This Christmas we flew out to Dallas, Texas to spend the holidays with Carl's sister. And all the while I was thinking about what we would pack, how we would get to the airport, etc., etc., the song "I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane" kept running through my mind. I always liked that song, especially the part "don't know when I'll be back again . . . ". It's kind of like a Calgon moment, but not really ;-). Well, in this case, I knew when we'd be back - 2009!!
We flew out on Christmas Eve. We left the house mid morning and were supposed to fly out of San Francisco International Airport at 3:25 pm but when we got there, we found out our flight was delayed an hour. No biggie. We would have a chance to eat before the 3+ hour flight. Well an hour came and they announced that the plane we were supposed to fly on was having maintenance issues so they would find another flight for us. They announced they would be bringing in a plane from San Jose and we'd be set to go. We checked the departure monitor periodically and found out that our flight was rescheduled for 6:20. American Airlines gave us $10 food vouchers for the inconvenience (about 30 minutes before our flight was supposed to leave so we scrambled to the closed restaurant, which happened to be a deli. The kids had cereal, cookies, and juice. What a nutritious dinner! I honestly can't remember what all we got, but I know we tried really hard to spend all the money as you don't get change back. We stocked up on waters for the flight, chocolate chip cookies, etc. I think Kenny and Michael bought macaroni salads and juice. Carl bought more cookies. Well, 6:20 came and went, and no airplane or announcement of our new flight. We kept waiting for an announcement as to when our new flight, but none came. After checking the departure monitor again, it said 8:20 pm! We could not believe it. Well, another two hours at the airport. We took turns going for walks. I found a book store and Aidan picked out a Pokemon book for Ethan for Christmas, and while Kenny took Aidan outside of the store, I bought him a knock knock joke book. He loves those. :-)
Finally 8:20 rolled around and we were allowed to board the plane. I have to say that the kids were so very good. This was their first airplane ride and they were very excited. They had their little carry-on suitcases rolling behind them, and their V-Smile hand held game console with various games to keep them occupied.
Needless to say, after being away from home all day, and all the hustle and bustle, the kids were exhausted by the time they got on the plane. Ethan pretty much fell asleep right away. Here is a picture of him sacked out. 
Aidan stayed awake until the stewardess brought drinks and cookies, and then he fell asleep. You can see his napkin and cookie on the tray. He took about two bites and fell asleep. :-)
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