Our Usual Shenanigans and Another Warm Winter

Wow, we haven't updated this since September!  Well, we've been mired in our regular mania, running between school functions, sports, music, Boy Scouts, and everything else we can pile on our collective plate.  Not to mention just getting outside for a hike or a bit of sledding and snowboarding.

Of course, one needs snow for sledding and snowboarding, and more and more, snow just isn't something we get a lot of in southcentral Alaska anymore.  With the arctic region warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, our winters have been growing gradually less wintery.  Even in the time we've been here, we've noticed the change, and have heard countless other Alaskans grumbling about it.  For the first time since records have been kept, Anchorage did not see a single day below 0° F in all of 2014.  And for only the second time since the race began, the Iditarod will have its restart this year not in nearby Willow, but 300 miles north in Fairbanks.  The reason?  Not enough snow.  In fact, right now as this is being typed, it's 45° outside.  Needless to say, it's been a lackluster season for fun in the snow.  But, it's the new normal we're living with, and we try to make the most of it.

In other news, everyone has been great.  Malcolm earned a full 4.0 GPA for his fall semester, and was honored at an "evening of excellence" ceremony at school.  He also fractured his arm (again), and is now a proud wearer of braces.  Of course, he's also reached the major milestone of turning 13. Chloe's lowest fall grade was a single B+, and she's started taking hip hop dance lessons.  We can't wait to see her first performance.  Calvin recently earned an advanced reading award, and is now a yellow belt in karate.

Malcolm leaves for his school trip to Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania next month, and in July, we're heading out on our very own European vacation.  Rest assured, we'll come back with LOTS of photos from that trip.

Otherwise, everyone is happy, healthy, and in the case of the kids, growing up way too fast.  All we can hope to do is enjoy the journey, and capture as much of it as we can.  It'll pass by us soon enough, and we're definitely in no hurry.