We have been traveling for the past month, and it’s hard to pull away to write while surrounded by family we only get to see a few times a year. Thus, I have some catching up to do! This year we passed through Juneau on our way to the Lower 48. It’s been a spectacular summer in Alaska, even in Southeast, but somehow we hit it … Continue reading Juneau in the Rain
By now I should be used to our son’s quirky phobias. There have been so may in his 9 short years… First it was the fear of parking lots. Honestly, he refused to walk in parking lots when he was a toddler. It would have been easier to get Maggie, at 3 months, upright and walking than to get our 2-year-old Sam to plant his … Continue reading Dentophobia
If you ever find yourself in need of a good fairy tale, just flip on a commercial for one of those big box home improvement stores. Lowe’s and Home Depot would like us to believe that home projects are magical family bonding experiences. Have you seen the Lowe’s commercial featuring a young, attractive couple skipping through the store aisles before giddily loading their truck with … Continue reading Green Pastures
I try to refrain from writing about the weather. Honestly, what is the point? It is what it is and we live where we live… so whatchagonnado? I was tempted to post a rant when a blizzard blew through in mid-May, littering our yard with half a foot of fresh snow that put Anchorage’s snow season at a record-breaking 232-day stretch. Are you kidding me? … Continue reading Super-cali-fabulous!
This weekend was the much-anticipated Homer Sea Week field trip.
We weren’t sure what to expect when our children’s school group planned a 3-day field trip over Mother’s Day weekend down to Homer, Alaska, which is a 4 – 5 hour drive from Anchorage (depending on road construction and which spouse is driving).
We certainly didn’t expect the majority of the school to make the trek, but trek we all did. Over 75% of us.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted, thanks in part to a week of toxic technology. My laptop was the first thing to go, crashing and burning and refusing to let me open a single file. It’s currently over at Alaska Computer Geeks, and I have my fingers crossed that the technician over there can recover everything, especially the seven months of photos that piled … Continue reading Staycation 2013
It’s a funny word: aloha. Ten days ago it was full of hugs and hellos, a family reunion in paradise. It meant Welcome to Maui. We were shuttling people in a mini van between the Kahului airport and an ocean front condo in Kihei, anxious to ditch our bags and decorate the sand with our footprints. My side of our family lives in three different … Continue reading Aloha & Mahalo
“Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives.” ~John Galsworthy I still remember Clark saying we would probably have three sets of dogs in our lifetime together. It’s hard to believe that we have already lost our first set. When Bailey died this summer, … Continue reading Profoundly Difficult: Part 2
This weekend we headed to the Reindeer Farm near Palmer, Alaska for their Halloween Fun extravaganza. There was no way I was missing this event, since I’ve always envied the fall family festivals my Midwestern family and friends attend. They have a plethora of pumpkin patches to explore, while we are stuck digging through cardboard bins of squash at the local Fred Meyer. (As if … Continue reading Family Fun at the Farm
On Sunday Clark decided to take the kids hunting. A light dusting of snow had fallen the day before, so apparently the conditions were ripe for tracking without trudging. Clark has been dreaming about this day since the kids were conceived (probably longer) just as much as I’ve been dreading it. Don’t get me wrong: I’m grateful Sam and Maggie have a dad whose greatest … Continue reading Bunnies and Pachyderms
Profoundly Ordinary 