And we're off...

Dear Husband,

Calvin was upset when you left for work Wednesday morning and realized you would not be getting on the airplane with us. He continued to be fussy most of the day. Not the best start to our daddy-less vacation. My doting papa arrived early to make sure he got his bible study in with Moo-bears and I finished up last minute preparations (all whilst tinyman hung on me and whined he wanted to stay home). He sniffled all the way to the airport and I was really starting to worry that I would have to carry him screaming onto the plane. As soon as we parked the van and Calvin had a clear view of an airplane, his mood completely changed. Convenient sometimes that two year olds are like that, eh? He now joined his sister in voicing his excitement when finally the idea became more tangilble. Three bags, two kids and one carseat became a little easier to lug to check in when I managed to clip my rolling matching set together, pile the carseat on top of that, and still have a hand free to clasp Calvin's. My dad's suitcase with it's no b.s. pop-up handle easily supported Ami while she road happily across the sky bridge and remained there all the way through the lengthy, child filled check in line.



We scored a family helper pass and my father accompanied me all the way to the gate. While I stood in line for boarding, he patiently remained with our children who were glued to the window, marveling at the real plane they were actually going to ride. He held their hands all the way to the ticket taker man and quickly said goodbye before we entered (gasp!) the tunnel to the plane! I made a big deal as we actually stepped onto the plane, just as you would've expected me to. And I captured their reaction from taxi-ing to take off. It's a little long and at a bad angle but I know as their loving, devoted daddy, you'll appreciate it. The time we spent in the air was uneventful thanks to the invention of portable DVD players and Diego.



There were no stinky diapers to change or little girls to try to squeeze into the bathrooms with. We were surrounded by other families with young children on a full flight. We landed 20minutes early and there was a little bit of panic when I (with no cell phone due to budget cuts) discovered there was no one to meet us, but you know all about that thanks to the kindness of strangers, and it all worked out.