Speaker 1: Hi guys, welcome back to my channel. Today we're surprising the kids with a trip
to LA, as a family for Easter. This trip was all booked very last minute. I think just
a week ago it was all confirmed. So, because it was so last minute we thought instead of
tell the kids, we could surprise them. So, we're about to tell them now. Matt's just
taken them out now for a coffee, so I could get the last minute packing bits done and
he's bringing them back now. So, we're going to tell them. My youngest, he is actually
at nursery for two hours this morning. It was his normal day and we thought we might
as well just make the most of it and pack before we drive to the airport.
Speaker 1: So, he's there. So, we'll tell him after we tell the two older boys. So,
my two older ones are eight and five and my eight-year-old, he's really inquisitive and
I'm kind of expecting when we say it, he might have known something was up, because Matt
and I have slipped up a few times. He doesn't ... he didn't seem to notice. But I don't
know. I just felt like, "Does he know? Does he not know?" So, we will see. And yeah, I
think I'll record their reactions.
Speaker 1: Right. So, you know you've been so good at your chore charts, got a little
something for each of you. And I was thinking we could go to the shops and spend this, have
a look.
Fraser: £20.
Speaker 1: What is it?
Fraser: £20.
Speaker 1: Is it £20?
Fraser: Dollars?
Caleb: $20.
Speaker 1: So, where do you have to go to spend dollars?
Fraser: America.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Fraser: Are we going to America?
Speaker 1: Yeah. Should we go today? To America, Caleb? To Chuck E. Cheese.
Speaker 4: Should we go to America, yeah? We'll pick Jackson up from nursery? Go on
an airplane?
Caleb: No.
Speaker 1: You don't want to go? Do you not want to go?
Caleb: I want to go.
Speaker 4: We'll go on holiday.
Speaker 1: Go to LA, to California. Yeah?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 1: They're like in shock. He can't take it in.
Caleb: I want to go.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Should we go? We're going to go in an hour.
Fraser: I thought something weird was happening, because I had a feeling that we were going
somewhere. When I opened the present, I was like, "Where are we going to spend dollars?
And then are we going to American shop? That means dollars and we're going to America instead."
Speaker 4: Bit better than that, isn't it?
Fraser: Yeah.
Speaker 1: We're about to get on an 11.5 hour flight with three kids. They're eight, five
and two years old. So, I thought I would vlog the whole flight, show you what works for
us and what doesn't work for us and how the whole experience is. So, let's go.
Speaker 1: Right. So, we've checked in and now we're on our way to security. I'm really
hoping there's some sort of family security to get us through quicker, because we have
so much stuff and three kids. We just had dinner and we've broken out the kid's magazines
already.
Speaker 1: Okay. Right. So, we've just been for dinner, because we thought it was a good
idea to eat something like a good meal before we get on the flight and have the plane food,
which they probably won't eat. I have got so many snacks with me, though. I did do a
video of what I'm packing in their carry-on cases. So, if you want to check that out,
I will link it down below as well. We've just come to the gate. There is actually a soft
play in this airport and we were going to go to it, but it's called us to the gate even
though it's still an hour and a half away from going. So, we've come to the gate and
we're just going to hang out. There's this piano here that says, play me on it. So, the
kids have been playing on it and quite a few people have moved away. It's quite good. I'm
happy to clear seats if you need a seat.
Speaker 1: Jackson. I'm also going to quickly change Jackson's nappie one last time, because
the changing area in the airplane is so, so small. They're playing Jaws. So, I'm going
to go and change him now. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Right. So, we're on the flight and the kids are settled, they've got their
snack bags, the two older ones are watching a film and Jackson is playing with his Water
Magic book. As we've been sat here, we've been delayed by 20 minutes, which to us is
a long time with three kids.
Jackson: Mommy?
Speaker 1: But, luckily they've been really good. They're just eating and chilling out.
So, hopefully they can watch a film and then have a sleep.
Speaker 1: Okay. So, I'm going to do a little voiceover, because the plane was really noisy,
but once we sit down and get settled, I wipe all of the arms of our chairs and the tray
tables with my Dettol wipes. These kill 99.9% of bacteria. So, I do this to try and get
rid of some of the germs because planes have so very many germs. I also wanted to show
you that Jackson really loved his Water Magic books. These are great. You just fill up the
little pen with water and he can color away, but then they dry out really quickly and he
can do it over and over again. The boys also watched some films on their iPads and also
some of the inflight entertainment, so definitely bring some headphones for the kids. You can
see Jackson's watching Monsters, Inc. here.
