It Has Already Begun!

School started for me at LDSBC on Monday. Where did all of my friends go? It seemed as if I had never been there before. I knew no one. I was happy though to see staff members that are kind, helpful, and loving. Today I saw a friend I met at school over a year ago. That was kind of good. I have been really tired the last two days, getting up early for school and then going straight to work. This may be more than I want to do right now. Be a manager, go to school full time, dealing with depression and anxiety. I sit here with heavy eyes. I just have to get through it and I will be done in 16 weeks.
Mike starts school on Wednesday. If he can make it through this semester as well he will be one step closer to finishing the Ph.D. I just hope he can continue on this course, just so he can feel this sense of accomplishment.

How I Spent My Summer

Ah, Summer! Still some time left to play before getting back to school in earnest. Mike spent the last six weeks teaching high school students in the University of Utah's Upward Bound Summer Academic Enrichment Program. I taught English composition and supervised the magazine internship. Here you see the finished product of my students' labors. When I saw the pride my students had in their job well done, I felt rewarded for my efforts. Last night we had the closing banquet, and it was like a mini United Nations in the Union Ballroom. Hallie and I sat at a table with a family from Vietnam, at the table next to us sat an extended Polynesian family, at the table in front of us sat a Mexican family, and katty corner from us sat a family from Somalia. Here were all these families from all these backgrounds, all sharing the same ambition for their children: a chance to grab the dream of a college education. Hallie and I chatted with students and their families and enjoyed the different presentations. Whenever I write in this thing, I feel as though I should have something more profound or at least witty to say. "The romance of writing a blog," I suppose. Anyway, summer was spent teaching and otherwise trying to beat the heat. Hallie has been made manager at her Curves franchise, and now she has a new set of snazzy business cards. I have yet to figure out where I want to take my dissertation. Some (most?) people seem to go into their PhD programs knowing what it is they want to study. Alls I know is that I want to learn about how to make schools places where students learn something meaningful. That's what I liked about doing UB this summer. For the most part, my students learned a little bit more about how to write and think about writing. Hopefully they will take some of that awareness back to school in the fall (in two weeks! Yikes!). Teaching is a funny thing in that we all profoundly need people who help us learn skills and dispositions, and yet the act of helping someone acquire skills can seem so pedestrian. Teaching is anything but glamorous, rarely dangerous, and certainly not held in high esteem. You want danger, look at my friend Toby. The guy's training to fight in Iraq. Do I admire him? You bet. Would I trade him places? No chance. Does that make me a coward? Probably. Ramble ramble ramble

A Bit of Reflection/Canada Day

Today I went to my visiting teacher's sister's funeral. I went because my visiting teacher has also been a good friend. Her sister was young (only 26) and has been quite ill her whole entire life. It gives you a lot to think about after hearing what a great life this young girl led. Gives you reason to change. Today is also Canada Day. We ate perogies last night to commemorate. This morning as is our monthly tradition we at a Kinder Egg, and my toy was great! The Canadian Flag is hanging in the window as well. Speaking of Canada, there is a real estate company from Nova Scotia that sends me real estate listings every week. I really look forward to it. Yesterday in the email was sent the cutest little house in Annapolis Royal for $79,900. Man, if Mike had a good steady job I think I would have bought it without asking him. We would have used it mostly as a vacation home or a rental. For my birthday we went to Disneyland and this is a picture of my sister Carly and her husband Shad and me. We had a lot of fun and were sure tired afterward. Well, at work they want me to be manager. I said yes that I was interested, but things are going forward without the owners filling me in on much. I actually was going to tell them no yesterday, but they caught me to ask me to help train someone before I could back out. Dang it! I will survive. I always have.

Goin' back to Cali

To celebrate Hallie and her sister's birthdays, we headed down to California for about a week. During that time we went to Disneyland and California Adventure, and we visited with our folks and sisters.  

Lego Town

The following photo comes from Mike's Lego town. He's had boxes full of Lego bricks and finally decided that he needed to do something with them. Space for the town was limited to a tabletop, so he went with building facades along the back and side. There are a few surprises if you look closely. A couple of the buildings have have been changed since these pics were taken. The red and blue clock tower has been replaced with a building that holds a battery pack for lights for the church, so the church can light up at night and show off its stained glass.

Montreal trip

Here we are in front of Montreal's Notre Dame Basilica. Mike presented a paper at the American Educational Research Association's annual meeting, and Hallie came to cheer him on. We stayed at a B&B close to the Latin Quarter and took in all the fun sights and sounds of the city. Mike really enjoyed the feel of Montreal. It reminded him of Buenos Aires. We stayed for a week and toured around Old Montreal, took a bus tour, visited the botanical garden and Olympic Park, and ate way too much good food (poutin, smoked meat sandwiches, shwarama, fine fare, working folks' fare, etc.). We also did a lot of (Hallie thinks too much) walking to work it all off. Alas, or trip ended too quickly, and it was back to the old grind with renewed energy. Mike benefitted from listening to so many researchers that jazzed up his interest in the work of educational leadership, and for that we are grateful. 

Butterflies go free

This is a picture from the Montreal Botanical Garden. They are running an event called "Butterflies Go Free" where one of the greenhouses is dedicated to emrging butterflies from all over the world. You walk in and you see Owl, Monarch, and several other types float through the air, eat using their long straw mouths, rest, and otherwise just be. Pretty fascinating.