We went to Birmingham in February and it was super. Thank heaven for Southwest and their crazy “buy it before Friday” sales. $35/ticket was a deal we just couldn’t pass up. This is the place where people ask if the kids had flown before and I answer that all three of them had but all three of them were 6 months old or younger. This trip was VERY different.

Everybody had their own roller bag for the trip. We carried them on for the trip down but checked EVERYTHING on the way back – lesson learned.

The trip was pretty uneventful; clocking in at just over an hour, their wasn’t much time for tragedy or mayhem. The only trouble was the slow descent and how it affected Bubba’s ears. He cried and cried and the gum I gave him wasn’t helpful. Turns out the body-builder/salesman sharing a row with Little and I had some super tips to help out and gave Bubs some jerky to chew. That solved the problem. Then he told me it was ostrich jerky (less fat) and I thought I might become the next travel problem. Bubba loved it, though, so I stayed calm.

We flew into Birmingham on my daddy’s birthday and arrived in plenty of time to have a celebratory dinner and cupcakes my mom had bought WITH A GROUPON! Woohoo!!!

It was wonderful and we were all just so happy to be together. Who was all? My parents, all my siblings and their mates and children – 15 folks ranging from 18 months – 68 years of age. Good times.