[2manyks]

i did it. we are in the middle of our vacation and having a blast. i had everyone pack themselves and then help a younger child. my 17 yo then checked everyones suitcases. everyone had their own bag for the plane. the little ones used rolling backpacks. i had a pile of junk toys and everyone chose some for their own bags. also snacks. then the same 17 yo went through their bags to make sure there wasnt any liquids or scissors! we loaded the van the night before we left. good thing too. i told all the kids i would wake them up when it was time to go. we had a 7 am flight which means leaving my house at 445. at 440 my 18 yo came in and woke me up and asked *shouldnt we be getting ready?* i jumped out of bed and we re - enacted a home alone scene. we all threw clothes on, no time for showers or hair. we jumped in the car within 15 minutes - amazing, im sure you can all be impressed. we made it to the airport in no time since at 5 am there is no traffic. i had checked us in online the night before - thank goodness! this saved tons of time. all we had to do was have our passports checked. usually this takes a long time with 14 people. we got to the gate as they were loading. perfect timing. the plane ride was fine. i assigned a younger to an older the whole day and that was great. it still meant for a long day. i was exhausted. i had to try hard to stay awake past 9. got to bed by 10 and slept for 11 hours! i guess i REALLY needed the sleep. stuff we took for entertainment on the plane - ipods, game boys, portable dvd players. color books, cards. i intended to get more stuff, but ran out of time. some of the kids actually slept since they were bored. that was nice for the ride, but not so good when we got here and i was trying to get over the jet lag. the time change doesnt help either. we'll see how the vacation goes - 2 glorious weeks of fun - no schedule, friends and i would say phones, but DH made sure his cell would work here - some people cant let go!

ps. the only thing we forgot so far was one sons boxers. he'll just have to wear his swimsuit!