Anchorage to Kerman

Whew! We made it home! And it was only 85 degrees when we got here! The girls spent the whole day talking about how part of them really didn't want to leave Alaska, and the other part couldn't wait to be home!

Our flights were great! Our flight from Anchorage left only a few minutes late, so there was no worry about a "short" connection in Seattle. I rented DVD players for Amanda and Rebecca on the flight and so they got to watch "Night at the Museum" while we traveled. Katrina colored in her coloring book and crawled all over her seat and me.

When we arrived at Seattle, Katrina was as thrilled as ever to see her stroller waiting for her in the jetway. Each time we have landed somewhere, she has walked off the plane and then jumped up and down, pointing, "My stroller! My stroller!". This leg of the trip she was much more brave about taking that step from the jetway to the plane and visa versa. She is getting to be a pro at this flying thing!

The Seattle Airport is really nice. It's like they are making airports into little cities these days. Anyway, where the food court is, there is a two-story wall of windows and you can sit there and watch the planes take off and land. It is really neat. We had some nachos and spent a little while figuring out the big, huge hanging art in the food court, and there was a kid's area, but since we had enough time to eat and then get back to our gate, I didn't point it out to the girls. There is a really fun drinking fountain in the B concourse that has a speaker below it and when you push the button it makes a loud water gurgling sound.

In Seattle we had to go out on the tarmac to board the plane, so this was a little different than before, but the girls did very well. Katrina got in her seat, looked out the window and squealed, "Momma! My stroller!" She could still see it sitting at the bottom of the ramp before they loaded it into the belly of the plane.

We flew around a storm on the leg between Seattle and Fresno and Amanda was excitedly reporting every time she saw the lightening flash in the clouds, while I explained to a much less enthusiastic Rebecca that the pilot was flying us away from the storm and we didn't have to worry.

I told everyone I could about how smooth everything was going on our trip and how grateful we were for that. They were all very appreciative to hear positive comments, rather than the usual negative. We were very happy to be able to have such good reports.

When we got to Fresno, the terminal was empty and almost dark. (I miss the days when people could meet you right off the plane!) We walked down the long corridor, and finally the girls could see Kevin, who was standing there with a Welcome Home sign for them. They ran to him, and Katie did not let go of her hug for quite a long time.

The girls were thrilled to see the van again and they talked excitedly most of the way home, telling their dad all the fun things they did and had seen. They will have enough stories for quite a while!

See all the pics here.