• Alaska, finally!

    ByKristin family, summer, vacation

    We finally made it. I say that because we originally booked an Alaskan cruise in 2020. We all know how that went, or, rather, didn’t go. We rebooked in 2021, but negative COVID tests were still required to fly into Canada and board cruise ships … and one of my kids tested positive for COVID the night before we were scheduled to leave. So we waited a few days then went to Wisconsin Dells instead. 

    Then we planned other cruises with friends, celebrated our high school graduate, went on mission trips … and Alaska had to wait. 

    But now here we are, finally. 

    We love to travel with our moms and family friends, but for reasons I’m not even entirely sure about, the trip felt like it was meant for the five of us. That doesn’t mean it was all roses and everyone got along all the time, but I’m so glad we did this trip in this season of life. 

    This trip was a big one with 13 nights away from home in three hotels each for a night, seven nights on the Ovation of the Seas, two nights in a cabin, and the last night on an airplane. 

    We packed seven suitcases for five of us, and I wish we’d packed less. But I did three loads of laundry after we got off the cruise ship. 

    Ketchikan

    We gained another hour to get on Alaskan time, and then went on our first excursion. We canoed around Harriett Hunt Lake in the Tongass National Forest. After a nature walk, we had yummy local snacks such as clam chowder, berry jam, salmon dip, and hot chocolate. 

    Greg, Cate, and Ben got back on the ship for lunch while Rachel and I shared a crab roll from a local food truck. Then we snacked and shopped at Ward’s Cove, which had a great store for cruise tourists. 

    We ended the port stop with the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show. Showcasing a competition between a couple of two-man teams, it was entertaining and interactive.

    Icy Strait Point

    This port is near Hoonah, and it’s owned and developed by the native people. It’s authentic and takes into account the salmon cannery history. We rode a new gondola to the top of the mountain. It was a cloudy day, so views were limited, but it was still pretty. We also went on a walk to a pond and meadow. On the way down, the boss of the gondola hitched a ride with us, and we got to chat with him, which was fun. 

    After lunch and exploring, we boarded a whale-watching boat and saw 18 humpback whales bubble feeding and 4 others breaching. Several in my crew consider the whale watching their favorite excursion. 

    We beat the crowds and took the shuttle into downtown in the morning. We walked to the Sitka National Historical Park, which took us by a marina and beautiful, rocky shoreline. Then we shopped and snacked downtown before heading back to the cruise port. 

    Our excursion took us to the Fortress of the Bear, which is a non-profit facility that cares for orphaned bears. We got to see Alaskan coastal brown bears and black bears. 

    This was maybe my favorite day, thanks to siblings’ moods toward each other, the weather, and the whole experience. Cate and I decided we could vacation here for a few days, and we talked about “The Proposal,” even though the majority of the movie wasn’t actually filmed there. But nobody there has tiny dogs because eagles are a real threat to them! 

    Skagway

    Further north, this port looked different than the others with more dramatic mountains and views. 

    We had a tour that took us to learn about and meet sled dogs and through the White Pass to Fraser, British Columbia, Canada. We rode up on a bus and down on a scenic train. So beautiful! 

    We had lunch at the Salty Siren near the port. I continued my streak of seafood at least once every day! 

    Seward to Anchorage

    We got off the ship in Seward, which is a couple of hours from Anchorage. We took a tour that was also our transport. Along the way we stopped at so many great places, including Lowell Point, Exit Glacier overlook, The Inn at Whittier for lunch, Portage Valley, Byron Glacier trailhead, and Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center.

    Our guide was excellent, and this was a great way to learn the area and get to where we needed to go. We stayed at the Hyatt Place in Anchorage that night and had dinner The Bear Paw Bar & Grill because it was in walking distance, but it also turned out to be delicious! 

    I did three loads of laundry at the hotel, and Rachel swam. Honestly, I wish we’d packed less. We took a total of seven suitcases, but I think we could have done five with no issues if I trusted the laundry situation!

    Palmer

    Just outside of Anchorage, the boys fished on Knik River from the late morning into the afternoon, so the girls and I had our own fun. We went to the Reindeer Farm, lunched at Turkey Red, and got dessert at Vagabond Blues. 

