Summer!

So, summer vacation is here! Galya and Bogdan (my favorite Belarusian and one of my very favorite Ukrainians) will be here on Tuesday, so we’re doing a mini-tour of the western U.S. They are staying with me for an entire month, so here’s what I’ve got so far:

• Utah
  This includes a variety of activities for the good ol' 24th of July, which you only get to REALLY celebrate in Utah. Rodeo, parade, Native American Powwow, and fireworks.
  Temple Square and "Music and the Spoke Word" with the MoTab.
  Horseback riding.
  Laser show! (Really. These things are just as fun now as they were in high school.)
  Visiting tons of people we know and love.
• Grand Canyon
  I’m not entirely sure if I really want to do this yet. I’m thinking about lying to them both and telling them the Grand Canyon isn’t accessible by car. It’s just so far!
• L.A.
  Of course every Ukrainian wants to see Disneyland and Hollywood, so… even though I have 0% interest in either place, I just can’t disappoint.
• San Diego
  Visiting friends, visiting the beach, and possibly visiting Shamu.
• Las Vegas
  Wandering all around the strip in 100+ degree weather, free shows on the strip, using my awesome connections, Mystere or Le Reve or “O”, shopping for EVERYTHING because the U.S. is so much cheaper than Ukraine, and if it cools down enough, a drive-in movie, complete with popcorn and American pizza.
• Miami
  No clue what we're doing here, but we have a free place to stay!
• Costa Rica. We’ve changed our mind about this trip a million times already, but… Costa Rica, here we come!

It’s a lot, I know, and a LOT of driving (especially for someone who hates driving as much as I do) but I’m excited. I’ve been waiting for this all summer!

Anything I forgot?

summer movie watching

So... summer.
I've definitely watched a lot of movies so far. I LOVE it. You'd think I'd be bored by now, just waiting for my friends to get here to begin our exotic summer vacation, but... Movies have kept me busy. :)

Historic ‘Blockbuster’ Store Offers Glimpse Of How Movies Were Rented In The Past

Web Site Story

This is far too true...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

So, who wants to follow me on Twitter now?

This kid is a genius!

Child Bankrupts Make-A-Wish Foundation With Wish For Unlimited Wishes

Utah... again.

Quick trip to Utah. Some of my favorite people and some of my favorite places.

Utah State.































Bear Lake. I even volunteered to take senior pics for the kids. :)



Hogel Zoo and Trolley Square.

I hadn't been to the zoo for YEARS. I enjoyed it NEARLY as much as I enjoyed finding this t-shirt at Trolley Square when we met up with Devonte for dinner. I'd never thought about it before, but I really am glad Utah decided to go with SLC instead of this.

Vista's 09 Grads

I really, really love these kids. AND, believe it or not, I think I'll actually miss them.






Congrats and good luck to the class of 2009!

Bye, bye AVID. :(

Another school year has come and gone. The end of this year was rough. Busy, as to be expected, but it was hard saying goodbye to my AVID kids. Especially since the program has been cut and this is the end of AVID at my school. This year, it's especially hard.
A year ago, I never would have imagined that I would be sad to see any of them leave. They hated me because I wasn't their old teacher and I hated them because they hated me so much and simply didn't want to work. I knew, (well, I HOPED!) that they'd realize the things I was FORCING them to do were good for them. I knew/hoped we'd eventually come to like one another. I knew the hate couldn't last forever and we all just had to make the best of the situation. So last year was awful, but this year started out on a much better note. Maybe because so many of them were seniors, they finally realized they needed to get serious about college. Maybe they FINALLY realized I actually knew what I was talking about. Maybe because we knew what to expect from one another. Maybe because this year I finally decided they were nice enough that I'd make them caramel rice crispie treats, which historically have proven to help me win friends wherever I go. I was surprised at how much I actually came to like these kids. And, as evidenced by the chocolate covered strawberries and super sweet cards they gave me on their last day of school, they liked me.

Two of my students, Sadi and C’Lee, presented me with this fantastic commemorative cork board they made. They wrote a really sweet letter and pinned "inside jokes" all over the board. I'm really not an emotional person, but it almost made me cry. You'd have to really know the girls and our history to understand why this was such a big deal.

Early in the year, when it was time for the annual AVID t-shirt contest, this dynamic duo submitted a design for an "AVID Anorexia" t-shirt. I was shocked. Confused and a little stunned. I couldn't figure out why they could spend so much time on something we obviously wouldn't use. I didn't know them well and didn't appreciate their humor.

Later in the year, for some reason, the girls started eating lunch in my classroom. I really didn't think they liked me at all, so it was kind of strange, but I figured they were probably just happy to be somewhere other than the overcrowded, noisy school cafeteria. At some point, we started playing board games together during lunch. C'Lee was awesome at "You've Been Sentenced", and even though we all just made fun of it (and on a couple of occasions C'Lee wondered ALOUD in front of me whether or not they should ditch MY CLASS that day), I actually started to look forward to talking with them at lunch.

As the year continued, these girls became some of my favorite students. When C'Lee chose to really work, she blew me away with some really good essays. She's a very talented writer AND she's thinking about becoming a teacher. They came on our AVID trip to UNR and Sadi helped smuggle all the caramel rice crispie treats through security. Sadi won a $20,000 scholarship that we worked on WEEKS. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw they'd used puff paints to create an AVID Anorexia t-shirt just for me. I really am going to miss these kids.