The 90 minute drive from Glendale to LAX was tough. We had prepared both kids for the long flight but not for sitting in the car BEFORE the flight. After asking a hundred times, “are we there yet?” Miles fell asleep.

Ani was entertained by songs until she had to pee. Of course we were in bumper to bumper traffic with the travel potty buried deep in a duffel bag. Luckily we were close to the airport and we stopped at a bathroom directly after saying goodbye to Andy’s aunt and dad.

We checked in and lightened our load by dropping off the 2 duffel bags. Going through security was a breeze and the kids occupied themselves until boarding time by running back and forth on the moving walkways.

Ani and Miles settled in quickly on the plane. They were enamored by the personal TV screens and were very content to watch a familiar show – Bluey.

We splurged and upgraded to an economy sky couch in hopes of making the 13 hour flight more pleasant. It was certainly worth it!

With the sky couch, the bottom portion of the seats fold up to make a solid surface. This allows the kids to have their legs supported at all times and makes for a larger sleeping platform.

Thanks to a friendly Armenian at the ticket counter, we got two sky couches one behind the other.

After mealtime, we brushed teeth and changed the kids into pj’s (actually only Miles agreed to that and Ani insisted on wearing her clothes).

Laurie nursed Ani to sleep and then handed her to Andy. Laurie and Miles snuggled and slept while Andy tried to sleep next to Ani. Miles slept nearly 7 hours and Ani almost 6!

Andy slept while the kids and Laurie ate breakfast, played with sticker books and watched cartoons. Before we knew it, we were landing in Auckland!

We stopped before Passport control to eat the apples, oranges and kabob we had brought from LA. It was great to have 3 hours before our domestic flight to avoid feeling rushed.

Our first impressions of New Zealand were all positive. People were super helpful and kind. The airport was very clean and family friendly (family restrooms with a child sized toilet next to an adult toilet, family lines for passport control) and hearing the kids search for “rubbish bins” made us smile.

We loaded everything onto a cart (including the kids for a short time) and walked out of the international terminal to the domestic terminal.

The path was clearly marked by a green line and took us past lots of construction with pictures of scenic walks on the fences. It had been less than 1 hour but Laurie found herself dreaming of a future trip to return and hike through all of the magnificent forests and mountains.

Once checked in and at the gate, Andy worked on downloading an eSIM card while Laurie and the kids giggled and squealed as they did laps down stairs and up the escalator by the gate.

The 75 min flight from Auckland to Christchurch was smooth. Miles kept asking for an airplane surprise and was ecstatic to get a little car and some blue tape to make a road and bridge over the fold down tables.

While playing Laurie was hit by a large wave of tiredness and she and Ani took a nap while Miles bumped back and forth between the aisle seat next to Laurie and the middle seat between Andy and a Kiwi gentleman named Reuben.

Finally, after 19 hours of travel, we had made it to Christchurch. Laurie, Miles and Ani played hide and go seek around the baggage carroesol until Andy successfully completed the eSIM activation.

We took an Uber to our Airbnb, dropped our bags and tried to get the kids out to get some fresh air, move our legs and keep us awake. They were perfectly content with the train tracks and duplo blocks in the Airbnb and had no desire to leave.

After a few hours of trying to convince them and Laurie’s growing resentment, we made it out of the door and walked 5 blocks to The Margaret Mahy Family Playground. Once there, the kids didn’t want to leave.

We swung, climbed, jumped and slid over and over. With rumbles in our tummies (and an empty backpack without snacks) we went in search of some food.

Unfortunately it was 3 pm and many places were closed. With a kid on Laurie’s back and one in Andy’s arms, we made it another 5 or 6 blocks to Little High Eatery, a mini food mall with pizza, burgers and Mexican from different vendors.

Refueled with food we ventured a bit further to a grocery store. There, the hours of travel came to a head. Our generally shy -in-public kids manifested into little maniacs. Directed by Miles they took off running through the aisles screaming. It was a game to them, but embarrassing and incredibly frustrating to us.

That was the end of the shopping, we left with the bare essentials and took an Uber back to our airbnb.

Once “home” we were ready for the long day to be over. We all showered and were asleep by 7 pm.

We don’t believe we have mentioned it yet but Andy and the kids are getting over colds. We are grateful the kids are doing as well as they are given the circumstances.