Please turn off and stow all portable electronics. The words every flying parent hates to hear. Levi somehow stayed awake the entire flight in spite of the drugging. He flipped out when the DVD player went off. But now we are on the ground and the DVD is back on. Just gotta get the luggage and get home.
The carseats didn't fit down the aisle, so I got to carry both boys, in their seats, the length of a jumbo jet, without knocking the other passengers in the head. Off we go.
Meltdown narrowly averted by application of Thomas the train DVD and doritos. Maybe we can eat our quiznos without getting indigestion now. Then its off to ride the moving sidewalk 53 times before the next flight.
Here goes round two! We are through security with no arrests or pat downs. Enjoying Pizza Hut beadsticks, a poppy seed muffin, and one sticky red sucker. No Benadryl yet. We are holding off untill the Detroit to Phoenix flight.
Driving over to the Meyer family Christmas gathering, all three kids are in the back seat chattering away.
Noah: Cover your eyes cause the sunshine is coming out.
Ella: Noah! There is no sun in Michigan!
Ha ha! I lauged until my stomach hurt. Even Paige laughed. And it was even true, since today is the first time I have seen the sun since we got here.
without further incident. Our kids did great on the planes. Much better than the last trip with all three. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
The meltdown has subsided. We are reading and watching movies in Detroit. Maybe we can survive the next flight afterall.
So far so good! They watched movies and slept most of the way. One more short hop to GR.
Well, we made it to the airport and through security with no hassles. I'm even armed with my giant knitting needles again. The kids watched one plane take off, and are now playing with plastic animals. We are about 2 hours past nap time, so it's a little like watching the fuse on a cheap Mexican firecracker burn, wondering if it will go off before you get it thrown. Benadryl in 30 minutes, on the plane 30 minutes after that, and let's hope sweet dreams all the way to Detroit.
Back in September, we got plane tickets to go to Michigan for Christmas. Since that day, I have been dreading the trip. After our last disaster of a plane trip, and then the 3 day driving "adventure" this summer... let's just say that I don't have high expectations for this trip. Paige called the doctor yesterday, and sheepishly asked if they would recommend drugging your kids for a plane trip (hoping the doctor wouldn't make a call right to Child Protective Services.) The nurse called back laughing, said that she would HIGHLY recommend it, and said that Benadryl worked the best. She also said we should try it out beforehand, just to make sure it doesn't make them hyper. So the kids all got a dose of Benadryl last night for their, ummm, "allergies."
30 minutes later, Ella could barely keep her eyes open. Levi and Noah both said they were tired, laid still on their beds for story time, snuggled a little bit with us, and then curled up and fell asleep without so much as a peep. No fussing, crying, or coming out of their room. It was the polar opposite of the jungle gym sleepover playtime that has occurred every night in their room for the last 6 months.
It was awesome! I wonder if it would stunt their development if they took Benadryl EVERY night...
After seeing Meengs' video of Dylan sleeping at the table, I commented to Paige that I don't think any of our kids have ever been so tired that they fell asleep like that. Then not a few days later, Noah does this, at noon...
I guess this explains why he was such a brat this morning.
We had an ultrasound yesterday. Everything looked good. And no, we did not find out if it is a boy or girl.
Paige, Ella, and I drove to Yuma this weekend to see Cherryholmes play at the Yuma Historic Theater. We got out of Phoenix just in time, and drove 90 miles an hour across half of Arizona. Along the way, we got to watch an awesome sunset over several mountain ranges as we barreled down interstate 8. I kept trying to snap pictures through the bug crusted windshield, very few of which turned out...
I finally pulled over and snapped a few that I was able to paste together in a panoramic shot...
We arrived in Yuma with just enough time to scarf down some Jack-in-the-Box (yummm!) and head over to the theater. Cherryholmes was awesome, as usual. I've seen them in Tucson, Michigan, and now Yuma and they don't disappoint. If you like bluegrass even a little, don't miss a chance to see them. Unfortunately, it looks like they won't be back in Arizona until March 2009! (www.cherryholmes.net) I'll have to figure out a way to get to one of there shows outside the state, I guess. I also didn't take the camera in, so I got zero pictures of them playing.
Rather than drive back to Phoenix that night, we stayed at a hotel in Yuma. In the morning, we drove around and saw the sights of Yuma. The mighty Colorado at the historic Yuma crossing...
Ok, so the Colorado isn't so mighty by the time it reaches Yuma. It's all been diverted and dammed by the time it gets here. Hard to imagine that this used to be one of the only places that the Colorado could be reliably crossed, by virtue of the fact that it is the narrowest spot on the river for hundreds of miles. Ella's favorite part was watching the trains go across the bridge. We had to watch each one until the very last car passed by.
We also stopped by the Yuma Territorial Prison, on the hill just above the Yuma crossing. We checked out the jail cells, looked at the museum, just kind of wandered around...
More pictures...
