Final Week + Packing Up

During our last week in Alaska we did a lot!

One of the first things we did was have a playdate with our bestest good friends, Michael & Aaliyah. 

 Hide & Seek, airplanes & a whole lot of legos.  

We are going to miss them so much!

I also tried to soak up the last bits of living in our home that I love before leaving it for the summer.  I laid in bed Sunday afternoon, reading my book, and staring out the window at the beautiful blue skies, mountains & our plants that have done so well,

while Wyatt munched on Goldfish and watched Veggie Tales.

We also spent a lot of time outside.  The weather was so amazing! 

Nearly everyday we rode bikes down to the post office & the co op.

Well... the twins rode bikes.  Wyatt and I mosey along behind them.

Wyatt is seriously growing up.  Not only is he completely potty trained, sitting at the big boy table and drinking out of open cups, he has also (for the most part) given up naps.  So I have been struggling to keep the boys entertained in the afternoons.

One day I decided I had to have a Coke break with my magazine, so the boys did quiet activities at the table.  It worked surprisingly well, and afterward, I was a much happier mama.

As the week wore on and I wrapped up cleaning house and sorting through food in the freezer & pantry, I started pulling out things that needed to accompany us to Washington.  Wyatt & the boys' carseats were one that the kids found most interesting.  The boys drug their booster seats all around the house, sitting on them in their hideouts, while watching movies and pretending they were airplanes.  Wyatt first sat on his while it was upside down.  I righted it, and showed him how to sit in it properly.  Then I buckled him in and he asked, "Why am I stuck in here?" Ha! I guess it's been a while (nine months approximately) since he last rode in one!

(Having him sit in it, we also discovered he has outgrown this one.  Thankfully my sister is loaning us one until we can purchase one that fits!) 

After cleaning, organizing and pulling things out, (and doing load after load of everliving laundry) the real packing had to begin.

The hardest part is deciding what to bring and what to leave.  When we get to Washington, in May, it's still cold and sometimes rainy.  The cold is a warmer temperature than we have in Alaska, but it is a wet cold, that somehow feels colder than many of our days in Marshall.

Then in June it get sunny and in July & August it gets HOT HOT HOT, which I look forward to all winter!

So deciding is a challenge.  It's also a challenge to pack for the period of time we're gone.  Three months is a long time to be away from home.  

I start by making piles, and from there it gets easier.  Shirts. Pants. Socks.  Sweaters, underwear, pajamas.  Don't forget the jackets & the hats.

I begin my packing first by choosing the outfits we will be wearing for the next two days (the day before and the day of travel).  I go backward from there.  That way, I have the clothes I need left out and I don't have to rifle through already-packed bags to dress the children.

I managed to get all of Wyatt's clothes and the boys' boots into one suitcase, and the twins' clothes into another.  After shipping three totes two weeks ago to Washington, we traveled extraordinarily light for us this time out, which was nice!

We had six pieces of luggage, two for the kids, one for coats & shoes, one for random household items we would need on our vacation, and two for Josh's and my clothes.  In addition to those six pieces, we also had one backpack carry-on per person.  

I ordered a new backpack a few weeks back, and I am in love with it!!! It's a North Face Borealis.  What I really wanted was a white backpack, but I knew better, so I instead chose this stone grey with seaglass accents.

By Friday night, I was completely ready and so happy when Josh made us a pizza for our final date night in Marshall.  I wrote on Facebook that I wanted our next date night to be at Red Lobster!  Shrimp scampi, here I come!

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