Getting A Passport (Part II)

So, apparently we didn't have an 'official' copy of TeachingMom's birth certificate. Since we live in Arizona, and she was born in Massachusetts, we couldn't just go down to the vital records office and get it. US Certs provides a way to get birth certificates from every state. We filled out the simple order form, and within a few days, FedEx showed up with the envelope.
Next it was off to the Arizona Office of Vital Records to get our 3 children's birth certificates. This proved to be less painful than I imagined. The whole process took only about an hour.
What we were not prepared for was the actual process of getting the passport. With our printed applications that we created online, and birth certificates in hand, we loaded up the three kids and headed to the local post office. According the the State Department Website, this post office took passport applications on a walk-in basis, and could take the required photos. We figured, how convenient?
Well, apparently so did everyone else. When we got there around 3:30pm, there were people sitting on the floor outside the door of the passport office which was inside the post office. One lady informed us the wait would be 3 hours. Ugh - try waiting in a boring post office with 3 young children for 3 hours. Luckily, TeachingMom came prepared with paper, and colors, for Bubba and PrincessK and LittleDora's Leapster. Stepping stones outside also provided a fair amount of entertainment, especially when the stepping stones were the only path through a lake of hot lava. Kid's imaginations are great.
Finally, after about 2 hours, the time came and our number was called. First up was to get all 5 of our photos taken. So, two at a time, we went back to the office to get the photos. Then we got the names on the applications and birth certificates matched up with the photos. We signed the applications, got copies of them, and we were done.
In all, the passport pricing broke down like this:

• 1 Birth Certificate from USCerts for $50 (Paid extra for overnight shipping)
• 3 Birth Certificates from Arizona Office of Vital Records for $30
• 2 Adult Passports at $75 each
• 3 Child Passports at $60 each
• 5 Processing fees at $26 each
• 5 Photos at $15 each.
• Total Cost: $615

Originally, we were going to have the passports expedited, to get here before the end of March, but that would have added and extra $60 to each passport, as well as another $16 for overnight delivery. That would have meant an additional $380. The post office told us that lately, passports have been coming back in about 2-3 weeks. For the extra $380, I'll take my chances.

With the passport applications off to Washington, we figured we'd celebrate that we made it through without pulling our hair out by going to dinner at.......where else? Outback Steakhouse.

And so we wait

Gathering the stuff we need for our passports has been a bit more challenging than we anticipated. We have to wait for one of our birth certificates to be shipped from another state. This only complicates things a bit since we don't have a definitive answer on whether we are actually going. I have been doing a lot of research, and even made some contacts in Melbourne. After days of mixed emotions I would be quite upset if Techie Guy's company decided not to send us. Australia looks like such a wonderful place to visit. The people I have talked to are so down to earth and sweet. I have discovered there is so much to do and once I get them organized, I will post some of the links my new Aussie friends have shared with me. So now we wait.. wait for the company... wait for birth certificates... and wait for March: the projected month we are suppose to leave.

Teaching Mom

Getting A Passport

So, the first thing we need to do is to get our passports. None of us have ever travelled outside of the U.S. (Rocky Point, Mexico doesn't really count in comparison to this trip), so we need to get a passport. The process looks pretty straight forward, just fill out the application using an online wizard, print out the generated form, and go to a post office to get a picture and submit the app. We'll see how that goes. We also have to provide proof of citizenship in the form of a birth certificate. I'll be making a trip to the Arizona Office of Vital Records to get the birth certificates for our three kids on Monday. Then it's off to the local post office that can take the Passport photo and submit the app.

We're Headed Down Under

Well, it appears we're headed down under. My job is sending me to Melbourne for up to three months. What an opportunity! We'll be taking the whole family of 5. There's a lot to plan for and a lot to do to prepare, but not a whole lot of time. It looks like we'll be leaving in 4-6 weeks.
We're all a bit excited and nervous. Excited to go see a great country, and nervous about leaving home for so long. So, this blog will track our journey down under.