Sing a Song of Christmas!

“Merry Christmas Strait to You” 

Looking back over this past year, we count our many blessings – one of which is your friendship. We wish you good health and abundant happiness! May wondrous sights, radiant lights, and cozy nights be yours this holiday season. Sing along with us, into the New Year (song titles are live links to some of our favs)!!




“Catch All the Fish” 

Nate continues to earn a living doing what he loves… fishing! This fall, F/V Alpine Girl checked off another stellar season in Kodiak. From our Internet search history and the gear that arrives on our doorstep every so often in suspiciously unmarked packages, I can tell that he’s already looking towards the 2014 season; but for now, Nate’s enjoying being Mr. Dad to two toddlers who think he’s better than King Crab! As for me, I miss fishing in Bristol Bay with my Crustacean Sisters and the Sand Man, but summers with the kids certainly have their highlights! This year, the boys and I went a little wild on the farm – gardening, pickling, canning, freezing, drying… We helped raise chickens, pigs, and turkeys (freezers + pantry = full!) and even wet a line a few times on the Kenai so we could smoke us enough red salmon to survive the winter.

“Back to School Again”
At Chapman School, we are sailing towards the second semester at warp speed! This year, I have a delightful bunch of 4th and 5th graders for language arts, am teaching math and reading intervention to students in grades K-3, and advise Forensics, Battle of the Books, and Middle School Student Council.  I truly enjoy the variety of ages! Over and over again, the students shock me with their insight, originality, wit, and innocence.  The way they see the world is so different than I do now, at 30, and I love the periodic thrown backs to what it is like to be 10 and 6 and 14.



“Dinner Bell” Although he remains at the bottom of the charts in the 3rd percentile for weight, there isn’t much Wylie won’t eat… Applesauce, Legos, earplugs, box after box of Annie’s… the list goes on.  He may be small for 21 months, but he’s not quiet. What a firecracker! Wylie’s vocabulary already contains over 500 words, 8 of which are English. The rest are a mix of Aleut, Greek, and Glubberlick – a lost form of communication used by small animals, bunk trolls, and munchkins. His mobility increased enormously recently since he grew tall enough to reach doorknobs. Watching and imitating, tattletaling on the dogs (as well as sneaking them treats), and snacking on toothpaste whenever given the opportunity to slip into the bathroom unaccompanied are among Wylie’s favorite pastimes.

“What’s My Age Again?” Sawyer, now 3, is very much a Big Boy, albeit one who remains deathly afraid of airplanes flying overhead. He tears up the house on his two-wheeler; leaps fearlessly off of his new bunk bed; and bosses constantly in very specific, complete sentence. But he still always has time to stop and give a “kissnahug.” Sawyer is also learning how to dress himself and defies the law of averages by pulling his pants and boots on backwards 75% of the time. When it comes to craft projects, he puts the word “excited” to shame, and is such a sports-fanatic that he regularly takes his soccer ball and goal cones to bed with him. He likes to play Hide and Seek, but always tells us where he’s hiding while we’re counting. We have tried to explain the traditional way to play, but he seems to prefer Hide and Speak.



“V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N” Sawyer, Wylie, and I flew to Ashland this summer. We just can’t get enough of that sunshine, outside pool, and, of course, Tutu Judy!! Highlights were plentiful – including kayaking, the Spearhead Children’s Concert at Britt Festival, Crater Lake, and visiting with Grandma Virginia, Grandpa Bill, Aunt Martha and Aunt Ila at Little Gray Acers. We missed Popeye John, Auntie Chani, and Uncle Jeff – who were busy loadin’ up in Bristol Bay – but were lucky enough to partay with them in Homer in August. Also lively and exciting were our stops in Anchorage at either end of our trip to catch up with Nate’s Grandma Dorothy and his sister Rani and her animated crew. We feel incredibly blessed to have such a tremendous family!!

“Haven’t Got Time for the Pain” While hoisting the generator on one of our camping adventures this summer, I threw my back out. Boy, was that a bummer!! Not being able to move well for over a week was humbling and a good reminder to savor health.  Now fully recovered, I have been getting back into racing. Through running, swimming, and circuit training at our gym in Homer, I have become friends with some inspiring and super fun women. I also recently joined a great book club – the varied and entertaining new literature is a lot of fun! – and have been challenging myself by making a few things other than hats (gasp!) and trying to write more.



"Hunting We Will Go” Nate goes hunting every chance he gets. Moose, deer, bear, Sasquatch… You name it – it’s probably in our freezer. This fall, he started training our new addition – a Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Louie (born in September) – who will keep him company in the woods within a year or two. For now, though, she’s content hunting Prawn, whose 4.5-pound frame allows him to slip easily out of her reach and makes for an entertaining dynamic in our home.


Wishing you and yours good cheer and the merriest of holiday seasons. Turn up the tunes and sing your way into 2014…

Let’s plaaaaay the dancing beats!!


XOXO

The Johnsons

Nate, Lila, Sawyer, Wylder, Prawn, and Louie