alaska!

We arrived in the Last Frontier yesterday afternoon. Not gonna lie, that flight was rough. Henry and I were in the very last row of the plane, right by the bathrooms, and I was in the aisle seat, so I spent 6 hours being assailed by slamming doors, people bumping into me, people stepping on my foot (which was NOT in the aisle), and just general misery. But we got here safely, and that's what counts. I suppose.

stolen from his snapchat

Anyway. It turns out that the Anchorage airport is small enough that the rental car center is actually in the airport proper, and there was nobody in line at the Avis counter, so we lucked out with one of the quickest car rental experiences we've ever had (second only to Hilo). And the house we're renting in Anchorage is only about 15 minutes from the airport, so we were here within an hour of landing, which I think is pretty amazing. 

Last night we mostly just spent time getting settled in, getting groceries, that sort of thing. We did go for a walk on the boardwalk at Potters Marsh, where we saw a bunch of seagulls and a couple ducks and some amazing scenery. Then we drove a little way down the Seward Highway to Beluga Point to look at Turnagain Arm, a waterway in Cook Inlet. 

that sky!

This morning we got up and checked off the number one item on my list: a bike ride on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. We went to the bike shop and rented bikes for each of us. Henry and I were going to get ebikes just in case we weren't up for the whole ride (11 miles each way) but the guy at the shop basically vetoed that idea (I don't know, man) so we all ended up with old school bikes. Which was fine with me because I've been riding pretty regularly for a few weeks ... but Henry was not very happy about it.

The trail itself goes along the ocean and through the woods. There are a couple of hills but they weren't terrible. We got off to a really rough start because the boys rode ahead of us really fast, and pretty soon they were *miles* ahead of us, and they weren't answering their phones. You can see why this would be a less than ideal situation on our first day 3,000 miles from home. We finally got ahold of them and made them stay with us for the rest of the ride, with one exception. And then I fell getting off my bike because the bike shop guy insisted on putting a bag on the back (I asked for a basket for the front to keep my camera accessible, but apparently cool bike shops don't do that), and I caught my shoe on the stupid bag while trying to swing my leg over. And my seat kept sliding down so I would go from riding upright to basically hitting my knees on the handlebars with every rotation. In short, I was miserable. Eventually, some combination of riding hard and beautiful scenery led to me getting into a groove though, which (trust me when I say this) was a blessing for us all.

this is about mile 15, so they were dragging a little

Mike found sandhill cranes!

The very end of the trail is a long uphill slog, only to turn around and come back. Henry was flagging pretty hard by that time, so Mike and I started the return journey with him, while Liam and Max rode up the hill because they wanted to come back down really fast. They were richly rewarded for their efforts when they saw the first MOOSE of the trip (that's 100 moose points for Max!). My phone started blowing up with snapchats from both of them with pictures of this moose with a really impressive rack, and then Max even facetimed me so I could see it. We were a little bummed to have missed it, but not 10 minutes later, Henry found another moose (50 moose points for Henry!). This one was a mama moose, grazing in the woods about 50 feet from the trail. We stayed and watched her until Liam and Max caught up with us, and then we all rode together to finish the trail and return our bikes. 

their moose: most impressive

our moose: less impressive, still a MOOSE

Back at the house, we all chowed down on sandwiches (credit to our foresight in buying groceries last night), then everyone took a nap. Sleep is kind of a mess for all of us right now because it's light all the time, so it feels like time is both everything and noting. Liam called it a liminal space, and he's not wrong. Eventually we ventured out for dinner at a diner called Lucky Wishbone, where we feasted on burger (Liam), chicken sandwiches (me, Max, Henry), and grilled pastrami (Mike) along with fries, onion rings, and milkshakes (for the non-Mike family members). And now it's 8:22 p.m., and we're all resting our tired bodies even though it looks like noon outside. 

Not bad for the first day!

liam roundup

 It's been a busy few weeks here at CFHQ, and they've mostly revolved around Liam. Short version: He graduated, had a big party with (almost) all his loved ones, and then turned 18 three weeks later. He's registered to vote, and I suppose we ought to register him for selective services (ugh). 

Graduation was held at night, outdoors, at the football stadium. Bethany and Klaudia and Emeri and Amari joined us in person, and both sets of grandparents had a link to stream it online. Technology is so cool! The ceremony itself went about how you would think (mostly boring, but we got to cheer for him as he walked across the stage). Afterward, Liam and his BFFs all got together for group pictures, and they were all in a rare moment of unified willingness, so we made them do all sorts of silly things that we then documented for posterity. 

Graduation was Friday night, then Sunday afternoon was his grad party. We were so lucky to be joined by so many friends and family members! We ordered Chipotle at Liam's request, and we are still flush with frozen tortillas and containers of salsa to this day. My parents provided the cakes (more on that in a bit), and my sisters did an AMAZING job with the decorations. We borrowed tables and chairs and roasting pans and cornhole sets from my extended family -- it truly was a group effort. Everything turned out wonderfully, and even the weather got the memo -- we were gifted with clear skies, low humidity, and just enough sunshine that it was warm but not blazing hot. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves playing games, eating, visiting, and even taking walks out on the pasture trails. There was much merriment, and even the cleanup afterward wasn't too bad. I took zero pictures during the party, but happily, other people sent me some.

