One of our favorite activities in the winter is to go to the Electric Lights Parade and festivities in Kenai, Alaska. It’s over an hour away, but it’s about the only thing that will get me anywhere other than home or the snowshoe trail on the day after Thanksgiving. The parade, which happens after dark, […]

My eldest daughter and I recently spent the weekend in the Mat-Su Valley for a series of her hockey games. (It wasn’t technically a tournament, but 4 games in 2 days isn’t anything to scoff at!) One of the rinks that we played in had this poster up in one of their wall displays. It […]

I had intended to use this photo for last week’s Pic & a Word challenge – Gloom, but the days got away from me. And while the surf may be small, I’m tickled to still use the photo for this week’s Surf challenge! That’s my girl, who as a toddler was afraid of everything, except […]

Kids’ hockey game First in the bleachers Standing, cheering Another family comes in, sits behind us Tells us to sit or move Because we block their view Bleachers still empty, except for us Preposterous! They sat behind us I move Away from the bleachers To the other side No place to sit behind me I […]

Sunset on Cook Inlet…the waves, the wind, the birds leave it a noisy place. But inside my car? Well, today it is silent. 🙂 Linking up with Terri’s weekly Sunday Stills!

Oooh, winter light in Alaska is something else. There’s more of it than people think: 45 mins-1 hour of twilight before sunrise and after sunset, and the quality is just exquisite. (There is a LOT of light in the summer, but it doesn’t have the same feel.) So often I’m not ready for more light […]

My son loves stories. He loves telling them and he loves hearing them. He loves creating them with his stuffed animals, or LEGOs, or sticks & rocks. He loves being read to. He has not, however, held a lot of interest in reading. Sure, he knew his letters and most of the sounds they make. […]

The last few months have brought much driving. Multiple 80 mile (one way) trips per week to Kenai/Soldotna, sometimes multiple trips per day! Multiple 200 mile (one way) trips to Anchorage. District competitions and state competitions. Hockey, figure skating, Battle of the Books, NYO, spelling bees, math….probably other things, too, that have just slipped my […]

A few weeks ago, my kiddos had competitions in different cities on the same weekend. So, one kiddo and I headed up the road to Anchorage for hockey, while hubby and two kiddos spent the weekend in Kenai at the NYO Invitational. We decided to have a bit of fun and brought a couple favorite […]

A purplish Devil’s Club bud, emerging in the spring. The plant looks dangerous, and it can be extremely uncomfortable if one were to fall into it. But it has many medicinal uses, and that bud can be very tasty in a few weeks when it starts to burst. Springtime in Alaska could definitely be called […]

A rainy day….perfect for relaxing with a hot cup of tea, a book that you may or may not be actively reading, and listening to the sound of the rain pitter-pattering. And after that tea? Fresh stinging nettles cooked into a soothing nettle potato soup with homegrown sprouts, served with a side of nettle-cheddar drop-biscuits. […]

A soaking wet day at the fair, brightened with a fundraiser for the library: Donate a few dollars, get a few darts throw to pop balloons. Earn tickets for prizes! Drenched yellow rain jacket. Cheery yellow balloons. Bright yellow darts. (You can even see the one she just threw – just to the upper right […]

Our rainy season is upon us, so I chose something cheery and bright. (I do love the rain, but I also enjoy the contrast of summer on my screen and fall rain outside my window.) These are some of the red clover from my garden. We didn’t plant them – they came in with some […]

After a cool and cloudy summer, a flood of sunshine brings many new raspberry canes. And one ripening berry. Pic & a Word challenge #344

Last week I shared some yellow at the fair, this week I’ll share some things that made us celebrate! Fair {pun intended} warning – this is a total brag post. No humble bragging. Full on showing off ahead! The kids and I each entered a few exhibits in the Kenai Peninsula State Fair this year. […]

Recently, we had the chance to join a green crab monitoring session with scientists from the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Green crabs are considered invasive to this area, and monitoring efforts have been ongoing for a few years. They aren’t here yet, but they are coming! Getting a baseline now will allow scientists […]

Grey….my mood because my phone will not sync my photos to my computer. Grey…my mood when I realize that all my recent photos are on my phone instead of my camera. Grey, because when photos are on the phone instead of the camera, it means I haven’t been present and haven’t been taking time to […]

This was a very vocal crow, protecting the sign. No one could park or venture near it! Which Way will you go today?

I’ve been thinking about this one all week. It’s been a great mental exercise! How to show love in a photo? Or a few words? That’s not cliche, or maybe is absolutely cliche? In the end, something simple: accidentally discovering a new feature of my phone’s camera that allowed me to capture the entire double […]

Some days our school table is transformed after the book work is wrapped up. (Not pictured is the bin of cars ready to race around the track.) I’m going to call it a lesson in physics….energy, motion, gravity, etc! 🙂 More oranges & golds are over at this week’s Sunday Stills challenge!