Snuggle Kitty

Bonsai, our wacky orange cat, has become extremely affectionate lately. I don't know if it is because I haven't been around as much or if it's just a phase he's going through, but I like it. When I walk past him, he gets as high up as he can and then reaches his paws up to my shoulder. That's his way of saying, "pick me up". He then gazes at me adoringly and rubs his cheek against mine. When I lay on the couch, he climbs under my blanket and flops into my lap. The only time I don't like this new attention is at 3:00 am when he climbs onto my chest, tickles my face with his whiskers, and drools on me.

Must be Friday.

I never could get the hang of Fridays. I know the reference is to Tuesdays, but it's Fridays that are kicking my butt this year. I just can't seem to get the hang of them. I spend the whole day running from one thing to the next, never quite keeping up. The kids recognize this and take full advantage. Fridays are always their most chatty, chaotic day. Instead of being able to gently and humorously redirect them, I have to get very strict to keep them on track. As much as I would like to spend every Friday playing with them, we have a limited amount of time in which to complete a magnitude of activities. My Fridays are remarkably akin to herding a roomful of yowling, energetic cats through a waterfall. Damn near impossible.

Is Anyone Here?

I bet you thought I was gone for good this time. But I'm not. It's just that with my full-time school job and my part-time tutoring job I don't have much time left over for anything else: breathing, sleeping, blogging...

So, what am I up to these days?

1. Teaching - I'm having a great year, albeit a busy one. I have 30 students, each with their own abilities, challenges, and personality quirks. Despite my certainty on the first day that I was never going to get comfortable, I am actually getting to know them pretty well. They are a very helpful, sweet, TALKATIVE group. Some days it's hard for me to get a word in edgewise! There is no hope of getting them to stop. I can only hope that they will learn to focus and direct their conversation a little. As usual, the day to day workings of fifth grade keep me hopping. I am also part of the Student Success Team (extra support for struggling students) and the Caught Building Character (we rode scooters at our Friday Flag Salute last week!) program. Oh! And I am the library liaison for my grade level. I am getting to know the members of my team, and I get the feeling that we're going to work well together (lots of different personalities, all fun).

2. Tutoring - I am pleased to be able to say that we are starting the month of October with enough clients to pay the rent each month. Woohoo! I currently work 3 hours and my partner is working a bunch more. We are covering a wide range of ages (7 - 12 years old) and topics (reading, writing, math, study skills). We're having a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to business picking up enough for me to revisit my need for other employment. :)

3. Dieting - The doctor put me on a low-carb diet in an effort to control my cholesterol. Turns out I might be part of a small percentage of the human population who can eat all the cholesterol they want as long as I keep the carbs down. Just another of the fun genetic twists I inherited! I am doing better on this diet than I thought I would. If you know me, you know that I am a total Carb Queen. Mike has been working hard to keep me fed with interesting low-carb foods (he's a great cook!) and I have been exercising a great amount of restraint. There are 2 things about this diet that are helping me keep on track. First, I have very few cravings. If I smell something really great like french fries or toast, it's a struggle, but for the most part I don't really feel a NEED for carbs. Secondly, I have lost nearly 10 pounds. In the past, I have busted my butt, dieting and exercising like a maniac, without losing a pound. This time, the pounds are just melting off me. Not only have I lost the weight, but I can actually SEE the difference. My stomach, which has been distinctly un-flat since the kidney transplant, is on its way to my pre-college days. Fun!

Okay. There is lots more to tell you, but I'm not sure what it is. I will try to come back again soon. But I wouldn't recommend holding your breath. :)

it's the little things that give me away

If you were to sit and have lunch with me today we would probably talk at length about the two exciting things that are soon occuring in my life: starting a new school year at a new school, opening a new business. I would seem calm and confident, exuding enthusiasm for both projects equally. You would later tell someone how impressed you are with my ability to take on such challenges and still remain so relaxed and energetic.

That is because I wouldn't mention how hard it is for me to fall asleep these days. Or how I look for any excuse to keep sleeping in the morning. I won't tell you how much hair I find in the drain after a shower in the morning. You wouldn't notice how I avoid moving my right arm too often or too quickly due to that pain that just won't go away.

