Today she drove away. Not for good, thankfully. She was off to soccer practice, followed by an 8-hour shift at work. She’s a busy kid, between sports, babysitting, her job at Subway, and hanging out at the horse barn. Throw in a knee surgery and weekly physical therapy appointments, and let’s just say this girl’s shiny new driver’s license brings as much freedom for her … Continue reading Sweet Sixteen
Most years I prefer to downplay my birthday and simply get it over with, but this year I decided to use it to my advantage. I’ve been wanting to host a cooking competition with family friends for eons, and this was the perfect way to make it happen! The evening was loosely based on the Food Network show Chopped, where chefs face off in head-to-head … Continue reading Chopped
Due to COVID-19, we’ve now celebrated two quaranteen birthdays. Everything was still locked down when Maggie turned 14 back in April, so she wasn’t able to celebrate with friends at all. We were still determined to get her out of the house, so Clark loaded up the ATV’s and took the kids out to Knik for the first ride of the season. Unfortunately, somewhere along … Continue reading Happy Quaranteens!
Happy {gasp} 15th Birthday to Sam! Long gone are the days of planning themed parties around my children’s passions. Last weekend Sam invited a few friends via SnapChat, and I think the theme was “Come hang at my house and we’ll avoid my parents as much as possible.” In all seriousness, Sam and his friends are all great kids. They even let me torture them … Continue reading Fifteen: One Cool Ride
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
Sam is so many things: middle schooler, soccer fanatic, Harry Potter aficionado, and aspiring YouTuber. And now we add teenager to that list. I refuse to let this freak me out. I’ve worked with teens long enough to know that they don’t all turn into eye rolling, surly beasts who despise their parents. I’ve also been a parent long enough to know that sometimes he’s … Continue reading We Have a Teenager in the House!
Maggie’s tenth year was mighty special. She learned to ride a horse, blossomed as a soccer goalie, landed her first sockeye salmon, planted a bountiful garden, and mastered Nestle’s chocolate chip cookie recipe. She snorkeled and skied, hiked and hunted. She devoured several book series: Pegasus, Hunger Games, and Harry Potter (again) were the favorites. Her top TV shows were Supergirl and Little House on the Prairie – … Continue reading Golden Girl
We celebrated 12 years of Sam this summer. Here’s the annual time capsule summary of this child we love beyond words: He’s pensive. He soaks in so much of what he hears and observes, and quietly reflects on it for days and weeks. What wit! What laughter! His sense of humor is wise beyond his years, yet he still loves potty humor YouTube videos. Either way, … Continue reading Celebrating Sam
Another year, another birthday! Since Maggie cherishes the time she spends at the barn with Rosie, we weren’t surprised when she asked for a horse themed party. We told her Rosie could be part of the party plan if she kept it small, and she was thrilled. She invited one friend and the neighbor kids to play on Saturday, and on Sunday morning we stopped at the … Continue reading Horse Birthday Party
Sam had a hard time picking a party theme for this year’s birthday, and I worried he might be getting too old for that sort of thing. Luckily a quick Google search for 11-year-old “tween” birthday parties saved the day. Two ideas came to the top of his list: Minute-to-Win-It Games or an Amazing Race scavenger hunt. He picked the Amazing Race (despite never watching … Continue reading Amazing Race 11th Birthday Party
Profoundly Ordinary 