As we boarded the first flight, Rob was leading and I was bringing up the rear. The pilot spotted the kids as they trotted in after Rob and diverted them into the cockpit. Rob took our stuff to our seats and I pulled out my cell phone to take pictures of them. I don't think the kids have ever been in the cockpit of an airplane, but this pilot was very excited to see them as he had three granddaughters about the same age as our girls. He put his hat on Meg's head, took Jack and perched Jack on his hip, and happily explained all the gadgets in the cockpit to the girls while they pretended to fly the plane. Kylie got to speak to Rob over the intercom (or whatever the speaker system is called). Rob was a bit surprised to hear Kylie's little voice echoing through the plane, but she loved it.
We gave the kids motrin to help their ears not hurt as much and benedryl to insure that any fluid in their ears dried up (a trick we learned from Christy, who takes sudafed before she skydives so her ears don't pop as badly). The benedryl had the added benefit of calming the kids down and Jack and Beth slept through most of the first flight. We had an hour long layover in Atlanta and the second plane was delayed about 30 mins, so we had enough time to get lunch and even got ice cream sandwiches from a vending machine (which took credit cards, something I hadn't seen before, but then again, I don't think I ever use vending machines any more). It's nice that healthy foods are becoming more available as we were able to get things like Naked drinks (which are pretty much pureed fruit and fruit juices and all natural) instead of soda. Granted, we still got Wendy's burgers and the ice cream sandwiches weren't exactly all natural, but we still appreciated the drinks :)
Our flight from Atlanta to Providence (we flew into Providence as we like that airport much better than Boston - it's much easier to get around in and to get to) went pretty well also. The kids started to get antsy by the end, but still behaved themselves very well. Jack required about 45 mins of nonstop "patty cake" and "this little piggy", but I much prefer those to crying or screaming. There were a lot of grandmas on the plane and many of them came up to us after we landed and told us the kids were very well behaved, which we really appreciated hearing :) My favorite was a very petite little grandma who came up to us and sort of stage-whispered "Your children are better behaved then even my grandchildren. Heck, they behave better than MY kids behaved!"
Nona and Papa were there at the airport to meet us and happily commandeered the four kids, even giving them "temple cookies" (huge cookies they sell in the cafeteria of the temple). They loaded the four kids and half of our luggage in their car and took off for their house, making it easier for Rob and I to get our rental minivan. We took a quick detour on the way to Nona and Papa's so that we could drive past our old house in RI. I almost wish we hadn't as the house is now trashed. The paint was peeling horribly and there was garbage and stuff all over the lawn and driveway :( The couple we sold our house to ended up renting it out and apparently didn't do anything other than collect the rent. It was really sad to see it that way as we loved our little house.
We picked up Papa Gino's pizza for everyone just before going to Nona and Papa's. Papa Gino's is seriously the best pizza in the universe. The Bistro down here has good pizza, but nothing compares to Papa Gino's! Yum!
Travis, Christy and Ron had flown in earlier that week and so all of us were together again :) It was wonderful to get to all laugh and joke together :)
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