Travel Diary // CA to AR {24 hours}

I don't even know where to start. I'm still a little fuzzy on details as I was awake for 24 hours straight with very little shut eye so I'll just start from the beginning of the longest day of my life.

Wednesday, June 13th 2018 4:30a

My alarm woke me up from a less-than-deep sleep and it was hard to get moving BUT today was travel day and adrenaline took over. It is a race against the clock to get three kids, a dog, our luggage and say good byes to family, so admittedly, we were a little behind getting on the road, but what can you do? Onward we went. 30 minutes behind.

Checking into the airline queue it was pretty clear we were not going to make the 8:03a flight into Dallas. I'll spare you the aggravating details of being told we were late and having to be put on standby on the next flight out to Dallas, five hours later. It reminds me all too much of the scene from Meet the Parents without being remotely funny. 

Meet the Parents clip

Have you ever waited in an airport terminal for five hours with three kids and a dog in a carrier? It's not as fun as it sounds (harhar). Thank goodness for over priced snacks and seats with chargers for devices. 

Finally the time to board Standby was upon us and wouldn't you know, it was only for two seats. Only accomodating half of our family. What in the world?! I wanted to explode. Thank goodness this lady was actually helpful, she got us on the red-eye to Chicago which would take us to XNA by 9:30a the following morning. 

So what to do until 10p? The very first thing we did was eat lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and that's when exhaustion overtook Brielana and Clark. We put B in the carseat carrier and she slept like that for an hour. During the nap hour my lovely InLaws drove back to San Jose to hang out with us.

We went to Target and stocked up on Sour Patch Kids and water. We spent so much needed time outdoors at a super cool park. And then we ate dinner at The Spaghetti Factory. As much of an inconvenience it was to do all that terminal waiting, the family time more than made up for it ️

We arrived back at the airport, cruised through Security and had some unwind time before boarding. 10p came and we amazingly saw the inside of an airplane. As tired as we all were, it was a fitful rest so I can't say for sure if sleep was obtained by Brian and for sure not for myself; Clark straight up REFUSED to stay inside the Ergo any longer so I couldn't relax my arms or risk dropping him. Mom life is hard, folks. But I did get to see bits and pieces of A Wrinkle in Time (lip reading because I couldn't be bothered with actually listening with my ears) and we reached Chicago in time to see a breathtaking sunrise. My gramma grew up in Chicago so it was a fun layover. Granted we didn't see anything more than the airport hallways but it was still special to breathe the Illinois air.

At this time I want to inject that landing both times was one if the most excruciating experiences I've gone through, even worse than child birth. My head felt like it was going to explode. I was holding back tears to soothe both the girls. As it turns out I had a sinus infection for my first week here and every time I sat up from sleeping through the night my head would feel like it was being ripped  apart all over again. Fun times. There wasn't enough gum in the world to stop that from happening lol.

This is the only travel photo of myself. Any guesses as to why? haha

The short hop from Chicago to Arkansas was without issue (unless you count the head assault from landing.)  The best part if this leg of the journey was knowing we finally arrived. All together as a family. Starting our new life chapter.

A small PSA- XNA is a super cute, small and clean airport. There was hardly anyone around so early in the morning and there was fun entertainment. Just check out that chess board!

Let it be known I was hauling the baby carrier, our three carry on bags and wearing Clark. Adrenalin is powerful. This was also the last of my strength for the next two days haha.

The BEST TRAVELER Award went to Stella. She made nary a peep and didn't have any accidents. Don't shy away from traveling with your pet, they can do amazing things when you least expect it ;)

First impression of our new State? GREEN EVERYTHING. Such a sight for (literally!) weary eyes.

Soooo, that only took a little over a month to relate. The longest day of my life that didn't involve bringing a brand new person into the world. Thank goodness it is now a fond memory and a funny anecdote.

Anything you want to know about Arkansas? Ask away! I'm working on some local interest posts as I type this!