How to Travel with three little girls...

Our life in China means lots of opportunities to travel with our little girls. Alex suggested I make a travel log for the girls to track their travels, and I think Wendy might be in the top 1% for kids her age in terms of miles flown. I usually spend the 24 hours before a plane flight running around packing and all the while a little bit anxious about the flight. It's not easy to keep three little ones entertained and happy in the confines of a plane...especially one flying out of Shanghai where it seems 1 in 3 flights ends up delayed and waiting on the runway for an hour until it can take off. We are currently planning a trip back to the USA this fall and I already feel my stomach churn a bit when I think of that plane ride! But every trip we discover that our fears are (mostly) unnecessary and the girls end up doing great. I took a few photos from our recent trip to Chengdu and here are a few travel tips from our family:

The little luggage carts are a completely acceptable form of transportation for two small girls. Who needs to lug around an extra stroller when these are around?

Again, airport and airplane related items are completely acceptable toys. Geneva spent most of our three hour flight to Chengdu playing with this boarding pass in Alex's lap. In and out of the back seat pocket...crumpling, finding it in Daddy's shirt...the options are endless.

My girls on the i-pod. Another life-saver.

There is always a wait at baggage claim for your bags. Always. I can only think of a handful of times in my 11 years of flying back and forth across the oceans that my luggage has been there to greet me when I arrive. And baggage claim is such a 'fun' place for kids...especially ones who adore Toy Story 2. You know when Woody, Buzz, and the gang are running around on those fun moving baggage conveyer belts. Vera runs straight for them and if given the chance, I'm sure would jump right on...just to see what it feels like. So, we usually wait and get off the plane last (we don't move real fast anyway with the girls) and then stop off at a few place...the first being the window to watch the workmen take the luggage off the plane. Wendy frets about where our bags are and they always like to look and see if anyone has brought a pet. The second is always the 'little girls room'.

Last, we find an open place away from the conveyor belts for the girls to run some races and burn off some energy while Alex dutifully goes off to get the bags. Here is Wendy striking a pose...Mimi-style. Mimi (my Mom) always looks so put together with her cardigan around her shoulders. It looks like her granddaughter has inherited her style!

Now on our last flight from Shenzhen to Shanghai, we had a little 30 minute stopover in JiangXi province. Two people got off and a few others got on. It was a small town...famous for being the location for the start of the Long March by the communists way back when China as we know it was being founded. We landed, and looked out and saw the 'ground crew'. Yup, a man pedaled his three-wheeled cart over to the plane with four orange cones.