First time Flying!

 We had to be at the airport at 6:30 a.m.  This had us getting the kids up at 4:30.  Wow, what a job to get all these kiddos out the door on time when all they wanted to do was sleep.  We also had 8 big suitcases, four carry-ons, and twelve bags full of snacks, games, diapers, and toys to keep the children entertained on the long flight across the Pacific Ocean.  It was a chore, but we got all checked in and through security just fine. 

 (With my new camera, I can't figure out how to rotate pictures....so Tayla is sideways.)
The kids freaked out when they saw the big airplanes taking off.  They were mesmerized by them and watched them for the hour or so that we had to wait at the gate.  Then we boarded and took off for San Francisco.  Nathan loves planes and was so excited!!  He was grinning from ear to ear and kept giving me a thumbs up.  He relished every second of the first flight, couldn't hardly get him to quit looking out of the window. 
Our plane left SLC late, and so we missed our connecting flight to Tokyo.  We had two choices: fly to LA and spend the night and then fly to Narita in the morning, or wait six hours and fly to Haneda.  We decided to wait and fly to Haneda.  The kids played on the escalator and slept while we waited....

 or read...

 or played on Mom's ipad....

 or played some of their games.

We got onto our flight to Tokyo--and it was a BIG plane.  Because of the hassle of missing our flight, United Airlines upgraded our seats to business class.  The seats were bigger, and we got to watch any movie we wanted for free.  The kids went nuts over this!  They all got their very own "t.v." with headphones and could choose to watch whatever their heart desired--they didn't have to compromise with their siblings!!  It was paradise for them!  They were grinning from ear to ear as they watched their very own movies while they ate dinner.  They felt spoiled!
The flight from San Fran to Tokyo was 11 hours.  It was a very smooth flight and the stewards were great!  The food was actually good, too!  There were maps on the screen in front of us that constantly showed us our current location so we could see our progress toward Japan.  That was neat! 
We left around 6 p.m. December 29th CA time, and landed on December 30 at 10:30 p.m. Tokyo time.  We lost a day....


"We've just sucked one day of your life away....Tell me, how do you feel?"

What did the kids think of flying:
Caitlin:  Driving is better.
Tayla:  The uncomfortable seats made it so I couldn't sleep and the food was yummy!  When I looked out the window, I felt really tall.  My favorite part was landing and taking off because it's fun!
Christopher:  The first flight was terrible.  The second flight was great.  After the first flight, I didn't want to be a pilot, but after the second flight I still wanted to be a pilot.
Logan:  I think it was cool and awesome because we got to go above the clouds. 
Nathan:  I was by the window and I looked out the window a lot.  I saw some clouds, some water, some roads.  Thumbs up.
Audra:  It was good.  It was really big, and then it flies!  Then it not flies, then it flies! Whooooshhhhh!!!