Ground!

I've been on some bad flights. There was the time we got caught in the wake of the plane in front of us waiting to land, I thought we were going to fall into Lake Michigan. Then there was the infamous time we had flames shoot out the engine right outside my window (this is the flight that scared Kristen off planes for good!). There was the flight where medical personal was paged while we were in the air-- thought an emergency landing was next. And there was the time the pilot called for all the flight attendants to take their seats and buckle up immediately. It is no wonder I am a nervous flier.

But, I have never had a flight so bumpy that applause broke out when we landed-- like we had this morning. Today we flew through turbulence so bad it inspired these type of comments from Ella: "The plane is going to spill us!" or "The plane is going to fly on its belly!" or "I am going to be SO brave." I white-knuckled my infant, praying for an hour straight, while a woman behind me had a panic attack.

Of course, we landed shaken, but safe. This flight's bumps were not the only thing that made it miserable, though. We waited on the plane forever before taking off and then flew against a strong head wind (a full 5 hours of plane we got to enjoy today). Ella was cranky and antsy and testing every boundary. None of our tricks worked to keep her from crying. After sleeping just a few hours the night before, she only slept for the last 20 minutes of the ride. I would recommend the red-eye to anyone since that flight was a piece of cake compared to this one!