Applying for Sarah's Passport

Today we took a trip to the local passport office to apply for my daughter's passport. I always get a little anxious when it comes to things relating to official documents, paperwork, ect. I gathered all of her necessary documentation, which I always keep handy in one large accordion folder for organization and portability. We drove down to Riverside, CA to the passport office and thankfully it was not crowded! There was only one other couple in the whole office, lucky us! 

I approached the desk and told the attendant what I was needing (a new passport application), and I grabbed a pen and sat down with all of her documents and started filling out the form. Sarah got a little bored waiting for me to fill out the form, so I suggested she watch the TV they had on in the office (Dr. Phil was on). The whole process took about 10 minutes, then I brought the completed application up to the desk to be looked over. Thankfully, most things were in order - the main issue I was concerned about on the application was the parental consent. Since her father isn't in the picture, I had to sign a special form describing why I was not able to obtain consent. The attendant looked it over and said it looked fine, and took all our documentation, pictures, and made copies, then I paid the fees. Whew, done!

 Now, I just have to wait and hope that we didn't miss some kind of important piece of information, and they will accept her application! "Happy early Birthday to Sarah" - we got back into the car, and I said "That was your early Birthday Gift, it is special!" and she responded with a grin and I could see she was proud and excited about the possibilities!

Next, we headed to the store to pick up our last piece of luggage for our travels. There were so many sizes, designs,  pockets, and accessories - it took me nearly 45 minutes to finally select a large enough piece. I selected a Jeep hard case large luggage piece - I really liked the size, durability, and set of 4 rolling wheels on the bottom for easier transport. We are slowly on our way to boarding our first international flight for our new adventures. 

What's your favorite piece of luggage and why? 

Which brands do YOU prefer? 

What tips do you have to make the passport application process less stressful?

Have you signed up for our 1st Giveaway Friday, yet? Don't forget to get your entries in before this next Friday, to win the First and Second Seasons of Gilmore Girls on DVD ($50 value)!

Posted in: Applying for passport