Last Friday morning we left on our first flying family vacation. We had flown once with Owen when he was 3 1/2 months old, but nothing since then. I had been planning and planning for this trip for so long that it was kind of surreal that it was actually here.
Our flight didn't leave until 12:15, but I wanted to be sure we were at the airport early so we left our house just before 9am. Of course I had to dress the kids all cute so I had them wear their 4th of July clothes that Aunt Stephie got them.
All dressed and ready to go!
Thankfully our friend Al was nice enough to drive us to the airport and keep our van at his house so we didn't have to pay for a week of parking. Unloading the van and checking our luggage was part of the trip I was nervous about. We ended up doing the curbside check in and it was absolutely without a doubt worth the $2 per bag that we paid.
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| Kids did great wearing their new backpacks! |
Once inside we headed to security and let me say that the family line ROCKS!!! We were the second people in line. This was the part of the trip that had me REALLY nervous, but it ended up going SO smoothly. We did have to put a ton of stuff on the belt, but it was fine. Also since I was wearing Zeke I had to have my hands swabbed, but that was better than taking him out and waking him up.
I had heard that they had a nice play area for the kids so we went over there so the kids could burn off some energy. Leave it to my kids to get the whole play area growling and screaming. All the kids were having fun so that was good.
They also had a really nice nursing room so Zeke was able to have a preflight meal in peace. After playing around for a bit we decided it would be a good idea to get something to eat. We got Wendy's and were able to sit right at the new big windows and watch the planes land and takeoff. It was fun for the kids to get a visual of what we were going to be doing.
After eating we walked to our gate and sat around for a bit. Thankfully Michael and I made the best decision ever in purchasing smart phones prior to our trip. They came in handy SO many times on this trip.
Zeke got to spend some time on the floor kicking around for a bit.
Ella was already driving us crazy by wanting in and out of the stroller.
When it got closer to our flight leaving I did go up and warn the attendant that we were traveling with small children. Since we were flying to Billings, MT. we were taking a prop plane and would need to go down stairs to get to the plane. Since we had the stroller we got to board early and go down an elevator...at least that's how it's supposed to work. In fact we got about a 2 minute head start...not much when you have to install a car seat and wrangle 4 kids. This was the part of the trip that ended up being the most stressful. I had planned this part out in my head and talked about it a lot, but I guess I had never really explained the seating arrangements to Michael. He ended up having to move Ella's car seat around in a plane crowded with people and the a/c hadn't been turned on yet...oh yeah and it was the hottest day of the year so it was cookin' in that plane. He's an awesome man!
Ella, Mama & Zeke all ready for the flight. Oh and if you didn't know you have to unstrap your child for takeoff and landing so you have actually remove him from your body. Not quite sure the reasoning behind this since in the case of an emergency I think it would be better for me to have my hands free to help my other kiddos, but whatever!
Owen was all cheeses because he found his camera I had stashed in his backpack...best .50 I ever spent!
Jack was already checking out his quiet book.
Daddy sat across the aisle from Owen and Jack so he could help them out.
Ella checking out her quiet book.
Zeke sleeping peacefully which was pretty much how the whole flight was. We did hit a little turbulence coming into Billings, but Michael told the boys it was like a roller coaster so they thought that was pretty fun!
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