I am very excited about my new classroom. I can't wait to meet my new team and my new students. I am thrilled that I am making an attempt at a dream I have had for some time. I am just as enthusiastic as I seem, but I am in no way as confident as I look. I am terrified by both of these new things, and it's the little things that give me away.

For You?

Often I am struck by a particular group of lyrics while listening to music. Most of the time it is something that is relevant to my own life, but every once in a while I get hung up on words that don't feel like they are for me. This has happened to me twice lately...

Performer: SONiA
Album:No Bomb is Smart
Song: "Won't Let Go"

don't let go
just hold on
keep your eye on the road
and your heart in a song
whatever happened is already gone
don't let go

Obviously this is a message that applies to many people, and I have always liked it, but lately it seems to be persistently trying to get through to someone. Since there are a number of people who might be needing it now, I am posting it here and hoping the perhaps it will get through to its intended recipient.

Performer: Bill Staines
Album: First Million Miles
Song: 'Phoenix'

Oh, Lord, have mercy on this poor, poor heart.
Take it from the ashes
and teach it how to fly again.
Oh, Lord, have mercy on this poor, poor heart.

I am quite fond of this album, but I have never paid much attention to this song until my MP3 player started playing it obsessively. Bill has such an expressive voice that I just want to cry thinking about being in such pain that you would cry out like this. Again, I'm not sure who this applies to (pain seems to be fairly common these days), but I hope it reaches that person.

Escuela update

We are a business in everything but actual work now. We have our location (accessible on the 15th), we have our name, license, tax ID, and bank account. Everything is ready for us to actually get started. Now we just need to...get started. Some upcoming goals...
Aug. 20 - Flyers ready to go out to schools (want them out there by the 23rd so we hit back to school night!)
Sept. 5 - Open House (need to have our sign, brochures, sign up paperwork, materials and environment all set by then)

Yikes!

See?

This is what happens when I start to whine and complain about my own health. I get a reminder of just how good it really is. Amy went back to Mayo this week because her creatinine levels were headed in the wrong direction. She had to undergo all kinds of tests and probes, including a biopsy of her transplant kidney. While the kidney is obviously not a happy camper at the moment, there are no signs of rejection either.

I'm not egotistical enough to think that all that happened just to remind me that I am relatively healthy and I should appreciate it. But it has that effect. The few pills I take are ones that I am choosing to take in an effort to avoid later problems. If I forget them or run out I am not going to end up in the hospital or worse. My lack of exercise it due to lack of motivation and effort, not lack of ability. High cholesterol, while carrying a few long term health risks, is not an immediately life threatening situation. All in all, I am an incredibly lucky individual and I do realize it.

I think the real issue here is that I am realizing that I am no longer as healthy as I once was. I am mourning the days when I could move furniture without pulling a muscle, eat whatever I wanted without first considering its calories/fat/cholesterol/sodium/protein, and sleep through the night without waking up to sore joints. You lose a certain amount of freedom and innocence as you reach the point of having to take care of yourself, and I am just coming to terms with that. I know that I am not old (again, I'm younger than all but 3 of the adults in my life, and those are my siblings), but I am not really young anymore either. I'm sure everyone goes through this, but it's hard when my 30 year old body won't/can't do what my 20 year old brain wants to do.

Anyway. Just wanted to tell everyone that they should aim any sympathetic feelings they may have had for me over toward Amy's kidney and related parts. Technically, that's still feeling sorry for me. :)

No Need for Food

Please note: My health problems are miniscule compared to those of just about everyone I know. However, they are MINE and consequently seem important to me. I apologize to everyone who is reading this and thinking "What a baby. She should see what I have to go through every day."

