That Time My Kid Ran out of an Airplane

Saturday night after the kids got to sleep, on a whim I decided to book flights to Texas and surprise my parents… the next morning… at 7AM.

Logical, right?

I was done booking around 10:30 PM, leaving me seven hours to pack, sleep and wake my kids up to tell them were getting on a plane.  I’m a light packer anyways, so one load of laundry and we were good to go.  I packed one carry-on for me and the boys for ten days, which I realize is either awesome or pathetic… you choose!

Needless to say, the kids were ecstatic when I woke them up, and we breezed through the morning.  I knew we’d be alright though… the kids are pros at this by now.

I’ve written some tips for traveling with kids (HERE) before, but honestly I can boil it down to 3 things: have low expectations, don’t stress over it and bring snacks… lots and lots of snacks.

My youngest is turning two this week, so our trip here was the last time he will be a lap child.  Which is awesome and horrible.  Awesome because I GET MY OWN SEAT! Horrible because more money and it’s further proof that he is no longer a baby. When my oldest turned two I was five months pregnant.  So here I am, with no bun in the oven, and feeling a bit more sentimental about my little guy turning two.

So here’s where the title of this post came from:  We had just boarded our second plane in Salt Lake and everyone had taken their seat.  It was going to be a few minutes until we take off, so my 4 year old needed to use the potty.  We walked to the back and he went in while I held on to the little guy.  He’s the type of kid you have to watch EVERY SINGLE SECOND.  So when Elijah opened to door and needed a bit of help, I let go of the his hand FOR A SPLIT SECOND, and off the sprinted.  From the back of the huge plane to the front.  I pulled Elijah’s pants up as quickly as I could and took off after him.  Remember, everyone on the plane is seated… watching my kid sprint through the plane and laughing hysterically.  Why no one helped a sister out and stuck out their hand to stop him… I don’t know?!

So he made it to the front, past the flight attendants, and took a left and headed off the plane onto the jetway.  A flight attendant headed after him yelling, “SIR! SIR!  YOU CAN’T DO THAT SIR!”  I finally caught up with them as she had picked him up, and this leads me to a question.

How are you supposed to discipline a toddler on an airplane?

Anyways, we got back in our seats and the plane finally took off.  We made it Texas, but not before a complete stranger gave my boy his half eaten Snickers bar.  Honestly, I was appalled and might have given the guy a dirty look… oops.

My sister and brother-in-law picked us up from the airport, and we headed straight to my parents.  The kids knocked on the front door and they were shocked!  So fun!

“shaving”

We’re enjoying our downtime here for the week… just trying to survive the heat.  My active Montana boys turn into tomatoes minutes after running around outside!

-Abby