the end of an era

'the only thing constant is change'...the time has come for another change in my daily career activities. yesterday was my last day with the arizona department of education. after two years i have learned the ins and outs, ups and downs, the good the bad and the ugly of working for a state agency - as i reflect on the time spent in school improvement, i have learned as much about what not to do to have a successful school as i have learned what to do. now is my time to go in there and show that i know how to do it. i have gained more confidence in my knowledge, my presentation skills and grown professionally. i have listened and learned from many very capable individuals and listened and learned from people who did not have a clue. i want to keep that perspective in my pocket as i return to the world with students, parents, teachers and principals.

my new job will involve many hats...including but not limited to curriculum mapping development, creation of formative and summative assessments, professional development for teachers, coaching teachers, working with struggling students, analyzing data..the list goes on and on - all of these skills i have learned out of context and am thrilled to have an opportunity to really see what i can do and stretch myself even further :)

favorite things

BIG SNUGGLE HUGS CRASHING WAVES

KITTIES KISSING ON MY LAP

ROAD TRIPS WITH LOUDOG

'the surprise'

so we went to san diego to celebrate lex's graduation with ana and jeff and ana told us there would be a 'surprise' on friday. all she could tell us was that we needed old bathing suits and sunscreen. we were totally perplexed and questioning her intentions as the day was rainy and cold- why would we need bathing suits without towels?

what we failed to remember was that ana never fails us...she always does it in style and knows what we need the most - she took us to Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa in Corona, California - what a delight! Club Mud (to the right) was lucious..a bit cold to actually dry off, but the sisters had a mud fight and were flinging chunks at each other which was a hoot!



'the grotto' was probably my favorite part of the day - being painted with warm sea kelp and aloe, sitting in a humidified room (just like summers in richmond) and then i swear, the best shower i have ever had in my life :) followed by a cooling room where we are standing with fresh apples and a waterfall - so relaxing!

we probably used at least thirty of these towels throughout the day as it was a bit chilly, but that meant we had the place almost to ourselves and could meander from pool to pool as we desired...just as lex thought she couldn't get any more relaxed, ana's final surprise was a luxurious facial - she was practically comatose when she finished...a wonderful day with the ladies, a moment to remember :)

THANKS BIG SIS! WE LOVE YOU!

friends across time

"Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. "

the graduate

I am SO proud of this woman! She has put so much dedication, effort, time and committment to going back to school and accomplishing her goals. The ceremony was beautiful and she was just glowing...


This is the end of the ceremony when all of the grads were walking down the aisle- what a great pic!

Although I was the only immediate family there, we celebrated in style and went out for wine and apps afterwards - the absence of no one could have taken away her pride :)

Next stop, Nursing School! You can do it, Lex!