9 hours on an Airplane with 2 little kids.....

In just a few short weeks, we'll be heading to Hawaii with our two children (and my husband's parents.) My neighbors are in shock! How can you spend 9 hours on the plane with little kids???!!!? Honestly, I spend more than 9 hours a day with them at home, but I understand their concerns.

We've taken our kids on just a few vacations, probably 4 or 5 plane trips for each of them, and for the most part, it's been okay. Sure, they do require extra gear, food, and entertainment, but it's not all that bad.

For one, my kids are old enough to carry their own booster seats. They don't need naps or regular feedings. If they stay up late, it's no biggie. And they can walk on their own! Wahoo! That in itself, makes it a whole lot easier.

But that being said, we do need to sit for 9 hours.... Or do we? I plan to let the kids get up and walk around every hour or two. They can go visit Daddy in first class (lol), run to the bathroom, and just stand up and stretch. If you're not doing that on the plane, you should - nobody wants a DVT.

For the sitting hours, here's our plan: homework, new little toys, snacks & meals, movies, and this:

They don't know it yet, but we bought them a Nintendo DSi XL. Now we just need to get plenty of games for them to play. I've seen 4 and 5 year olds play the DS, so I'm hopeful that this will help make the hours zoom by.

Just in case, I'll be packing my earplugs. :)