Welcome Back to Alaska, Mom!

We've been having a nice time visiting with Mom. She hasn't set foot in Alaska since 1955, I think. So it's been a while!

She arrived very early on Thursday morning. She was scheduled to arrive late Wednesday evening (10pm). But some rearrangements of her flights sent her on a time consuming detour through Texas. So she didn't arrive until 2am our time (6am her time!).

After taking a day or so to recuperate from her journey, we've had some fun. She went to one of Tess's very last flag football games. She and I went to a nice craft bazaar on Elmendorf Air Force Base. And we took her to the Arctic Roadrunner for a great burger.

I got she and I tickets to the final performance of Lion King at the Anchorage Performing Arts Center. The show was this afternoon. We headed straight there after an enjoyable church service in Eagle River.

The show was phenomenal. Our seats were great. Mom loved it. The sets, the costumes, the music... it was all just amazing! I knew she'd love it and I was happy I was able to get her to the show to see it. All the performances in the final week were sold out.

This evening she spent some time in front of the woodstove with a crackling fire. I let her check her email and play a few games of Free Cell. Then we took a dip in the hot tub. Apparently she hasn't been able to take a bath in a couple years since she had her knee replaced. So the hot tub was great.

She's been having tea with Alicia each evening. She makes Alicia "calico tea" (which is mostly milk). They color together in Alicia's coloring books.

Overall, it's been a great visit so far.