We spent much of the day crossing North Dakota. This was the last state west of the Mississippi that Andrew hadn’t been to. It was a gorgeous drive. Should be camping in Theodore Roosevelt National Park shortly.
As we enter the park, “This city is blocking the way of the beautiful view.”
One dead battery and one poopy diaper later, and we’re off!
Mileage: 101166
It’s been another great year in the classroom, and I feel as engaged and motivated as I ever have. I’m definitely looking forward to the time off in the coming summer weeks, but I no longer fear the arrival of September, as I did when I first jumped into this new career.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a decade since I left my IT career. I would write “no regrets” but that sounds too pensive, like I really do have regrets but I’m trying to convince myself that I don’t. In this case it’s the opposite of regret—I am profoundly fortunate that I found a career that gives back more than I put into it. For those of you who know some of my background interests, consider that in addition to teaching a fantastic social studies course all year, I did the following in my classroom:
It’s a very good fit.
Mind-boggling Eels concert at the Fitzgerald Theater tonight. Mark Oliver Everett and the band were in top form. As I giddily posted to facebook afterwards, “Eels were SO good. I’d rank this in my top five lifetime shows. Stunning performance. We got Grace Kelly Blues AND Last Stop This Town. (Two favorite songs.) Along with a lot of great numbers from the latest album. Joy. Rapture.”
But that was only the beginning. After the second encore, Everett invites none other than Steve Perry (Journey!) on stage for his first public performance in 20 years. Unbelievable. A few pictures borrowed from the internet (my phone didn’t hold up) followed by a video of the Steve Perry encore:
We came across this display at a local St. Paul school a few weeks ago. It gave me hope. Kudos to the courageous parents, teachers, and administrators who resist the pressure to conflate standardized test scores with educational achievement.
Including the top shelf, out of the frame above, I counted 46 houses. The school has 570 students in grades 4-8 this year, suggesting that about 8% of the students opted out.
A small step?
After work yesterday:
Griffin: “Daddy, want to help me build my castle?”
Daddy: “Sure! Hmm, let’s put this block over here…”
Griffin: “No! That doesn’t go there. It should go here.”
Daddy: “Oh, ok. … Is this the wall of the castle?”
Griffin: “No!” <rolls eyes> “That’s a row of milk jugs stuck together.”
Daddy: “Ah, I see. Is this the castle living room?”
Griffin: “No! That’s the trap for catching bad guys.”
…
You know nothing, Jon Snow.
Two generations of amazing mamas with their latest handiwork.
A lovely, warm, Saturday evening, clouds looming with impending rain, the chimes of the ice cream truck arrived at the perfect moment.
(Griffin notes that this wasn’t really the first ice cream truck of 2014; it was the first one where we bought ice cream. )
When Sarah told Griffin that she was eating a “Turtle Bar,” he frowned and asked,
“Is there really a turtle in there??”
(He’s convinced that we are bent on the destruction of turtles; see our recent post about Spicy Turtle Blood.)
An annual tradition, we joined friends near Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis for the 40th annual May Day Parade. It’s an incredible production every year. The pictures below illustrate some of the contrasts and creativity that characterize the parade. Click to view a larger slideshow.
We’re a Sriracha family normally, but last night we broke out the regular chili oil thinking it might go better with the delicious Tom Ka Gai that Sarah made (it didn’t).
Griffin reached for the unfamiliar bottle, took one look at the label, and exclaimed,
“What is this?
Spicy turtle blood???”
