Today was a very unique Mother’s Day.  Instead of my kids making me breakfast and spending it together as a family, Kevin, Lily and Derek dropped Arthur and I off at the airport for a cross country adventure.

You see, this Mother’s Day was going to be all about my mom, and not me. A few weeks ago, after talking to her and hearing the struggles she is dealing with right now, especially with my daddy, who has Alzheimers, I just ached to do something to help.  After talking to Kevin, I booked tickets for Arthur and I go to Idaho for a week.  And since we would be arriving on Mother’s Day, I decided it would be the perfect surprise present.  And so Arthur and I were off on an adventure – and since it was Arthur’s first time flying, I took lots of pictures.

Arthur was the most amazing travel buddy.  We both had our trust masks (Arthur had a special Star Wars one my friend, Satoko, made him), and it really wasn’t bad getting through security.  There were so few people there, that the thing that took the longest, was being six feet apart from each other.

Arthur’s favorite thing about the airport was getting to go on the people movers, and he loved getting to see the airplane we were going to fly on.

It was so very bizarre to have so few people in the airport.  Like almost creepy, it was so empty.  And it was really hard to find any places open to buy food – most everything was closed.  We had brought along a lot of snacks, but knowing that there wouldn’t be any services offered on the plane, I searched for something for us to eat for lunch on the plane.  Imagine my surprise and delight when I found an open Chipotle!  And yes, we ate our food cold on the plane, but it was awesome.

Arthur loved the take-off and landing, and then after the first time, he decided to close the window each time so that it seemed like “magic” that we were in the air or on the ground.

We had three flights, and to pass the time, Arthur and I watched movies, played games and read books.  He was so much fun!  He even let me lay my head on his lap to take a nap.

In Detroit, we stayed on the plane during the layover, and the pilot invited Arthur into the cockpit.  It was so awesome!!  Arthur loved it, and got to ask him all sorts of questions, and the pilot told him all kinds of stuff that I don’t think Arthur really understood.  Good times!

Our last flight, from Denver to Boise, meant we were flying over the Rocky Mountains, and Arthur LOVED looking at them.  In fact, he was so fascinated by them, they he kept watching them instead of the movie.

After a full day of flying, we arrived in Boise and were finally in Idaho.  Arthur was so excited, that he asked me to take his picture with the rock wall.  Funny guy.

My brother-in-law, Stuart, and nephew, Luke, picked us up at the airport and drove us thee two hours to Twin Falls.  Miraculously, everyone was able to keep my coming a secret.  And Kevin, who had been tracking me with my phone, called my mom to FaceTime with her right as I arrived, because he wanted to see her reaction.  He was able to capture her reaction when she saw Arthur and I coming across the lawn.  She was beyond surprised.

It was the most wonderful thing to see my mama – especially to see thee joy on here face when she saw me.  She was in shock and truly couldn’t believe I was really there, but she was very happy.

It was the best Mother’s Day present and it was worth every minute of travel and every penny to get me there.  I can’t wait to spend the next week taking care of my sweet mama.