Day 2

Well work was fine today. I have lots to learn about this new portfolio, but the people I work with are nice. I found out I don't have to work next Monday. Bummer, now what do I do? I went for a run right after work since it was only 75 degrees outside. The course is 3.9 miles long. Not bad at all. On my critter count, in that direction, I saw one little bunny, a red bird (cardinal?), and two butterflies. Animals here come out during the day. Who would have thought it? Here are some pictures from my evening walk to the south. There is a park with baseball fields and little gardens.

That bridge up there goes across I94. Lets' just say I had a hard time breathing by the time I got across it. I don't like how high it was over the freeway. The worst part was I had to go back across it. This shot made me think "where's the ballgame?" Summer at home would find all the fields filled with men playing softball.

OK, that's all for today. Tonight I think I'll close the shades all the way so the sun doesn't wake me at 5:00 a.m. Yuck!

Minnesota day 1

Got up at 4:45 this morning. Brad drove me to Vegas. Walked the airport waiting for my flight. Smooth flight, right on time. Got rental car. Followed directions of gate man at car rental place (thanks for letting me know about construction). Checked in at hotel. Unpacked. Went out familiarizing myself with the area. Found Kohls, Target, Cub Foods, IHOP, Applebees, Subway, A & W (I know where I'm eating this week). Had eggs and pancakes for dinner. Came back to room and decided to go for a walk. Took my camera and here is what I saw:

Tomorrow I will run the same trail that I walked tonight. It shouldn't take near as long. It will be about a 4 mile run. There were tons of people out walking, bike riding, and roller blading on the trail. Can't imagine that many people out in our desert heat doing the same thing.

I'm off to shower and iron tomorrow's outfit. Then I'm turning in early. Have to be at work at 7:45.

Creative Juices are flowing

I have had some creative time lately, especially this weekend. Here are two of my recent creations.

I have been busy with summer school. I am enjoying my class. They are a good group of kids. There are only four more days of summer school left. I will be glad when it is done. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm done with work. I have another 3 weeks of that, but this time I get to travel to Minnesota. I will be scoring National Board portfolios in Brooklyn Center, MN. It is a suburb of Minneapolis. That means I will soon be visiting the Mall of America. Can you hear the angel chorus singing in the background? I will also be running a 4 mile race on July 4th in St. Paul. I plan to keep busy on weekends and explore the area. This should be a nice little break, even if I am working from 8 - 5 each day.

I might even try to post while I am in Minnesota. I plan on taking lots of pictures, even during my race.

Hmm, it's been a while

It's been quite a while since I have updated the blog. Baseball season was trying. The team won only two games during the regular season. The good news about that was that Brian pitched both of those games. He pitched just about every other game during the season. When he didn't pitch, he was in the outfield, usually center field. He did pretty good on the whole. By the end of the season, he earned honorable mention for our conference. Someone noticed how hard he was working. He was able to go to a tryout for juniors and seniors at Yavapai. According the dad/critic he did well. His fastball speed increased 9 miles an hour in less than a year. He was also able to throw all of his pitches for strikes. Let's hope that he can keep getting better and pay for school with his skills.

We have had a busy spring. Sayre made it through the semester at NAU. She ended up liking it quite a bit. She made a few friends and has made plans to room with Abby next semester. We became Godparents to Josh Bonivert (and unofficially to Marissa too). Sayre and I walked in the Relay for Life again. I made it past last year's total with 90 laps. That's 22.5 miles in just 7 hours and 45 minutes. Not bad. I was very tired and quite sore, but I made it. I don't know how many more years I will be able to increase my mileage though. It gets harder and harder.