2020 was the start of the COVID Pandemic, how was it for you?

2020…where do I even begin? We rang in the new year in Japan – who knew that a few weeks later it would be ground zero for COVID-19.   Shortly after our return to the states, Alli and I were in Los Angeles for a photo shoot and week long acting class. We followed that up with a trip to Florida and then Phoenix over a two week period.  Yes, we were flying in and out of time zones on a regular basis at this point. 

In February the kids took over NYFW and London Fashion Week 2020! 6 cat walks – 8 days – 2 countries – 3 designers!  The following week we flew to Whistler, Canada for a week long ski vacation. Little did we know this wound be our last vacation before the COVID-19 pandemic stopped us in our tracks. We had to cancel trips to Finland and England and several intercontinental trips.

When school turned virtual, we ended up at our home in Fort Myer, Florida for the next 4 months. I have to admit that I really did enjoy staying home during that time.  ! I love homeschooling the kids and spending each and every day with them. In July 2020 we took our first flight since COVID to Utah to explore the outdoors.   We visited Capitol Reef National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park as a last minute road trip…little did I know it would be the beginning of our goal to hit 62 National Parks in 2 years!!!

What age would you say is the easiest/best to start traveling? For reference…I have an 8 year old girl, 6.5 year old boy, soon to be 5 year old girl and my lil one you just turned 3.

I might be crazy but I would totally do it now, just not overseas yet! Patience is key and since there is so much waiting with international flights and  customs/immigration (even with global entry) it can be daunting, especially with a family of 6!  Keep in mind a taxis won’t fit that many people so logistically it’s a little more challenging. You could totally travel within the states but maybe staying in this time zone or central time zone is helpful.   There is nothing worse than having 4 kids up wake up at 3am.  The Caribbean would be nice if it’s a direct flight since their immigration isn’t too bad and security is usually pretty easy and fast.

Just remember, it’s never a super relaxing vacation for us! And as long as you have that mentality you’ll be fine! 

Her response:  This is great advice! I would love to take them to one of those kids resorts in the Carribean

My response:  Just pick a place that YOU want to go to and I promise the kids will enjoy anything you pick! Make sure you get good food and drinks and if it’s a place that would pamper you they will pamper the kids as well.

Her response: That sounds like a better plan than a kids resort haha

My response: I agree!

What is it like for you on a typical day getting through security and boarding an international flight?

It took months of planning, days of packing and 2 hours into it we are board flight 1 of 9…and I’m exhausted!  We managed to be double booked on our flight, holding 8 seats for the 4 of us. Not to mentioned we were scattered all over the plane. Our return flight was also booked twice with 2 departure dates. Thanks to AA priority agent who spent an hour fixing our reservations. We made it through security but not before they took apart what took hours to organize…our luggage full of a months worth of medications for 4 people, a months worth of diabetes supplies (4 vials of insulin, 20 infusion sets, 15 cartridges, syringes in case the pump fails, 300 test strips, extra batteries, lancets, CGM supplies which mind you are not small in size). But of course, they didn’t care about that. They were concerned about the Costco sized bag of chocolate crepes I brought for the India leg of our trip. Alli had airport sushi for dinner, boys had Burger King. Blake refused to eat his cheeseburger bun because of the seasame seeds but he happily took the bun off and gave the meat to Alli because he knew it was gluten-free. At least he has a good heart! Upon exiting the AA lounge both Blake and Camden stuffed their pockets to max with all the “please take one” bowl of candy.  At least the staff thought it was comical, we get away with a lot having twins. There’s something about them that people are just fascinated with. Finally we board, fill the entire airplane with a wafting mix of sushi, seaweed salad, cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets, fries and not to forget the fresh guacamole from the AA lounge. We are now 4 hours into our month long journey! Bon Voyage!