July Anchorage Adventure

This past winter, I made plans for a summer adventure in Anchorage.  I returned home this morning from five days in Anchorage visiting my childhood friend, Louis, and his wife and daughter.  

Getting on the airplane in Chicago, headed for Anchorage!

My best friend from childhood, Louis!

Life was GOOD in anchorage!

Dinner with friends!  Amazing peanut butter pie!  

Looking out the window on the way to Alaska!

Abel and Amy!  

Chicken and pasta!  So yummy!

Always good to see Fran!  

A visit to the Anchorage Museum.  Tourist for the day!  

I always like a good Raven!

The Feather Bears at the museum were my favorite.  Impossible not to smile!

Raven Totem

Fish Art.  

Cool mural.

Moose!

Another cool Anchorage mural.

Fun art on the side of all the trash cans in downtown Anchorage!

Blue Moose Totem

A few pictures from my hike up (most) of Flattop Mountain

Taking FULL advantage of the hot tub.

Flowers at the Zoo.

A puddle of baby moose!

I got to feed to porcupine!  

Raven sitting in the sky.

Mountain Goat

Grizzly Bear

Louis, Tamara, Evie, and Angus (dog).  Such a wonderful family!

Reindeer Hot Dog

Evie dominated the french fries

Tamara and Evie and french fries

Looking out the window on a rainy day.

Race Day Breakfast!  Skinny Raven Half Marathon...here I come!  

At the start of a VERY rainy race day!

Daddy/Daughter Giggles

Taking off back home on a rainy night.  

 

Small Big Things in June

Time, as always, is moving too fast, and yet at a summer pace.  The days are slow, yet seem but an eye blink.  It is a quiet weekend, as our plans were canceled...but the positive is the house is clean and the fridge is stocked!  Here are some pictures from the past couple weeks including Aunt Eden's visit and the annual run up in Duluth at Grandma's Marathon!  I completed the half this year, and enjoyed all it had to offer!

Cheers!

-a

A snack board on a summer afternoon.

On a run/bike with Violet.  Here we are at "The IT Drain".

Violet and Dad at Audrey's Flute Recital

Audrey during her recital.  She is truly wonderful!

At the zoo with Aunt Eden!

Sam on the Panda!

These ladies on the carousel. 

Saying hi to the snow leopard.

Audrey petting a goat.

Sam petting a goat.

These three....I just love them forever.

Chilling on a bench for a minute.

Painted Dog

Polar Bear

Grizzly Bear

Reminder:  Polar Bears are bigger than you.

Big sister piggyback ride!

Picture at the Roo with Aunt Eden

Seeing Spiderman with Aunt Eden.  Sam is here for the snacks.

My traditional pre-race meal at Grandma's Saloon:  Marathon Marinara Spaghetti!

It is always nice to be back in Duluth and take=in Lake Superior.

At the start corral of the half marathon.  It was another good year, and I am thankful to have the ability to run!  

Oskar in the morning sun.

Oskar and Luna:  Sun Dogs.

 

The Adventures Continue

A quick hello!  It is a refreshingly rainy morning!  It hasn't rained in weeks and the whole area needs it!  The windows are open and the cool, fresh air is blowing through the main level of the house.  Robins and finches call out on occasion, and the rustling of the leaves makes for a peaceful morning experience!  More than once in the past month I have heard both of my daughters mention that they read this blog and use it to find pictures from their earlier years!  It makes me happy to know that this whole blog is coming full circle in some ways!  So, in that spirit, here are some pictures from our summer thus far!  Let the adventures continue!

-a

Getting excited to run in the half marathon in Duluth in the near future!  Getting all the info for race day in this information booklet!  So exciting!

Audrey om her 8th grade graduation night.  I love her so much.  Proud Dad moment here.

I love going to the zoo, and the kids like it, too!

Getting the carousel in FIRST today!  

Sam on the Panda today.

Audrey on the polar bear cub and Violet on the penguin.  

Sam in a boat in the Swamp House

Sam and a Lemur.

We have enjoyed a few nights outside just playing and sitting by a fire.

Violet and Dad selfie by the It Drain Pipe.  Violet biked while I ran.  She did 5.6 miles this day!

Violet and Dad at Audrey's Flute Recital.  I love her so much!

