The big day finally arrived! I had packed and repacked several times in my head (do you do that?) and then packed for real. Upon advice from lots of random people over the past few weeks, we decided to NOT check any luggage, just stick to carry-on. We each had a backpack, Alan and I each carried a small suitcase, and the kids each carried their little booster seats. Two bags each.

Tiny travellers, all packed and ready to go.

With plenty of time to spare we arrived at our quiet little airport. Security was a breeze (I was well prepared!) and we enjoyed watching the activity on the ground below while waiting to board.

At the airport, seeing all there is to see.

The doggies came along for the trip. Alex wanted to have a good view.

If you know anything about flying Southwest you know that you have to check-in online 24hrs before your flight. At check-in they assigned you a boarding group (A, B, or C) and a number (1-60). At the airport they board A1-60, then family boarding (kids 4 and under!), then B1-60, and C1-60. There is no assigned seating, so the better boarding position you get the more likely you are to get a better seat. I really wanted A group (me and everyone else flying Southwest!) because we had a very short layover and I was worried that if we were in the back of the plane we wouldn’t get off quick enough and would therefore miss our connecting flight! I checked-in just one minute into the 24hr window and we ended up in the tail end of the B group. Not ideal, but it all worked out ok. The flight was full but we were able to get seats in groups of two and not too far back. Thankfully! The travelling gods were in our favor and we departed on time, landed in Chicago early, and came in at a gate very near the next flight’s departure gate.

Happy boys, ready to fly!

Eve wanted to sit with mommy.

It’s hard to see in this picture, but we saw a ton of soilders in camo getting off a bus and onto a plane. Each carrying a white box the size of maybe two shoe boxes together. We were curious.

It was good to find the airlines still serve snacks. :)

Eve, pretending to be scared. Really she had a great time and kept yelling things to Lex, who was a few rows back and could not hear her! “Lex, we’re in the air now!” “Lex, look at those clouds!” “Lex, that loud noise was just the engines turning on!” It was super cute.

Chicago was slightly less fun. We stopped to grab lunch, hoping we’d have time to eat it in the gate area. Instead they boarded A group quickly and lined up B group. Then we waited FOREVER while the family boarding took place. Turns out a flight to Orlando is PACKED with families with young kids. I was getting nervous that we’d never find seats together and no one would have any sympathy since everyone else had kids too! Despite being hungry and just a tiny bit cranky, we made it on to the plane and found seats near the back where we could sit in twos again.

We grabbed a quick lunch at the Chicago Airport.

Beautiful clouds in rows.

A winding river

Eve is tough to entertain on a plane. :)

In Orlando we made our way to the car rental place and eventually picked up our rental. Everyone was tired and the kids were uber silly at this point! It was only about 4:30pm, but it felt like a very long day already.

Hanging out at the car rental place. They were a little wild, but it was hard to tell them to be still and quiet after spending a full day on airplanes.

Once we were in the car the kids made me very nervous in their little booster seats. They were flopping around and wrapping the center belt around their heads and just being silly. It was raining and there was traffic and I was really wishing they were in their big car seats with the 5pt harness!

Big kids in big kid carseats. As the week progressed they settled down and I was less nervous about these seats.

We made it to Mike and Andrea’s house and I apparently have no more photos of the day. We got Panera for dinner and just hung out there. When we pulled up to the house Mike and Joe were waiting out front. Eve jumped out of the car and was the first to the porch. Joe said, “Hi, I’m five years old.” (he just had a birthday). Eve said, “Oh, me too.” And off they went to play. Like old friends. :)

Day 2: Just Hanging Out
Day 3: Disney Fun
Day 4: Lego Land
Day 5: Kennedy Space Center
Day 6: The Zoo
Day 7: A Drive Along the Coast
Day 8: Heading Home