My brother, Josh, Janelle, and family were in Colorado for a family reunion on Janelle's side. I couldn't stand the thought of them being in the lower 48 and not getting together with them. Drew couldn't go with us because he had exams for his PhD. My mom and I flew out with the kids on Sunday morning. We went back and forth about whether or not to rent a car and decided not to. (So expensive to rent a van, too stressful driving in the city without Drew, too difficult to carry around and check 4 car seats/boosters, etc.)
Unfortunately, we Pricelined a hotel when we thought we would be renting a car and weren't worried about location/fun things to do/places to eat within walking distance. Our hotel was right off a major interstate and busy highway. There was a grocery store and one restaurant within walking distance but walking under and beside vehicles going 65 miles an hour was not your casual stroll. Stella insisted on walking and lost her shoe in the middle of the road on one of our adventures out. Aunt Janelle risked her life running back to get it. :) There was also a park within walking distance. When we got to the entrance of the park, the adults just laughed. It was basically a really nice bike trail through a small desert with no trees and rattlesnake warning signs posted about. The kids kept asking where the park was. It was so hot and Janelle kept saying, "The Alaskans are melting." Ha.
Who needs walking distance options when you are in a big hotel with a huge lobby, picnic tables outside, and a pool? Weeeell, we found out we couldn't eat pizza in the lobby. We couldn't eat watermelon by the pool. And we sure couldn't use the picnic tables outside. Those are for the hotel restaurant customers only. Okay, we will spend 3 solid days with 7 kids and 4 adults in our hotel room. Oh my. So many funny stories. The kids loved being together. It was so good for my soul to laugh with Josh and Janelle. They make everything more fun.
This bench and footstool are where the kiddos ate their meals.
Our walk back from "the park".
We took lots of elevator rides. Who needs amusement parks?
Samuel is a natural in the water and had lots of time to get more confident swimming because he couldn't touch in the shallow end.
Benjamin's favorite pool activity was standing on Uncle Josh's back.
Sweet Titus. Can't handle his cuteness.
Morning cartoons.
Singing hour with Grandma Pam. "Deep and Wide"
Benjamin introduced Johanan to Angry Birds.
There was a lot of pretend play. Sofia, Sam and Isa kept tucking the "babies" into bed.
Again, pretending to go night night.
Johanan loves watermelon just as much as his daddy but they are too expensive in Alaska to buy. Where do you eat watermelon in a hotel room without making a total mess? The bathtub.
Three sweet girls coming back from dinner at the Mexican restaurant which was quite delicious. When we walked in, I told the waitress "10 adults and 2 high chairs." I don't remember who realized what I said but we laughed and laughed imagining what the waitress was thinking when I said that with 7 kids running around me. And I also accounted for Drew who was 2,000 miles away. I was majorly sleep deprived. The rooms had the air conditioning units that run for a couple of minutes and then shut off. I feel like I had three nights in a row of short little naps. It was dead silent when the air conditioning shut off. I would just get used to the quiet and then it would kick on sounding like an airplane taking off. I would just get used to the roar and then it would shut off. Add to that sleeping between two boys with their limbs all over me, and it made for poor sleep.
These three sat and played Uno for a long time. It was so cute.
More pool.
Sofia is such the little mommy. She was so sweet with Stella.
I couldn't narrow down the following pictures. Just adorable.
We celebrated Johanan's birthday a little early with ice cream from the grocery store. There was one tub left over that they shared right before we left for the airport.
Grandma Pam bought the kids each something at the airport since we had to check out of our hotel at noon and our flight didn't leave until 7:00pm. We had just a little bit of time to shop.
Until next time. We miss you already!
I forgot to mention at the top that we had a stressful start to our trip. I forgot to bring along an ID for Stella. I have flown a ton of times with each of our kids and I think have had their birth certificates every time but have never had to show them. I haven't flown in over a year and just spaced bringing along Stella's birth certificate. On the way to the airport, I started feeling nervous about it because she is so tall and is approaching 2 yrs of age. Well, sure enough, the agent wouldn't let her past security without proof of her age. I was trying to decide if I should just leave Stella with Drew or pay for her ticket. Thankfully, I didn't have to do either. Lots of phone calls and faxes later, the hospital was able to prove her birthdate. We had planned on eating breakfast at the airport but instead had to book it through security. We arrived at our gate and boarded the plane. Phew.
