Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Don't worry, although I left you hanging with my last post about visiting the Dentist, my recent absence had nothing to do with my teeth :) We've been in Texas for the last few days, which you probably know if you read my twitter feed.  We left last Wednesday and just got back late, last night.  It was a great trip and I have lots of fun pictures to share, but today I'll show you some from our "fun" on the airplane :) The kids were honestly so good on the plane, but still, we have vowed to NEVER do that again!  Two little ones is not easy or without stress.  From now on we will be taking our sweet time in the car! 

Apparently Ava was nervous we would leave her behind, so we found her snuggled in between our bags, just so we wouldn't miss her :)

Lucky us, when we checked in for our flight, we learned that they had added a 3rd stop to our trip.  So, with babies, we had to go from Minneapolis to Milwaukee, Milwaukee to Atlanta, and Atlanta to Dallas.  And then we rented a car and made a 3 hour drive to Abilene!  It was a loooooong day of travel both coming and going, but we made it :) This is after our first flight, when everyone was still smiles!

 Sweet little buddy!  His first flight!

 Our only attempt at a family picture on the plane :)

Sorry Carter, the back of your head is the best we could do!

 This portable DVD player bought us some much needed sanity :)

 Although she looks very fancy with her headphones, she actually only wore them for about 5 minutes :) Of course.  Because I went to great lengths to get "kid safe" headphones that I thought would be best for her.  Instead, she cried at the thought of wearing them after this photo was taken.  So, we watched everything with the volume on low :)

 Carter was so good and slept a lot on each flight.  Which was wonderful, although tiring when we didn't have an extra seat to lay him in.  Our backs are killing us today from holding him so much!

 But, God did grace us a few flights with empty seats on each side of us.  Which was a total gift of us because no other row on the plane was empty :) And when He did, Carter got to stretch his legs too!

 And Ava thought she was big stuff in her own seat :)

 Complete with a seat belt. 

Which she loved to buckle and unbuckle for most of the flight!

 Carter, you were almost the same age as your sister when we took her first flight, and ironically, it was also to Texas.

 You were your usual, charming self :) So many people told us what a good baby you were and they didn't even know you were on the plane!

We were proud of you, you truly were so good and easy going.  Your ears seemed to bother you only twice, and even during that, you quickly calmed down as soon as I stood up with you.   

 I'm sure you had no idea what was going on, but we're so thankful that your personality is as laid back as it is!

 Not only did this trip mark the first time you flew, but it was also your first time to be in a stroller, without your infant seat!  We sat you up like a big boy while we walked though the airport(s).

 And you loved the new view I think!  You smiled at EVERYBODY who smiled at you :)

 Ava was such a good traveler too.  She loved the extra freedom we allowed her and she took in everything around her.  She liked watching the buses outside the rental car building and of course, the airplanes that were taking off.  We had many people who told us how cute she was and of course, we didn't argue :)

 She was thrilled to get on the bus for our rental car!

What an adventure we've just been on in Miss Ava's eyes :)

 But, all adventures must come to an end and ours came yesterday.  This was Carter at the airport yesterday, waiting for our final flights home.  Wiped out is how we all felt.

We had a great time in Texas and I'll post some more pictures tomorrow.  We got home around 11:45 last night and none of us were in bed before 12:30am!  So, needless to say, today has been a lazy day for the kids and I.  Poor Trav had to go to work, but the kids and I have been napping and unpacking all day.  I'm so thankful we had nothing on the calendar!  Both Ava and Carter have napped wonderfully today and we all slept in til after 9am.  Thank you Jesus!  Traveling with little kids is not for wimps and I say that, even knowing how good ours behaved.  I cannot imagine what we'd be thinking had they melted down along the way :)

I'm thinking that old saying is true today...

"It's fun to go away, but good to be HOME!