Christmas Travels

 We're on our biannual trip to England to visit our family and friends, and every good trip starts off with Grandpa taking us to LAX and then taking a "ready to fly" photo.

The girls were so excited this time around about going to see everyone, and both had fun helping us pack our bags. They talked for days about when we'd be leaving, what we'd do on the airplane, and who we'd be seeing in England.

We'll have to get Violet her own little suitcase - she really liked pulling Cora's Dora case, and Cora wasn't always thrilled to let her. I think it's time for Cora to have a more "big girl" case anyway, so perhaps we'll pass the Dora case to Violet.

 As we were in line at the Air New Zealand counter, we learned the disappointing news that our plane was to be three hours late because of electrical trouble.

We always check to see when Sue and Gord's plane is going to land, but somehow we didn't think Sunday morning to check if our departure was going to be on time.

 At least the airline comped us for $20 each for a meal at one of the terminal's eateries. Of course, that only sounds like a lot of money until you get into those eateries...

Still, we were glad for the meal and the diversion, with several hours to kill with an un-napped toddler.

 For once, all those diversions we packed into our carry-on luggage came in handy. (Typically, the personal television systems on our long-haul flights serve to entertain the girls, and we don't need all the books/coloring/games.)

I was glad we brought the laptop, too. Free wifi let me update the ol' blog, and gave the girls some youtube time when they were squirmy.

We were more than pleased with Air New Zealand. The girls and I shared a "skycouch," the term they give three window seats that have flip-up leg rests, forming a solid couch space for lying down on. I was actually able to lie down flat in economy - imagine that!

And for the first time in years, Violet fell asleep four hours into our flight, instead of waiting until eight hours in. She didn't stay asleep the whole time, but did get a good four-hour nap. Cora slept, too. Hallelujah!

So, our trip in was very smooth. Gord and Dean drove the girls home from Heathrow, and Stace and I took the rails. With the long delay at LAX, we were late for the train we had purchased advance tickets for, but a charitable employee at Waterloo Station stamped our tickets as a Christmas good deed, so we could take the next train. Such a good start to our holiday!