London: getting there

We flew to Ohio first. We decided to take the red eye out of LA since the tickets were considerably cheaper and it would save us the hassle of changing planes twice with two toddlers. Our flight left California at 10:30ish and landed in Columbus at 5:45 the next morning. Wyatt and Rea did great! Not only did they drag their own bags through LAX...but they also slept the majority of the flight. Mommy an Daddy got no sleep but we can handle that.

We arrived in Ohio and went straight to breakfast at Cracker Barrel with Josh's parents. That hash brown casserole was even more satisfying after a long flight.

After breakfast we drove to the Keever farm and promptly took a two hour nap. We slept like rocks. By then it was lunch time so we had a light lunch and hung out at the house until we met Josh's brother, Jake, his wife, Chrissy, and their baby boy, Jackson for dinner.

The kids had been wanting to go see Jake and Chrissy's animals since the moment the plane landed, so we headed up the road to visit for a while. The kids loved on all of their favorite animals; Wilbur the mini donkey, Junebug the mini horse, and George Washington the cat (who Wyatt named on a previous visit) among many others.

That night we managed to get some sleep in a normal bed.

The next day, Josh and Wyatt helped grandpa load up some hay and finished up a few other chores while Rea, grandma and I headed to the store to make sure that they had plenty of food and supplies to watch the kids while we were away. When we returned we made a quick lunch before packing everything up again...

Wyatt, Rea and grandma dropped Josh and I off at the airport...and I cried as soon as those babies left my sight. Guess it was half me missing them already and half guilt for leaving them. But I had to remember what my wise four-year-old son had told me earlier that morning--"Don't worry Mommy. Grandma and grandpa are not going to mess us up."

We got to the ticket counter and in traditional Delta fashion our flights were all messed up. So we were rerouted through Chicago on another airline. Which was all fine and good until our flight to Chicago was delayed. By the time we landed there, they had already called final boarding call for our flight to London. To say that we sprinted from one end of O'Hare to the other would be an understatement. I am still bearing the battle wounds of that foot race (blisters galore and one major bruise). We made the flight, miraculously, and embarked on our second red eye flight.

It was seven hours long but was pleasant. I didn't sleep a wink and I think Josh probably only got an hour total...but that's alright because we made it.