The Journey

We are off to Canada!  Everyone is so excited to go and see family and friends

The kids couldn't wait to start packing.  Since I knew we would have 5 kids, a stroller, a car seat and a very pregnant mother I thought it would make more sense to pack less luggage so we wouldn't make as much of a spectacle.  Since I am not a veteran traveller I completely forgot that there is a weight limit for each bag.  My brilliant move to use less suitcases and stuff those bags did not pan out well when we were checking our luggage.  Almost every bag was over the 50 pound limit.  One bag was 13 pounds over.  We created such a scene just walking into the airport that the luggage fiasco didn't help our case as we tried to appear completly normal.  We had to open all of our bags right by check-in and throw clothes from one suitcase to the next to try and balance the weight limits.  If I wasn't totally stressed out I would have video taped the moment and sent it into America's Funniest Home Videos.  We ended up paying the $50 fee for one bag and we made our way to the gate with 1 stroller, 5 kids, pregnant mother, multiple carry-ons and one very mad husband.

 

Lexie was so excited to go to Canada she even packed herself.  No she is not the reason we were over our weight limit although that would have been a lot easier to get the weight down if that were the case.  I had to evaluate which shoes I thought weighed more and considered throwing all the diapers and wipes into the garbage to save luggage weight.  I didn't throw anything away I just stuffed things into my light carry on that went from weighing next to nothing to 50 pounds.  Then at the security checkpoint I  learned that you cannot bring sippy cups of milk through security.  Again so much for being prepared.  Another travel tip is that you should always travel in flip flops because you have to take your shoes off at every security check.  The most valuable lesson of all is do not let your toddler exit his stroller before you hold onto it or all of the bags you have hung on the back to save your back will come crashing to the ground.  I suppose I should have thought of Newton's Law of Physics before I hung the bag with my laptop on the stroller handle but all my brain cells were otherwise occupied.  Once we were settled at the gate we and had a chance to breathe we got a good laugh at all of the funny looks we got on all the stages of our journey.  If I had a dollar for every funny look we got walking through the airport I might be a millionaire.

 

We finally made the flight and started our journey to Canada.  Thank goodness for airplanes!

Somehow Travis lucked out and got to sit by himself on all the legs of the trip.  I had the 2 little ones (3 if you consider the one inside me) on all the legs of the flight.  I am still trying to figure out how that happened.....

Lexie and Callen made the journey much more enjoyable!

  The drive from Spokane to Canada was full of ups and downs but one of the most exciting ups was seeing a baby bear on the side of the road in the middle of Montana.

The other up was the beautiful countryside.  The down was missing the Carway border into Canada by about 30 minutes and having to cut across the great state of Montana to go through the Coutts border to add another hour and a half to our trip.  I wish I could say I enjoyed that part of the journey but it was not my favorite part!  Luckily we got there safe and sound just a lot later than we thought.