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Kids with Grandma and
Great Granddaddy

A couple weeks ago we all went home for the first time since moving to Alaska.  It was really nice being back home, even though it was a very short trip (4 days of travel for 4 days of home time).  It was great getting to see family we haven’t seen since our move, and it was such a pleasure getting Chick-fil-A (3 times!!).  We learned a lot from this trip though, and will most definitely do things a little different next time.

Mark and Gianna with his
brother and dad

Lesson 1:

Alaska Airline is the ONLY airline worth flying.  I have flown a lot over this last year and each time was with a different airline.  This trip we flew mostly Delta, which I thought would be fine.  In the past I remembered having good experiences on Delta.  But… in the past I didn't fly with kids.  The customer service and courtesy with Alaska just can’t be touched by these other airlines.  When did every other airline stop boarding families traveling with small children first?!  I know not everyone would find this a big deal, but we do, and on the days we were flying, so did everyone around us!

Luke helping himself before the
party starts

Lesson 2:

NEVER sit in the row in front of the exit row!  Those seats don’t recline.  Imagine, seat pockets are full of sippy cups, coloring books, games and other various items of entertainment bulging them forward to their max, a baby on your lap and then the lady in front of you reclines all the way back.  My knees were practically bruised by the end of the flight and I think if I had hit my forehead on the back of her seat leaning forward to talk to Mark or Luke one more time I was going to scream.

Little Miss Thing with her cookie

Lesson 3:

The more lay overs the better!  This lesson I wasn't expecting.  On our way over we went from Anchorage to Portland, Portland to LA, LA to Nashville.  The longest leg was 3 and half hours.  On the way back we flew from Atlanta to Anchorage, 7 and half hours (which by the way is when we learned lesson 2).  I thought for sure they would offer an in flight meal (they did on our 7 ½ hour flight to Ireland), but I was wrong.  The only food they had was one expensive packaged sandwich and some little snacks.  Of course Luke had no interest in the sandwich, so all we heard for the last 3 hours of the flight was about how hungry he was. 

Lesson 4:  The most important lesson

Stay longer!  4 days was just nowhere near enough time to truly relax and enjoy our family and friends.  We should have stayed at least twice as long as that.  And it wasn't just the relaxation factor, I was not expecting it to be as hard as it was to say good bye to everyone again.  Some will come visit us up here, others we won’t see till our next trip home.  It actually made me tearful to say goodbye again, which was strange for me as I've never been the type to get homesick. 

Catching a nap with Uncle Quint

Daddy and his little girl