    Then we drove up toward Hatcher Pass before picking up the boys and heading to Denali National Park. We stayed just outside of the park in a cute cabin at Denali Grizzly Bear Resort for two nights. 

    Denali National Park 

    Our first day at Denali National Park was really fun! It’s so remote that it’s not like Yellowstone or even Glacier with all the people in the summer. Plus we had beautiful weather. 

    We visited the working dogs that rangers use to patrol the park, especially in the winter when so many parts aren’t accessible by roads. Then we did a tour of the background just outside of the park with Denali ATV Adventures. We had a six-seater ATV for just our crew and then two guides in their own ATV and another couple in theirs. It was basically like a private tour, and so fun! 

    After the ATV tour, we happened upon a golf course down the road. Ben really wanted to say he played golf in Alaska, so he and Greg squeezed in some holes at Black Diamond Golf Course. While the girls and I were having a snack on the porch there, a worker asked us if we’d been to the petting zoo. My immediate response was, “Right here?” Yep. Right behind the restaurant and clubhouse was a petting zoo with goats, miniature horses and cows, rabbits, and sheep. So random, but Rachel especially had the best time! 

    That night we went to the Cabin Nite Dinner Theatre at Denali Park Village, which was across the street from our cabin. The ribs, salmon, family-style sides, and berry cobbler were so good! And the show about Denali and what brought people there was funny and entertaining. 

    The next day in Denali, we took a bus 43 miles into the park, which is farther than possible in a private vehicle. I wish we had more time to explore, especially once we got to East Fork riverbed, but we had a plane to catch. 

    Sort of. We stopped at Wasilla on our way back to Anchorage to watch the World Cup game at Tailgaters Sports Bar & Grill. We flew out at 10:45 pm Alaska time and remain confused about what day it is!

    Logistic Recommendations

    • I’ve probably told you before, but if you’re flying out of the Nashville airport early in the morning, stay at the hotel there. Yes, it’ll feel like a splurge, but it’s worth it. 
    • A cruise is the way to see Alaska’s coast because those towns are beautiful but isolated. But then you should definitely spend a few extra days in the interior exploring other areas. I used a travel agent for the cruise booking, but then I booked our cruise excursions and extra land-based days myself. I enjoy planning trips, though. If you don’t, my girls at Kingdom Seekers Travel can help you with all the things. 
    • Get a credit card with good travel perks. I recommend both the Southwest credit card if you fly with even a little frequency and the Capital One Venture card. These help cut the costs in various ways! 
    • I also like to book hotels and rental cars through Expedia because that builds OneKey Cash (aka discounts) and allows me to get cash back through Rakuten. 

    More travel advice

    Need inspiration?

    *****

    Even though they don’t do the beauty justice, I took a bunch of pictures! You can see most of them on Facebook or Instagram.

    God authors the stories on our porches and wherever we go. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to receive #PorchStories emails with resources and stories like this about every other week.

  • Summer hospitality

    ByKristin hospitality, summer

    I grew up in a house in a neighborhood that was a gathering place for my friends. Mom made grape Kool-Aid with extra sugar and let us all come and go from games of flashlight tag. 

    I’ve always wanted my home to be where the teenagers hung out. And now that I have two teenagers, I’m thankful they do. When we moved to the country a decade ago, I wondered if this would impact our social life, but it hasn’t. So far this summer, we’ve planned parties, welcomed friends on a whim, and hosted my Bible study girls. I’ve fed college students, hosted our golf team families, and caught up with friends. 

    These are the days I’ve longed for in so many ways.

    Of course, there is grief I didn’t expect and valleys I didn’t see coming. 

    But life is best on the porch with our people, especially with our new string lights. 

    Recently, another mom who was at our house said she is friendly to her neighbors but doesn’t necessarily want to be friends with them. I appreciated that she knows that about herself. Meanwhile, fill my pool up with the kids and let me make some macaroni and cheese to feed them. 

    Now, I don’t say this because it’s the only way to do life. I just wanted to share how we do summer hospitality. And, truthfully, know every summer doesn’t look the same. 

