June 21 2025

Today I had coffee with my two dearest Kodiak friends Jami and Kim, who each have birthdays this week (Kim yesterday, Jami the day before). I took them out to Bean and Bloom, an adorable coffee shop right on the water underneath the Near Island bridge. We had coffee (obviously) and Jami made a Reese’s PB and Oreo cheesecake which she brought with. We stayed there a good three hours and just chatted. 

I got home and played Final Fantasy for a bit, then we headed to the base movie theater with our bonus child (Cam’s best buddy Gibson) and saw the Kodiak premier of the new live action Lilo and Stitch movie. It will never compare to the original animated film, but it was still very well done and cute.

We came home and Brad and the three boys started playing Minecraft together, and I tucked into the garage to play Diablo III. About an hour in I had a thought - I should work out. But I really didn’t want to, since it was my day off. BUT I really should, because I had cheesecake for lunch and pizza for dinner. And then I had another thought.

The exercise bike is here in the garage. Diablo is a hack and slash that requires button mashing and little dexterity. So, I hopped on the bike and played Diablo at the same time.

Work smarter. And maybe a little harder too in this case.

June 18 2025

Going to the beach is different than it used to be with little kids.

It USED to be, we’d have to pack for an entire expedition. Endless supplies - umbrellas, lunch, snacks, drinks, more snacks, sunscreen, a change of clothes, towels, beach toys, buckets, floaties, boogie boards, sweatshirts, and who the hell knows what else. And a wagon to haul it all, if it all even fits.

The beach would be an all day excursion, and the kids would never want to go home. The adults would take turns building sand castles or wading in the water with them. It was an entire to do.

The beach with teenagers is SO different. Even just convincing them to actually GO is the biggest challenge of it all these days. They’re not really into sand castles and whatnot anymore, and Kodiak beaches especially are challenging when water games, boogie boarding and swimming aren’t really an option.

However, it’s also easier, in many ways.

Now, we pack a best friend for each of them (in lieu of toys), lunch, a blanket, and whatever they “feel” like bringing. In today’s case, they armed themselves with airsoft guns, a ball and a baseball bat. 

And that was all they needed. They even hauled it all to the beach without me.

Then, I plopped myself on the blanket, opened a book, and completely ignored the boys for two hours. No worrying about water rescues, or even being out of sight. They wandered up and down the beach, shooting rocks, running in and out of the water, and tidepooling and screaming like little girls when little baby halibuts nibbled at their toes. 

It’s certainly not as fun an exciting as when they were little, but it’s WAY less stressful, they carry all their own stuff, and there’s no over-tired post-beach meltdowns.

I approve of teenage beach days.

A Few Of My Favorite Things (Summer Edition)

Today was a great day. It was one of those days where the weather was perfect, none of us had to work, we had quality time together AND I hit almost every favorite hobby of mine all in one day.

We started the day with summer school, which is really just Science Fiction/Creative Writing Class. We (almost) finished War of the Worlds, which we finish tomorrow (and then watch the movie). I had my morning coffee outside on the back porch (checkbox favorite hobby #1), because it was already warm and sunny. Which is rare here, I might add.

Also rare are mid-week days off for both Brad and myself, and since the weather was so spectacular, we dropped everything and the four of us went on an outdoor adventure (checkbox favorite hobby #2). Since it was WARM and the wind was nonexistent, we opted to take the kayaks out to Buskin Lake, which we crossed and had a picnic lunch on the far shore, one of our favorite places to go. The boys climbed trees and skipped rocks while Brad and I lay on the sand and chatted.

Once we got back, I plopped in my favorite swing on the sunny back porch and read a chapter of my book (favorite hobby #3), then went inside and played some video games (favorite hobby #4). Currently I’m playing Final Fantasy X on the Xbox, and when the Xbox is occupied, I go in the garage and play Diablo III.

Dinner tonight is taco potato, and we are watching a family Disney movie (favorite hobby #5): Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Since it’s the land of the midnight sun, after dinner I went on a walk around the peninsula, listening to my audiobook (tandem read of Tower of Dawn and Empire of Storms - Throne of Glass series) while Brad and the boys play Minecraft. 

The absolute perfect day.