December 23rd - Travel

Today was a very exciting and exhausting day of travel. Of course, to prepare for this very long and exhausting day of travel we decided it would be wise to stay up well past midnight making JibJab videos of our kids dancing around like elves. Very wise. But, they were hilarious and we just couldn't help ourselves.

Our plan was to leave the house at 9am so we could get to Ottawa before 11 and be well prepared to board our flight. We didn't leave until 9:30, but it all worked out. Driving consisted of the kids watching their make-shift DVD player and eating left-over pizza. And talking about how excited we were that the day was FINALLY HERE!!

When we got to the airport we had planned to park in the park-n-fly for the 2 weeks. Of course, there was a shuttle bus that would take us from our car to the airport that I hadn't even considered. Logan spends most of his days watching other people in our family getting on buses and begging me to let him go too. So as the bus drove up, Logan was still buckled into his carseat, so we could load luggage. I told him, "Logan, the bus is here!" He responded by saying, "Logan, me, bus!" And finally, I could say yes! I think that was the most thrilling part of the day for him.

I love the Ottawa airport. It's so clean and beautiful and quiet. They got us through security SO quickly and then we got to hangout by these GIANT windows to watch for our plane to come in.

They don't have things for the kids to play with, like they do at the Calgary airport, but it's just so beautifully spacious! And I had plenty to entertain with in my giant carry-on bag I had purchased JUST for this occasion. Plus, it'll be my church bag once we get home. It's so beautiful!

The plane arrived, and it was time to go! Again, boarding an airplane is much more exciting then the actual airplane ride. and airplane ride gets old after 4 hours.

We watched a lot of videos and tv. I brought crayons and colouring books. Logan played with a few toys. He got fussy for about 20 minutes when he was getting over-tired and the turbulence was too bad to allow for us to get up from our seats so I could change his diaper...it's hard to let a tired boy fall asleep on the plane when his diaper is soaking wet. So we waited it out. We were finally able to change his diaper, and then he had his bottle and fell asleep. It was a beautifully quiet 45 minutes.



I soon discovered that our plane ride was about 40 minutes too long. A movie takes just less than 2 hours, plus some colouring and tv shows gets us to about 3 1/2 hours. the last 40 minutes was difficult. But we made it. We purchased cashews and apple slices and pringles to distract the kiddos with food. All except Max...he was fully distracted by the movies and tv. I didn't hear a peep out of him for 4 hours. Pretty amazing.

Because Logan isn't 2 yet, we didn't have to pay for a seat for him. But then he always has to be sitting on someone's lap, which he doesn't love. There was a lady behind us who was acting RIDICULOUS on the flight, complaining loudly and obnoxiously when Tyler put his seat back a few inches. At one point, she leaned forward and angrily said, "Can you put your seat up!" Seriously. We have 5 people crowded into 4 seats. 3 of those people are 6 and under...give us a break! Anyway, we dealt with it. There was a little boy who threw up on the flight as well....thankfully not mine! I offered the mom some children's gravol that I had and then avoided that section of the plane.

Through all that, we finally made it! We landed in Calgary! The kids were giddy. Truthfully, so was I. Off the plane and down the hallway to be greeted by a huge crowd of family! Way more people than I expected to be there! It was so fun!


Hugs all around and time to get our luggage. It's never a good thing when you hear them page you to come to the luggage counter. Never a good thing. One suitcase didn't make it. They told us it was on the following flight and they would deliver it to us later that evening. Ok. We can deal. Of course, it was the one with Max's coat, all the pjs...and later, I discovered, the one with all the diapers! I had barely enough in my giant (awesome) purse to last me the evening. Phew!



Papa surprised the kids with a special visitor, strapped in the back of the truck.


We all headed to my parent's house for some dinner and visiting. It was a GREAT way to start the Christmas celebrating! It was a late night by the time we got to Williamson's and got set-up for the night, but thankfully the kids were seemingly resilient.







Yes, it is Christmas and not St. Patrick's Day...

Max kept saying, "I don't remember any of this" as we drove out to Cochrane. I was disappointed that his memory would fail so quickly. But when we got into Grandma and Papa's house, we took a quiet moment while he was in the bathroom. "Do you remember any of this, Max?" "Yeah, I remember this house. Look mom, they even got new soap!" Yes, after 6-months, the thing my son notices first is the new soap in Grandma's bathroom.

Tomorrow, it's time for hanging out at Grandma and Papa's and spending time with Kari, Barrett and Luke. They should be arriving sometime tonight too!