The Trip--Day One

 Wednesday morning I woke up with the "Christmas morning" feeling in my stomach. Excited about what the day had in store and a little nervous about how I was going to pull it all together. We packed and were just about ready to leave when we found out our flight was delayed. We left for Baltimore anyway and took our time having lunch at Chick Fil A on the way. 

This was our first time flying as a whole family. I have no regrets over waiting until everyone could handle themselves! We checked 3 bags and each of us had a backpack. Anna was very nervous about going through security. Thankfully, there was no line and we could talk her through each step. Ironically, it was her backpack that got flagged. She had brought her weighted stuffed hippo along. That caused a moment of panic for her but she covered! We got to the gate in plenty of time. There were no seats available and so that meant we found a spot to play Dutch Blitz while we watched planes come in and go out. 

On this flight our seats were grouped three, two and one. The boys and Jeremy sat together, Anna decided that Aliza would be her flight buddy and I was by myself. 

Anna was SO nervous. Notice that she is holding Aliza's hand walking onto the plane and while they are waiting for take off. Once we were in the air, Anna was fine and enjoyed the flight experience. 

Isaiah was all smiles! It's possible that I was the most annoying middle seatmate in my row. I kept looking over to Anna and back at Isaiah as we took off. I wanted to see their reactions! I hope that I would be the person who would happily trade my seat (even if I have to take a "worse" seat) so that a family can sit together!

As we walked on the airplane, the flight attendant asked if any of us were first time flyers. Jeremy told her that Anna and Isaiah were first timers. About halfway through the flight, the attendant announced over the speakers that Anna and "Isaac" (lol) were flying for the first time. She told them to press their call button so that everyone could see where they were and then everyone clapped and welcomed them. When we landed in Phoenix, Anna and Isaiah got to go into the cockpit for a picture and the pilot gave them a trading card. So fun!!

There was no line at the rental car desk. I called Janell while I walked to the bathroom to find out how John's surgery went. I was thinking of him a lot knowing that he was having surgery while we were flying. The surgery did not go the way we hoped and so I had to tell the children that. We had a sober moment together as we walked to the car lot. 

When one of the options was a 2025 Honda Odyssey, we were really excited! Jeremy especially enjoyed all of the features that come with the newest technology. We drove about 2 hours to Chino Valley, AZ to my aunt and uncle's house. It felt like it was the middle of the night when we arrived! It was only 10:30pm Arizona time.