On Thurs morning, the representative did offer flight 99 from LRH to ORD on Friday July 6 but said we'd need to find our way to Seattle from Chicago. Then 20 minutes later, she called and said well I do have an option for you and then described an 11 hour total travel time jaunt with multiple legs and long layovers. We decided to pass: I think I could handle a 24 hour total flight, but it would be pushing my wife and kids too much. There are also a number of other issues with LHR on July 6 and how it fits into the overall trip. I do not write this in a vaccum, I've started looking into some other vacation options that I think will work and be a lot less wear and tear than that trip back. Maybe when the children are older they could handle it. Alaska does have several non stops from Chicago to Seattle, but there's no space on them at the level of ticket we would have.

I called again this morning (Friday). The 7+ seats on July 6 are still available. So are 3 seats from CDG to a gateway city in the US that I think would work. I am hoping they will add a few more seats on that, and that we can then work out a reasonable cross country trip.

Thank you again for your insights. I hope this these comments don't come across as too prima donna-ish. I just have to be realistic about what the family can handle.