Family Fun | Long haul flight

Every two years, we as a family take a long haul flight overseas to visit relatives.  We never used to think twice about hopping on that plane for the 14 hours trek back to Asia, but with the addition of Zoe and Lila, this trip becomes a bit more challenging and comes with a lot more planning.  Luckily for us, Zoe is a rock star traveler.  She loves flying and has a natural wanderlust so packing her up is not difficult; however, the jury is out on Lila.  This year's flight was the litmus test.  As she has become more aware, mobile, and a LOT more ACTIVE, were were biting our nails in anticipation to see how well she would do.  Verdit is in -- GREAT.  No need for the Benadryl we had packed as a last ditch resort (I know, I know ... please don't judge).  A couple of things worked to our advantage -- direct flights and late night flight times.  After checking in, we let them run around the airport to burn off some energy before boarding the flight (oh, did we get some looks from people hoping we wouldn't be on their flight).  Once we boarded and after the initial excitement, the hum of the engines quickly lulled both girls to sleep before we even reached cruising altitude.  They stayed asleep until the last 4 hours of the flight but we were armed with enough activities (movies, movies, and more movies) to keep them occupied until we landed (..whew)!  Now, jet lag is a whole different story.