Hustead Family: The Adventure Begins...

It the time of the year again for Lake Tahoe. My parents were taking their summer trip to their house over the 4th of July for two weeks, so the girls and I decided to fly up and meet them on the 5th. We were leaving on an early flight so that we could get up there and have the whole day to "play". Well, during the day on the 4th, Maya came down with the flu that has been circulating through the family. FABULOUS! I still had some packing to do so luckily Maya slept most of the afternoon. Chad came home from work and we bar-b-qued some good ol' American hamburgers and corn on the cob.

The next morning we got up early, loaded up the car and headed down to the airport. A few exits down I realized that we forgot my suitcase. So we made a quick turn off the freeway and headed back to the house and got the suitcase. Finally back on the freeway we made our way AGAIN to the airport. Chad was able to take us and help me get all the suitcases checked and bag up Teagen's carseat to be checked. Thank God he was there to help because, as usual, we were running late. Chad walked us to the security check where we said our good-byes (which with me always includes tears). That's where the horror continues.

It is my first time traveling on the plane with a baby. Maya was a year and a half when she flew for the first time. So she could at least walk. And with all of the security now, it was ridiculous. I didn't know about having to put all lotions, sanitizers, etc in a plastic bag. And I also didn't know that you can't have any of that stuff in a regular size container, they all have to be travel size. Well I had sunscreen and diaper rash cream in my diaper bag. I also had filled up bottles with water for Maya and if I had to make a bottle for Teagen, which you are no longer allowed to have either. The security lady was SO rude, telling me at least 5 times I wasn't allowed to have it. I said after the first couple time "just throw them out then, I'm going to miss my plane." She also told me quite a few times she would have to check with her supervisor to make sure it was okay. Really, do I look like I'm going blow up a plane? Also a new thing, I didn't know that you had to put your stroller through the X-ray machine, not just push it through the metal detector. So with my eyes welling up in tears, waiting for a couple captains and crew member to go in front of me through security, and some nasty looks at the security lady, I made it through. I walked straight to the counter and just handed them my ticket apologized for crying uncontrollably. The very nice lady said in a very quite voice, "That plane has already left" and quickly started working on finding the next plane out. There was another plane . . . leaving in 5 hours! Great, put me on it. We'll just walk the airport for a few hours to pass the time. And even better news . . . it was in a different terminal, meaning, WE GET TO GO THROUGH SECURITY AGAIN!

Well, we made it through. The girls were FANTASTIC through the whole thing. Teagen even took a nap for about an hour and a half. We made it on the plane, a non-stop one, and made it to Lake Tahoe to open arms from my family. But not before capturing some pictures. Can you tell how happy I am in the picture Maya took? And I was able to get a picture of Teagen on her first plane ride.