Priceless (To Me) And Funny Pictures To End Our European Trip

I thought about starting this post with the age-old, “A picture is worth a thousand….”.  Well, I guess I kind of did start it that way.

Children change you, in a profound way.  Or, they at least changed me in a profound way.  As a guy who was never getting married and never having kids, I surprise myself at times with how strong the pull is to be with my family and how much I love showing them the world.  Hands down, best thing ever.  My kids are like most, kooky, fun, annoying at times, and big sponges that absorb most of what they’re parents tell them as truth.  This post is undoubtedly more about me than you, wanting to remember my kids sitting next to each other on our flight home from Amsterdam to the US, pretending to be big kids, just like mom and dad (mostly dad, since he travels so much) on the plane.

This was originally going to be a post about our flight back, but since American is now retiring those god-awful 757s I figured this would be a lighter way to touch on it.  I’d be happy to answer questions if you’re considering the old US Airways TATL 757s.

Boarding our flight from Amsterdam to Philly the pilots were very generous with their time.  They let the kids hang out in the cockpit for quite a while.  Charlie’s still a little shy during things like this, but Catherine was all smiles.

Lest you think that Charlie doesn’t like showing off, I can assure you he does.  He just seems to get a bit of stage fright in front of pilots.  But, he wanted to do his best “Dad” impression, since I always pop my eye mask on and grab a nap just after takeoff.  Damn, that kid is cute.

They spent a few minutes going through their business class amenity kit, got their blankets out and settled in.

I was actually impressed with the kids meal.  The grilled chicken kabobs were quite tasty and that cupcake was pretty cool.

As a parent, all of the pictures and moments on the flight were worthwhile, but one truly stands out from after we landed.  Charlie’s finally at that age where he comprehends how far away Europe is from where we live.  After a 10-day trip overseas, we cleared customs and were walking out in the arrivals hall.  Charlie asked if we were back in the US.  We answered in the affirmative.  His reaction truly was priceless.

Yup, that’s our 5-year old, laying on the floor, proclaiming loudly “We’re home!!”  And, yup.  The people around us thought we were nuts.  Maybe we are.

But, I kinda like our brand of crazy.

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