Brandy, "oh look at the cheese" (big smile on her face)....(walk, walk, walk) Coby, "oh look, BUTTER!" (huge smile on his face)....(walk, walk, drool) Brandy, "oh look, OLIVES!" (pretty funny, huh Safta, considering she used to be "allergic" to them. Inside joke, if you want to know, just ask us.)

Needless to say there was more than one plate filled up by both of us. I think the popular choice between us were the croissants loaded with butter and jam. I'm sure this wasn't on the weight watchers diet but who cares.

So after waddling out of the buffet room, we go upstairs and get our luggage, check out of the room, and go downstairs to wait for Vitaly and Natalia (yes another Natalia) to pick us up for our trip to the airport.

After sitting in some traffic (we were shocked) we get to the airport in about 30 minutes. This was surprising. A side note, this was the original airport we flew into. Moscow has 5 airports and a sixth that only President Putin, or as I call him, the Puter, gets to use.

Er whsd (oops sorry, I looked up while watching the USC game and wasn't paying attention to where my hands were on the keyboard. I wasn't speaking Russian again. )

Getting through security wasn't bad, although we had actually had all our luggage hand searched by a very nice Russian who didn't speak English (of course). I bet he liked my dirty socks right on top as the first thing he got to see when opening my suitcase.

Our flight took off at noon and we were on our way home. Woo hoo. The flight was going well, a little sleep, a little movie (Ocean's Thirteen, thank God), a little Sudoku, a little Brandy having a panic attack with about three hours remaining. This was fun.

I was asleep when I awaken to her holding her chest and saying she couldn't breathe. I even heard her say at one point, "I think I just had a heart attack."

I explained she just need to relax and she would be fine. That worked for about 30 seconds before I had to dump out the brown paper bag they gave us that had my eye patch, a tooth brush, ear phones and lotion, and give that to her to breathe into. She said it made her feel better but I think it was placebo.

Well we made it through that flight (we actually flew over Iceland. We got some amazing pictures) and had about a two hour layover in New York before leaving for Cincinnati. Of course we had to have a Starbucks (or a Bizzle as some have called it...another inside joke).

Brandy is feeling a little better during the wait but as soon as we get back on the plane (she knows it's not spelled plain) her sickness starts again. The hour we waited on the runway to take off didn't help either.

Once we get in the air, it's an hour and half flight to the 'Nati, which doing some quick math, we only had an hour layover, so this wasn't going to work. An of course, this was the last flight out to Nashville for the night so we were a tad concerned.

We land and get off the plane and after looking at our watches, we figure we have 10 minutes to get to our next plane to come home. We're told they know we're coming but we didn't want to take any chances.

We start running (which is good for her sickness and nausea that she's feeling) and realize of course the gate is on the complete opposite side of the airport. And this is not a small airport, it's actually very big!

Things heard while making the run from gate #C27 to B6...Coby, "wow this is a really nice airport." Brandy, "I think I'm going to throw up." Coby, "Hey look a PGA tour store, can I stop and look for a second." Brandy, "I really think I'm going to spew." Coby, "Hey look a place to get Chili, can we get some." Brandy, "Where's that vomit bag we took from the airplane. I don't think I'm going to make it."

We made it.

The plane ride was about 47 minutes and by the 42nd minute I'm pleading with her not to throw up on this plane. I'm telling her, "you can throw up as much as you want when we get home."

She made it and amazingly so did our luggage, which we thought was going be stuck either in Moscow, New York, Iceland, Canda or Cincinnati.

Our friends Sarah and Michael, who have been awesome to us by picking us up and also taking care of our house and animals (thanks so much guys), pick us up and take us home.

During the drive home we were sharing a few pictures and telling a few stories, mostly about the food we ate. This is not a good conversation topic for someone who is on the verge of hurldom.

We turn down our street and I say, we don't have a key because we left them in the house, do you guys. Oh crap! They both realize they've left the house key at home but wait, there's hope yet. I remember we've hidden a key on (you thought I was going to tell you where our spare key is).

We get in the door and off goes Brandy. I'll spare you the details, but she does emerge out of the bathroom 10 minutes later feeling a whole lot better.

So now it's 10pm and we get in bed, and turn on ESPN. Yes! Another small thing in life you learn to appreciate once you haven't had it. Butter and ESPN, that would be a good name for a book if I decide to write one based on our experience.

Now here comes the reason for the blog headline...we woke up briefly around 8am but both fell asleep again. The next thing we know, we're waking up and it's 2 p.m. I think we have a slight case of jetlag.

But everything is all good with us. Brandy is still not feeling all that great but she's better than she was. I am feeling pretty good. I'm going golfing tomorrow. (I know y'all are shocked)

So let's review, looking back and looking forward to the next trip (which we hear will probably be the first of December).

1. Carry that stupid little Russian translation dictionary with us EVERYWHERE, when we go back.
2. Learn how to say butter, which is Masla, in case you were wondering.
3. Figure out how to laugh at the appropriate time so when Natalia, Natalia and Ludmila are having a conversation in the room you're in, in Russian, you can laugh so they think you know what they're saying. That'll teach them.
4. Don't play helicopter with baby, after feeding him rice casserole (we think that's what it was).
5. Take room in Moscow when they tell you it's a 7 hour layover.
6. Know how to say, "can I sit in the bulkhead row or emergency exit" in Russian.
7. Pack noseplugs or pot pourri for next trip.
8. Pack noseplugs and more pot pourri for next trip.
9. Pack extra extra diaper and a freakin sippy cup for baby when we return.
10. Bring about 10 jackets or grandma's yak (another inside joke) because we're told it could 22 below the next time we go.

So that's it for now...we'll keep you posted and post pictures when we're allowed to. We're not sure when we'll hear about our court visit but they say it will be about 2 to 3 months. Lot's to do before then.

Thanks for all your words of encouragement and love while we were there. It did help us get through the week.

But when it's all said and done, it's all worth it. He's so cute and can't wait to bring him home for y'all to meet him and spoil him. He really does have a sweet personality.

Off to bed now.

Love,
Coby and Brandy