Don't be doubtin'

Aha! Y'all didn't think I did any Alaska pages, did you? I actually got 32 mostly done, except for journaling. This album is going to be super simple, just photos on white cardstock. I know, right?? It's a scrapping travesty. But it will be done and I can move on with my life. Speaking of the white cardstock, I ran out and drove 75 miles to the scrapbook store today to get more. Naturally, they were out too, since white Bazzill is such an esoteric item and nobody ever asks for that so why would we keep it in stock?? I ended up buying a pack of cheap white cardstock at Michael's but I feel sure it is going to be an unsatisfactory substitution.

About the journaling. Ron and I were determined to keep notes about the trip while it was happening, so we summarized each day on the laptop. Ron did most of the typing, and his writing style is, shall we say, very detail-oriented. Here's an actual excerpt from his recounting of our first evening:

"We were pretty hungry, so we asked at the desk for a casual place to eat and they suggested Keg Caesar’s, which is a steak and ribs place a block from the hotel. We hiked over and had a wonderful meal, along with several glasses of water and half a liter of red wine. I had roast beef; Cyndi had a grilled chicken and seafood dish. We walked back to the hotel and turned in."

Several glasses of water?? I would have written "We had dinner and went to bed." Something in between the two is what is required, since my style is boring and Ron's would require several volumes. So that is my current challenge, editing the journaling to something manageable and hopefully maybe even interesting.

I was a bad, bad scrapping mom in Knoxville and didn't take a single photo. We took the kids to tour a local dairy (very cool) and Mary Beth and I went to see Mamma Mia (LOVED IT!) and had a kids-free dinner thanks to MB's sweet husband Brad (who also won Annamarie over by showing her surgery photos on his iPhone). Mary Beth, I have just three words for you: MOVE BACK HERE. What were you thinking moving so far away?

Michele has asked me if Annamarie drove me crazy talking on the 7-hour drive, but she is a surprisingly good traveler. She brings her iPod and a big bag of jewelry, hairnets, a stethoscope or two, a stuffed horse and wolf, 64 ink pens, and she entertains herself. I won't say that I never ordered her to please just stop talking until the clock says 7:15, but mostly she was great. It helped that there was no brother to fight with, but she missed him too. (Michele, I am too old to text with one hand so I couldn't respond to your texts well while driving 80 65 on the interstate.)