When we told our friends and family that we were going to be traveling (in an airplane-the kind that actually leaves the ground with people in it) with our 18 month old twins over Thanksgiving weekend, most people looked at us as though we had just told them we were going to join the circus. We could see the shock in their eyes that wondered, "Are you CRAY-ZEE?!" And, in all honesty, they weren't that far off. At times our adventure from Minnesota to California and back did kind of feel like we had joined a special kind of circus. One where airports, and nap times, and hotel rooms, and meal times, and oceans, and traffic, and sightseeing, and family all sort of mesh together into one big whirlwind of a vacation.
PLANNING
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a planner. And those who have gone before us in flying with twins know that planning is a must. I was given several awesome tips from my twin mom friends who made me feel like I could tackle the task of packing and executing a trip with our twins, hundreds of thousands (okay maybe not that far) of miles from home and the routine that we thrive on. I took the challenge and started list-making and shopping and laying things out probably 4 weeks before we actually boarded the plane.
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| Contents of our carry-on bags |
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| Bribes for our fellow passengers: Earplugs, candy, and a note with the cutest picture I could find of the boys. |
SURVIVING THE AIRPORT
Given that our flight left at 9am, we wanted to be at the airport by 6:45am to make sure we made it through security, had time to eat, and attempt to run off any lingering energy in the boys. Dan and I spent days figuring out who was going to do what once we arrived at the airport. It sounded kind of like this: Okay, I am going to take the boys jackets off while they are still in their carseats and you are going to take the stroller out of the trunk and wheel it over to me, and I will put them into their stroller with their blankies and wheel them into the heated airport and go get in line and you are going to remove the carseats from the car and put them into those handy carseat bags we ordered. Then you are going to get one of those Smartcartes and put our 2 suitcases and 2 carseats onto the cart and meet me inside the airport. Everything we did was majorly calculated and planned out ahead of time if possible.
Overall, the airport was a breeze. We knew about the "family" security line check-point and the staff there was extremely kind and helpful. We spent the next couple hours chasing the boys around the airport doing everything in our power to keep them awake but tired before we got on our flight.
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| Checking in at the MSP Airport |
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| Chasing Daddy down the moving walk-ways-a definite favorite! |
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| Burning more energy inside the airport |
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| Playing in the Kiddie Area |
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| Lots of "Oohs" and "Aahs" as they checked out the airplanes on the runway. |
We made it to our seats and were thrilled to find out that there were open seats next to us! We handed out our goodie bags and the flight crew and fellow passengers promised us that there was nothing our boys could do that would bother them. We prayed our boys would not make them liars. The nice thing was, the notes kind of broke the ice and started up conversations with everyone around us. We even found out that the 2 college girls sitting behind us were twins, too!
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| Ready for Take Off! |
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I really didn't need to pack all those toys in the carry-on bags. The window blinds, tray tables,
and seat TVs were definitely a hit with both boys, especially Aaron. |
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| This happened. |
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| So did this. |
VACATION
The whole reason for our visit to California was to spend time with my brother and his family. The boys loved playing with their baby cousin. The weather was beautiful on most days and the sight of palm trees and the ocean was enough to help us forget about the 10 degree temperatures we left behind in MN.
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| Christian's garage man-cave now sports a baby swing-Welcome to fatherhood, brother! |
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| Christian's house: Concrete steps, sidewalks, more steps, and window wells made for many (un-safe) adventures! |
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| The boys out for a stroll in sunny Burbank, CA |
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| Something about seeing your brother with his babe: heart-melting |
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Celebrating Thanksgiving like real turkeys! Note: We didn't actually get to sit down for the meal.
Between the time zone change and no nap, the boys were just done for the day, so back to the hotel we went. |
HOTEL LIFE
Overall, the hotel we stayed at worked out well for us. I am certain we made rockstars look good--toddlers can sure trash a hotel room in no time. I was convinced we would never see any of our damage deposit back. Meal time sans high chairs equals messy fingers finding the white linens, couch cushions, curtains and walls. And timing nap time around Housekeeping's arrival proved to be a big joke as they never came at the same time twice. And then there's sleeping at night..putting the boys to bed in the same room we were in required mommy and daddy to pretend to be asleep at 7pm each night and then sitting in the dark until we were tired enough to actually sleep (which was usually 7:30pm anyways). But it actually worked out okay. The boys loved the new electrical cords in our room, playing peekaboo in the double-layered curtains, putting their toys in the empty dresser drawers, and opening and closing the door to the bathroom countless times proved to be dream entertainment for 1 year olds!
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| Playing in their cribs at the hotel. AKA not sleeping. |
SIGHTSEEING
We saw the Hollywood Sign. The end.
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| We didn't let a little rain stop us from a family pic at the Hollywood Sign. |
THE OCEAN
This was the highlight of the trip for us. It was a picture perfect day and the beach in Malibu was the backdrop for these sunny pics. The boys literally RAN straight for the water and left Dan and I in the dust, cursing Christian for bringing us to the rockiest beach in Southern California. It was a dangerous jungle-gym for our boys, but they didn't notice. They loved it all: rocks, sand, water, and the sun.
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| Seriously, Mom, not ANOTHER picture! |
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| Oh my gosh, who is this big boy?! |
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| And where did my 3 pound baby go?! |
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| Best pic of the 3 boys we could get! |
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| Christmas Jammies Photo, Take #1 |
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Christmas Jammies Photo, Take #163
(seriously the best we could do??!! Note Owen's red face, at first we thought
it was because we were a little late applying sunscreen at the beach. We then determined he had an allergic
reaction to the sunscreen we uhmmm, borrowed from another family on the beach). Oops. |
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Heading Home: Blessed again with an entire OPEN row of seats!
They must have known we would need extra room for the arching-back, throwing himself on the floor tantrums that would accompany this leg of the trip! |
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| Goodbye, California |
We are happy to report that we survived our adventure traveling with our twins. We are thankful for the experience, but are happy to return to our ho-hum routine and baby-proofed home!
