Election season came early to our household, but fortunately student council candidates aren’t allowed to make robo calls. Instead, they spend copious hours designing posters, writing speeches, and begging for button making machines. Sam ran for President, and Maggie for Sergeant at Arms. We are so proud of them both! Maggie didn’t make it to the final round this time, but her disappointment didn’t dampen the … Continue reading Mr. President
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
We took a day trip with the Boxlers on a gloriously calm, sunny Sunday. We hit the 10:30 tunnel to Whittier, along with many other people. There were long lines at the launch! We were also surprised that all the fee stations now took credit cards instead of cash envelopes. It’s still $20 to launch/retrieve. We headed to the rookerie to look at birds before … Continue reading Boat Log 9: Boxlers on Board!
Last week was all about hiking, and the grand finale was an 8.8 round trip hike to Rabbit Lakes. The more I explore new trails in the Chugach National Forest, the more I understand why so many people slap “I Heart Chugach” bumper stickers on their Subarus. Summers like this make me wonder why the entire planet isn’t migrating to Alaska. There is an infinite … Continue reading I Heart Chugach: Rabbit Lakes
Somehow these birthdays just keep coming! I haven’t even posted about Sam’s 10th birthday party yet, and here we are celebrating number 11. It was hard enough last year when he hit double digits, but 11 sounds so old. I remember the day he was born so vividly that it surely can’t be over a decade ago! On the morning of his 11th birthday I dug out … Continue reading We Have a Tweenager!
SEASON 2 May 24-25, 2015 How crazy that we headed out for the first trip of Season 2 on our boat exactly one year from our maiden voyage . We live about two miles up a curvy mountain road, so pulling the boat up and down is no easy feat. We made it halfway down when Clark realized he had forgotten his wallet. Should we … Continue reading Boat Log 8
It’s baseball season again, and this year Sam and Maggie are on the same team. Boy does that make life easier! Last year we hardly ever got to attend games as a family, since we were always split between two different fields. This year it’s so nice to cheer them on at the same time! Here are some pictures with Sam on 2nd base, and Maggie … Continue reading Our Little Angels
Homer Sea Week is a biennial tradition our kids’ school, and this was our family’s second time participating. Two years ago the kids were in 1st and 3rd grades and we stalked them most every minute. (Flashback post can be found here.) Now they are two years older – 3rd and 5th grade – so we let them roam the beach more independently, but we weren’t … Continue reading Homer Sea Week: Round 2
You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. ~Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird I’ve been home sick a few days this week. The first night I was worthless, shivering under the covers with a high fever and sleeping for nearly 16 straight hours. … Continue reading Mockingbirds and Meano
After all these years it’s clear that my book club will never be the kind of group that sits in an organized circle, methodically responding to prepared literary questions about symbolism as we tactfully draw G-rated allegories between the text and our own lives. Nope. Not us. Instead, we all roll in like tornadoes, one after the other, carrying bundles of food and bellying right … Continue reading From Get Lit to Get Fit
Profoundly Ordinary 