Traveling with Kids: A Trip to Remember
My husband is from Nebraska (I know, you're thinking.. that's in the middle somewhere, right?) and yes, you'd be correct. You don't need to ask him where he's from either because he's always proudly announcing it with his very bright red football t-shirts. This vast state is filled with my husband's family members. Seriously. The population of the state has got to be made up of mostly his family. They're like mosquitoes.. they. are. everywhere. ( I joke that there is nothing to do in the state but breed and that's why there are so many of them running around.) And like family does, they want you to visit. It was time.
I used to live in Lincoln. I can distinctly remember driving out from Pennsylvania with my cat in tow in the middle of winter thinking to myself, "what in the world am I doing?" I moved out there for a job. I knew no one. I've never been west of West Virginia! Well, what I didn't know at the time, was the 4 years that I would spend in Nebraska were going to be some of the best years of my life. I made "true" friends and met my husband. We married, lived in Lincoln for a year, and then moved back to the east coast to Virginia for another job opportunity. We came back to visit only one time in the 9 years we've lived in Virginia (you know, we were busy having a brood of our own) and we decided it was time to head back once again.
Well, flying out to see family is fine, but it's not just the two of us anymore. We now have 2 little girls and that makes flying difficult AND expensive. We thought about driving (but after a quick trip to Walmart with my 3 year old screaming the entire way.. we thought it best not to do that to ourselves.) So we got online, bought our tickets (once we recovered from a small heart attack after seeing how much it was going to cost us) and we were on our way -- get ready Nebraska, here we come!
Before we could enjoy our wonderful time out to see Grandma Annie, all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and second cousins (and third, fourth, fifth etc. in our case) we had to get through the flight. This was going to be a long day. Two flights, buses, car rides etc. but that wasn't important to my kids. They were beyond excited. (if I could just bottle that energy) Problem was, they were too excited. They had no concept of the long journey that lie ahead of them - you know, the hurry up- and wait.
Before I left I asked in an informal survey (via Facebook, thank you friends and family!) for advice when flying with two young kids. I got a lot of great tips and here are the top five that helped us survive the trip.
1. Surprise Bag. This was huge. The top piece of advice from friends was to go to the dollar store (or Joann Fabric stores in their $1 section) and buy a bunch of trinkets. And the key to this is DO NOT show those items to the kids until they get to the airport. My girls love stickers, coloring and reading new books) so I stocked up on all of that and more and stuffed it all into a cute little backpack my daughter could carry herself. She was so proud!
And when you do for one, you have to do for another. Since I knew my 3 year old wouldn't carry a backpack, we had her pull her own carry on bag. Having the two girls with their own carry-on bag helps mom and dad tremendously!! (and another bonus, it cut down on cost - since you are charged extra to check your bags.)
2. Snacks. Pack lots of snacks!! It also gives them something to do when waiting to board the airplane. It also cuts down on expenses since buying everything at the airport adds up.
I was also told to bring an empty water bottle - take it through security - and then fill it up with water. Also saves on having to buy at the airport. My girls love these squeezie applesauces. I also filled up those snack sized baggies with fruits and veggies to avoid those terrible sugar crashes.
3. Gum. This is key for the ear-popping on the flight. My girls also love chewing gum. They'll do anything for it.
4. Crayola washable window crayons. Did you know about these?? Cutest idea ever!! Give these to your kids while in the air to draw on the airplane window. So much fun.
5. Download new games on the iPad. This keeps them entertained when all else fails. I didn't want to do it, but my youngest was getting antsy and was about to unleash her fury when a fellow passenger handed us her iPad. Thank you whoever you are. You are an angel. Just when the breakdown was about to happen, we discovered a new game. This is when I agree, technology can be a wonderful thing.
All of this - along with a little boy who sat in front of my youngest and chit-chatted with her and shared his snacks - all helped us get through a very long day. And for me and my husband, the best part of our day, was seeing their little faces in awe of a new adventure.
Happy travels!
I used to live in Lincoln. I can distinctly remember driving out from Pennsylvania with my cat in tow in the middle of winter thinking to myself, "what in the world am I doing?" I moved out there for a job. I knew no one. I've never been west of West Virginia! Well, what I didn't know at the time, was the 4 years that I would spend in Nebraska were going to be some of the best years of my life. I made "true" friends and met my husband. We married, lived in Lincoln for a year, and then moved back to the east coast to Virginia for another job opportunity. We came back to visit only one time in the 9 years we've lived in Virginia (you know, we were busy having a brood of our own) and we decided it was time to head back once again.
Well, flying out to see family is fine, but it's not just the two of us anymore. We now have 2 little girls and that makes flying difficult AND expensive. We thought about driving (but after a quick trip to Walmart with my 3 year old screaming the entire way.. we thought it best not to do that to ourselves.) So we got online, bought our tickets (once we recovered from a small heart attack after seeing how much it was going to cost us) and we were on our way -- get ready Nebraska, here we come!
Before we could enjoy our wonderful time out to see Grandma Annie, all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and second cousins (and third, fourth, fifth etc. in our case) we had to get through the flight. This was going to be a long day. Two flights, buses, car rides etc. but that wasn't important to my kids. They were beyond excited. (if I could just bottle that energy) Problem was, they were too excited. They had no concept of the long journey that lie ahead of them - you know, the hurry up- and wait.
Before I left I asked in an informal survey (via Facebook, thank you friends and family!) for advice when flying with two young kids. I got a lot of great tips and here are the top five that helped us survive the trip.
1. Surprise Bag. This was huge. The top piece of advice from friends was to go to the dollar store (or Joann Fabric stores in their $1 section) and buy a bunch of trinkets. And the key to this is DO NOT show those items to the kids until they get to the airport. My girls love stickers, coloring and reading new books) so I stocked up on all of that and more and stuffed it all into a cute little backpack my daughter could carry herself. She was so proud!
And when you do for one, you have to do for another. Since I knew my 3 year old wouldn't carry a backpack, we had her pull her own carry on bag. Having the two girls with their own carry-on bag helps mom and dad tremendously!! (and another bonus, it cut down on cost - since you are charged extra to check your bags.)
2. Snacks. Pack lots of snacks!! It also gives them something to do when waiting to board the airplane. It also cuts down on expenses since buying everything at the airport adds up.
I was also told to bring an empty water bottle - take it through security - and then fill it up with water. Also saves on having to buy at the airport. My girls love these squeezie applesauces. I also filled up those snack sized baggies with fruits and veggies to avoid those terrible sugar crashes.
3. Gum. This is key for the ear-popping on the flight. My girls also love chewing gum. They'll do anything for it.
4. Crayola washable window crayons. Did you know about these?? Cutest idea ever!! Give these to your kids while in the air to draw on the airplane window. So much fun.
5. Download new games on the iPad. This keeps them entertained when all else fails. I didn't want to do it, but my youngest was getting antsy and was about to unleash her fury when a fellow passenger handed us her iPad. Thank you whoever you are. You are an angel. Just when the breakdown was about to happen, we discovered a new game. This is when I agree, technology can be a wonderful thing.
All of this - along with a little boy who sat in front of my youngest and chit-chatted with her and shared his snacks - all helped us get through a very long day. And for me and my husband, the best part of our day, was seeing their little faces in awe of a new adventure.
Happy travels!
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