Maggie is heading to college in a few weeks, so it’s time to set aside the denial and write a celebration of her senior year in high school! Here’s how the year started and ended. A little less hair, but a lot more hardware. But those are just the bookends. So much happened inbetween! We had another great experience with Shalem Photography for Maggie’s senior … Continue reading Senior Recap: Our Last Eagle
I subscribed to a magazine called Seventeen when I was a teenager. The glossy covers were a staple in my adolescent bedroom, along with tubes of blue mascara and Aqua Net hairspray. I spent hours lying on my waterbed, flipping through pages and taking random quizzes about everything from skin care to dating. Fast forward to 2023, where my seventeen year old daughter is living … Continue reading Seventeen: A Snapshot
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
Sad day for our flock. Imagine Maggie’s shock when she found an additional bird in the chicken coop this morning: Clark and Maggie designed the coop to protect her hens from predators, and so far it’s held up well. We haven’t lost a single bird to a bear, and last year it protected the ladies from a hungry lynx family. Nothing has been able to … Continue reading Ruffled Feathers
This girl. Due to Covid, she finished 8th grade online and spent the first three quarters of her freshman year on Zoom. When students were given the option to return to in-person school during 4th quarter, there was never a doubt that she’d go back. The kid is busy. Every day she packs three bags and a lunch: one for schoolwork, a second for soccer, … Continue reading Maggie 15.0
My friend Nancy has a way of drawing me waaaaay out of my comfort zone. In hindsight, this has been going on for nearly two decades. Exhibit A: In our pre-kid days we spent a leisurely afternoon hiking the Winner Creek trail in Girdwood, only to cap it off by spontaneously launching ourselves off Mt. Alyeska in tandem paragliders. I wish I had better photos, … Continue reading Branching Out
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!
It’s hard to believe we are finishing Week 6 of pandemic restrictions in Anchorage. The orders to hunker down are working, and today we celebrate that no new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Alaska! Next week our city begins the slow process of reopening, and I pray our numbers remain under control. In the past few weeks we have established a family routine that … Continue reading Our New Normal for Now
The Talkeetna Roadhouse offers a pie making class on weekends throughout the winter, and if you are looking for an easy Alaskan weekend getaway then definitely put this on your list. It’s a fun event for book clubs, couples, girlfriends, or (in our case) mother-daughter excursions. Our group consisted of six: three moms and three teenage girls. We unanimously voted for a weekend getaway in … Continue reading A Much-Kneaded Getaway
Our backyard chicken trial was such a success that we welcomed eight new laying hens into our flock this spring. We brought them home as baby chicks, but they are now fully grown ladies with gorgeous coloring and feather patterns. Proudly introducing: The good news is that we are already getting 6-7 eggs per day from these ladies, which we didn’t expect until October. Lots … Continue reading Coopers
Profoundly Ordinary 