After going through security we went and got the kids some breakfast smoothies at McDonalds and then got them some treats for the plane as well. Then we let the kids finally turn on their tablets for the FIRST time as we waited for our flight. They were thrilled about all the games Adam had installed for them and loved getting to finally play on their very own tablets (usually they have to share). We had some Japanese people also waiting for our same flight and they just got a kick out of all our kids and wanted to take pictures of them and our whole family. They especially loved little Adalynn.
We were a little worried about our first flight to Seattle Washington because Adam hadn’t been able to find seats together, but luckily when we let the stuardists know of our predicament they figured out a way to get us all together (by asking other passengers to move). Luckily everyone was very understanding and we were able to find 3 seats in two different locations. Adam took Brans and Harry in one location while sat with Adalynn and Dawson in the other. It all worked out! The flight to Seattle was pretty uneventful, and mostly just consisted of me reading books to the kids, helping them play their tablet games, or feeding them snacks and juice. However, the flight became anything but uneventful once we actually landed…
As we touched ground in Seattle I looked down at Dawson only to notice that his pants were soaking wet. I originally thought he’d just spilled his juice on himself, but came to discover that he’d actually WET himself. WHAT??? My 5 year old boy whose been potty trained for 2 years NOW decides to have an accident? I was seriously without words. Had he really been so engrossed in his tablet that he’d forgotten to tell me? It wasn’t until I got him into the airport bathroom to change him that I actually discovered he’d also POOPED in his pants as well! Really? Today of ALL days? Ahhhh! And of course I didn’t think to pack a change of clothes for him because he’d NEVER done this before.
There was really only one solution, and that was to put Dawson in a diaper and have him wear his sisters extra change of clothes which are 3 sizes too small for him…and girly! But when Dawson learned that he’d have to wear “girl clothes” he became a raving mad lunatic screaming, tantruming, and kicking so I couldn’t put the diaper or clothes on him. So you can imagine how awesome this moment was as I’m in a handicap bathroom stall literally having to sit on my son while take off his smelly wet nasty clothes, wipe his poopy butt, and then try to put new girl clothes on him all the while. I literally had people outside my door ready to turn me into child protective services so worried about this poor little boy. They probably thought I was trying to kidnap Dawson! I was humiliated! And Dawson didn’t let up his screaming and fit throwing once I had the clothes on him either. He kept trying to pull them off and refused to keep them on. So that was fun to deal with too. It had to be one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.
Then I had the whole matter of what to do with his old clothes that were now poop stained and wet with pee. I didn’t have an extra bag handy on me, and there was NO WAY I wanted to take nasty smelling clothes on an enclosed airplane with me (or other passengers) for 24 hours and so I made the executive decision to just to throw them away. I was going to try to wash out Dawsons shirt at least (only the bottom of it had gotten wet), but with him throwing tantrums and screaming I just decided to trash those too and get out of that bathroom stall as quickly as possible where Adam could help!
And here is Dawson in his sisters 2T blue whale shirt with sparkles on it, and some 3T stretchy pants. Its a good thing for him I didn’t pack Adalynn JEANS to wear as her backup outfit. At least these pants stretched! I laughed every time I looked at him in them. He just looked so funny. And at least by this picture he was happy! He finally gave up the screaming and fit throwing after about 10 minutes and was fine the rest of the 22 hour flights. Thank goodness!
For lunch Adam got us a smorgasboard of food which consisted of 2 different kinds of sushi, french fries and chicken tenders, fruit, and an Asian chicken salad. Yum! I don’t think there was a crumb of food left afterwards. These kids gobbled it all up!
Luckily things went pretty smoothly on our 9.5 hour flight to Paris. Adam was able to find 6 seats together by the windows in rows of 2’s, but behind each other. So Adam and Ady took one row, Harry and I took another, and then Brans and Daws took the last one. The kids mostly just either played on their tablets or watched movies the entire flight and eventually we all got a few winks of sleep.
Once we arrived in Paris we had a 2 hour layover or so, and lucked out when right next to our terminal was a kids play area. I call that a tender mercy right there. It came complete with a toddler area with mazes and princesses and then an older kids area with playstations. It was heaven sent and even though it was 1 or 2 am (Utah time) when we arrived, you wouldn’t have known it with how excited and lively the kids were. They LOVED this airport! 🙂
The third leg of our trip was our flight from Paris to Bangalore and although it is about the same duration as our flight from Seattle to Paris (around 9.5 hours) it always FEELS longer! I think we are all just so DONE being on a plane by then that its hard to know you have another 9+ hours ahead of you. The good news though is that they ended up switching our plane to a larger one and so we had literally double the seats of the first plane giving us oodles of room around us and 2 full rows all to ourselves. This ended up being a HUGE tender Mercy for us later when both Branson and I got sick and thew up and then I got the runs to boot and ended up running to the bathroom with diarrhea most of the night (5 or 6 times). So. Not. Fun. But I was just so grateful that not one of those times did I have to wait in line for the bathroom. All the other flights had lines most of the time so this was such a blessing! I would have ended up like Dawson having to wear a diaper, but I don’t think I would have fit into any of Adalynn’s clothes! ha ha!
We arrived in Bangalore just after midnight India time and were able to go through customs and get our baggage pretty smoothly. We got 3 carts and loaded them up and then Branson, Harry, and Dawson all pushed those, while I pushed Adalynn in her stroller, and Dawson pulled a bag from behind. We looked like quite the circus coming through the airport with that many carts, and bags! So funny!
When we went outside we were met by our wonderful driver Naveen who took Adam and I around the last time we were in India. We had requested him specifically and were thrilled that he had been available to help our family. He will actually be our driver for the rest of the time we are in India. We love him and already feel like he is part of our family. He was also so so thoughtful and welcomed us all to India with beautiful flower garland necklaces. They were so fragrant and lovely! We sure are thankful for his kindness. Because we had so many of us and so much luggage, Naveen brought a 2nd car and driver to drive us and our luggage to our hotel. Robi was his name and he’s the Indian man on the left. Naveen (who is 41) is on Adam’s right.
While Naveen went to get the cars, we waited by the side and had fun taking pictures! The airport is behind the kids to the right.
Within minutes of leaving the hotel though, we lost all 4 kids to sleep! Even though it was 1 pm Utah time (1 am India time) they were all pooped from the long flight and ended up sleeping until about 7 that morning.
And that is it. We started our journey at 8 am Sunday morning from Woodland Hills, Utah and ended at 2:30 am Tuesday morning in Bangalore at our hotel. 30 hours of traveling. Whew! We were bushed. But we all just felt so so grateful to finally be in India and so excited to be at the beginning of such an amazing adventure. We truly are so blessed! Life is good!