cal-i-forrr-nia...knows how to party.

a couple of weeks ago, the whole family took a trip to california.  the whole family as in, my parents, my sister, and our little menagerie of van voorsts.  it was atticus' second trip on a plane, technically, although he was only two months old the first time we flew with him (a trip to arizona for him to meet todd's parents) - so, that first trip really kind of doesn't count.  for him at least.  it counts for me, since it was the first time i ever traveled with kids (i nearly dropped him out of the sling on multiple occasions), the first time i ever dealt with a newborn while also in a foreign state, and also the first time i ever had a kid with RSV, which he caught on the plane ride home.  oh yes, that trip counted.

anyway, what i'm meaning to say is that this was the first time that atticus got to fly while being fully conscious and autonomous.  and he LOVED it.

looking diligently for a purple plane.  to his sadness, it never came.

 sis loved flying too.  i think mainly because our flight didn't even leave des moines until 6:15 p.m., so after she got past 'i'm tired and cranky - it's bedtime' and moved on to 'i'm sleep drunk and there is plenty of space to run and lots of strangers to befriend' stuff got really fun.

landing in denver for our layover. 

we didn't leave denver until like 10:00ish, adjusted time, and didn't get to california until after midnight, adjusted time.  once we picked up the luggage we checked (car seats check for FREE, people!), got our rental car, drove to my aunt's house, and got the kids in bed, it was after 2 a.m.  (midnight california-time, if y'all are trying to do the math.)  it was insane.

apparently suspecting someone in the aisle of terrorism.

sis and poppy watch the luggage guys send our stroller on to california, rather than giving it back at the airport like they were going to.  sweet.

the theme of our flight was 'badger.'

you know what? traveling at weird hours for long hours with toddlers...really wasn't so bad.  god bless the ipad, the extra adult hands that came attached to my parents and sister, the new books and toys yaya and poppy brought along for the kids, and fatigue-induced delirium. 

and as for the antagonists who said we couldn't do it and not pay to check a single bag? SUCK IT, MONKEYS.  van voorsts win.  always.  period.