My little adventure

You know how most of those mommy times are the most beautiful and treasured moments of your life? And then every once in a while there are those mommy times that are the most frustrating, pull-your-hair-out, why-did-I-decide-to-do-this times?

I was having one of those negative mommy moments and trying to pull it together. I think I was kind of feeling sorry for myself for the fact that I've never spent a night away from my kids. It's really hard to pull off here in AZ where we have no family around who can take them. A couple weekends ago I was talking to my brother and sister-in-law and asking what they were up to. They told me not much, just hanging out and kicking back. I think they mentioned a bonfire. I said, "Oh, that sounds so great! Can I come over?" I said it jokingly because they live in Alaska. But on the other end of the phone I heard, "Sure!" And before I knew it, they had done one of the most generous things anyone has ever done for me and GAVE ME a round-trip ticket to Alaska.

The trip was perfect, but I was glad to be back. I've found that one of the hard things about being a mom is that you never really have any space from your job. The men come home from work at the end of the day, but as a mom, you never come home from work because home is your work. And it's not like it's all fun and games for Marty when he gets home, I usually put him to work so it's not like a big break for him. But even thought Marty absolutely loves his job, he still needs some space from his job. So that's where I was at. I love love love being a mom and would never trade it for anything, I just needed some space. So here is a picture of me doing what I needed to do for a few days. Kicking back and having intelligent conversations with my two brothers and sister in law - three of the smartest and most fun people I know.

This is our first sunrise in Alaska. See how cold? 20 degrees! It felt AWESOME!!! I was not at all as wimpy as I thought I'd be, the cold air was really refreshing.

At first I thought Bryce was really curious about those Alaskan beards, but no. Look at this picture and tell me there isn't adoration in those eyes. (that goes for both of them, by the way)

Don't worry, I kept him plenty warm inside my coats.

Well...maybe his cheeks got a little cold out there....

Bryce is a Johnson, he got the snuggle gene. I think Helen did, too.

Bryce's first gun show! I dressed him in camo pants to make sure he fit in. I should have looked in the mirror though, my lime green sweatshirt was definitely the only one in the whole place. If you had told me ten years ago that I'd be at a gun show with my brothers, I would have laughed. They were completely uninterested in hunting. But Alaska is what it is. You hunt for moose and caribou among other things, then work for days to butcher it and you have good meat in your freezer to last you through the long, cold winter. The sticker shock in their grocery store was enough to convince me.

We HAD to go out for sushi. They are the only people I know who would really enjoy - no, DEVOUR it with me!!!!! We even made sushi one night (with smoked salmon). It was an amazing sea food FEAST - with crab legs!!! YUM!!

Corey's cute little cabin....

complete with a wood-burning stove!

My last day there we went to a hot springs. I had never been to one, and it was really cool. We switched off who stayed indoors in the pool with Bryce

who was having the time of his life with his first big pool experience. Funny that happened in Alaska and not Arizona, eh?

Here is a picture of the hot springs. It felt SO good. A big giant bath. Going back and forth between the hot springs was slightly horrendous considering the fact that there were icicles dripping down into it - it couldn't have been more than 20 degrees outside.We came inside the lodge to get warm and ended up eating ice cream instead. Not Bryce, we just thought it would be funny to tempt him. What? He's not your child!

I'm calling this my little adventure because I haven't done much without Marty right by my side the last few years. Which I LOVE, but it made the thought of traveling this far without him kinda scary. A good scary though, I knew I'd be proud of myself. :) I'm a nerd! Anyway, the plane rides were....drum roll please....because remember Bryce is a screamer....PERFECT!!! All four times the plane took off, his eyes would roll back in his head and he would crash in literally just a few seconds. I was kind of worried about him, I thought he might be passing out or something! The layovers in Seattle got a little long and tiring. It was basically about 11 hours of traveling and not really being able to put down this 20 pound kid plus gigantic carry-on, purse, blankets, the works. Especially on the way home with no sleep before hand a small delay, I definitely experienced the meaning of physical exhaustion. But is was SOOO worth it! I loved every SECOND of it. Thanks Corey, Justin, and Helen! I love you guys so much, you have absolutely no idea what this trip meant to me. I love you!