Love is a Journey: Alaska

The first 48 hours in Alaska were exhausting and stressful to say the least. My dad arrived a little later than schedule, so I hung out in the airport with my bags for about an hour and a half before he arrived. Then we called the hotel shuttle and got there around 2am. That all went fairly smooth, then it was friday, the day everyone else arrived. Well, the hotel wouldn't let us hang out in the room until noon like we needed to because that was when Drew and Brit were going to be there to pick us up so we hung out in McDonalds because that was the closest place we could go with all our suitcases what a fun start! Everyone arrived throughout out the day, my mom at 4pm, Drew's friends at 10pm then our cousins didn't get in until after midnight. It was such a long day, we went to the movies and to two different meals. We didn't get back to Soldotna until 4:30am, I can't remember the last time I was that tired haha Then the next day of course everyone is exhausted and it was such a stressful day. Things were not as smooth or planned out as they could have been which caused a LOT of tension. We were supposed to go to Homer, but that didn't end up happening and we pretty much were just running a bunch of errands all day and trying to figure everything out...Sunday my brother, mom, dad, and I went to Homer which ended up being so much better than if everyone would have gone. We didn't have all that much time since Brit's bridal shower was at 7 but its a very small town so there isn't a lot to do anyway, my mom just wanted to go so we were able to do that. Then we basically went straight to Brit's bridal shower up at her mom's house. In the midst of all of the craziness one of Brit's bridesmaids who is very prego was admitted to the hospital because she was having some major issues so she couldn't be in the wedding anymore, so I was called upon to fill her spot haha I am glad that I was able to be a part of the wedding though, it was a bummer how it happened, but I am really happy that I was able to share the day with them, that all actually worked out well! Monday was the big day and that was probably the LEAST stressful day out of all of the days we were there to be honest, which is funny now that I think about it. It was absolutely FREEZING cold at the wedding, but it was beautiful. I instantly started crying when I walked down and saw my brother standing up at the alter. They both wrote their own vows, which again made me cry. It was quick and to the point and I have never seen my brother so happy. And it just made all of the other crap that happened in the first couple of days disappear. My mom had to leave that night after the wedding, we all went back to the bed and breakfast we were staying at and sat out by the campfire and roasted s'mores, my brother and brit joined us a little later. The next day everyone went fishing and I basically sat at the house and relaxed until they got back and then we all went out for our last night there. On our drive back up to the airport in Anchorage on Wednesday we drove out to a huge glacier in Kenjai Fjords National park which was pretty cool. Wednesday ended up being a beautiful warm day (of course on our last day there) which worked out well for our little hike and for us to see the beautiful scenery on the Seward Highway on our way up to Anchorage. Overall it was a great trip, and I am really glad I was able to be there. Seeing my brother so happy is so great. They are both so very much in love and I wish them nothing but the best in their new lives together! I can't wait to see their wedding pictures too, their photographer is so awesome!

Some pictures from the wedding: