our annual summer family reunion took place at the end of July. as always, it was loud, chaotic, and full of so much love, fun, and good food!
now with four kids in tow, we are so grateful that Alaska Airlines offers nonstop service between Pittsburgh to Seattle. we have spent many layovers in Chicago, Houston, and one particularly ill-fated stop in Denver during tornado warnings (!) on previous trips back home. now, as long as our plane takes off, I can be reasonably sure, trusting in Providence, that we will be arriving at our destination as planned!
I did have a fair bit of anxiety about actually being able to board our 7 AM flight on time. Pittsburgh Airport was absolutely swamped with extra travelers this summer -- so many airlines added flights to vacation destinations, without a commensurate increase in TSA agents and airline staff to adequately handle the extra traffic. the entire month of June and July, we were reading horror stories in the news and on Facebook of people with 7 AM departures arriving when the airline counters opened at 4 AM, only to be met with a line already 30-45 minutes long to drop off their bags, then waiting another two hours to get through security (which usually takes less than 30 minutes), and ultimately missing their flight even though they arrived three hours ahead of time for domestic travel!
thank goodness, we ended up getting TSA Precheck in the nick of time to use for our flights (more details on this to come in a future post) and I was so relieved! St. Raphael, patron saint of travelers, was definitely smiling upon us that day. and for all of the mental and actual work that goes into preparing for a trip like this, once we were in the car headed to the airport, my favourite travel feeling bubbled to the surface: excitement, tinged with slight trepidation, but ultimately the sense that we're off on an adventure and no matter what happens, we'll get through it together.
and not to toot my own horn, but apart from potential security snafus, we pretty much have the travel-with-kids thing down to a science. that morning, we arrived at the airport at 4:30 AM. Nick dropped us all off at departures with our 2 suitcases (one checked under my name, one checked under Greta's name). the older girls each took a suitcase while I pushed the double stroller laden down with our carry-on bags. meanwhile, Nick parked the car in the economy lot and would then walk the 15 minutes back to the airport while we got checked in and used the bathroom.
at 4:59 AM, I texted him: "Um. There was like 1 person in front of us at the Alaska check-in. Bags are dropped. Girls are peeing. St Raphael comes through once again." and he texted back one minute later: "Just parked. See you soon." [Side note: in previous years this "time-saving" method has not worked if we checked a suitcase under Nick's name, because he had to be present to show ID -- so we would have to wait for him at the desk before proceeding further. Now I know better!] I do have to say that the lines to check bags at the United and American counters were outrageous so we definitely got lucky; maybe just fewer Alaska flights departing around the same time?
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| I paused for a picture only after having safely deposited our bags. timestamp: 5:02 AM. Cece's face says it all. |
as soon as Nick met up with us, we headed up to the Precheck line. even that took about 20 minutes, but airport signage indicated over an hour wait for normal security so it was a significant improvement. beyond that, it was a total gamechanger not to have to remove liquids and electronics from our bags and take off our shoes, all while collapsing the stroller and juggling babies. kids under 12 don't have to take their shoes off in the normal security line, but inevitably our kids would see us doing it and take their shoes off anyway despite our exasperated directives to "leave them on!!!".
we made it to the terminal by 6 AM, and had plenty of time for breakfast, water bottle fill-ups, diaper changes, and one last bathroom break before boarding. the flight itself was fine -- as fine as a five-hour flight can be with a one-year-old and 2 1/2-year-old. there was no screaming! (maybe because I preemptively put Tylenol in Victoria's bottle and maybe just because St. Raphael was still looking out for us.)
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| sweet baby -- didn't sleep as much as I would have guessed but that's alright. |
one thing I would do over is the rental car situation. I had been comparing prices and options between the standard rental car agencies and Turo, essentially an AirBnB service for cars. the most annoying part about renting a car at the Seattle airport is you have to take a shuttle to the rental car station -- totally fine with adults and older kids, but obnoxious when dealing with all the luggage and a stroller and babies. in the past I've sent Nick ahead to pick up the car while the kids and I hang out at baggage claim.
many of the Turo cars offered direct pickup at the airport, either at the curb or in the short-term parking garage. so I jumped on a listing for a 2011 Toyota Sienna with two carseats. somehow I misread the fine print because the car was also parked at an off-site lot, necessitating a shuttle ride [facepalm]! in the end it was fine, but just annoying. we finally arrived at Chez Geiger and were ready to palooza!
it was cool and overcast so we spent the first afternoon hanging out inside. it was so fun to see Elizabeth and Milo actually playing together after some initial shyness. and of course the kids had a blast playing with our old toys. I am in awe of how Mom kept so many things in excellent condition: the Brio train set, our Playmobil dollhouse, the chunkier Playmobil 1-2-3 sets for toddlers, even the little potato heads. so many of our own kids' toys end up with missing or broken parts. something to ponder...
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| melt my heart! |
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| my baby sister and my oldest baby pretty much twinning! |
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| Elizabeth couldn't resist the water table on the patio even though it was a bit chilly! |
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| Genesis generously let the older girls use her incredible marker set -- they were creating masterpieces all week! |
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| more twinning. Greta used the markers to create her own version of the painting on Krista's wall. |
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| snuggles with Auntie Kira |
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| I can't even tell you how many shows and acrobatic performances we put on using this teeter-totter as kids. it lives on! |
the next few days, the weather was absolutely gorgeous -- mid 70s, and a welcome change from the humid high 80s/90s we had been slogging through in Pittsburgh. we spent a lot of time outside enjoying the beautiful back yard. Mom and Dad have done a lot of landscaping and gardening and it is such an oasis. I had so many visceral memories of summer childhoods while sitting out on the patio. the sound of the breeze swishing through the fir trees and the handfuls of huckleberries Cece kept delivering to us immediately transported me back to being 8 years old, tromping through the woods at our old house (which is only a few miles away from this house).
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| a rousing game of Wiffle ball |
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| cutest nephew at bat! |
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| Cece's first hit!! |
we enjoyed soaking up the sun outside during the day, watching the kids at the water table, eating dinner al fresco, and playing games in the evening. there was a rousing game of Guesstures (similar to charades -- I will not post the video evidence online but suffice it to say, we almost peed our pants from lauging so hard). and one memorable night, the girls put on a juggling show!
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| the attentive audience trying to guess what is being acted out... |
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| plotting their escape from the kitchen |
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| after some juggling lessons from Uncle Patrick, the girls were ready to show us their stuff |
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| Cece's stage name was "Juggsy" and never have I been so entertained at a juggling show |
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| so squishable!! and Milo was obsessed with Victoria, giving her toys and hugs and kisses. so sweet! |
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| at the end of another happy day! |
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