First Flight

Since this summer, we have been preparing the kids for a big trip to California to celebrate Christmas with extended family. Once we made the decision to go by plane, (the other option was train,) we shared the plan with the kids and started to talk about flights with them. Neither of them had ever been on a plane before, and they were both extremely excited... More and more so with each week that brought them closer to Flight Day. About two weeks before we left, both kids started to show another kind of energy as well... Nerves. Lynnae started making lists of what she needed to get on the plane, and fretted about whether I had the right birth certificates. Charlie started acting out. But overall, they were very excited.

The day of the flight, a major storm hit the Seattle area. You might remember seeing the pictures of the two busses that had collided in Seattle? I believe that happened the day after we left. About an hour and a half before we departed, the heavy snowfall began to stick. We had to kick the kids out of our driveway, which has the steepest slope on the street, so that we could load the car and back out. We were glad that we left when we did. We ended up making it to the airport with plenty of time, but the storm seemed to be worsening quickly... And we didn’t want to drive through any worse weather than necessary. Because of how freezing it was... (I can’t remember, but I know it was in the teens,) we were all bundled up in hats, gloves, sweaters and coats... Ready to shed them when we got to California.

At the airport we had a lot more juggling then I used to have when I travelled for work all the time by myself. We are such inexperienced “parent” travelers that we made it all the way into the airport before we realized that we did not have Charlie’s car seat. Andy went back to get it. Luckily, the airport was practically deserted, so I didn’t have to worry too much about how slow we were going. It was definitely a new experience to check bags and get through the security gates. I took Charlie, Andy took Lynnae. It seemed to work well. At the end, one of the TSA employees gave both kids a sticker badge. Charlie was VERY excited about it. He actually managed to keep it nice for a couple of days! There’s a picture below of him showing it off.

We were early enough that we spent time in the central terminal and ate dinner. The kids watched the tarmac with mounting enthusiasm. By the time we got to the gate, Andy and Lynnae clamored over to seats where they could watch the action. Charlie and I watched our plane roll up to the gate and the earlier passengers depart. Then it was our turn. We gathered all of our things and joined the groups of families with small children to board early. (Yes, you’re supposed to be 2 or under... But Charlie had only been 3 for 7 days, so I felt like it was the same thing!) Lynnae took the window seat with Andy in the center. I settled into the window behind Lynnae with Charlie sitting next to me. A very nice, patient and gracious student sat next to Charlie. Not only did she put up with him handing her toys for half of the ride, but she even initiated play with him. We were so lucky, (and not as lucky on the return flight.)

When we started rolling, Charlie started shouting with glee... “We’re moving, we’re moving, here we come!!!” We watch a lot of Little Einsteins, and one of the things they do is pat their laps to get Rocket up into the air. Charlie started chanting, “pat, pat, pat, pat” as we waited in line and finally sped down the runway. Then I joined in and lifted up my hands saying, “Blastoff!” as the front end picked up... Charlie was in heaven. About a second later I heard Lynnae start, “Oh no, we’re going to die. I’m going to die. Help mommy!” So I spent the next 10 minutes with my hand on her shoulder calming her down. Then she was good and looking at the little cars and trees down below.

Charlie and I started watching the Princess Diaries. He fell asleep about 35 minutes in and slept until we were landing. Again... I was lucky. The landing was hard for him because he woke up as his ears were probably starting to bug him. So he whimpered for awhile because he was confused. Once we landed getting our luggage and our rental car was relatively painless. The kids were so proud that they had been on their first plane. They both gave each other Alaska Airline Hot Wheels planes for Christmas, and Charlie thought this was the best toy ever for his ride home.

I’m still making my way through all of the pictures that I took during our California trip... So stay tuned to learn more!