20 Lee's on a plane...Let's ALL go to Texas

The day we have been eagerly anticipating for quite some time has finally arrived!  Excited?  A lot.  Terrified?  A little.  Worried because I am not sure how my little's ears are going to respond to the built-up pressure once the plane takes off.  Nervous, because, really, who knows how behaved our crazy group is going to be once all twenty of us (10 kids - 10 adults) board that flight, go up in the air and are stuck in a small confined space with several strangers.  Delta has NO idea what they've gotten themselves into with us!

 Here's the first (and unfortunately ONLY kid group shot) of the Texas trip!  They were are SOOO excited to get aboard the plane  :-)

 Us four sisters (Keri, Lisa, me & Heather) excited to get this show on the road!

 Our plane has arrived at the gate and all the little ones smoosh their faces against the glass to get a closer look.  :-)

To say Grandma & Grandpa Lee were excited and looking very much forward to this trip would certainly be an understatement.  Here they are aboard the plane.  I'm happy to report that both behaved quite well.

but really...it's not them that had us all a little uneasy...

 While on the flight I was having fun playing with a new iPhone app called "Hipstamatic".  It's a REALLY awesome camera app that allows you to, in a sense, turn your digital camera into ANALOG.  It brings back the look and feel of the old-fashioned camera's from back in the day..swapping out lenses, choosing between various flash settings, film types, etc...super fun!

I think I caught some sweet candid moments between a daddy and his precious little girl while fiddling around with this fun app.

*****

So...I know you are wondering how the flights went.  Luckily both went really well.  Up to Minneapolis, then the one back down to our final destination, Houston.  ALL the little kids (even the big ones) behaved VERY well!  Waaay better than we could have expected them too.  whew!  

Turns out they are all pretty good travelers.

*****

here are a few quotes heard from McKenzie's mouth as our trip began:

"I want to be a flower girl right NOW"...said the moment we got in G&G Harnisches car to take us to airport...we haden't even pulled out of our driveway yet...

"Look momma, BANANA CARS!!...she said once she spotted all the yellow taxi cabs at Eppley...

"AHHHH.hahah.LOOK!"...is what she squeeled in a high piercing voice as each cousin arrived through security at the airport one-by-one.  priceless!

"Is that a care bear cloud?  Where care bears live?  I think I see one!"...what she said when we started flying through the white fluffy clouds.

"How many minutes till we get there?"  oh great..here we go!

 "I can't see our world any more"

"I think I see a Texas".

"ANNA!  she proclaims loudly for all passengers to hear.  "Anna, LOOK, I can see your house!  Can you see yours?"

*****

It's safe to say that meeting up with ALL my family members and hopping on this plane with them will likely by one of the MOST treasured memories of our lives. It certainly is not an every day occurence and it is unlikely we'd all travel in a group like this (all together) ever again.  Definitely an experience our little angels will not soon forget.  Did we take pics?  YOU BET WE DID.  They will have an opportunity to view these photos from their first flight experiences and reflect on these memories when they, too, are old & gray!

***
 Upon arriving in Texas, we all hopped into our individual rental cars and headed towards the hotel.  Cleaned up a bit and ventured over to Dan & Patty's house where they had prepared a delicious BBQ for us.  A feast of hamburgers, hotdogs and all the fixins for 50+ of their dear out of town family members who had arrived that day.  My Aunt and uncle OUT DID themselves!! Their gift of southern hospitality was ringing loud and clear the entire time we were down there!  It was nice to be able to kick back and relax at their home, while enjoying a few adult beverages (needed to unwind from a busy day) and chit-chat with everyone comfortably.
 ******
 

stay posted...as I will slowly but surely post pics from the rest of our "fun-filled-Lee-Family-Adventure".  I need to catch up on laundry and feed the kids I suppose at some point as well  :-)