Audrey during her recital.  She works so hard, and we are all so proud!

 

Lost in the Gray

 We are now into the first couple weeks of summer...something I like to refer to as "The Gray".  It is a time when we shed most of our schedules, tensions, habits, and routines from the school year and simply marinate in the time we have with minimal scheduling or activities.  The children get to sleep until they are awake, and stay awake until they are asleep.  Screens, movies, snacks, softball, walks, bikes, runs, books, art, STEAM projects...these are the things that have filled The Gray lately.  

We stew and enjoy the lack of any real time constraints for the moment, but bigger things are on the horizon that will require our awareness of the calendar!  We are looking forward to seeing Aunt Eden in a week, and will need to get the house in operating conditions as far as general cleanliness goes.  Audrey also has high school marching band practice as well as flute lessons and a recital coming up!  Violet will be busy with basketball camp and general hanging out with friends around the neighborhood.  Sam has been active with his STEAM projects, and going to the park and library with me.  Baseball games, Zoo trips, movie nights, carnivals, baking, cooking, walks, and many other mini-adventures await out there on the horizon for us.

Today is another lazy start but also so enjoyable.  Sam and I are on the couch and the girls are asleep, after another night of being awake way too late.  The day is supposed to be a cooler one, so maybe a walk this afternoon with the dogs!  Keep it simple, keep it simple.  Things will get more complex as time moves forward, but for now I am savoring these quiet mornings and simple times.  There will be time, soon enough, where we will look back on these unstructured mornings with great envy.  

-a

Summer Upon Us

 The sun has risen and faint sounds of robins chirping are ushered through the open window along with a cool morning breeze.  The neighborhood is slowly beginning to stir on this Memorial Day, and the possibility of a doughnut run grows ever-larger in my mind.  More importantly, however, is the fact that this is the first Monday of our summer.  For the foreseeable future, there is no more school....lesson plans....anxiety....grades...homework....

Just summer.

The days are endless with possibility, and they will be what we make of them.  Trips to the zoo, baseball games, bike rides, night walks, running, playing, sleeping...adventures to Indiana, Minnesota, Alaska...it is all in front of us...and there is the thrill of it all.  Periods of time that are not yet determined for us...that is the adventure.  Where choice is what we have, the power we wield.  All too often, our time is already accounted for and spent.  It is considered wise to know where you will be in life at certain pints in time, but we often feel that time is moving too quickly in an effort to reach those certain points.  Now, though, we have time that is yet spent...time that has not been assigned a post...time that is ours to distribute.  

So I savor the cool breeze and the serenade of the robins, and I can hear Sam stirring upstairs.  The coffee is good and the calendar is empty for now...and I am doing my best to enjoy this time that is mine.

-a

The Quiet Morn

 It is a quiet Sunday morning, as the rest of the family is still in their weekend slumber.  We now find ourselves at the very edge of the school year, just a few days away from summer break.  Audrey will be promoted to high school in three days, and Violet to middle school in 5.  Three children in three schools next year for the next three years!....but those are concerns for another time.  For now, we remained focused on finishing the school year and beginning the transition into summer.

The windows are open and fresh, cool air flows freely into the main level of the house.  My coffee cools and I listen to the sounds of the robins outside and the dishwasher humming quietly in the kitchen a few feet away.  Sam is asleep on the couch, as we watched a movie and stayed-up late, and he welcomed the chance to be a big kid and sleep downstairs.  Sigh...it is all moving too quickly.

The prospect of summer is wonderful, but it still feels like an eternity of a week ahead of us.  Finishing a school year requires a different kind of energy and effort.  Looking forward to the summer, we will try to plan lots of small adventures and time with family.  For now, though, I am content to sip my coffee, enjoy some fresh bagels, and wait quietly until the rest of the family is awake and active...for the moment we are in is what we have..and the moments ahead are never promised. 

-a

Sam and his Easter Egg

Audrey and her Easter Egg

Dad and Violet enjoying ice cream in downtown Plainfield

A chilly night out by the fire

Celebrating Uncle Michael the best way we know how

A fun night at the Slammers Game!

Enjoying the Solo Stove and a nice evening!

Got to do some Ghost busting at the Cougars game!

Fresh bread and bagels this morning!  Yum!