The kids developed an “around the world handshake” that involves fist bumps, a specified number of arm rotations, and finishing with finger wiggling. I have not demonstrated the rhythm and agility to execute the new ritual to their satisfaction. I’ll keep working on it.

On another note, the packs appear to work well so far. We traversed the San Francisco, Seattle, and Reykjavik airports with out strained backs or drama on the escalators. We carried everything on and easily stored near our seats. We avoided the long line at passport control.  And we actually have extra space! After all the packing angst, Patrick was able to bring his baseball glove and Alex brought her small teddy bear, named Toppings. I was able to bring my Kindle Fire and Suzanne fit in an extra dress. We still don’t know if we forgot something critical – but for now we feel pretty good about the packing strategy.