Since I used frequent flyer miles to pay for both of our tickets, it was the same 'price' to fly out of the small local airport here, which was super convenient. Huge thanks to Lynn for driving up after work the night before, so that Samuel could drop Kyla & I off on his way to the gym early Thursday morning. We got up at 4:45 to leave at 5:15 for a 6:45 flight. Kyla did great getting up that early, especially since we really didn't stop to rest until about 16 hours later that night!!
I had bought (on super clearance) the boys each one of these lightsabers, the 2 colors we didn't have (we have blue & white from garage sales :) and left them a note since they weren't awake when we left. I had a little note & small package for them to open to help countdown each of the other days until we got back. Just little treats I wouldn't normally buy, Angry Birds bandaids, hot cocoa with marshmallows, Angry Birds fruit snacks, little plastic snowglobes, etc. Samuel said that it really worked well.
Kyla was so cute, it was dark when we took off, and although she has flown a ton, she didn't really remember any of it. She just kept getting so excited and asking when she could have her journal and quickly filled up 4-5 pages of writing and drawings. Unfortunately after this on the rest of the trip she was too busy sightseeing & playing with Audrie, etc. to write any more, but these are precious. And she is excited about making a scrapbook with the photos she took with her camera & we've already gotten them printed, so that will be fun. She really just did SO amazing on the whole trip; we walked miles everyday, were gone at least 12 hours everyday, took subways & transfers, it was beyond cold one day and windy, and she hardly complained a single bit. She really did more and better than I even had hoped.
We had 1 short layover in Memphis that ended up being 2 hours instead of 1 because of a delay somewhere. But, she met her 'best friend' there, Georgia Ann. She was traveling with her Dad and the girls had a great time together drawing & coloring pictures of the Statue of Liberty, playing Angry Birds on my Kindle & her Nook, reading their American Girl books they each had backpacks full of, comparing notes on what they were going to do in the city, sharing snacks (one of them got cookies & one got pretzels & they split them each :), talking about their little brothers, she had 2 also that were similiar ages to Nathan & Malachi, etc. She actually came & sat with us for the 2 1/2 hour flight (her Dad was just across the aisle & back a couple of aisles) so that made the layover & flight super fun for the girls. It was so funny, the flight attendants brought them wings to wear, and muffin tops (not part of the regular free snack choices, of course), and when I walked the girls back to the bathroom they were asking about them and could not believe the girls had just met, they thought they were best friends forever that were getting to take a trip together :)
AND, they even got to go meet both the pilot & the co-pilot (I didn't get pictures, it was a bit cramped), and sit in the pilot's seat! They were super, super excited.
Pretty cool! The flight attendants really went waaaay out of their way for the girls. Pretty much best flight experience ever.
We got our luggage & got in a taxi to head for Jamie & Rachel's to drop our suitcase off. It was pretty foggy & gray, but not cold at all. In fact, we were literally sweating in our coats; they had a really unseasonably warm day this day, it was in the 50's for sure, I think maybe even 60's. Kyla held on to the handle, and kept her eyes glued to the window the entire time. You can see Yankee Stadium above; we had a cab drive about my age from India that was very chatty, and telling me all the stuff we needed to do and see while we were there, asking about Arkansas (although he said he had no idea where it was, ha!) etc. Even with the delay at the Memphis airport & the time change, we still got there about 1:30.
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