Since my last visit to the doctor, I have begun taking a variety of pills and supplements. Each morning, I take 2 glucosamine (for my bad joints), 1 fish oil (for the joints and the cholesterol), and 1 multivitamin (to make up for my deficient iron and B12). None of these pills is smaller than the end of my pinkie finger, and by the time I finish choking them down I am too full for breakfast. Or maybe my lack of interest in breakfast is because I consider that to be medication, too. 1/2 cup of oatmeal every morning to aid in reducing my cholesterol. Meh. What I really want is a couple of scrambled eggs, slathered in cheese and wrapped in a tortilla. The really sad thing is that my cholesterol continues to go up, so I am going to be forced to add yet another pill to my routine. Hooray for genetics!

Yikes!

It's done. We signed the lease papers for Escuela del Sol today. We get to pick up the keys on Aug. 15th and we will hopefully be doing business by Sept. 1.

I own a business.

Hehe.

FYI

Nothing much happening here. Only have internet access when I got to the public library, thanks to our crappy satellite and it's crappy crappiness. They're coming out to work on it someday. Until then...you won't see much of me.

So Busy

Today we...

...checked out a space for our business to be located. It was very nice. Just the right size, reasonably priced (compared to local stuff anyway), lots of natural light, comfortable neighborhood, adequate parking, nice owners. We're still looking around, but in my gut it feels like this is the place.

...went to the dentist. I have 3 cavities. THREE?!!? I don't know who was more shocked, myself or my dentist. I never get cavities. To be fair, one is an old filling going bad, and the other two are back to back between a couple of teeth (so they should really only count as one!). I'm bummed though. I have to have 2 more visits back. Bleh. Luckily, my dentist is kind and gentle and only slightly religiously nuts. :)

...went to the doctor. Mikey had a follow up on his visit to the ER last week. Things are much better now, but the doc sent him to get his back x-rayed. She wants to know if there is a reason to send him to the specialists for further attention. She's also sending him to the tummy folks, something he has needed but put off for some time, so I guess there will be good coming from this craziness.

...went to the blood bank. Mikey wasn't feeling up to it, but I gave a unit. I try to go as soon as I am eligible (every 2 months). It is a good idea, if you're capable. There are lots who need it. I am a universal donor, so I figure it's particularly important for me to give.

...watched the new Bruce Willis movie. He's still yummy even though he's getting old. (Shhh...don't tell Mikey I said that!) The movie wasn't great, and some of the dramatic action scenes were a little silly, but it was fun. Plus, Kevin Smith is in it. Hooray!

...bought Orange Guard, which is supposed to repel ants. We have been having serious ant trouble lately, and this is our compromise. I am perfectly willing to sacrifice some karma points killing the little buggers, but Mikey is a gentleman and would like us to deal with the issue non-violently. The compromise was that we would use the Orange stuff to keep them out, but I toasted the ones that were already in. This stuff better work, or I am going to start breaking out the heavy duty poison.

...bought an edger. We are going to be setting up an invisible fence (of the underground variety) in a further attempt to keep the dogs on our property. It will follow the same perimeter as the regular fence, and will hopefully keep them from getting close enough to dig out. This is getting a little rediculous. We will then have a 6 foot chain link fence, fortified with shock wire and the top and bottom and protected by another hidden wire that first beeps and then zaps the silly creatures. So much work for two goofy black dogs. I can't stand the alternatives though.

Time for bed. Another busy day tomorrow. G'night.

Holy Adreneline Rush, Batman!

Yesterday was quite an adventure for us. And not the kind I want to repeat any time soon. It all started with a pain in Mikey's right shoulder.

It felt like a crick in his neck from sleeping funny (he slept in a chair due to heartburn), but it came on very rapidly around 10 am. He went from feeling fine, to not being able to lift his right arm or turn his head at all without intense pain. He spent about an hour resting uncomfortably on the bed, and then decided to get up to make some toast.

It was very painful for him to stand, and by the time he got to the kitchen, he needed to sit down. He was very lightheaded and dizzy. When he said he was having trouble hearing, I turned to look at him. I had just enough time to notice how blue/white his lips were and get concerned before he passed out. I was close enough to catch him before he fell off the chair.

