The Long Way Home

We arrived back in Alaska without a hitch. Maya slept on the plane from Seattle to Anchorage. Uncle Michael met us at the airport and brought us back to his house. Maya found this balloon in their house and charmed them into letting her take it with them. Besides being bigger than she is, it plays the chicken dance song when you hit it in the right spot.

Maya with Uncle Michael and cousin Michael.

Here's Maya with Aunt Karyn. She was very comfortable in their house since their two German Shephards were safely stowed in the backyard where she could see them through the glass door but they couldn't get in. Then we started on the 4 hour drive home. The giant balloon kept her entertained for the first two hours. But then the battery started to die so it sounded like we were playing a record backwards. We decided we better stop in Soldotna and pick up a couple more musical toys.

With her new toys and sunglasses, she was ready for the last hour and 15 minutes. She only fussed and tried to get out of the car seat a couple of times and yep, you guessed it: she fell asleep during the last 15 minutes. Of course by then it was 10:30pm! But we had a houseful of family members anxious to meet the new addition to the family. (For those of you who are closer to the equator that the arctic circle: the sun is still up at 10:30 at night this time of year!)

The boys donned on their new Team Vietnam soccer jerseys immediately, slept in them over their pajamas and wore them all day today. That's Chris on the left and Riley on the right.

Grandma was so happy to meet her new granddaughter.

So was Nanna and cousin Megan from Fairbanks.

We finally got Maya to bed around 11:30 and the boys to bed around midnight. They woke us up at 9:20am, anxious to play with Maya. We put her in the bath, Chris washed her hair. Riley helped her get dressed and brushed her hair. After breakfast they showed her one of their favorite nooks to hide in: under the counter with the recycle bins.

It didn't take Maya long to figure out what those hockey sticks were for!

After breakfast she met our best friends: The Greear family. They brought over their bunnies for her to see hoping that a few docile, soft, furry friends would be less scary. She was fine as long as they stayed in the box in the entryway! She is slowly getting used to our dog and cat as long as they keep their distance.

We kicked everyone out after lunch and Maya napped from 1:30 to 3:45. While she napped I made rice porridge with shrimp. I found a recipe in my cookbook: Hot Sour Salty Sweet; a culinary journey through southeast asia, by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. It is a beautiful photo atlas of these two photographers who basically eat their way down the Mekong River, encompassing China, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. They take the reader along with colorful photos and stories about the people, the places and the food.

Then she went to a double header. Chris had a Tball game at 4pm and Riley's baseball game was at 5:30. She walked all over the playground and played in the park. She ate oven fried chicken at the game. When we got home she ate a big bowl of chao tom, and a few sips of strawberry milkshake. Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Steve were here. They are down from Fairbanks to catch some salmon. After getting skunked all week long they finally got a couple of halibut today.
We are happy to be home finally. Chris gained two pounds and Riley lost two teeth while we were away! Right now they are camped out in the yard in a tent and it feels too far away!