Alaska! Day One

Ok I'm going to try to write down what we did in Alaska before I forget!

Day 1, Wednesday:

We arrived at about 2 a.m. and got our luggage.

Mine had apparently been mauled.

I really like this suitcase, so I was pretty bummed.

There used to be a wheel in that spot, by the way.

We checked into our hotel and slept for a few hours.

Our hotel room was super hot and we weren't able to turn it off...

so we ended up opening the window of our room,

which was on the 15th floor.

There was supposed to be a chain to keep it from opening more than a couple of inches, but it was broken, so our window opened way out and had no screen or anything.

We enjoyed the fresh, cool air but it freaked me out.

We drove over to Branden and Amber's house at around 10:30

while the girls were eating breakfast.

We were hopeful they would remember us.

So we sat near them at the table to give them time to adjust to our presence...

which didn't take long at all, thankfully!

They were both being shy though...

they kept looking at us and smiling and then sticking a finger in their mouths

(apparently their go-to thing for when they are nervous)

After breakfast, we presented them with some small gifts:

A couple of puzzles for Kaylee

and a doll stroller for Isabelle

Isabelle likes her stroller but the puzzles were a big hit with both of the girls...

and as the week progressed I was kicking myself for not getting two of the same puzzle!

Frank had the idea to get matching shirts for us and the girls

(how cute is that?)

So we ordered shirts from Etsy that have Isabelle's favorite dinosaur on them.

they say:

Grandpasaurus

Bakasaurus

Isabellesaurus

Kayleesaurus

Branden had to work that day, so he left fairly soon after we got there.

Frank drove him to work and Amber and I took the girls and did some grocery shopping.

We spent the afternoon just playing with the girls.

They showed us their favorite toys,

we read books,

and Isabelle even modeled her dinosaur hat for us.

The apartment looked all cute and clean when we arrived, but within short order the place was strewn with toys and clothes, puzzle pieces and food.

It brought back memories of having little ones and feeling like my work was always undone within minutes.

The girls had a surprisingly good time playing on my suitcase.

We attempted to get a picture of all of us with our matching shirts but it was harder than you might think.