I was actually thinking that it would be a good thing for him (he hadn't been taking very good breaths because of the shoulder pain) and that he would feel better when he woke up before I realized that he wasn't breathing at all. Instantly, I became that hysterical girl in the movies, slapping him and shouting for him to wake up. I laid him down on the floor and ran for the phone. All I could think was "Shit - I don't think I remember how to do CPR."

Eventually (in a matter of seconds, I'm sure, although it felt like several minutes), I managed to dial 911. Just as they were answering, Mikey started to shake and make choking noises. I rolled him over on his side (I remembered that much from my seizure training) as I was telling the 911 Operator that "there is something wrong with my husband and I need an ambulance". She got our information and sent out the Fire Rescue vehicle and an ambulance. While we waited I was a wreck, but Mike calmly reminded me to do things in preparation of leaving. I got him shoes and socks, fed the cats, etc. He directed it all from his prone position on the kitchen floor.

After about 15 minutes, the paramedics showed up and took over. They asked all kinds of questions and took all kinds of vital signs. Everything seemed okay for the moment, but they suggested that Mikey take a little ride to the ER anyway. Considering how pale he was, I thought it was a good idea. What I wasn't so thrilled with was the idea that I wasn't allowed to ride with him. So, they took off with him and I stood alone in the kitchen wondering what the hell to do next.

I called his parents and told them briefly what had happened and where he was going to be. I then tried to think of what we would need in the off chance that he would end up staying the night. I managed to pack him a toothbrush, hairbrush, and book. I got stuck as I stood in my closet. Most of my brain was shouting "just pick something!" but part of it was very concerned with whether each shirt would be appropriate for the weather and the environment and the company. It was very strange what my brain would get hung up on as I tried to get ready to go. I finally decided that I couldn't wait any longer, grabbed my purse, and jumped in the car.

At the hospital, I walked in and asked them where I might find my husband. "He would be in there...but we have some important papers you need to sign here." Stupid red tape. I finally signed enough of my life away that they were willing to let me back to see him. He was on a bed, in the hallway. This is apparently how things work in this overcrowded hospital. Despite the less-than-satisfactory location, we were happy with the doctor and the nurse who were attending him. They were very kind and seemed to know what they were doing. The nurse was quite amusing, guessing our weights and throwing out little political barbs.

They did a series of diagnostic tests, mostly wanting to rule out anything heart related and to make sure there wasn't any internal bleeding happening anywhere. He had a chest x-ray, an EKG, bloodwork, and regular PB/pulse/O2/etc readings. Several hours later, they decided that it was all a result of his shoulder pain, which was muscle related. The pain was bad enough that when he stood up his dilated blood vessels weren't up to the job of getting blood (and therefore oxygen) to his brain. He fainted and somehow his breathing got messed up (this is the part I don't understand so well). His brain, in an attempt to get things back in working order hit the "Reset" button, causing the the shaking/seizure-like stuff. They gave him some heavy duty pain meds and some muscle relaxants and sent him home.

I didn't sleep very well, trying to make sure that Mikey was still breathing and getting him to take his medications and such. But this morning, he was looking much better. His shoulder still hurts, and he refuses to take the pain meds because they might make him nauseated, but he's taking the muscle relaxants and moving much better than before. The whole thing was really not such a big deal, and he was never in much real danger, but I will never forget how awful it was to look at his completely slack face and realize that I couldn't see any breathing.

Okay...enough. Time to take him out for ice cream. It is 100.5 F here. Bleh.

Speaking of our Government...

It's easy to get caught up in the beauty of the buildings and the honor of the ideals that Washington represents. Before too long, however, someone does something to remind me of how far we've drifted from the intentions of our Founding Fathers.

Rather than try to sound intelligent on this issue, I will just point you to this Special Comment by Keith Olbermann. Mr. Olbermann takes a good 10 minutes of MSNBC's airtime to throw down the gauntlet. If only Bush/Cheney were men enough to take it up. It's a sad day in history when we are challenging our leaders to be as noble as Richard Nixon.