    Serving ware

    I used to almost exclusively use paper plates when we had multiple extra people over, but, honestly, I just got tired of spending money on something that would be thrown away. I got a whole stack of these cheap, plastic plates and expanded my Fiestaware collection, thanks to the Peddler’s Mall. And that’s what we’ve been using. In fact, I had to buy more forks because I think sometimes even the “real” forks end up in the trash! 

    But, please hear me, if paper plates work for you, use them. If you have a cabinet full of plasticware leftover from take-out meals, use it! I’m definitely NOT a fancy host. My house looks lived in because, well, we live here. 

    Meals 

    I love to cook for people. I don’t bake much, but I love to make dinner. I don’t cook complicated meals, and I have some go-to recipes for serving a crowd. 

    • Joanna Gaines’ Chicken Spaghetti – It’s from one of my favorite cookbooks! I don’t think I’m a better chef than Joanna, but I do tweak this recipe a bit. I leave out the mushrooms and green pepper, add zucchini, and don’t measure the sweet peppers or onion (the more the merrier)! I also don’t usually use white cheddar. 
    • The Best Chicken Marinade – I found this recipe during the social-distancing days of COVID-19 because we were craving meal inspiration. This is our go-to marinade for grilled chicken, and we make it often. I buy chicken breasts, cut them into smaller portions, like often into sixths, and then Greg grills them. We’ve perfected this and usually make more than we need because it’s great leftover in salads, quesadillas, or however else you want to use it. 
    • Mac & Cheese – Remember when recipe exchanges were email chain letters? Well, a friend sent me her family’s Baked Mac & Cheese recipe, and it’s become our family recipe. It’s so good and makes a ton!
    • Chicken Salad – I like to loosely follow this Chicken Salad Chick copycat recipe!
    • Taco Bar – This way, everyone can pile on whatever they prefer – chicken or beef, rice or sweet potatoes, salsa or guacamole, shredded cheese or queso. My favorite additions to the taco bar are Chuy’s copycat Jalapeno Ranch and Pioneer Woman’s restaurant-style salsa. 

    Of course, cooking for a crowd isn’t always an option, so carry-out and potluck are good options too! We do a lot of parties where we provide the main course (think burgers & hot dogs!) and drinks, and others bring sides and desserts. 

    Soda Bar

    Dirty sodas are popular right now – and I like the concept! Give me a Dr Pepper Zero with sugar-free coconut syrup and coconut creamer, and I’m happy gal. Throw a lime in for good measure too! Or choose whatever other flavors you love! We had a Dirty Soda Bar for my daughter’s 19th birthday party and it was a hit. Sometimes we make them just because. Here are some of the ingredients we love to have on hand for these fun drinks! 

    Game Nights

    We have a Nertz-playing group of friends. We have other friends who will play any game that’s in front of them. My favorite kind of Game Nights are when the adults have a game going at one table while the kids have another game going. We have lots of favorites and go through seasons with them, but here is some inspiration. 

    Pool Party

    We have a pool, so that’s the summer attraction for sure. But my youngest is enjoying the simple fun of a hose and some soap on the trampoline. On Memorial Day, she and her friends used all the soap in my house. Literally. Every foaming hand pump and all the bottles of dish soap. So now I stock up on cheap dish soap for her. 

    Another summer day, my college girl and her friends made themselves into a slip-and-slide by wearing trash bags doused with soap! A tarp is always fun on the hill in front of our house. 

    Inviting others in doesn’t have to be complicated or fancy, and, in fact, I’ve learned people like ordinary hospitality. We all like to be seen and known. We like to be fed. We like to be invited. 

    *****

    Here are more ways to open your home & your hearts in any season as inspired by my book, Bringing Home More Than Groceries: Stories About Gathering & Nourishing People.

    God authors the stories on our porches – in every season, wherever we are. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to  #PorchStories emails to receive them about every other week.

  • The Summer that Surprised Me

    ByKristin family, summer

    The summer wasn’t what I was expecting, but that’s not a complaint. The 86 days of Summer Break became a season of new things for our family, for most of which I wasn’t mentally prepared. In general, we never got into any rhythm. I know routines are hard to come by in the summer, but there wasn’t even a rhythm. 

