Brave parents that we were, we set off for a 3-day weekend on Friday to Fairbanks, including a 6 hour drive each way. Greg had a business meeting up there on Sat. morning so the family joined him for the trip. I found myself pulling out all of the tricks my father used to use on long car trips when I was a child -- telling stories from my youth, sharing every historical/geographical piece of knowledge I knew about the area we were passing through, and coming up with silly games (a new favorite -- what would you name that mountain if you could give it a name?) to pass the time. We borrowed a portable DVD player from a friend, the Dayleys, and Cate kicked it and broke it. Yikes! So, the DVD option for the way up was quickly taken away.

Fairbanks is cold this time of year to say the least and Cate, especially, did not appreciate the -13 degree weather. We did have fun catching up with some friends, Shannon and Charles and their expanding family. Shannon was one of my dearest friends in Anchorage around the time we started having babies. Christopher and her son Tony were best baby friends. I was heartbroken when they decided to move to Anchorage and I still hold a whisper of hope that someday they will move back. It was truly fun to catch up with dear friends, see their kids all grown up, and meet their newly adopted little girl from China, Quinn. She's adorable. We also picked up Greg's moose meat from his successful fall hunt.

So, all in all, a good trip. The kids did great despite pure exhaustion. It was nice spending time with the whole family and catching up with friends. The only downside? Well, we left Fairbanks way too late yesterday afternoon after a series of delays. We didn't get home until 9:30 p.m. which is just too late for a school night. We also hit a pretty intense snow storm outside of Healy on the way home -- I was concerned we'd be in the car until midnight if that continued and I was grateful that the storm didn't last very long.

Now we have a few days to recover (and do laundry and pack!) before heading off to a very different climate -- Hawaii!