Fire and Rain

It's been a busy couple of weeks! Three weeks ago, Eric was in finals crunch mode so he didn't emerge much from his cave study. The week after that he really was gone to South Dakota for a school trip... and I was left by my lonesome which translates as poor sleep habits. This past week, Eric was ready to spend time with his wife again, however she was in last week of school mode... so I was mostly MIA.

And because we're crazy, we jumped in a van with a bunch of teenagers and headed up to mountains as soon as I said "Happy Summer" to my students. It was an exhausting weekend. Parents of teenagers, I salute you. But let me just say this... for the first time ever I started our campfire with just one match. Legit. No lie. Could have left the box at home. No fire starter. It was pretty awesome.

We returned beat on Saturday night, recuperated Sunday, and on Monday we finished planting our garden. One trip to Home Depot later, our garden has something *hopefully* growing in all 16 squares. Now we just need to pray for more rain or water in the meantime!

On the Best Gift Ever

Sorry, but I got to say it. Last week, I received the best gift ever. I realize that this may alienate some of my readers because, let's face it, you've probably all graciously bestowed some kind of wonderful gift on me in the past. But, you can't change the facts. One of my very cute and creative students made me the above card for Teacher Appreciation Week. At first, I didn't get the monumental awesomeness of this card. But after reading, "I am calling to say best teacher ever" (in case you can't read first grade writing), I opened the card to realize... It's a cell phone!!!!!

That's right folks, my little, cute student made me a cell phone card! To make it even better, a Starbucks card fell out when I opened it, but the real coolness of the gift was the cell phone! Knowing this student added to the greatness as well, but given my strict policy on not discussing my kiddos names and such, you'll just have to trust me.

Speaking of cell phones, a close second to the Best Gift Ever prize could be claimed by the person who gets me this phone.
In addition to the fact that its name- htc EVO- happily reminds me of dear Rachel Ray and her EVOO obsession, this phone has an amazing camera, a web cam (uh huh), and 100 things I won't write about (since I'd hate for you to think I'm being paid to promote it.) Unfortunately, no Starbucks card falls out of it... but you can't have everything right?

Zoo-rific

Saturday we took our new friends to the zoo. The weather looked iffy, and it started raining as we pulled into the parking lot. Their older boy was so excited, though, and we had communicated well enough to get the family there (no small feat)... so armed with a rain jacket (well those of us who make plans a,b,c,d, and e anyway) we embarked!

It was a lot of fun! We rented a wagon to tote new friend baby around in, but their eldest son was the one who ended up riding around in style.

They were less than impressed with the monkeys (would you go to the zoo to see a dog or cat?) and wished they had been able to see cows. Other than that, I think* it was a success.

*In addition to language barriers, nonverbal cues are also difficult to understand due to cultural differences. For example if someone took you somewhere (zoo, ballet, etc.) as an American you would most likely be exuberant about how much you were enjoying said activity. As Americans we tend to be pretty loud and vocal and confident about what we are feeling- it's a part of our culture. However, in other cultures, they might be more reserved. So while we didn't get a gushing "I love the zoo! This is my new favorite America memory!" vocal, we did see lots of smiles and heard some jokes.

Now, to plan that trip to a farm!

About a Garden

So, this is the year for something new. I am attempting a garden. Armed with my green thumb guru Susan and the help of my husband, I will be attempting to grow lettuce, tomatoes, squash, and peas. I'm not quite convinced this will be a successful endeavor, but I'm going to give it the ol' green try! Below the first steps to making this happen have been documented:

Behold the to be transformed garden area:



Digging up the railroad ties...



Making the bed...



Filling it with soil...



I've been a faithful water-er so far. In fact, it's one of my accountability goals for this month. (Though Eric is also a faithful back-up plan.) Let the garden saga begin!

It's Like Riding a Bike...

You never forget... right?

I'll admit it- I was skeptical. Living in a city that embraces biking as a lifestyle and a normal way to commute (even for business execs), I felt that I should join in to earn my Denverite status. There was only one problem- my last memory of riding a bike was somewhere around the age of 12. But you know what they say...

I also knew that I would probably be the one anomaly to that rule.

However, armed this morning with an uncharacteristic sense of self-confidence and the help of my friend Sarah and Susan's bike we ventured out to a local park.

And folks, it was like riding a bike! We rode around the park and even ventured out on a street- in a bike lane- in an area that looks like the neighborhood on the Truman Show- but still it was a street. And I'll go again!

Now, it's on to the next essential Denverite skill: parallel parking!