Our First Family Flight

We have been trying to visit my brother, Austin, and his family in southern Cali ever since Josh got his Private Pilot's License back in April. In true Hunsaker fashion ("things never seem to work out as you had planned them to") our hopes of getting down were not sooner than later, but definitely later. We were going to head down for my birthday weekend, but no dice, and so the story had been going. Eventually (as Hunsaker fashion does.........or more likely when Our Father in Heaven sees the time as right) things worked out, and we were able to get a trip in to visit Austin's family.

We got to the airport just as it started to rain, but luckily our departure went smooth and Josh was able to find some clear patches and we maneuvered through the rain storm. I will not lie......I was nervous because this was my second time on an actual flight with Josh as my pilot, and we had all the kids in the back seat for their first flight. So it could have gone very badly with the kids going crazy, but luckily they slept, ate, and played nicely for the majority of the flight. Thank goodness for answered prayers!

We had to avoid some forest fires in Nevada and California, but nothing scary. By night fall we were landing and were greeted by our cute cousins Makenzie and Ethan and Uncle Austin. It was nice to be out of the plane and heading to Austin's house to relax.

On Saturday we hit the beach in LaJolla and it was so nice. We haven't spent much time at our freezing Oregon beaches with the kids, and so I wasn't sure how they would be with the waves and the mass loads of people. Luckily the kids stayed close by, chased seagulls, rode boogie boards, and had a blast! (Damon running around like a wild man and loving every minute of the ocean).

(Joel didn't stop laughing the entire time he was in the water......well except for the times the waves got a little bigger than him and his open laughing mouth got filled with salt water! Then the laughing turned into spitting).

(Olivia had fun, but by the end of the day she was exhausted).

Austin and Josh took Makenzie, Ethan, and Damon over to an area where Leopard Sharks were breeding. It was an experience to be that close to sharks with no protective gear on, but this shark breeding is a regular thing and the sharks just mellow out (as we were assured by Austin). They all came back alive to our little beach area so Austin was right.

Sunday morning Cherisse wasn't feeling well and so Austin ended up taking her to the hospital to get checked out since their little boy was due in about a month. I was worried that the steak dinner Josh had cooked up the night before didn't sit well with her, and that's what made her not feel so great. A few hours later we got the phone call that Austin and Cherisse had welcomed their new little boy into the world. I was stunned they had the baby, relieved that Josh's cooking hadn't made her sick, and so happy that we were in town to help take care of our cute little cousins. This trip was definitely perfect timing.

The kids played and played, built forts, read books, fought, all the usual kid stuff. We had a good time hanging out with all the kids and on Monday Austin arranged for us to go swimming at a friends house. Since we happened to be in California during some 100 degree heat wave, we opted for the pool time and that was a great decision. The 5 kids had a blast (poor Olivia slept the entire time we were there and missed out on the pool fun). We were very grateful for Austin's hospitable friends sharing their pool.

(The Cousins: Joel, Olivia, Damon, Tessa, Ethan, the neighbor kid....and Makenzie was at school).

We ended up leaving on Tuesday morning and had a safe flight home. Once again the kids were great in the plane. (As we landed I finally took a picture of the kids in the plane. Damon with his headset, Joel was asleep until he got the forearm to the face, and I'm pretty sure Olivia was checking out all the other planes).

It was a blessing to be in California when we were, to help watch some cousins so Austin and Cherisse could be with their new little boy. I think Austin and Cherisse felt bad we didn't have some "California Adventure Vacation," but that's not why we were there. We were meant to be at their house at that time and I'm so happy we could be there to help. That's what families are for.

So our first family flight will truly be memorable.