Tuesday: Traveling Home from Buffalo

Chris, Pop-Pops, and the three older kids escorted me and the two littlest to the airport on Tuesday morning. We decided to take me to the airport extra early so that I could have my husband's help returning the rental car and getting all the car seats checked in, as I didn't have enough hands; this allowed Chris to get on the road for his 12-hour drive home.

I took the two little boys to a sit-down breakfast at the airport before we found an empty gate in which to run, run!, RUN! off some energy. (Honestly, I felt like such an oddball parent because all around me all the children were zoned out with iPhones and iPads in their hands, wearing their headphones, down to the age of one years old, while I spent three hours walking the terminals with my two little boys in order to wear them out. I did recognize one comrade-in-arms: a married woman traveling alone with her four-year-old boy and twin two-year-old boys, and without even a stroller! We were on the same flight, and she did the same thing: taking them running all over ahead of time. You go, Sister . . .)

Running in an empty terminal

In an answer to prayer, Joseph remained the one child who hasn't caught hand, foot, and mouth yet, and Thomas seemed well (had no bodily fluids coming out that shouldn't be coming out).

Thomas fell asleep in my arms 15 minutes before boarding, which was bad timing because then he woke up when we boarded and remained awake until after we landed (his only other nap being twenty minutes in the car). Meanwhile, Joseph was awake and exuberant for the whole flight (to the consternation of the young man in his 20s who was our seatmate and who presumably didn't have much experience with children), falling asleep during the final five minutes of our descent (the entirety of his nap for the day). Oh well, that is how the cookie crumbles!

Meanwhile, on the road, the two girls (who had the fever about 36 hours prior) were breaking out in the telltale spots, and the car passengers passed the time by mapping and counting their spots.

New River Gorge, WV

The "car team" made it home around 10:00 at night, and I was so glad they joined the "airplane team" safe and sound. Thank you, God!