Alaska - Part 2: A tiny, beautiful part of Alaska south of Anchorage

After five fun days in Anchorage with Jack, Marian, Wren, Anne and Andrew, we took off for the wild-ness (as Peter called it). It's crazy how now, when I look at the map of Alaska, I feel like we missed so much. Yet when we were there, it felt vast and gorgeous and like whatever we were seeing in that moment must be the best part of Alaska. Even Whittier has it's charm, despite the saying Andrew taught us: "Whittier rhymes with..." 

The tiny black oval below covers our tracks for this 10-day trip. Hopefully sometime we can go back and add another oval to our map. What a beautiful part of the United States!

The second map shows our tracks -- or at least where we spent our nights. On Saturday morning we drove from Alaska to Seward, receiving text updates from Anne (back in Anchorage), warning us of low-visibility at our destination. Seward was apparently filling up with smoke from forest fires in Homer. We thought we were so prepared because we bought rain pants for the girls before leaving for Alaska! Normally August is super-rainy; fortunately/unfortunately, there was NO serious rain during our entire trip. Of course that's a recipe for dry forests. Add in high winds and you get forest fires and smoke blowing around a peninsula. Thankfully, Nate is a nimble vacationer and was able to reroute us to a campground with clear skies. We liked Williwaw so much that we decided to stay parked for two nights. Campfires were allowed, so we kept warm there too! Actually, to be fair, the temperatures were warmer than usual for August in Alaska, but it still was in the low 40's when we woke up each morning.

Normally when you look across, you see snow capped peaks

"City" camping in Seward

Before landing at Williwaw for two nights, we hiked to Portage Glacier, which was spectacular! The hike up wasn't too long (despite some kids' complaints) and the views at the top rewarded us for making our kids persist. I think that was the day we promised an ice cream re-fuel in the afternoon, after the hike. Whittier was a lovely place for such a stop, and the we enjoyed watching people pull their boats and jet-skis out of the water for the season while eating our ice cream.

Say "glacier!"

The hills are alive

Peter was in a non-smiling mood most of the trip, unless we told him to make himself a moose

Our 12th anniversary photo

Ice cream stop! See, Whittier isn't so shi**y

On Monday we had hoped to hike Exit Glacier, but the smoke had beat us there, so we pivoted to Girdwood instead. This sweet town offered a fun playground for the kids, a decent grocery store, and a great hike down to a waterfall. Nate had read that there was a hand tram along the hike, which  got the kids excited. Unfortunately, the trailhead posted a sign that said it was closed until further notice. That is just the kind of news that tired children feel deep in their hearts. Cora was so so so very upset that we wouldn't be able to ride the hand tram that she and Nate had to sit back and cool off before catching up with the rest of us. We later read that it was closed because recently two hikers had died (in two separate incidents) falling to the rocks below. This was sobering news for the kids helped Cora stop her griping about the injustices of out-of-order hand trams. 

A posed picture to help us remember our disappointment (before we heard about the tragedies)

Chair tree

Another chair tree that helped distract Cora from her sadness. I think you can still see a tear in her eye

The activity center at the bottom of the hike

More kids' activities 

Sibling love

In this last picture, Cora is helping Peter up the trail, holding his hand so sweetly. I think helping others in their distress helps you get past your own worries, right? Looking back, I think this was Cora's way of consoling herself with the whole hand tram disappointment. Down at the waterfall, Peter found some rocks that he really wanted to keep. He was also tired and wanting to be carried. We told him that if he wanted a ride, he needed to ditch the rocks. He decided that was too high of a cost for a ride, so he loaded them in his sweatshirt pocket and carried them all the way.

We had already booked a non-refundable wildlife cruise in Kenai Fiords National Park, so all we could do was pray that by Tuesday, the wind would die down so we could get out and see some of the amazing wildlife Alaska has to offer. There will be a part 3 for this last hurrah of our trip!

Alaska - Part 1: Anchorage

What a foolish mistake to not blog about our marvelous trip to Alaska until months after it ended! It was such a great family trip, in big part thanks to all the planning Nate did and the amazing hospitality Anne & Andrew offered. 

As you can see from the first picture, things started off right with the iPad junkies sitting together on one side of the plane while Nate and I chilled across the aisle. It's hard to say what the kids are watching, but I'm going to bet on Stinky & Dirty for Peter and Harry Potter for the girls. We flew out of Chicago at 8 am and our direct flight landed us in Anchorage by around 1:30. Unusually warm weather welcomed us almost as warmly as Jack welcomed Cora. Even though Cora and Wren are the same age, it was striking how Louisa and Wren adored playing with each other. Peter and Marian were also pretty into each other's 4-year-oldness, so it was quite ideal that Cora was drawn to Jack (and vise versa). But all six of Oma's sweet grand-kiddos were thrilled to be together again!

