Never Flying Again by Hart

Do you really want the details? I'll try to give them without complaining too much.

On Sunday morning I started freaking out because I couldn't fit everything in our luggage - plus it was so heavy & there was so much of it. My excuse is, "We're moving to Italy!" I got that issue figured out only to get stuck in traffic on 101 for almost 2 hours - there was a terrible crash & when we figured out that we would miss the flight, we turned around & got home in 10 minutes! Amazingly, Justin's work was able to get us on the same flight the next day. That night my mom & dad took us to a hotel near the airport where we ate dinner & then we were on our own. Surprisingly, we had a great night's sleep. Oh, & Ander started pointing. So cute.

On Monday, we got to the airport 4 hours early, so we could check in & get seats together on the plane. I ended up having to pay a lot for the extra heavy luggage (I think the guy was new on the job because Justin said he's never had to pay - this one was a stickler for the rules). The flight was fairly uneventful although timing bathroom visits is tough with the fasten seatbelt sign & food/drink service. Liam had to hold it on the take-off & Ellie on landing. We did not have mini TV's at our seats, but the kids watched the movie on the upper TV screen. Liam & Ander slept the last 5 hours. Ellie only slept one hour. I didn't sleep at all.

In Frankfurt, we found ourselves at terminal C & had to go all the way to terminal A. First, though, there was a huge flight of stairs leading out of the plane - I asked an attendant for help with the baggage even though they told me that children should only carry what they can manage. Apparently, they didn't understand that I needed all that stuff because "We're moving to Italy". Then, we took a bus to the terminal. Our flight wasn't listed on the monitors, which was stressful. I was really worried about missing the flight because I had been warned that the airport was huge & didn't have much time after deplaning & taking that bus. We went through a passport check & into the main part of the airport. Then we had to go through a security checkpoint! Luckily no taking shoes off or disposing of water bottles there. After that, we rushed (& man, I've never seen Ellie & Liam book it like that!) all the way to our gate. We were sweaty & tired when we arrived at the gate - then realized we still had an hour until take-off. Time to use the restroom & get my first espresso of the trip & some breakfast for myself & the kids.

The second flight was so nice compared to the first - the plane was clean & newer, & the attendants were kind. It went by in a flash & then we got to see Justin! I had to send the kids out to him & then make two trips to get the big luggage. People already seemed helpful & were smiling & cooing at Ander as people back home said they would.

Justin had a car, but we split up & I took a taxi to the apartment so we could bring all the luggage. Did I mention that "We're moving to Italy?" Actually, I brought WAY too much stuff on the plane & in our checked baggage. I should have shipped at least 4 more boxes. I guess I didn't realize how heavy clothes could be. Plus, I wanted to be prepared for any obstacle. During the whole trip I did not use any of the liquid toiletries that I brought on board. Also, the kids backpacks must have weighed at least 15 pounds each with all the books & games we brought on board - which they never used either! Our computer weighed 12 pounds on it's own! Please, if anyone reading this is going to travel abroad with kids, learn from my mistakes & simplify.

After this trip I've decided that I definitely want to stay here as long as possible so I don't have to do that again! Of course next time I won't be alone with 3 children & we'll be sure to buy a seat for the baby. And, I've learned so much, it could never be that hard again.