Amari is waiting for the party people

Boilermaker cousins!

once everyone else left, Miles
helped himself to some cake

And then three weeks later, our Liam hit his final milestone of the summer: becoming an adult. We had about a cake and a half left after graduation, and the boys demolished the half during the week, while I froze the whole cake. The night before Liam's birthday, I got it out, then promptly realized that I had no other supplies with with to complete my devious plan (it's been hella busy around here). Henry came to my rescue by whipping up a batch of thick frosting, which I then loaded up into a ziploc baggie for a makeshift piping bag, and I made the necessary adjustments to the grad cake:

You should have seen Liam's face when he came downstairs and saw it! It was the perfect mixture of amusement and exasperation to kick off his 18th birthday.

not the actual face he made, but close

Friends, listen, I don't know if I can even encapsulate my feelings on this boy being an adult. I'm so far beyond proud of the young man he has become. He's smart, driven, confident, and dedicated, and he's kind (if not always nice) to everyone. And those qualities will only get more sharply defined with time. I can see so clearly the man he will be, and that man is someone I am not just proud to have created, but genuinely happy to know. I can't even guess where life will lead him, but I can see that wherever that is, he will have all the tools he needs to make a good, happy, full life for himself. Honestly, there's nothing more I could ask for.

a long way, baby

 It's the last day of senior year for Liam! 

Here he is the first day of kindergarten, so nervous and excited. Remember that day? I do. 

And now here's our boy on his last day of high school, totally nonchalant about the whole thing. He says it's no big deal, and he's ready for what comes next.

Listen, friends. This is a slightly emotional day for me. Not just because my first baby is all grown up or whatever, although there's a little bit of that. But it's also that ... just ... we've successfully grown him from scratch and helped him transform into an amazing young man, and we didn't break him or warp him too much along the way. 

When we decided to have kids, we jumped in head first, not knowing if they would get all the best of us, or all the worst. And we've stumbled along for almost 18 years now, just doing our best, and this feels like a pat on the back for us as well as for Liam. I know, I know, this is *his* accomplishment. But look, he can have graduation day be all about him; today I'm taking a minute just to acknowledge that bringing a kid into this world is HARD, and there's no guarantee that you'll get to this milestone. I'm not sure what combination of luck, judgment, planning, and flying by the seat of our pants resulted in us having three smart, thoughtful, resourceful, kind boys. I'm just grateful to be here to see it.

bath, beyond

 You can clearly tell the rooms in this house that I've paid attention to, and the ones that are still pretty much the way they were when we bought them. Take the downstairs bathroom, for example:

Now, there's nothing wrong with this space. It's perfectly tasteful and perfectly functional. It's all that, but it's just not quite mine yet. BUT with a week spent contorting my body into spaces where it's not meant to fit (aka painting), some new fixtures, and a lot of help from Mike mounting things onto the wall in ways that mean they (probably) won't fall off, the bathroom is finally done. It's now a palace that completely reflects me. And maybe the Jetsons. 

candy review

Last year, I bought the boys a fancy advent calendar from the candy company Sugarfina, and each day I posted their reviews of that day's candy on Facebook. The reviews were smart, sweary, irreverent, and so much fun. And the other day, I got a care package from my cousin Cassidy, who is in the Air Force and currently stationed in Japan. She thoughtfully included Japanese Hi-Chew candies for the boys, so we decided to do a special edition candy review. As a bonus, my brother J and nephew John were here visiting, so J got to join in on the fun! (John isn't quite at candy-reviewing age yet, but we'll rope him in someday.) Here is their review, which also will give you a taste of what last year's advent calendar reviews were like.

Strawberry

Liam: Shit kinda bussin.

J: Did you say bussin? I hope that one dies soon.

Liam: It’s ON, bro. What are you talking about?

Max: Pretty chewy.

Liam: Weird but good.

Henry: It’s meh. Tastes like a chewy sweeTART.

Max: He’s lying to us.

J: I can’t read any Japanese but I feel like the number one ingredient is wax.

Liam: What gave you that idea?

J: The texture … but the flavor is there.

Green apple

Liam: It’s green apple time, baby!

Liam: Yuh [nods]

Max: Smells bad, looks bad, flavor is bad … let me taste it real quick. 

Henry: No, just not a good flavor.

Liam: Flavor is strong, can feel it in my nostrils.

Henry: I give that a flat 27 x 10 to the negative fifth.

Liam: That’s still positive, bro.

Liam: Imma give it a 3 x 10 to the eighth meters per second.

[forgive my transcribing skills, friends]

Grape

Liam: Yeah, Imma take one of these for myself. [takes a whole package]

Max: The smell alone puts it over the other two.

Henry: It’s not even a good grape, 8/10.

Max: You said not even good but you gave it an 8?

Henry: It’s still grape tho so it's good.

Liam: This battery acid really burns my throat, 9/10.

Max: Battery acid?!?!

Liam: It’s called satire.

Max: Satire’s supposed to be funny.

Liam: No, that’s parody, goof.

And the final word goes to my favorite brother!

J: The grape ones taste like cat pee smells, but I’m too committed to spit it out. Must maintain the uncle flex.

Thank you so much, Cass, for all the goodies! We love them!

headband

Godzilla fan

Campfire tiger Cass got from a vending machine.
I adore it!

candy candy candy

coffee, then nap

John!

fun with napkins

a self-portrait by John, cameo Aunt Hol

phs winter homecoming

 Y'all, Liam was part of the homecoming court! What a lovely way to mark his final semester of high school. He escorted Olivia, who is in National Honor Society with him. He didn't end up being the king, but we all had a blast watching him be acknowledged by his peers. My dad, Bethany, and my aunt Laura came out to watch too, so he was definitely feeling the love. Check him out: