With three kids, preparation for a vacation is a lot of work. I start thinking about it 4 to 6 weeks in advance. Do we have the right clothes? Do your clothes still fit? Shoes? What activities can I bring that don't take up much room and keep you busy? How many suitcases should we pack? Where will the dog go? Do I pack too much or do laundry on vacation? It goes on and on and on, until I run out of time to think and we on our way to the destination. I am a self-admitted over-planning perfectionist, so the preparation for vacation is my moment to shine!
We decided to head to Arizona this year for spring break to see Todd's parents. I of course started planning for the trip after I finished hosting Molly's birthday extravaganza in early February. I have to admit, I was a bit anxious about spending 5 days in a retirement community with three overly zealous children. I tried to not only plan for Arizona’s extreme weather (cold in the morning, hot in the afternoon and even some forecasted rain!), but activities to keep the kids from destroying Grandma and Buca’s 400 square foot park model, complete with desert landscaping (i.e. no running in the yard for fear of falling into a cactus). After countless shopping trips, internet searches, and arguments with my children over what was an actual outfit appropriate to wear in public, Todd (who I love) had the luxury of starting to think about the vacation 24 hours before we left. He decided to check us in and prepay for luggage so he began to question me over how much we needed and how it was packed. It took serveral attempts to convince him that I had overthought the trip enough for both of us! Great way to start off after 6 weeks of planning!
Despite all my over planning, anxiety, and excitement, we picked up all the kids from school by 2 pm and headed to the airport actually on schedule. That was the last thing I would do well. First of all, I know better than ever to fly late in the day! That should have been my first clue that things would not go well. We boarded the plane late due to too much luggage (it wasn’t me…really) which needed last minute checking. Second, it was St. Patrick’s Day. I have never had good luck at anything but drinking on St. Patrick’s Day, especially flights. The last time I flew on St. Patrick’s Day was when Colin (almost 3) got horrible diarrhea and I spent the descent in the bathroom while the flight attendant soothed poor Zachary who was strapped into a car seat and left to fend for himself. I literally got into my seat and buckled as the plane touched the ground. Third, they no longer serve food on flights and we were leaving over dinnertime. Not good. If I don’t feed my kids and husband on time then watch out world. And finally, we did not rent a car in Phoenix which meant Todd’s parents were going to pick us up. We all know that Todd’s dad (love him too) is severely directionally challenged. Directionally challenged and hungry kids and husband is not a good combination, ever.
So, what happened? We boarded the plane and headed to Phoenix. Molly was thrilled to be on a plane for the first time in years. She watched the ground fade away as we took off and watched with fascination as we approached Phoenix to land. The boys were a bit on the crabby side by now from too many hours staring at a gaming screen and not enough food, but they too were excited to look at a ground with no snow and see mountains all around them. We watched the sites of Phoenix as we approached the airport…Oh look at all the pools! There is a Target, Mom! I see ASU campus! Look at all the baseball fields (we were flying with the Hamline University Baseball team so it was important to point that out)! And there is the airport! There goes the airport.
Captain comes on the intercom: “Folks, I am afraid we have had an indicator light come on for one of the wing flaps. Procedure dictates that we have to run through a safety checklist before we can land. It will just take a few minutes and we will have you on the ground safely in Phoenix. We appreciate your patience.”
Molly looks at me and says “What does that mean Mom?” It means we are going to be in the air for a little bit more. “BUT, I am STARVING and I have to go to the bathroom NOW.” Great. Just great. I get her a cheese stick and tell her to hold it just a little longer. We look out the window and see the airport pass us by again. A few more minutes and there goes the airport again.
The captain comes back on the intercom: “Seems everything checked out, we will now begin our decent into Phoenix. Flight Attendants prepare for landing.” They already did that!
A few minutes go by as we once again watch Phoenix come into view and the captain comes back on the intercom: “Oh by the way…you may notice some emergency vehicles on the runway as we land. It is standard procedure in cases such as this and nothing to worry about. And for those of you who fly on a regular basis, you may notice that our landing is a little faster than normal, but Phoenix has an extra-long runway and so we will be just fine.”
What? That is NOT an “oh by the way” sort of statement. The baseball team erupted into laughter and jokes (thankfully). We did indeed land at quite a quick pace while three fire trucks stood by and watched. We did not stop until the very end of the runway at which point EVERYONE clapped and cheered. Molly thinks this is standard procedure and was disappointed on the return flight when there was no drama or cheering. As we all joked about our “oh by the way” moments on the plane, the faces of the staff and rescue workers told me as we deplaned that the situation had been no laughing matter. But we were in Phoenix, starving and having to pee, but in Phoenix, on the ground AND safe!
Now I am thinking, we will quick get the luggage and meet Todd’s parents on the curb and head for the nearest In-N-Out Burger. But who should meet us just on the other side of security? Grandma and Buca! Really it was nice to see them and inform them that those fire trucks were for us. Thankfully they didn’t know. The luggage took forever; but fortunately the kids were so excited to see their grandparents that starvation was forgotten for the time being. Then we headed for the car. The adventure had only begun. Todd’s dad had no idea where the car was parked. He knew he came in near a restaurant. We took an elevator. Nope not it. We took the elevator down. We walked across the entire terminal. We went up and escalator with 5 bags and 4 adults, 3 kids and 2 car seats (could not take the elevator right next to the escalator because that might end up in a different place. He knew he had seen an escalator.) We walked as far to the other end of the airport as we could before Grandpa realized that we were in a Sabarro and not the parking garage. We walked back to the other end of the airport (one floor up from where we started this adventure) and out into the parking garage. We finally found the car, loaded up and took off. But the adventure does not end there! Next we got directions from the parking attendant on how to get back on the highway. Grandpa proceeded to follow the directions sort of and almost missed the turn out of the airport (immediate turn, really mean immediate!) The children are now asking “what is going on” which did not help the situation. Finally we cut off various cars and whipped through the maze that is Sky Harbor Airport to get into the highway. Next we watched In-N-Out Burger pass us by as the kids start fighting in earnest. Finally at 7:30 PM (10:30 in Minneapolis) we arrive at the In-N-Out in Mesa for dinner and a good laugh about it all (once we have food in our tummies!).
All of this drama drove me to jump out of an airplane the very next morning…but that is another story…
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