T-minus 30 hours and counting

Back in the day I used to be a huge fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I remember one of my favorite episodes was one where Captain Picard is being held prisoner by the Cardassians and they are torturing him. They are trying to break his will. So after each level they keep showing him these lights which there are a total of four but telling him that there are five lights total. All he has to do to be set free of his torture is say there are five lights but he doesn't give in and is rescued. But in the final scene, over a cup of Earl Grey tea with Dr. Crusher (yes I do remember his favorite drink and the names of the characters - I am a geek), he admits that if he had been there much longer he was about ready to give in and say that there were five lights to escape being tortured any further.

I think if Donna and I had to stay another week we would be ready to say that there are five lights. Not that we are being tortured by any stretch of the imagination - but it will feel good to get home and start into our lives as a family.

Seriously tho just kidding - we really don't have much to complain about. Our case was expedited quicker than normal and we really had no problems with any steps along the way. We just wanna get home now. Even Carol said to Donna tonight that she was getting kind of tired of being here and asked how many days until we leave for Pittsburgh.

Here's a few stats from our trip - as of Tuesday Aug. 21 when we leave:

• We will have been here 28 days/27 nights (one week less than expected).


• We will have eaten approximately 70 meals here at the hotel - Juanita's cooking is fantastic!


• Jhon-Fredy will have averaged dropping at least 1 piece of silverware at each of these meals - he is not partial to a particular utensil - he drops his spoon, knife and fork at pretty much an equal rate.


• Anji will have worn her bib (without a fight) at approximately 50 of these meals.


• We will have bought 5 pairs of shoes for the kids.


• We will have watched 20 episodes of "Hi-5" on Discovery Kids.


• We will have given 90 baths in on one of those little plastic baby bathtubs (the room doesn't have a bathtub just a shower - Carol looks really funny in the tub!) - this per day average is slightly skewed due to Anji's tendency to need more than one bath a day on some days.


• We will have watched at least 3 hours of Simpsons clips on YouTube (that one is ALL me).


• We will have captured over 10 hours of video and taken over 500 photos.


• We will have spent a grand total of $13 on calls to back to the States (Thank you Skype!)


• We will have posted 23 entries on the blog.


• We will have had 3 children.

Today we had a big outing - we went to Dunkin' Donuts...yes Dunkin' Donuts. Although this wasn't your average DD. This morning after breakfast Jhon-Fredy and I went out for a walk and went to a few parks just to hang out. After a while we decided to walk a bit more and ran across a Dunkin' Donuts but when we walked in we realized they had a courtyard with a park in it.

So of course Jhon-Fredy HAD to explore this and when it got to be lunchtime we headed back to the hotel and Jhon-Fredy reported back to everyone on his findings. During lunch he asked if we could take Carol and Anji to show them. So after we finished eating we all walked down to the DD to hang out a bit. The kids really enjoyed it.

Alrighty - well I'm off to catch a few minutes of reading before getting some sleep...Jhon-Fredy gets up awfully early so I can't stay up like I used to.

Hope everyone is well - and please keep us in your prayers as we get ready to take the kids home,
Scott