Jared went to Girdwood Fair

So Jared and Kevin traipsed off to Girdwood Fair in the middle of the woods with a bunch of hippies and other friends for the weekend. When Heidi dropped them off they had no reservation for a campsite, but they had food and a tent and decided to wing it. As it turns out, having no plan and a spirit of adventure pays off lots of times.

They found a friend, whose Mum had a friend, who had a house adjacent to the festival grounds. They pitched their tent on his rooftop (how cool is that?) and had a real bathroom to use all weekend. Being willing to head into the unknown isn't something Jared would have embraced until recently. His cousins are cool guys though and it doesn't hurt to have weather you love.:)



Check out that view! I do miss Alaska this time of year...


Pitching their roof-top tents.


It looks like a very Alaskan style house. He was exhausted when I talked to him on the phone last night so it must have been a lot of fun.

Trip to the NW: The conference

I'm way too behind for anything remotely organized at this point. So here are some random highlights of the conference weekend, which was full of many grand and somewhat stressful moments for me. Such is the way of unschooling conferences....

Lunch with Amy Steinberg, Donna, Heidi, Robin and Mary. Glorious weather, yummy food, lots of laughs, the massive Columbia river flowing past as smoothly as the margaritas we drank.






They had the mariachi band sing Happy Birthday to me....all while wearing a very large hat I'm not going to show you.



There was a very cool "river" in Esther Short park, a quick walk up the street from the conference site. We went there every day. Didn't hurt to have a very good coffee shop/cafe right on that particular square.;)



The post-conference picnic...














My friend Lindsey even showed off some of her amazing acrobatics for us! Lindsey and I worked together out here in Johnson City and she had moved out to the NW to join a dance troupe. It was great to re-connect.



Searching for a four-leaf clover.It's one of his "things".





Saying goobye...




The late-night parties in my room...




The late-night ATC making in my room....








The deck overlooking the Columbia, where we could sit and chat or drink or hug. My room looked over this deck and the river, it was awesome!




The talent show. We were helping Calista fulfill her dream of being in the show for the very first time ever. She wanted to sing "Five green and speckled frogs", which she did. We were her "frogs".




The Amy Steinberg concert, always a hit, always a blast! We love you Amy!!:)



Visiting the In-laws....it had been too long and it was great to see them and give the kids a chance to share some hugs.




It was a great trip and a great conference!! I'm still exhausted.;) Thank you Mary and Jon for hosting this incredible weekend. You rock!

Jalen convo

Sierra: Mom, can you read my lips?

Me: Hold on a sec.
Probably not, I'm not that good at it.

Jalen: How can you read someone's lips when there's no letters?

Learnin' Nothin....again!

It's almost time for the 2nd annual Learn Nothing Day and the Johnson City unschoolers invite you to join us for a celebration. We'll meet at Rock Creek just like last year for a picnic, swimming and general fun on July 24th at noon.

Overnight guests should check out the Comfort Inn as it's conveniently located and inexpensive. Earthfare is just down the road too!

Plan on bringing food, drinks, swimming gear etc... There is hiking available, bbq pits and bathrooms/changing areas. There is a $2 day fee when you get to the park (self service payment as you drive in) so bring a bit of cash. See you there!!

Any questions, write me at starsuncloud@comcast.net.

My travelin' kid

While we've been gardening and playing with friends and working and such, Jared has been doing things like climbing "The Butte" in Palmer Alaska:




He ran in his first race this week, a 10k at 10pm called the Midnight Sun Run in Fairbanks. I ran it a few times in High school, once with my Dad and sister Heidi (the same sister with whom Jared is living right now and ran the race again this year, along with my nephews Tristan and Kevin).

He's already changed and I'm not even there to watch it happen. It's cool and a bit strange but I'm really excited about all the amazing things he's doing. Life changing things...though he may not realize it now.

He'll come home full of new experiences and tales to tell. We'll have a few of our own to share. I miss him like crazy but mostly I'm just happy my kids feel free to explore this big, amazing world and take what they need from those experiences. Happy trails.....