Finally...

As I am writing this we are cruising 34,000 ft. above Alaska 6 hours into our 13 hour flight to Tokyo.  Amanda and Kim are asleep next to me, Tanner is playing the PSP and Justin is on his 3rd movie.  It is strangely quiet as Casting Crowns pipes through my IPOD while I type.  Strange due to the past weeks of craziness getting ready for this flight and all it means for our family.  Kim and I finally exhaled as we took our seats at 11:45 this morning.  I looked at Kim and said, "We finally made it."  She said, "Yeah, but not very gracefully".  So true, but we did finally make it.

We left our house on Saturday afternoon for the last time.  It was an unfamiliar feeling leaving our home, a foot of snow on the ground, the kids said their last goodbyes.   We spent our last night at a hotel next to the airport.  Our last dinner was at the Old Country Buffet as the Pizzeria Uno we tried to go to had recently closed.  Our attempt to watch one last American movie (Enchanted) failed, we resorted to Nancy Drew through the hotel PPV.  The kids still got their popcorn! 

The kids were very excited getting on the plane, hopefully the energy will continue as the flight/day wears on.  These flights are weird since it is daylight the whole way, but they keep the cabin dark until we get served breakfast closer to Tokyo.  I don't plan on sleeping, hoping to adjust quickly to the 13 hour time change.  It has worked the past couple of times.  A couple of notes to future travelers...don't pack the Wii and the fancy camera in the same carry-on bag without unpacking it all for the TSA...international flights can do curbside check-in (would have been helpful with 12 bags to check!!)...don't leave a bunch of small liquid containers forgotten in the pouches of your purse...get to the airport early...sometimes you really do need the extra time...

All for now...signing off from 34,000 ft...