Anchorage has a lovely downtown. Anne explained that they put a ton of resources into the gardens in the city center, despite the short growing season. It was lush and beautiful! One day while Nate and Andrew worked on cabinet trim, Anne and I took the kids to the Anchorage Museum, which had so much to offer. History of native people, a Molly of Denali exhibit, steel wedges in the courtyard for kids to jump off of and take slow-mo videos...  

Anne, Wren and Marian took us to the setting of the classic story Blueberries for Sal and the kids had a fantastic time picking tiny, wild blueberries while learning the difference between a blueberry and a crowberry. Despite the sweet partially lidded bucket that Anne made for collecting, all but the ones we ate directly from the bush eventually returned to the ground when the bucket tumbled down the hillside. It's probably for the best, since the kids were planning to make natural dye from the leftover berries.

A hike up Flat Top came highly recommended, so we accepted the challenge. Man were the kids troopers! We layered up and packed plenty of bribe-snacks, which proved to be genius because at the bottom it was dusty, dry and hot whereas the summit was windy and brisk. Although looking at the girls attire in the summit photo below would not have you believe that it was actually chilly!

It's impossible to capture all the fun moments we had in and around Anchorage, but this was an attempt to get a few memories down on paper. After going through our photos, I decided it was a mistake to try to fit the entire trip in one post, so be on the lookout for another post on our road trip south of Anchorage sometime soon!

Louisa Jane, Age 8

Happy 8th birthday, Louisa! You have such a lovely heart. The confidence that was evident in you at an early age continues to carry you through life. This year, Dad and I have enjoyed watching you catch the reading bug. If you didn't have younger siblings that need more sleep than you, it would be hard to tell you to turn your light out at night. As someone who has a hard time getting sucked into a book, I really admire the way you can, and do. I think you get that admirable trait from your dad, who got it from his mom, your Oma!

This year on your birthday, we signed up for a mini-photoshoot with a photographer in Madison who asked Briar Loft to make flower crowns for mother/daughter mini-sessions. What a fun thing to do together (as the snow came down outside) the day before your birthday! Despite your love of all things silly, I was surprised to see that, in front of a stranger-photographer, you were a bit reserved. I'm afraid you get that from me!

You and Belle Mere make wonderful birthday twins. The sweet grey romper you're wearing in the photo below was part of your birthday gift from Belle and Papa. The other part was a white board, which you immediately used to draw a calendar. As I type, (a few month late, I'll admit) your white board says Notes to Self: 1) Write script 2) Practice piano. I adore how much you love calendars, lists and drawing/writing and I can't wait to see how these interests show up in your future career.

The gift with pink and gold paper near your cake is your first digital camera from Dad and me. Oh the joy it brought you! It's pretty clear that while you like toys, you really love grown up gifts. Speaking of grown up gifts, I don't know many 8-year olds that want a loom for their birthday. Oma has taught you all sorts of textile art skills and it's very cool to see you curled up in the brown chair in our living room either knitting or reading.

Oma's poppyseed angel food cake with lemon curd is still your favorite dessert. 

You're a gem, Lou Bear! I'm not totally sure how we got so lucky to have you as our firstborn. We're proud of you and we love you. Keep up your silliness and love of art, acting, music, reading, family, and friends.

She's Six!

Cora. Cora Bean. Bean Bean. Happy birthday, dear girl! It's hard to believe you just turned six. Your imagination is incredible, and paired with your creativity, you could play in any art studio forever. This year for your birthday, we didn't buy you any toys and I was a little bit nervous that you'd feel disappointed. You weren't! Instead, you were excited about a handlebar bag for your green Trek, a new turquoise spring jacket, purple shoes and a winter hat. You confidently got your ears pierced without a flinch and, without your reminders, I would forget to clean your new piercings altogether. 

One of my favorite things about you this year is how affectionate yet not clingy you are when I come to help in your classroom on Tuesdays. At first it was hard for you to let me leave, but as we near the end of kindergarten, you sweetly hug me and send me on my way, before heading to the playground for recess. 

Given the choice between hot lunch once per week or chocolate milk to accompany the lunch Dad packs for you, you choose the milk. This morning you didn't want to go to school because your good friend Hollis is in Egypt for "a really long time" so you don't have anyone to sit next to. I gently reminded you that you have lots of other good friends in your class and helped you pick your clothes, and you were set.

This year, you chose Lucky Charms for your birthday cereal and chocolate cake with green frosting (for the animals to graze in) for your birthday dessert. Two days later, you got to blow out candles a second time, with Aunt Georgia, whose birthday is only two days after yours!