    Cate adopted a college schedule with evening Bible studies, a week-long trip that gave her a taste of freedom and some new friends, and working various jobs. That meant she stayed out and up later than everyone else in the house and usually slept in, except on the days she needed to get things done before work. She kept her job at the movie theater, taking on extra shifts. But she also babysat a few times and took some photos for friends. We cleaned out her clothes, but I am going to clean out her room again now that she’s sleeping in a Murray State dorm room.

    Probably more difficult for my momma heart than having my firstborn move about 15 minutes away to a dorm at our alma mater was when she didn’t go on a road trip with us this summer. That felt surreal and like she’s really growing up! Plus, until then, she’d never stayed overnight alone before, but she had lots of work shifts and two birthday parties to attend. That road trip to Omaha was also a new experience for the rest of us. The kids and I had never been to Nebraska, and none of us had been to the College World Series. As sports fans, it was a super fun time. As Murray State grads, it was like an unexpected reunion. 

    Later in the summer, there was a sports-inspired road trip that Cate passed on. Greg and I took Ben and Rachel to the FedEx Cup to watch PGA golfers in the first playoff round. As a new golf fan, it was so fun to see them up close. I have since watched more golf on TV and followed some of my favorites on Instagram. 

    We did manage to get the five of us in the van for a long weekend in Helen, Georgia, that wasn’t on our radar at the beginning of the summer but ended up being the right trip at the right time for us. 

    Meanwhile, Ben worked with dog breeder friends and our land clearing friend. On work days, he couldn’t sleep in. But when he didn’t work, he wanted to sleep in. He worked those jobs as needed, and there was absolutely no consistency, which was fine, but not what I was expecting. He did learn to drive a skid steer, which made him happy. 

    Yeah, we have dog breeder friends. Ben has worked there for about a year now. During that year, he met a dog named Bailey who needed a new guardian home. That means she’s still under contract to have some more litters for Bluegrass Bernedoodles, but we take care of her when she’s not being a mom. Bailey came to live with us at the beginning of April, was bred at the end of May, and gave birth to seven puppies at the end of July. Rachel is eager for her sleeping companion to come home, but Bailey is being a good momma dog right now. 

    And then there was Rachel. She soaked up the third-child attention while her teenage siblings were going in all different directions. She got to experience an overnight camp for the first time with church friends. She also spent the night at a friend’s house for the first time at the end of May, when I was in Costa Rica with Cate and Greg was at a state golf tournament in Louisville with Ben. We don’t really do sleepovers in general, but she certainly was excited for this exception. 

    Speaking of new things this season, that weekend Rachel was at camp was a whole new world at our house. With our college-bound girl, 15-year-old son, and 9-year-old girl all occupied with their own plans, Greg and I celebrated our anniversary by spending a random Saturday together – sleeping in, conquering some tasks, running some errands, eating lunch out, and going to a movie. We got home before dark with the one kid who was in town. So, there you go, that’s 23 years of marriage. 

    At this point in adulthood, I was also led to make some changes to my volunteer duties at school. Over the past 12 years, I’d gradually taken on more as a board member. For more than a year, I prayed about what those changes should be, and I just couldn’t get any clarity or peace. Then I did while driving home from a meeting one night in May. God led me to resign from the school board and as business manager at the end of July. Honestly, it was time. And my identity was too caught up in productivity and responsibility. I accidentally became athletic director a few years ago, so I’m continuing that role and managing our school’s social media. 

    School just started last week, and I am working through appointments I’d put off “until the kids are back in school,” so I’m certainly not in a new routine of my own yet, but I’ll get there – after the counseling, mammogram, dentist, and chiropractor appointments, a breakfast date with friends I didn’t seen enough this summer, and a long overdue lunch date with another friend. 

    The moral of summer: Enjoy the moment because these kids really do grow up quickly. Even so, I love being a mom to teenagers and appreciate the age gap of my children, even though it wasn’t what I planned. God cares about the details of our lives and provides what we need to be the people He created us to be.

    Here’s to the memories and whatever is to come in this next season. 

    *****

    God authors the stories on our porches and wherever we go. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to receive #PorchStories emails about every other week.