Well, the horrible part of the trip actually started right there in the Okinawa airport.
I had packed three bags. Two of which I was planning to check and the third I had packed all the goodies to survive such a long trip with four kids. Well, that third bag ended up being too big for a carry on. Crap. How did I make such a huge mistake?
I groaned and started to remove everything that would fit into my backpack. Poor kids, I made Carter fill his pockets with iphones and headphones. Taylor was now wearing his jacket and carrying a small pillow. That day did not start the way I needed it too. I pulled out the extra set of clothes for everyone and Rhett was like, "There is no way you can fit those. Just leave them. The twins haven't had an accident in months." I hesitated, but left them in the checked suitcase. BIG MISTAKE!
Ok, now on to the flight. We started with the short flight to Narita. It was about 3 hours long. The kids were really good. They looked out the window and worked on draining the batteries on all the electronics, but were pretty good.
Leaving our beautiful little island behind hit me kind of hard. I had been wanting to get back home for months so I was surprised by my reaction to it actually happening. :( I love this little place we called HOME for three years and I will never forget the wonderful friendships I made.
Ok, so now on to the next flight.
This was the flight I had been dreading. We were flying into Hawaii to break it up for the kids, but it was still a 9 hour flight. We started the flight and I was excited that shortly after take off they were getting the meals set up. The kids had been complaining that they were starting to get hungry. Poor little Ryker was kind of whimpering. He had been sitting in the row right behind me and asked if he could sit on my lap. I felt bad and thought he must be getting tired so I pulled him onto my lap. He leaned his head into my chest and started to dose.
Approximately 5 minutes later he said he didn't feel good. I thought he must be hungry, but wasn't overly worried because they were handing out the food already. Then it started.... the barfing that is! I'm not talking a little bit of spit up, but projectile vomit right into my neck and chest area. I am quickly shoving Hunter out of his chair while trying to grab the little white bag. I grab the closest blanket and start mopping up the massive amount of liquid covering the two of us. It was incredible how it just kept coming. I finally get a bag over his mouth as I am gagging and am screaming for Carter to watch his brothers. I grab Ryker and slosh my way up the long aisle to the tiny restroom.
We get into the restroom and by this point he is bawling. It literally broke my heart. At that very second I didn't care that I had barf in my hair or that is was slowly starting to soak through my jeans making my butt wet. Before I could even assess the situation we were in I knew he needed a hug. He didn't feel good and was feeling so bad that he got it all over us. I grabbed my little buddy and gave him a big hug telling his how much I loved him and that I was so sorry that he wasn't feeling well. I held him for a few more seconds as the tears rolled down his adorable cheeks.
I then, started the clean up process. I grabbed a stack of paper towels and started to wipe down my baby.
I cleaned up Ryker and then started to address my own mess. I was seriously sopping wet in the lap area. I took off my jersey and thankfully had on a tank top underneath that was only slightly disgusting. I left Ryker standing on the toilet and went back to our seats to grab him the only thing I could think of. I had purchased flight suits for the kids with Olsen embroidered on the pocket. I grabbed the bag and headed back to the bathroom. I stripped off his clothes, underwear and all, and put him in his brand new flight suit. He looked like such a cutie. We then headed back to our chairs to brave the next 7 1/2 hours until we landed.
The lessons I learned.
(1) NEVER leave the extra outfits. You never know when you will need them.
(2) Know where your little vomit bags are AT ALL TIMES. You never know when you will need them.
(3) It is even harder to eat airplane food when you are covered in vomit.
and lastly...
(4) Vomit take 6 hours and 15 minutes to dry on jeans.
Hunter loving his own mini tv. It was fun for them to get to pick what they wanted to watch and a total lifesaver for me.
Hunter peeking through to tell me he loves me. My kids melt my heart. I love them each so much!
My little "sicky" ended up falling asleep on my stinky lap shortly after. It's so hard to be sick!
When we landed in Hawaii I was so relieved. I walked all of my sleepy kids out to pick up our luggage. I wasn't in a huge hurry knowing we were going to be in Hawaii for 29 hours before our next flight.
We grabbed our bags and headed over to the immigration desk. I am sure I looked like a complete mess and smelled even worse. I had three big suitcases, a backpack, a purse, and I was herding four little, sleepy munchkins down the aisle.
I got up to the counter and handed him our passports and our military orders. He stamped our passports and then he did the coolest thing ever. He walked around the counter and said, "Welcome Home." Not only did he welcome us home, but then he took the time to shake each little boys hand and told them thank you for their service. I was in tears by this point and was sort of choking on my words as I said, "Thank you. It's good to be home." He walked over and gave me a hug. Vomit covered and all. I have never had anyone be so sincere and I will NEVER ever forget him. I needed it. I was feeling broken down and felt like I couldn't go on and his words were like a shot of adrenaline. I knew I was going to be ok.
It was an amazing experience!
