Prepared for Takeoff

It's no wonder Lucie and Ryan have both recently earned free roundtrip Southwest Airlines tickets. A few weeks after our trip in September, the three of us made another visit to celebrate Tate's 3rd birthday. With four flights in as many weeks, our little ones are getting pretty good at taking their shoes off in the security line and managing those tricky airplane seat belts.

When it comes to airports, Lucie and Ryan are easily entertained. They could spend hours staring out the windows asking "why? how? when?" about everything from jet ways to refueling tanks to baggage handlers. The one thing they don't like about airports is the bathrooms. Lucie is particularly terrified of the automatic flush toilets with their unpredictable nature and deafening sound. Her first question whenever we enter a new bathroom is always, "Do they have the automatic flush, Mommy? I don't like those."

These past few trips the kids have been fascinated by the airplane safety instructions found in each seat. They spent a good fifteen minutes each way mesmerized by their laminated sheets, chatting away about what they saw:

"Mommy, when do the slides come out? They look like fun! Can airplanes go in water? Hmmm... that's weird - how do the people float? How do these masks come down? Why is this lady opening the plane door? Where does it go?"

On our return flight a passenger nearby laughed at the commentary, and then began looking slightly terrified, possibly wondering if the kids knew something he didn't know. Of course (and thankfully) the kids' safety knowledge was not put to use. Though I also remember thinking as a kid that those exit slides looked pretty fun.

The party was a blast, complete with "Mater" cupcakes and a Diego impersonator (pictured at top -- no, that's not Uncle Jason with the orange satchel). We all enjoyed meeting some of Tate's little buddies and celebrating the big number three. Lucie and Ryan were especially excited to help him open and try out all his new gifts. The stomp rocket and new stories with cousins before bed were particular favorites.