Ready...Steady...GO!: Tips for World Travels with (my) Children

I'm back! We aren't all settled in yet but settled enough that I can sit down to write for a moment here and there. I am going to start at the beginning of our trip and maybe throw in a bit of our month in Indiana here and there...

Now, about travel with the three AJs three and under...I had all kinds of ideas about traveling with the three. I spent months collecting toys they had never seen to distract them from the 32 hours (yes, 32 hours!) of travel. I collected all of their favorite snacks to feed them during the trek. I packed bags of diapers and wipes and etc, etc, etc...

NEVER DO ANY OF THAT AGAIN!!

The next time that I travel with the three (although I hope that they are by then three, four and under) here is what I will take...just enough diapers plus two, one extra outfit each (not three), any required food (formula), umbrella strollers and kids. It still sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Oh and I would DEFINITELY take car-seats again, they were a pain to lug around LAX but so, so, so helpful!!!

A quick recap of our trip, it went perrrr-fecctly!! My family, being the absolute best in the entire world gathered at promptly one o'clock in the morning to begin to drive us to the airport. We loaded a borrowed Dodge Ram truck completely full of suitcases and people (Caley, Junie and the UG) in the extended cab, my grandparents Buick with carseats, AJs, Mam-maw, me and Aunt Nana and headed to Indianapolis.

The awesome people at US Air let Junie and Aunt Nana go back to the gate with us, never charged me a dime for our luggage, were courteous, kind and helpful all the way! The only thing that they did wrong was to seat all three boys together while seating Mam-maw and I in other areas of the plane. The woman in front of Atticus (who was remarkable and slept up until the last 10 minutes when he started extending his feet into her seat-back) took her complaints as far as she could in Phoenix and we were all seated together for the Phoenix to LA portion of the trip -- have to love the grumps sometimes!!

In LA we spent the entire day at LAX. First we got off the plane where someone took pity on me and offered me a cart to strap our five carry-ons, two car-seats and five personal belongings. I specifically brought bungee cords along in case this opportunity arose (I was super surprised to get these through security and onto the plane but I did, twice)! We had to go to baggage and collect our bags to re-check them for the overseas portion of the trip (when they told me at Indianapolis that I would have to do this, I LITERALLY started crying - can you say embarrassing?!). We checked our bags, walked about a mile to another building (with three children and a luggage cart) to get some lunch. After lunch we went back through security (international this time) and headed to find a quiet gate to wait the next 8 hours (we had already waited for four). We found a gate, I set up the laptop with DVDs and we took turns walking and running the kids around for eight hours. This sounds absolutely horrible, especially when you consider that we didn't sleep at all (AT ALL!) the night before but, truth be told, it went quickly and wasn't bad, AT ALL!!

At 9 pm LA time (midnight Indiana time) we lined up to board the plane to Auckland with all the others traveling with children...Standing in line AJ1 fell completely asleep. We boarded the plane, got everyone situated and AJ2 and I joined AJ1 in slumber before the take-off (I didn't even hear it :). I woke a few times (DINNER!!, WINE!!, SNACK!!, WINE!! and BREAKFAST) and at one point I had a cup of coffee I had to ask them to take away because I was falling asleep with it in my hands, but for the most part we ALL slept almost the entire way to Auckland (in fact, AJ1 didn't wake until the plane landed!!). Piece of cake!

Here's the best part...for some reason, the flight attendants LOVED us (seriously as in fell in total love with my entire crew) and literally whisked us through customs and immigration. Less than ten minutes after de-planing I was in a hired car headed for my new home. I have had this be a two hour experience with a carry-on and no children so this was Ah-mazing to me!! Air New Zealand was the bomb! Comfortable, kind, helpful, absolutely the best of the best!! Fantastic way to be welcomed to Auckland!

I'd do it again in a heat-beat as soon as I get over the jet-lag!