8-26-10

 

I taught my first classes of the semester today: a section of elementary science methods and a section of middle school science methods. Both classes went really well, the only problem is that I'm at school ALL day long. The first class is in the morning and the second class is from 4-7pm. I'm exhausted. This is a photo I took today of a demonstration I do. This photo is going into an article I wrote that is being published in the November issue of "Science Scope."

8-25-10

 

Aza surprised me after a very hard day of work- she is painting my bedroom! She is such a sweetie. And the wooden wall you see here is going to be painted with a ruby glaze. Photos to follow once it's done.

8-24-10

 

Squirt and Nala chillin' together...
Photo credit: Aza

8-21-10

 

 

 

Sophie and Nala, photo credits: Aza

8-20-10

 

 

Horses in town, Dominoes this evening.

8-18-10

 

What a way to welcome me back to work!

8-14-10

 

Mt. St. Helens... view from the air

 

Mt. Hood... view from the air

A morning spent dealing with a bike in a box, and then a long day of traveling home. Aza left very early and our flights were later. Squirt is staying in Portland for a few extra days, as is Jes.

8-13-10

 

View of the ocean from our hotel.

 

This is the boardwalk in Seaside. Our hotel is on the right.

 

The kids all together after dinner in Portland. Guess who got a haircut?!

 

Jes setting up her camera to take a whole-family photo.

Last day all together in Seaside. My conference lasted all morning then we hit the road for Portland. Had dinner all together at the Red Fig on Fremont St.

8-12-10

Spent all day inside. Skipped a session so I could actually SEE Seaside. Beautiful! I walked south along the boardwalk. Dinner tonight was a beach BBQ and we had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows and made S'mores. Good times. I enjoyed catching up with old friends and making new ones. I like these small conferences. Tomorrow it ends and we depart for Portland. Aza and the Squirt will come back to Kentucky but Jes will continue her summer voyage and I don't know when I'll see her again. That makes me sad.

8-11-10

We packed up and cleaned up and left Yachats today around noon. Stopped at the Oregon State marine science center for a couple hours on our trip up the coast. Also HAD to stop for cheese curds at the Tillamook cheese factory. See, I can eat cheese curds 'cause they are not aged. They squeak! I ate nearly a half pound on our drive to Seaside for my conference. Arrived at 6pm just in time for the opening reception.

8-10-10 evening

Jes is such an amazing cook. She offered to cook dinner and insisted on making two quiches - one cheeseless for me. This is it- tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms and spinach. It was fantastic. I can eat some cheese- but not if it's aged, like cheddar.

Last night in the house on the ocean. I will miss this place.

8-10-10 morning

 

 

 

 

A view of our house- the brown one next to the amazing garden...

We got up at sunrise to go see the tide pools at VERY low tide this morning. So many exposed sea creatures! It was simply amazing. Afterwards Aza and I cooked a big breakfast of waffles, pecan waffles, blueberry pancakes, blueberry and banana pancakes, snausages, and hot tea. Mmmm... then back to bed for nap.

8-9-10 afternoon

 

 

 

 

We took a ride up the coast to see a few things- the Sea Lion Caves (which contained four sea lions) and a few other interesting things like Devil's Churn. For dinner we went out to dinner at The Drift Inn. We had to wait a long time for a table but it was worth it. It's funny- they call shrimp "prawns" here.

8-9-10 morning

 

 

 

Aza and I went for a walk along the beach together this morning. We discovered some tide pools and saw sea stars, sea anenomes, and had a great time climbing on the rocks and exploring.

8-8-10 evening

 

 

This evening the sunset was beautiful. We cooked dinner at the house- grilled out- and then played a hilarious game of Apples to Apples all together.

8-8-10 afternoon

View from our beach house in Yachats, Oregon!

8-8-10 morning

All my children! In one place! This taken just after a trip to Powell Bookstore.

8-7-10

We went to the Japanese garden in Portland today. Everything was so pretty and refined.

8-6-10

Turbulent flight into Salt Lake City, so much so that I cried when we landed. This is the sky. Oh, and I'm not in the south anymore. Instant ice tea at the airport restaurant we had dinner at. Can't wait to see Jes and Squirt tonight in Oregon!

8-6-10

 

 

The sunroom is done. Note the painted ceiling and how it mirrors the dark slate of the floor. The brick wall is no longer pink, but "Indian White" and the trim is the same trim color as the rest of the house. I love it!

8-4-10

 

 

Busy week accomplishing so many things before our big trip to Oregon. What's a week without a little painting project? Aza painted our sunroom this week- brick wall, ceiling, trim and all. Here are some photos of the work in progress.

8-1-10

 

 

Wonderful visit today with my friend Moonie and her husband and little girl. Their daughter played with my niece, my dog, and a frog! We left after lunch for the long drive home.

7-31-10

On our way out into the countryside for a wedding of Dan's cousin.

 Dan gives me a funny look outside the reception hall. Hmmmm.... photos again?!

 The beautiful bride arrives to the reception in style!

A gathering of the clan outside the reception hall. Sisters-in-Law on the left, Brothers-in-Law on the right.

7-30-10

Where in the world is Chrissy?

Landed in Wisconsin today. First stop, Kopps!

 Second stop, Lake Muskego... for a little water skiing.

7-28-10

 

Aza came home today! It took her over 12 hours to get here because of an accident on I-64. We had a nice steak dinner and a relaxing evening catching up. So good to have her home.

7-24-10

 

The naked ladies, errr "lilies" are back!

7-25-10

 

Dan and Frisbee left today for Wisconsin. He will spend a week with his family doing all those fun outdoorsy things he likes to do. I'll join him this coming weekend for a cousin's wedding. Meanwhile, I'm participating in a teacher workshop all week long.