Summer Recap Part 1: The Oregon Coast or Death (slowly) by Airplane

This July my Dad's side of the family had a week-long reunion planned on the Oregon Coast.  I hardly ever get to see that side of the family, but Rob couldn't take off work and I definitely wasn't brave enough to fly with 2 babies alone, so I thought we wouldn't be able to go.

The Allan-Schneiber Clan

Then my Mom proposed that she could fly from Minneapolis to Houston, and we could both fly from Houston to Portland.  As sad as I was to miss a week of the lovely Houston summer, I jumped at the chance.

The kiddos got lots of 2 on 2 grandparent time

The weather was absolutely beautiful and it was a really fun, relaxing week.  I hadn't seen most of my cousins in about 5 years and couldn't believe how much everyone has grown up.  They were all (of course) enamored with Savannah and Lily, so I got a lot of baby-free time while the cousins and aunties babysat. 

Grandpa-Great and Grandma-Great Allan

The only hiccups came in the physical getting to Oregon and back.  In short, the flights were a killer.  On the way there the girls only slept for about 30 mins of a 4+ hour flight and screamed for at least twice that.

3 very tired ladies--I think my mom was pretty relieved to kiss us good-bye after taking this picture in Houston! 

On the way home we had a similar experience except that after our 4+ hour flight we had to wait over an hour on the tarmac in Houston because of a thunderstorm.  And then I had to wait another 1.5 hours only to discover they had sent my luggage (and my car seats) to MN with my mother.  

So, rather than wait longer and make a bigger stink, we drove the 25 minutes home using my arms as child restraints.   And with about 5 minutes to go, the girls finally gave in and fell asleep in my arms. 

3 VERY tired ladies...

So, all in all I think it was worth the trip.  But I was definitely glad that the rest of our summer plans did NOT involve any airplanes!!   And, in the future, I'm pretty sure my Mom will think twice (at least) before offering to help us fly anywhere.  ;)