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
It was a frigid -8 degrees last year on our tree day, but we had an idyllic adventure and came home with a the best Christmas tree ever. This year it was a whopping 47 degrees warmer and drizzling rain. Ice is no fun to walk or drive on, so we preferred the colder temperatures from last year! I was anxious about driving on the … Continue reading 2017 Tree Day
I’ve been organizing old photos lately, and it makes me pine for the days when the kids were cheek-pinchingly adorable. But it would be a shame to get so lost in nostalgia that I miss this current phase that I’ll someday be nostalgic for, so I’m doing my darndest to live in the present. The present is busy, between work and shuttling kids to school, … Continue reading Junior Grillmeister
There she goes… down the road to the neighbor’s house for her first babysitting gig. She somehow managed to walk, when I know that in her heart she wanted to skip! Maggie is that kid who talks to adults all the time. She befriends the recess monitors, is the first to greet new neighbors, and even chats up grocery store clerks. She is polite, articulate, … Continue reading When the Baby Becomes the Sitter
Yesterday I had another dermatology appointment about my nose, where a patch of skin cancer was removed over two years ago. My doctor has been trying to erase all evidence of my surgery – at no cost – ever since. Yesterday he brought up two final options: another surgery, or microdermabrasion. Neither come with a guarantee, and both come with risk of actually making things … Continue reading Mohs Nose Woes
This year the kids received invitations to Hogwarts in their Easter baskets. Visiting a theme park has never topped our list of dream vacations, but our little Harry Potter maniacs made us rethink our priorities. At ages 13 and 11, the kids are the perfect mix of old enough, young enough, and tall enough. They’ve been feverishly re-reading the series all year. They pass time … Continue reading Pure Magic
Clark and the kids gave me a box set of Little House on the Prairie DVD’s on Christmas morning. The entire series came in an adorable little house shaped box, and I absolutely loved it! Sadly, the little house of DVD’s collected dust for a few months, as if our entire family packed up and moved to Mankato or something. I guess real life was a little … Continue reading Christmas in July
