We finally took a family vacation that didn't involve going to a family reunion. This was a true, bonified, family vacation. One that also involved an airplane.
This summer we found super duper cheep airplane tickets to Los Angeles. They were priced so well that we couldn't refuse purchasing EIGHT of them. Yes, EIGHT!!! And my kids were so excited because none of them remembered ever flying on an airplane. We hadn't really flown anywhere since we moved here. And that was 8 years ago. It wasn't that we hadn't gone anywhere, it was that we kept multiplying and flying was not longer cost effective. But driving clear across the United States wasn't an attractive option either. And my kids hadn't been to see their grandparents in California. It felt like something we needed to do. So we seized the opportunity.
This is a picture of my crew at the airport. Because the tickets were so cheap, so was the other stuff. We were limited to one small backpack per ticket. No other luggage. None. We could purchase the option to bring bags, at $30 per bag each way. I bought two. One for me and my 6 kids and another for Evan. That guy is so spoiled! So we packed light. Super light. Because the bag couldn't weigh over 40 pounds. And it doesn't take much to get to 40 pounds.
I was a little worried about taking 6 kids into a public place like an airport and vacation. I was worried one of my children might wander off or get separated. Probably wouldn't happen because I have this super overprotective side of me, but I needed to ease my stress somehow. I decided to take a Sharpie and write my phone number on each of my kids arms so if they got lost, it would be easier to find them.
Here we are boarding the airplane. It was a late flight and the plane was delayed an hour.
We arrived in LA after midnight. Took the shuttle to get our rental car.
I had reserved a large SUV. Something like a Tahoe. It would only seat 7. But any vehicle to seat 8 would cost about $1000 more for the 10 days we were gone. I read California law and decided I would double buckle someone to save the $$ and risk the fine if we got pulled over. However, when we got the the rental place, they decided to upgrade us for free to a Suburban, and it seated 8! Yes! Perfect car. Exactly what we drive at home. Except white. I don't like big white Suburbans. But I do like that it seated 8 and didn't cost us the extra $1000.
We drove to a hotel about 45 minutes from the airport in Irvine. It was super late, and we were also super tired. But we had to get up and head to San Diego in the morning to make it on time to go to church with Trent and Christy (Evan's brother). And Christy is one of those sister-in-laws that I would claim to be my favorite sister-in-law if I didn't have 22 other sister-in-laws whose feelings I didn't want to hurt. Christy is a super fun lady to hang out with and I love her attitude and spunk. She makes me smile. And then smile some more. It was great to walk into church and see her sitting there. So wonderful that we could visit them.
And I had to take that same picture and play with it.
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