You both crossed the Rubicon yesterday. Which one of you chose the route, no longer matters. Which is the ventriloquist, and which the dummy, is irrelevant. But that you have twisted the machinery of government into nothing more than a tawdry machine of politics, is the only fact that remains relevant.

It is nearly July 4th, Mr. Bush, the commemoration of the moment we Americans decided that rather than live under a King who made up the laws, or erased them, or ignored them — or commuted the sentences of those rightly convicted under them — we would force our independence, and regain our sacred freedoms.

Amen.

You can read the transcript here, but you really need to see it to get the full emotion behind it. You-tube has it up here.

Washington Pictures

~Arlington Cemetery~

Standing in the middle of Arlington, seeing row after row of gravestones as far as the eye can see, has to be one of the most heartbreaking things I've experienced.

There is a section of Arlington reserved for Supreme Court Justices.

JFK and wife are buried here, marked with the Eternal Flame. After Kennedy was buried here, they had to put stronger restrictions on who was eligible. Everyone wanted to be in the same cemetery as he was.


Another heartbreaking sight. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, memorializing all those who have died defending our country. Despite my feeling about war and violence, I can still be grateful to those who have given their lives to protect us.

~D.C. Monuments and Buildings~
Our first stop was the Korean War Memorial.

Our guide described the Korean War as the "forgotten" war. It is often forgotten there between WWII and Vietnam, but that doesn't make the sacrifices of those soldiers and their families any less important.

Being abused by the Right to justify taking away our constitutional freedoms doesn't make this statement any less true. We have paid greatly for our freedom throughout the years.

The next stop was the Lincoln Memorial.

Walking up those steps was tiring. I relished the ache in my legs and let it remind me how so many struggled and fought for those rights that I take for granted today.

Anywhere the states are listed in D.C. they are put in order of statehood. Until taking this picture, I had never noticed that WI, CA, and MN all fall right in a row. My three homestates.

Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for his "I Have a Dream" speech. It is marked (very subtly) with this engraving.


Definitely one of my heroes. He just LOOKS like someone you could talk to, you know?

From Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address.

From Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

The Washington Monument standing elegantly behind the reflecting pool. I'm disappointed in how dark this picture turned out, but it's still an amazing sight.


We then went to the Vietnam Memorial.

I love the image of the hand supporting a fellow human. If only we could memorialize more acts of kindness and support and fewer acts of war and violence.

So many names. There were several letters and photographs along its length. The one that got me was about a dog which had been adopted by a soldier. She would greet his helicopter after each run. After he died, she continued to meet each chopper, waiting in vain for his return.

The reality of war. People die. There is pain and suffering. War is bad.

Finally, we went to Pennsylvania Avenue.

The building which houses the executive branch of our government.

The building which houses the legislative branch of our government. The flags above the right and left wings let us know that both the Senate and the House were in session that day.

Virginia Pictures

On this fourth of July, I share with you my pictures from Virginia and Washington, D.C.

~Colonial Williamsburg~

An important government building during Colonial times.


A silversmith at work.


A pewtersmith's shop.


A kiln used for firing bricks. Notice how the bricks are different colors in different areas. This is due to the difference in temperature during the firing.


A giant stack of bricks, ready to be used in building.


The Williamsburg armory. It was from this building that King George's men confiscated gunpowder, upsetting the colonists and contributing to the start of the Revolutionary War.


The mansion of the Williamsburg Governor.

~Monticello: Home of Thomas Jefferson~


The house where Thomas Jefferson lived. I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside, but there were some very cool things. He had a Museum of Curiosities in his entryway, and a gigantic library (of teeny, tiny books).




Jefferson had a huge, beautiful garden. He organized it according to which part of the plant was used (roots, fruit, leaves).


Check out those copper pans. The kitchen was located on the lower level and the opposite side of the house as the dining room (I think this had something to do with keeping the heat out of the main house during the summer?).


Jefferson wrote his own epitaph, identifying the Dec. of Independence, the Virginia Constitution, and the University of Virginia as his greatest accomplishments.

~Mount Vernon: Home of George Washington~


Again, internal pictures were forbidden, but I was able to get these of the outside. Washington lived a lavish life, complete with fancy bright green paint and a plethora of guest rooms.

