Our Flight

Our flight was actually quite uneventful, which is what you want for such a long flight with 2 young kids. We had 8 suitcases and 6 carryons so the hardest part was just getting checked in. Luckily, they checked our suitcases clear to China so we didn't have to deal with them at all until we arrived. Our flight left at 4:40 pm from SLC on Wednesday, August 15.
We flew to Phoenix and then LA then straight to Guangzhou. On our flight to Phoenix, none of our seats were together (even though I asked and the airport worker said they were). Luckily, no one our flight wanted to take care of our kids, so they gladly switched us so we could at least sit 2 and 2. That was a short flight--Haley slept the whole time and Britton just took everything in. He was by a window and he was just so happy to be flying. There was a short layover in Phoenix and then it was off to LA.
That was also a short flight. The kids had their own carry-ons full of crayons, coloring books, school work, games, etc. So, they were more than occupied. Britton did some math and Haley colored. We had a 3 hour layover in LA that flew by. In fact, we were planning on eating dinner and didn't even have time for that. We got off the plane and took a shuttle to the International section of the airport and found the gate for China Southern. At that point, we felt like we were already in China. Everyone was Asian and speaking Chinese. We checked in and then went through security. After security we only had a few minutes before boarding, so I found some Pringles and Nutrigrain bars for dinner (there were NO restaurants inside security). We boarded a bus and then onto the plane.
The kids were amazing on the plane ride. They slept for the first 8 hours then were up for about 3, then slept 2, then up for the last hour or so. I had little presents for them in my carry-on for when they got particularly antsy, but I only used one for each of them. They were really great. We arrived in Guangzhou about 5:00 am Friday morning (an hour earlier than scheduled).