And so it begins: Maggie has two full years with a metal mouth ahead of her. She’s the only one in our family to need braces, but she’ll have plenty of company in her middle school hallways. She was warned that the first few days would be painful, but we had Ibuprofen on hand and she was a trouper. She says she will most miss … Continue reading #braceface
I’m nestled under a blanket on our couch, writing by the light of the Christmas tree. The shiny gifts underneath have been replaced with a blanket of spruce needles that keep dropping from this poor tree, but it still looks beautiful to me. For as long as I can remember we’ve plugged our tree lights into a Clapper. I still remember the ridiculous commercials growing … Continue reading Merry Magical Christmas
We’ve lived in Alaska for over 20 years, and only a few earthquakes have rattled us. Most are brief jolts that are finished before we even register what happened, but there have been two notable exceptions. The first was in January 2016, when a 7.1 caused so much damage to my school library that we closed for weeks. It ultimately revealed structural damage that closed … Continue reading All Shook Up
We have officially joined the urban chicken craze. Maggie wore us down after three years of sketching custom coop designs and planning her neighborhood egg business. Our girl was determined to get some backyard birds, so when Clark’s co-worker offered us his homemade coop we decided to take the plunge. Another colleague gave us three mature hens to get us started. Meet Henrietta, Phoenix, and … Continue reading Eggcellent News!
When you’re fourteen and a freshman, there is always something new in your life. For Sam, it started with his first official job as a soccer referee last summer. His love and knowledge of the sport made this a natural fit; he started with U10 games that paid $15 each. He was all smiles when his first paycheck arrived in the mail. It was $60, … Continue reading Freshman Firsts
Here I sit in September, finally exhaling after a whirlwind summer that blew us straight into a new school year before anyone had a chance to fasten their seat belts. I’m scrolling through a zillion cell phone snapshots and feel the need to pay homage to all the Alaska adventures we had after returning from New York, DC, and Nebraska. Here are those summer 2018 … Continue reading Summer 2018: The CliffsNotes
Alaska’s salmon swim to the open sea for their adult lives, but they always return home in their final phase of life. Nebraska’s brome grass is the opposite: it sets deep roots, but there’s no telling how far its seeds will spread, setting new roots in faraway places. Moving 3,000 miles from home seemed like a good idea when we were in our 20’s, when … Continue reading Going Home
Sam participated in the National History Day competition in his 8th grade social studies class last spring. It’s a contest where students research topics of their choice and create projects based on an annual theme. This year’s theme was “Conflict and Compromise,” and project options included documentaries, websites, papers, performances, or displays. Sam and his friend put together a documentary entitled Geneva Conventions: The Laws … Continue reading NYC & DC
I’m a blubbering mess. Today we said goodbye to our elementary school days. Bowman has been part of our commute and community for seven years now, and we will miss this exceptional school. Look how much our little lady has grown in her years from kindergarten to 6th grade: She was so giddy to start kindergarten, and now she’s skipping her way to middle school … Continue reading Final Daze
I know there’s a little dogsled race going on right now, but our weekend was dominated by debate. It started Friday night, when Sam’s teammates came over for a cram session before the tournament. I secretly wondered how much time 13-year-old boys would *actually* spend studying on a weekend, but they were focused: writing speeches, strategizing, researching, and (yes) dreaming. I texted this picture to Clark, … Continue reading Dedicated Debaters
