The trip back home

Before heading home, we made one last stop at Dixie's hair salon.

This time it was for the boys.

 

Aiden was so brave for his haircut.

(He HATES haircuts!)

 

 And the boys decided to get some highlights with their haircuts.

 

So handsome!

Thanks Dixie!!!

 They also spent a few more minutes playing with Dixie's dogs (sorry ... I forgot to take pictures), and holding Sarg.

 

  

The hardest part about vacation is the actual travel time.

We were hoping for a smooth trip home ...

but no luck!

Traveling with 4 kids, I try to be to the airport a bit early.

But as soon as we arrived, I could tell we were in for a long trip.  

The line to the ticket counter was unbelievable!  After waiting in line for about an hour, they finally called out all those on our flight so we didn't miss it.  When we were checking in, the agent was having problems with her computer, which meant more waiting.

Thankfully, they took pity on us in the security line and let us expedite our process in the handicap lane.

When we arrived at the gate, it wasn't long before we were boarded.

Guess what .... we had the very back seats in the plane.  Yep!  The ones right behind the engines (super loud & no view out the window) and right in front of the bathrooms (stinky!).  It almost made the boys cry. 

After sitting on a hot plane for 1/2 hour, they announced some problem with the plane that maintenance was trying to fix.  Half hour later, they informed us that they couldn't fix it and we'd have to take a different plane.

We all de-boarded and hustled to a different gate in a different wing of the airport.  About every 15 minutes they would announce that our flight would be boarding soon, but the airplane had to cool down first because it had been sitting in the lot in 100+ degree weather.  

Expecting to board soon, we never ventured far from the gate, though restrooms & dining would have been nice by this time.  Very quickly, we took turns running to grab a quick snack.  But 2 hours and 8 announcements later, we decided they wouldn't really board any time soon, so the boys headed for the restrooms.  And that, of course is when they actually DID start boarding.

We still ended up in the very back row, but this time we were just happy to be heading home. 

The plane was super hot most of the trip.  And the last part was bumpy as well.  This combination did not bode well for tummies that had only snacked all afternoon & evening while waiting at the airport.  So upon landing, one of the kiddos made use of the cute little white bag in the seat pocket in front of us.  I'm pretty sure this helped all the other passengers de-board a little faster.  :)

ANYWAY .... we were very grateful to arrive back home, even if it was 4 hours later than expected!

And Garrett put a smile back on our faces.  He was waiting with balloons for the little ones, and treats for the big kids (though everyone decided to wait and eat them the next day). 

Here's passing the time at the airport.

Aleah and Aiden completely entertained everyone dancing, singing, twirling, playing hide-and-seek, etc.

And though I just spent multiple paragraphs complaining about the trip home, we all kept a positive attitude and happy face at the airport.