We were to fly out of Birmingham on a Saturday afternoon. My grandparents were kind enough to take us to the airport. We said our goodbyes and off we went. The kids were unsure about giving up their backpacks so it could be seen by strangers but finally understood they were holding up the line and put their beloved items on the conveyor belt. We put our shoes back on and luckily our gate was right there in front of us. We found a Chick-Fil-A and sat the kids by a huge set of windows so they could catch a glimpse of departing planes.
Boarding took a little longer as we were the last group to be called. Which actually worked out in our favor as we all had nervous bladders. The plane to Dallas had two rows of two seats. Gracie was not impressed by this and thought it was just a bus that could fly. Jack was a nervous wreck. He was breathing hard and told me his stuffed animal was also nervous of flying. I had to hold a hand and a paw to calm the two of them down upon take off. Afterwards, in Jack's country accent, he said "Thaaatt wasn't thhaatt baaadd." The kids were told beforehand that the carryons would not be open until our flight overseas. They were pretty good all day about not asking for their things. (even though there might have been a game of squares brought out that may have made Jack a very sore loser)
Our second flight was going to be double the time as the first. This was going to be the true test to see if the kids could really make it for more than a couple hours and what a test it was. We were the first ones on the plane the second time around and things were looking great. We sat down in our seats and sat and sat and sat. Nothing was happening. Apparently the airline thought it was a great idea to move all the passengers out of the waiting area just to move them on board to wait for a tire to be changed. Almost an hour goes by and nothing is happening. Jack asks me "When is this THING going?" I told him I had no clue and turned to look to the front of the plane. Not 5 seconds later the pilot announced we would be taking off within 10 minutes. I look to Jack to tell him what is happening and he is passed out. The poor little guy was so worn out he slept through take off and half of the in-flight movie. Thank goodness for movies on planes. A big pat on the back to the person who came up with that idea. This made the flight enjoyable for the kids. A plane ride and a movie? Awesome! I had bought comfy headphones out of the dollar bin at Target. These helped make things easier for the kids than using those uncomfortable earbuds the airline provides. Worked like a charm.
We arrived in Seattle worn plum out. Traveling all day really takes a lot out of you. Our next flight wasn't until the next day. We kept going back and forth over staying in the airport all night or staying the night in a hotel even if it was only for a few hours. James finally decided his last night in the U.S. would be in a bed and not sleeping with one eye open at the airport. Seattle has a huge list of hotels right outside the airport. It felt like forever after calling a hotel that a shuttle bus finally came to pick us up. James chose a Hilton hotel. Although it was $140 a night I would have paid 300 if it would have meant I could finally go to sleep. While waiting on pizza the kids took baths and put on pajamas and I fell asleep. I awoke to James telling the kids to eat. I was so tired but I knew if I wanted any strength to get up the next day I needed to eat. After gobbling up our pizza we finally snuggled into our nice comfy beds and fell asleep. To be continued...
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