Speaker 1: And then I wanted to show you this little gadget. I just randomly found it on
Amazon, but it's an inflatable foot rest. And oh my goodness, this just saved the whole
flight. Our flight went at 5:30 so the boys were awake for a couple of hours, but then
it was bedtime and this made Jackson sleep for five to six hours. It was brilliant. One
little word of advice with this footrest though, is to blow it up while it's in the position
that you want it in. I blew it all the way up and then tried to squeeze it into the foot
rest area and it was too big, it wouldn't go. So, then I had to deflate it and do it
all over again. This also works best on a window seat, because obviously everyone can
get past then and then nice and cozy in the corner. But I would totally recommend it,
it was brilliant. It kind of made his seat into a bed.
Speaker 1: There were also a few apps that the boys played with for a long time. This
one is called Toko Kitchen or Toca Kitchen. I'll write them all in the description. There
was another one called Monsters and another one called Zoo Train, which even Jackson at
two years old could play really well. Another big hit again on this flight was stickers.
I bought this big sticker book for my five-year-old, but actually Jackson played with it the most
on the flight. He just stuck all these tiny stickers on to paper for ages, it felt. So,
that was great. Then at about 7:30 to 8:00 they started to like get more tired and the
lights got dimmed in the cabin and we tried to start winding down.
Speaker 1: So, after a little while he finally fell asleep and you can see his little chair
bed a bit better here. He could lay flat and also rollover and everything, so it was great.
The two older boys stayed up a little bit later, just playing games together and then
Caleb finally just passed out. And so did Daddy and he's actually going to kill me for
putting in this footage of him. Sorry Matt, I love you. And Fraser fell asleep as well.
As we got nearer to landing, they just turned the lights on in the cabin, which was really
frustrating because my kids were so happily sleeping. So, to kind of cover their eyes,
I put a pillow to shade them. At this point of the flight, we were just half an hour away
from landing and the boys loved looking out the window at all of the city lights.
Speaker 1: I also brought lollipops for the boys to have while we were descending for
their ears and I also had drinks as well, which really helped. I feel like I haven't
shown how many snacks I brought, but the boys actually didn't eat any of the plane food.
So, definitely bring food and snacks and drinks and everything.
Speaker 1: Yes, but that's it. We made it to LA and the boys loved having their scooter
carry-on cases to scoot through to customs. And the customs line was actually so very
long and for about an hour Jackson played this app, it's called Monsters. I'll link
it down below or I'll write what it is down below, because it really kept him busy for
the whole time, which also kept him in the buggy, which was amazing. But the boys did
so well. As I said, it was the longest flight we've ever done and I was really nervous.
But I honestly think that the thought of traveling with children is far worse than the reality.
They're actually so good. As long as you come prepared with food and some games and a few
things for them to do, then it's totally fine. And this has made me feel even more confident
that we can do a really long flight even though we have three children if we want to.
Caleb: Hi, guys.
Fraser: Hi, guys.
Caleb: We're going on holiday.
Speaker 1: We're here, aren't we?
Caleb: We're here.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So, the boys did amazingly on the flight. It was 10.5 hours in the end.
So, they must've gone ...
Caleb: No. It wasn't. It was 10 hours and 25 minutes. No, it was 1100 hours.
Speaker 1: No. It's supposed to be 11.5 hours but it was 10.5 at the end. But, so the flight
was really good. But then to get through customs, we stood in line ...
Fraser: It took three hours.
Speaker 1: No. We stood in line for an hour and 15 minutes and that was actually the hardest
point, because they didn't have anywhere to sit down. So, they were just stood and were
hot and wanted a drink and everything. So, the hardest part of all of this was getting
through LA Customs. And yeah, that was actually ... it wasn't a great first impression. Everyone
was pretty moody and stuff, but we're through now.
Caleb: I was ... the whole time I was nice.
Speaker 1: You were such a good boy. I was so proud of you. They were all amazing travelers.
I'm so, so proud of them. But now we're going to pick up our rental car and find our hotel.
Jackson: Mommy? Momma.
Speaker 1: And you were amazing.
Jackson: I got my phone. I got my phone, Daddy.
Speaker 1: Yes. That phone saved the day, didn't it? This Monster game, what is it?
He's been playing that for an hour and 15 minutes in the queue, haven't you?
Speaker 1: Right. So, I don't think I ended the vlog properly last night, but we're here
safe in LA. After the airport we went and got a rental car and then got to the hotel
and just crashed. So, I didn't properly end it. But we're here and this is the view from
our bedroom. We're staying at the Marina Del Rey Hotel and yeah, we've got the most incredible
balcony and this view of the marina. So anyway, I think I'll end this vlog here and then I'll
start vlogging my entire LA trip. So if you're not subscribed, subscribe for those, because
I will be vlogging the whole time. And yeah, thanks so much for watching. And we'll see
you soon. Bye, guys.