A sunny day for a hike in Cross Plains

Snuggles with Papa

Spring Break 2019

The week before the kids' spring break this year, Nate was in San Diego running some test rides for a new e-bike that he was working on. The night before he was due to come home, we were both thinking of a mini-adventure with the kids once he returned. I love it when we're in sync like this!

Not that we doubted, but our kids are at the perfect age for Chicago's great museums. On Monday we explored the Shedd Aquarium, which was my personal favorite. It reminded me of my passion for dolphins when I was younger. I always thought I'd become a marine biologist, until sometime in my teens when I realized that I actually am afraid of fish. Irrational, I know, just like my fear of worms, but it is what it is.

On day two, we went to the the Field Museum in the morning, where the kids were able to indulge their fascination with mummies. So many questions, especially from Peter! We'll have to return someday when they all can read for themselves. A highlight from the Field Museum was meeting Sue the T. Rex. She is the largest t-rex skeleton found and also the most complete (90%). She was discovered by a woman named Sue Hendrickson in 1990 in South Dakota. Nate also learned about the origin of the name of one of his favorite beers.

In the afternoon, we explored the Planetarium, which was equally engaging for all three kids. It was pretty cool to learn that our Madison Children's Museum membership hooks us up with free admission to the Field Museum and the Planetarium. The temporary exhibits, movies and planetarium shows are extra, but it's still a pretty cool perk that I just recently learned about.

The craziest thing I learned during our museum visits is how quickly species are becoming extinct. Apparently the normal rate of extinction is one species every four years, but today, species are going extinct at a rate of 30,000 per year, which is 82 species every day. Learning this mostly overwhelms me and makes me sigh and think this problem is beyond me. My prayer is that I won't just avoid confronting this knowledge as an inconvenient truth, but instead try to educate myself and my kids about what we can do. Do you have ideas? I'm all ears!

Peter, You're Four!

As you may have noticed, I've been less inclined to blog lately. One main reason why is that my work has transitioned from a nine-to-five job to a couple of whenever-you-can jobs. I don't mind this transition, but it does leave me less interested in spending time at the computer in the evenings, when I would typically feel inspired to blog. But as someone once said, a blog is a great record of memories, especially for my kids to read someday. So that simple reminder is my new inspiration - to at least get a short post published for the big events that we don't want to forget.

With that, a back-post to say HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY Peter! I would have capitalized your name too, except you really don't like that. "Not my capital name!" you say. I love how attentive you are to small details like this. I love that you like to order things (pumpkins, cans of paint) just so. It's been a long time since you threw a fit about bedtime songs or how we sliced a banana. Perhaps it's because we have quite a routine at bedtime. First, ABCs, with you singing the P, E, T and R while I sing the rest. Next comes twinkle twinkle little star, and finally, a made up song - a request you come up with on the spot after I pray - usually about something that made you happy that day. Today it was about Musicville - the musical you performed with the other students at Eastside Lutheran tonight. We loved hearing you sing and do jazz hands to Getting Ready for the Festival Tonight.

We adore how much you like to listen to classical music and books about trucks, animals or composers that "died a long time ago." Your love for classical music is no doubt influenced by Mary Shin, a violin graduate student who has been living with us since August. She tells people that you are her best friend in Madison. Your love for Mary is beyond sweet.

Nice writing, bud!

As you near the end of your school year at Eastside Lutheran, we're glad that you've tired of fighting going to school. I'm thinking that's because you actually enjoy it, but taking after your parents, it can be hard to get up and going in the morning. I don't blame you for preferring to stay in your pajamas. If all goes as planned, you'll have one more year of this luxury, since you were placed in the afternoon 4K class at the girls' school.

You love Mary in part because she lets you go to Olbrich Gardens in your pajamas!

Thanks for being such a fun-loving guy. You may be stubborn at times, but we're confident that this will come in handy someday, helping you to stand up for things you believe in.

Kitchen Magic

Nate and I have a running joke (that I've probably mentioned before) that when we finally finish a house project, we stop appreciating the finished product pretty quickly, because it looks how it should have looked all along. Regardless, I'm THRILLED to have cabinet doors and drawer fronts in place. Seeing these pictures from January 19, I'm pretty proud of myself for not going bonkers living without doors for 2.5 years. They look so good, Nate. Way to pull off the vision we searched Pinterest for in 2015.

Here are the 'bonkers inducing' before photos, to help you appreciate the transition:

And now, drumroll please...the after photos that bring me lots of warm fuzzies and peace:

We ordered glass for the open cabinet doors, so that should be in soon, but otherwise, the kitchen is DONE. Now the only project left is the fireplace mantel and built-in bookshelves on either side of the fireplace. You're earning your keep around here, Nate Bosscher! SWAK.