A brief (but important) aside -

I promised these pics a long time ago and then forgot all about them. I came across them as I prepared my Washington pics for uploading, so here they are...






My heart dances for each of you every day. Keep fighting, Kate.

Happy 4th of July!

July 4th, 1776. One of the few dates I actually require my students to memorize! :)

I don't feel very festive today, since I spent all of Saturday celebrating the 4th. It seems as though this should be just another day. Except that the Post Office isn't open. Meh.

In honor of our nation's independence, I am going to post some of my pictures from the Virginia/D.C. trip. What better way to remember our country's birth than to show pictures of her birthplace? :) If I can get them from the camera onto my computer that is...

I'm Learning!

A particularly important passage that I came across while I was working on my masters today:

The idea that goals should be specifiable in advance and that success in teaching consists primarily of bringing about predictable outcomes are themselves what is at issue. Such a set of beliefs, fostered not through an explicit educational rationale but rather embedded in the very techniques that one is encouraged to use, can have significant effects on the way the teacher's role is conceived and what educators believe they are after. Surreptitiously but inexorably, techniques that go unexamined with respect to the ideology that they reflect can be debilitating. Training comes to be substituted for education.

Elliot W. Eisner, The Educational Imagination

The emphasis at the end is mine. This conclusion seems particularly important to me on two distinct levels. First, it refers to the fact that we are training future employees rather than educating future citizens. Secondly (and more importantly, if you ask me), it seems to point out that teachers are no longer being educated in the learning process and their role within it, but instead are being trained to manage a set number of students and move them from predetermined point A to predetermined point B.

Part 2: The Capitol

~Day 5~
This was the busiest day of the trip. It was also the most emotional/meaningful for me. I loved all the historical stuff, but Washington is what's happening NOW. We first took a tour of Arlington Cemetery, including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (in time for the changing of the guard even!), and John F. Kennedy's grave and the eternal flame. It was quite sobering to see those rows and rows of white gravestones. We then rode to the Mall area to see the Lincoln memorial, the Washington monument, the Korean War memorial, the Vietnam memorial (the wall and both statues), the White House and Capitol buildings (both with their own protesters), and the Federal Reserve building. We even got stopped in traffic for a motorcade, although our guide wasn't sure if it was the President or the Vice President who was within.

I had a hard time with the war memorials. It was so disturbing to me to see people standing in front of those statues, smiling and hamming it up for their vacation photos. There were very few who looked as though they were thinking about the reason they were there. I was holding it together until I read some of the letters at the Vietnam memorial. I know the rest of my group thought I was a little crazy as tears streamed down my face, but I couldn't stand thinking of all the people and lives connected to the names on that wall. The statues flanking that memorial are some of the best I have seen. Instead of showing the soldiers as invincible and warrior-like they show the reality of war. The first shows three soldiers (white, black, and hispanic) supporting one another. Their sleeves are rolled up and they look tired. The second is a monument to the women of the war. It shows several nurses holding a wounded soldier. The sorrow and pain show on their faces. It was a very emotional visit for me.

I was also strongly touched by the Lincoln memorial. I loved walking up those steps, feeling the burn in my legs and thinking about how it represented the struggle for freedom for so many groups in our country. Fighting for justice will always be an uphill battle, but it is one I can face with joy, knowing that so many have fought before me and so many will fight after me. It was something else to stand in front of that giant statue of Lincoln and think of how far we have come since the birth of our nation. And how far we have left to go.

My dark mood was somewhat eleviated by visiting the White House and the Capitol building. It at least gave some purpose (however questionable) to the deaths we had been memorializing. While I am not a fan of our current president or many of the decisions being made in our Senate these days, I am a HUGE fan of what our country stands for. We have a government built on the ideals of liberty, justice, and basic human rights. We have a government that is required to not only put up with, but also listen to those who disagree. There is a man and woman team that has been living in front of the White House for the last 26 years. For 26 years, they have been there, with their signs and pamphlets, fighting their own government. And they have the freedom to do just that.

