home

 So after three days of traveling on three airplane rides with three semi-obnoxious children, we are home.  I have never been so happy to be home as I was on Wednesday. It's not that I was dying to be in Marshall  necessarily, especially since summer had just arrived in the Northwest as we were leaving, I was just so sick of being on the go with our whole family.  Packing and re-packing luggage & the diaper bag... I was so over it!  I told Josh I could have kissed the gravel at the airport!

 That said, if I am being honest, travel with the kids was not too bad.  The first flight felt way longer than three and a half hours, perhaps because it was past the kids' bedtime and none of them would sleep.  And I couldn't stop weeping.  Also, the man in front of Jack and I kept looking back to give me dirty looks when Jack would put his feet on his chair. Hello! He is four. I am sorry that his feet touching your chair is making you crazy, but if you'd prefer, you can sit back here and hold the screaming thirty pound baby and tend to the demands of said four year old, and I will happily take your seat (butt kicking and all) and read the book I naively put in my purse with the idea of reading it whilst my children slept on this flight. {sigh} Jerk.

 We arrived in Anchorage around nine local time, and got our rental car.  We found McDonald's for the twins, fed them since they had run out of meals by the time they reached our rows on the plane (!!!) and put them to bed.  We followed suit shortly.

 For being in a hotel, I have to say all of us slept fairly well.  I think my hysterical sobbing the day we left made for a good nights' sleep the first night, and our insane day of shopping and errands all over Anchorage made the second nights sleep also welcome.

I have discovered about myself that airline travel is not my forte.  I tolerate it alright, but truth be told, the entire day before I leave, I have diarrhea. Isn't that horrible? Once I am on the plane, I am fine. Thank God.  But it's that whole "Catch the plane on time, get the kids settled, make sure I'm not missing something (or someone)" that freaks me out.  It is truly horrible. And it happens every time I fly.

Sorry for the TMI.

 After a day spent shopping (mostly for our Walmart bush order- groceries I shopped for and Walmart will ship to us) and an evening swimming, we promptly went to bed.  Good thing, too because we were up bright and early the next day to catch one of two planes that would eventually get us to Marshall.

Anchorage to Bethel the flight was okay.  The plane felt really small and crowded.  I was grateful the baby slept the whole ride and we arrived safely in Bethel.  We had a five hour layover in Bethel, which has a terminal the size of our living room.  We managed okay, feeding the kids lunch and napping them on a huge bench, but were nonetheless ecstatic when our flight was able to leave earlier than planned.

 It took about forty minutes or so to reach Marshall, and from the air I got some fabulous pictures.  I was happy to be seeing Alaska from the air minus the snow. It is so beautiful.  We looked for moose and bear, but no luck.  Josh has seen both from the air before, and I am so jealous!

 Getting settled in at home has been really peaceful.  I have enjoyed unpacking and organizing things the way I want.  Minus the crazy rainy/windy weather and some scheduled (unbeknownst to me) power and water outages, things have been pretty smooth. The twins are overjoyed to be back with their toys, and the baby is happy to have so much room to crawl after his brothers.  

We moved Wyatt's crib upstairs, so all three boys are sharing a room again, as they were at Josh's parents house this summer.  I love having all three of them together in the same room, and so far it is working beautifully. Especially at nap time because the twins don't have to be near as quiet now that Wyatt is asleep upstairs instead of down.

The arrival of Wyatt in their room also meant something exciting for the twins- bunk beds! Josh and I put their two beds together and now they have big boy bunks.  It makes their room super cozy and now I just can't wait for my mom's quilts to arrive for them, and Julie's art to come-- then their room will really feel complete. Oh! I also got a great deal on a rug at Walmart in Anchorage, so that should be here soon as well.  I can't wait to post before and after pictures!

 I have gotten right back into the swing of things here.  Our routine was my sanity in the spring, and it has been my sanity this week as well.  I made bread already, and this afternoon I plan to make some tortillas.  Last night was Friday night, which meant date night for Josh and I. He made homemade pizza (delish!) and we watched Catch Me If You Can with Leonardo DiCaprio.  I may or may not have fallen asleep on the couch after eating my pizza.  (Hey! It was hard work settling back in here... Sister needed some rest!)

 The twins have adjusted just fine, already telling me who they want to call, and who they want to paint pictures for back home.  Wyatt, however, has been having a hard time.  He wails any time I walk past him, or go into a different room. I think he has yet to figure out that only one door actually allows me to leave the house!  It will be nice when he calms down a bit about being alone or without me in a room.  He is getting into lots of no-no's and I am just watching to see what (if any) child proofing things I am going to need to be ordering from Amazon.  Mostly he just likes to close his fingers in the drawer in the kitchen and the playroom.  So far the wooden stairs have not been too much of a draw, and I am thankful for that as we don't have a gate.

 Our first night back in our own bed was divine, and with the rain, climbing out of bed each morning has been torture. It is so dreamy to imagine lounging in there as long as I please. Tomorrow that dream will come true- Sundays are my turn to sleep in! I cannot wait!

Sundays are also the day I am supposed to make bread, and I was hoping to make some to share with our neighbors, but we are out of flour and the co-op has no flour, so I am out of luck.  The co-op is pretty much out of everything right now, so I am anxious to get my hands on some eggs, soda and flour when they get in new shipments, even if it does cost an arm and a leg!!!

 So I am kind of rushing through this because my oh-so-generous husband sent me here out of the goodness of his heart and is back home with all three littles.  I have so enjoyed the quiet, the ability to update the blog and check my email.  Oh, how I miss the internet!  Josh is narrowing down what service he wants to get, and once he decides, we will order it and I will be back up & blogging from the comfort of my own living room.  Meanwhile, I will have to steal moments away from the house, trudge over to the school in the weather, hunker down in Josh's classroom and check things out that way.  Last week, it just never happened. Not sure if it will this week either, so you may not hear from me again until next weekend.

Meanwhile, if you are thinking of us, feel free to send us a care package! 

(Am I allowed to be so blunt? It's my blog, so I guess I can do what I want!)

Your care packages are really what get us through the long days stuck indoors.  We are hoping for a reprieve from the wind and pouring rain, but I'm not holding my breath.  So keep your letters, boxes & support coming.  We thrive on it!

I have updated the Care Packages page at the top of the blog (link here) and it has some ideas of things we want or need as well as our address.  I hope to be able to blog again later in the week, and perhaps share more pictures of our summer adventures.
{{happy weekend}}