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| 071116-Yum |
On the way home from Costco tonight, I was explaining to the kids what was going to happen when we got home.
Me: When we get home, we are going to all go upstairs, let Banjo out, and watch the animal movie. And we have to go really fast, cause dad really has to go to the bathroom.
We are, meanwhile, sitting at a red light, with me hoping it turns green really soon. The light turns green.
Ella: Dad, green means go!
Me: I'm about to go!
A long pause from the back seat...
Ella: Dad... don't go in your pants!
Ha! She actually got the humor. I figured it would go right over her head.
And I made it home in time... barely...
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| Halloween |
Ella got to play dress up tonight. She got all clean in the tub, mom blow dried her hair (first time ever), curled her hair, put in her new earrings, and pulled on her fancy flower girl dress. Then she got to stand in front of a sheet and get her picture taken. It only took 42 pictures, but we managed to get a few good ones.
Ella, after opening her birthday present: "LOOK! STUFF!!!!" Guess we are doing a great job raising another little consumer. Sheesh...
Noah, after being told it was time to scrub in the bathtub: "I don't WANT to be clean!!!" Typical little boy...
Ella, after being told to eat her dinner so she won't be hungry before bed: "But daaaaaaad, sometimes I eat and my tummy still has cracks in it." I'm surprised she didn't ask for ice cream... to fill the cracks, of course...
Paige, Ella, and I went to San Diego for Paige's 30th birthday, and Ella's 4th. Or as Ella calls it, "San Die-aaaaaah-go." Paige has been talking about going to San Diego for years, so I figured this was as good a time as any. We had tickets to Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, and the Wildlife Park. More animals than you can shake a stick at (although the zoo keepers tend to frown when you shake sticks at the animals.)
After the usual hassle of being violated by airport security, we made it to San Diego. We made our way to the rental car place via the shuttle bus. Ella declared that this was her favorite part of the trip so far. So next year, we will just skip the actual vacation and go ride shuttle buses around Sky Harbor. We load up in our rental car... a convertible PT Cruiser. Doesn't really qualify as the mid-size we specified. We can only fit one suitcase in the "trunk." Ella, a huge suitcase, a her stroller all get crammed into the miniature back seat. I fold myself up like a pretzel and cram into the driver's seat. It's a good thing the convertible top is open, because I can see over the windshield. I'm not sure I would fit with the top down. We go to exit the parking garage, and the attendant spends a loooong time looking at our paperwork. Not a good sign. Finally, he says "I think you have the wrong car." Odd, we took the car parked in D12, just like they told us too. Sure enough, they goofed up and gave us the wrong car. I asked for an upgraded car, and got one, a Dodge Magnum. So we transfer all our stuff and finally get under way.
Head to the hotel (Nice choice Grandma Mary!), unload all the stuff, and head over to Sea World. Between 3:00 and 6:00, we managed to see most of it. It's smaller than I remembered. Ella was completely wiped out, and actually fell asleep on the car ride to the hotel, and didn't wake up until the next morning.
The next day we headed to the SD Zoo. Had lots of fun looking at all the animals. We spent the entire day there, and we still didn't get to see about 1/4 of the zoo.
The third day we headed to the Wildlife Park. We headed out of town, and about an hour later started wondering why we hadn't seen the sign for the park yet. We had somehow missed the turnoff and ended up about 40 miles past the exit. I'm not assigning blame for this mishap (but Paige was the one with the map!) Turn around, finally get to the park around noon. As we are pulling into the parking lot, Ella says "My tummy doesn't feel good!" and 2 seconds later... baaaaaarf. All over her shirt, on her pants, into the car seat. Lovely. We pile out of the car, pull off her shirt, scrub the puke off her pants, load up in the stroller.
I'm sure people thought we just pulled in from Arkansas, with our shirtless four year old, and the faint odor of stomach juices. On the plus side, Ella got to pick out a souvenir... a lovely new Wildlife Park t-shirt. The Wildlife Park is huge, and you walk a long ways, and the animals are usually not very close. I'm not sure it was Ella's favorite.
Ella had a good time at all the parks, as is obvious in the pictures below...
Sheesh. Obviously she inherited her father's sunny disposition, and his love of being photographed. We did manage to catch a few of her smiling while she was pretending to be grumpy...
We headed from the Wildlife Park down a short section of the Pacific Coast Highway. We stopped at the beach to check out the water.
The last day, we headed back to Sea World to catch the dolphin show and a few of the other things we missed. We also drove around Coronado so I could show Paige where I spent a few summer vacations. Paige harassed me that while I spent summers relaxing at the beach and sailing around San Diego harbor, she spent summers at the Meyer farm in Volga, South Dakota.
Our church has what they call "Blast Sunday's." They have blow up slides and face painting for the kids. The boys found these helmets, so we tried them on. I'll tuck this one away somewhere, and put it up on the wall after they graduate from Parris Island...
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