A terrific traveler

We made it!
Praise God, Cora was pretty much an angel on our trip across the pond! I'm so proud of her, and thrilled with how it all turned out. She was very excited about our trip, and really understood what we were doing and who we would be seeing when we landed. She smiled so big at Nanny and Pop when they picked us up; it is very clear that despite the distance, she knows and loves all of her family in England.
On the plane, she really enjoyed playing with the Etch-a-Sketch we bought especially for the trip. She also loved playing with the control for her little television, and enjoyed some of the children's programming. She was awake and happy playing for the first five-plus hours of our journey, meaning until at least 2 a.m. California time. I was starting to worry a bit that she wasn't going to fall asleep, because each time I suggested it was time to go to sleep, she would protest, and I didn't want to push her into tantrum-mode on a packed airplane when it was so many hours past bedtime.
But she eventually nodded off on my lap, and slept the rest of the trip, so at least four hours. I dozed for an hour or two, and felt refreshed to deal with landing and customs and luggage, etc. It's been a long time since I've done all that without my Stace leading the way!

Cora and I both went to sleep Friday night around 11 p.m. England time, but she woke up in the middle of the night (the eight-hour time difference kicked in) and was wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, so there was no more sleep for that night. I had two long naps Saturday to try to make up for the lost sleep, and Cora had her afternoon nap. She and I both slept well last night, so I guess we're back to normal now! It's such a blessing to be traveling with her at this age.

We saw Nan and Dean and Jenny on Saturday, and I've spent a lot of Sunday with Jenny, my dear Pepperdine friend, and her husband Jim. I got to check out their church, where Jen helps lead worship, and we had a nice Thai lunch together. Cora has had a great time with Nanny and Pop, though the weather hasn't been good enough for them to do anything fun outdoors.

I think that's all for now, I'll have to start using Sue and Gord's camera so we can show off what we're up to soon.