Phil’s Graduation Trip, Day 1...

Well… we left the house a little early, around 3:30, and it’s a good thing we did, because after a quick stop at the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru, we hit some serious traffic. If I was driving, we never would have made it, but thankfully, Phil was able to navigate a series of “side streets” (and crowded side streets at that), so we arrived at the airport just ½ an hour later than we had planned. Phil dropped me and the kids off at the curb with most of our luggage and proceeded to park the van and catch an airport shuttle, which was easier said than done. After waiting for what seemed like forever, we were relieved to see Phil/”Daddy” coming from the opposite direction we expected! Checking our bags was easy, and we even found out that the flight was open and we would be able to take Miah’s carseat on, even though she wasn’t a ticketed passenger! Bonus!

Although I felt kind of stupid going through security, particularly when I forgot to take Miah’s sandals off her feet; the security people were very helpful. I especially appreciated the guy at the metal detector who instructed Caleb to, “Come though and give me five!” In the end, we didn’t set off any alarms or anything, and it was an easy process.

We got to the gate with enough time to check the stroller, use the restroom, and change Miah’s diaper. Caleb was super excited when the plane pulled in, because he thought it looked like a shark! Here’s a picture I snapped of Phil and the kids and our plane:

Caleb also thought the engines were guns, but that’s really another story in itself . Thank goodness we were already through security as he was shouting, “Hey… That plane has guns on it!” I am pretty sure Caleb thought we were flying on a fighter jet! At any rate, we boarded the plane last (couldn’t quite get the family pre-boarding thing down) and managed to secure two consecutive rows of seats!

We didn’t take a ton of pictures on the flight, but here’s a good one of Caleb in the air:

And a couple of Miah:

I loved how she put her little hand up on the window

and was just amazed when she finally realized what was going on!

Phil, Caleb, and I chewed gum like our lives depended on it at take-off, and I nursed Miah (and no one threatened to ground the plane or anything: you may see previous stories of my nursing adventures while on vacations and trips if you think it couldn’t happen to me). There were quite a few babies and children on the flight, and no one seemed to mind an occasional tear or scream. Honestly, though, Miah did great and only got grumpy when we got close to landing time. I nursed her again, and she went right to sleep. She used the carseat for a grand total of about 3 ½ minutes of the nearly 3 hour flight. Caleb also had a good first flight experience. He was a little nervous at first, but he enjoyed looking out the window for awhile and then playing his DS for the remainder of the trip. He kept talking about how we were almost “in space”. My favorite quote was, “I can’t see the whole world, but I can see a lot!”

We arrived in Denver a few minutes early, and although our layover was supposed to be ridiculously short, it was no problem, as we were to depart from a gate just down the hallway, and our flight was a little late. Another bathroom break (Caleb was the only one brave enough to use the plane’s facilities), a quick check of facebook, and we were boarding again (this time we figured out the family pre-boarding thing). We managed two rows together again, but I sat between the kids this time, because Caleb wanted to watch a movie on my laptop and Miah was completely asleep in her seat for the entire flight! Phil was behind us and had the great… uh… joy of listening to someone who talked… loudly… for the entire 1 hour and 46 minutes… I enjoyed some reading and managed to drink my Sprite in peace. Caleb had apple juice and ate all of the snacks (mine and his). That was OK… It beat the mess Miah and I made on the first flight… (smashed baked pita snacks and spilled water everywhere… thank goodness the flight attendant was nice)! The second flight was also smoother and had had a much better landing than the first!

Miah woke up as we arrived in Boise, although now Caleb was asleep! We woke him up and disembarked without any trouble. Caleb took another quick bathroom break while I chatted with a World War II Veteran as we waited. In addition, we saw several service people reunite with their families as we got off. That just did my heart good!

Miah was screaming by the time we made it to baggage claim (too much travel for her for one day), and our bags were being unloaded by an airport employee, because I guess it took us a long time to get there! We collected our things, called for our shuttle, and made our way to the hotel (Miah screaming all the way).

It was a pleasant surprise to be greeted by cinnamon rolls and bottled water when we arrived (usually reserved for breakfast), and by 1:00am or so (3:00am our time), Miah was finally back to sleep and so was everyone else!

It was a good day! Thanks for following our trip!

Lisa