It’s soup season in Alaska, but we seem to have a carrot crisis in this house. Last weekend it was the beef stew. The meat was already tenderizing and veggies half chopped before I realized we were out of carrots. Apparently the kids are devouring them in their lunch boxes. Last night it was chicken noodle soup. Once again my children had inhaled 5 lbs … Continue reading Purple Noodle Soup
Well, we did it. After years of dreaming, we actually bought a boat. It’s a 24-foot 2003 Bayliner Ciera, pictured here in Prince William Sound on our Maiden Voyage: There are more sensible ways to spend money, but this will be a great way to unplug and explore as a family. We have a limited amount of time to pack in childhood memories with the … Continue reading Boat Log 1
Last week a language arts teacher at my school asked me to write an elegy to share with her students. At first I thought she meant a eulogy, but she set me straight: an elegy is a poem honoring a deceased person, whereas a eulogy is a speech that is read at a funeral. Who knew? The hardest part was coming up with a subject that … Continue reading Seussical Celebrations
This world is full of both good witches and bad witches. I would like to introduce you to one of the good ones: This witch has one mission: to create magical memories for children. She’s pretty good at it too. Every year she plans a Halloween party that most families would pay to attend, but by some stroke of luck she invites our children for … Continue reading A Witch’s Dream
My junior high years bordered on miserable. Every day I launched off the school bus, bolted up the driveway, and shed my back brace onto the living room floor. At that age I was allowed to remove my scoliosis contraption for 4 hours each day, and I always spent my first hour of freedom with Laura Ingalls Wilder. She was my daily dose of sanity. … Continue reading Little House, Big Memories
Sam turned nine last week, and his big birthday wish was to play miniature golf as a family. So off we went to Putters Wild, an Alaskan-themed extreme 3D putt-putt course here in Anchorage. “Nine holes or the full 18?” the owner asked. Her question took me aback. I had a little boy standing next to me who was suddenly – almost instantly – nine. … Continue reading The First Nine
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
Here’s the recap of New Year’s Eve 2012: My 6-year-old daughter made it to midnight. My 41-year-old husband did not. As for my 8 year-old-son… I’m not really sure. He spent the evening at an Alaska Ace’s hockey game followed by a sleepover, and apparently the boys were up far later than the parents. From all accounts they made it well past midnight. So here … Continue reading Cheers to 2013!
Of all the Christmas books and stories and legends, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Who Stole Christmas is my absolute favorite. It’s a joy to read aloud, with its brilliant combination of silly Suessical lyrics and a serious sentiment that is impossible to miss: Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! “Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means … Continue reading Christmas Hangover
Profoundly Ordinary 