There are friends, there are families, and then there are friends who feel like family. We are grateful for our Alaskan circle of friends every day, but especially on holidays. How lucky that we have children close in age who genuinely enjoy each other’s company? Our kids have relationships similar to the ones I had with my cousins when I was younger, and it’s been … Continue reading Easter Cheers
Maggie has always been a girl with a smile so big she can’t help but share it with you. I vividly remember standing in line at grocery stores with a 3-year-old girl who would ask “Wanna see my wiggle dance?” to anyone who happened to make eye contact with her. She never waited for a response. Instead, she would prop her hands on her hips … Continue reading Lucky 13
Oh, kitchen appliances, we love you so. Some are keepers for life (I’m talking to you, Kitchen Aid stand mixer) and others are keepers in the garage (we do use the bread machine once or twice a year, and the vacuum sealer is essential for annual fish processing). Other gadgets were donated long ago, such as George Foreman’s countertop rotisserie that should have been named … Continue reading Liquid Gold
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
