(Not) A Hockey Mom

So Porter made some really good friends at school last year.  Nice kids with nice parents, an all around good deal.  And all of them happen to play hockey.  So of course after to listening to them all year, Porter has been asking me if he can play hockey this winter too. 

Hockey is big here, and I know a lot of hockey families.  They have extolled the virtues of the puck, and told me all about how much their kids love it.  But the thing is...we are not a hockey family.  Neither of us grew up with it, played it, watched it or know anything about it.  Porter hasn't shown much of a love for ice skating the times that we've taken him.  And hockey is a big commitment, monetarily and time-wise.  Standing around at the ice rink with the girls several times a week all winter long doesn't sound particularly fun to me.

We are, however, a skiing family.  Both Bryce and I love it, and the season is about the same as hockey.  Lots of people do both, but it means that every weekend is packed full of activity, and I'm just not interested in being super busy.  Porter likes skiing so far, but he is so young.  He could love hockey too.

I hate to say no to something he wants to try.  And I hate to force my own interests on my children.  But I think that's exactly what we're going to do.  I'm going to talk him out of hockey and into skiing, because it seems like the best fit for our family.  I have mixed feelings about it.  I feel kind of bad.  But it also feels like a first world problem.  I think we will all survive, hockey stars or otherwise.


Also, food!  I've been meaning to post about this for awhile, but I made these Asian Salmon Burgers with Lime Edamame Spread and they were amazing!  They actually hold together no matter how you cook them, and the flavor is fabulous, even on months old freezer salmon.  Yum.  Even Porter, who is a purist about foods, ate an entire burger.  Try it!

Fair Weather Friend

I love southeast Alaska.  I really do.  I don't mind the rain (usually) or the cold (except sometimes) or the general lack of any kind of decent weather ever, ever, ever.  Really.  Bryce asked me the other day where I would want to live if we won the lottery, and I truly would want to live here.  This place is breathtakingly beautiful on a grand scale.  But the weather sucks.  And there's nowhere to shop.  And if you're sick of it, too bad, because there are no roads to drive out.  But I think that breeds a certain kind of resident, and those people are some of my best friends in the whole world.  So all in all, yes, the Far North is my home and I love it. 

But every once in awhile, you need a reaffirmation of that love.  And this weekend we got it.  Good Lord.  It was almost 90 degrees out and clear blue sky FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, which I know to east coasters is nothing.  But here?  It is the stuff of legends.  I mean, people were talking about this weather forecast all week long.  It was on the radio.  There was knocking on wood.  But it all came true. 

And we did it all.  Tidepooling.  Fishing.  Boating.  Fresh halibut barbeque.  Laying on the beach in the sun.  And I swam in the ocean!  In my bathing suit!  For the first time in years.  We all got sunburned.  It was all that.  And more. 

And now it is 50 degrees and raining.  But we will always have the weekend.

P.S.  Despite her expression, Cedar had a good weekend too.  It's just that as nice as it was, the water here is still heart stoppingly cold.  It's hard to take as a baby.  She'll grow into it like the rest though.

Tales From The Girl

I found Molly sitting in the yard, part of a circle of her baby dolls.  She was quite animated, talking to them all.  I thought it was pretty cute, and walked over to ask her what they were talking about.  She sighed.  "Oh Mom.  Just the energy of the world."

A few days later she came prancing proudly out of her bedroom with a rolled up towel under her shirt.  "Look Mom, I have boobs!"

I love this girl.  But I also have a feeling she'll be the death of me one day.

 
 

Happy Father's Day

Here's to all the good times we've had, and all that are to come!  Happy Father's Day.

I love you.

The Next Big Thing

I'd been meaning to take the training wheels off Porter's bike ever since the snow melted this year.  I knew he was more than ready, but I kept putting it off.  There isn't anywhere by our house that is good for novice bike riders, so it required packing bikes and babies into the car and making a big trip out of it.  But the other day, I finally got motivated with a wrench, and I took them off.  Porter watched me nervously.  I could tell he wasn't too excited about this latest development.  He kept asking me about falling and balancing, and I assured him that I would help and that we would figure it out. 

We loaded his bike in the car and drove out to the end of the road where there isn't any traffic.  I had the girls with me too, so I set his bike by the side of the car, and started working on unloading the brood.  All of a sudden I looked over, and there he went.  Riding his bike.  With no training wheels.  And no help from me.  He just got on and rode off, like he'd been doing it for years.  He turned around and looked at me with his mouth wide open in amazement, and it was done.  I guess he was really ready for this one, because an hour later he was a pro.  And now it's all he wants to do.  He's had a couple of crashes, but he's all over our hilly neighborhood having a blast. 

Bike riding and beaches, it's what summer time is all about.

School's Out!

Yesterday was Porter's last day of Kindergarten.  I really can't believe how quickly this year passed, and how much he has accomplished.  I was a little teary saying good bye to his teacher and his first real classroom.  And I have to say I haven't been too terribly excited about summer break.  This is my favorite season here, and I love all that summer weather has to offer.  But Bryce is busy, and being home with three kids all the time by myself can be tiring.  Not to mention Cedar's recent really horrible sleeping schedule.  One thing I was looking forward to was not having to wake Porter up in the morning.  Even if we all get up early, not having that battle be the first thing we do every day is going to be really nice.  Even on the last day of school, he moaned and groaned his way into the world.

So after school, I was going through the mountains of paper that Porter brought home, and I found this, a bit about what he is grateful for:

If you can't read kindergarten writing, that first line says, "thank you for waking me up."  It's to me.  And here I thought he hated me for it.  When I asked him about it, he told me that if it weren't for me, he'd miss the bus every day.  Thanks bud.  Really.  It means a lot.

Also, we've been making homemade fruit roll-ups.  I can't believe I had never done this before.  It's so easy, and the girls ate the whole batch in one day.  Yum.

Enjoy your summer!  Ours is off to a pretty good start.