We got to see the woman while we were there. Our kids were stunned (most of them having been shielded from anything like it) but they were interested. We discussed freedom of speech and the rights/responsibilities of US citizens. I was quite disturbed by the choice of a teacher from another group. He was there with a group of high school students who were equally enthralled by the sight of this dirty, shouting woman and her signs. She had focused on this group of students, accusing them of being the children of fascists and blaming them for the ills of this world. Instead of explaining to the students that she had the right to say these things and that she was a little bit disturbed, the teacher went up to her and demanded that she stop speaking to his students. The irony of it was quite...um...ironic?

When we had finished racing around the mall, we headed over to Union Station for lunch. Shortly after that, we were dropped off at the airport for a lengthy check-in process and our return home.

I'm tired of writing now. I will add pictures and make any editing changes another time. Now, I must finish watching an Evening with Kevin Smith (Evening Harder). Catch you later!

Part 1: Birthplace of our Nation

I'm going to recap my trip to Virginia now and add the pics in later. I'm afraid I will start to forget details if I don't get right on it.

~Day 0~
We left from San Diego International at 10:30pm on Friday, June 15th. There were 49 of us all together, with an adult to student ration of about 1:2. There were 4 students and 3 adults along from my class. Because of the red-eye flight, a brief layover in Atlanta, and the time change (lost 3 hours), we landed in Dulles Airport (D.C.) at about 6 am. We immediately jumped on a tour bus and headed to Williamsburg, VA. There was quite a bit of traffic, so it took about 4 hours to get there. We also had to make an unscheduled stop for breakfast. How they thought we were going to fly all night and then travel/tour all morning without eating is beyond me.

~Day 1~
The delays got us to Williamsburg a little late. We managed to spend some time on the guided tour of Colonial Williamsburg, however. It was quite informative, and I enjoyed it very much. If we hadn't all been so tired, it would have been perfect. We got to see recreations of a colonial seamstress's shop, a silversmith's shop, the magazine (armory) from which gun powder and weapons were confiscated by the British, and a foundry, as well as a typical household setup. The characters there are all well played and very authentic looking. We got to see the
Governor's mansion as well.

Eventually, we went to dinner (uninspired pasta dishes) and checked into our hotel room. We had just enough time to rinse the travel grime from our faces before heading back to Colonial Williamburg for a Ghost Tour. We heard stories about ghosts that supposedly haunt Williamsburg. Although they weren't very frightening to me (the kids were somewhat spooked), they were very well told and enjoyable. (At some point this evening, one of our teachers managed to trip in a hole and hurt her ankle.) We chased some fireflies on the way back to the bus, returned to our hotel, and collapsed into bed for the first time in 38 hours.

~Day 2~
After an excellent breakfast (one of the few places in the world that makes GOOD scrambled eggs), we spent time at the recreation of Jamestown. They have an excellent museum/gallery there that really focuses on the interactions between the English, the Native Americans, and the Africans at this time. We were given a quick tour of the gallery, model villages (native, colonial, and slave), and the three ships used to reach the new world: the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery. I can't even begin to imagine traveling ACROSS THE OCEAN on a ship only slightly bigger than my father-in-law's speedboat. We were given some time to do further exploration on our own before lunch. I chose to return to the gallery to read all the information we had previously sped past. It was quite informative. (The ER docs were also quite informative regarding the teacher's broken foot. She was given pain meds, crutches, and orders to stay off of it as much as possible.)

After a sandwich lunch at Jamestown, we went back to Williamsburg for some shopping and wandering on our own. The kids had a blast spending their money on colonial toys (mostly guns and bow-n-arrow sets). It was somewhat disappointing because we couldn't go into any of the houses (where the characters were), but it was fun to walk around and soak up the atmosphere. We had a decent dinner at a local pizza place, and then headed back to our hotel for some swimming. Trying to lifeguard a pool full of 30 over-excited 11 year olds is a challenge. Thanks to the assistance of many parents, we managed to keep everyone safe.

~Day 3~
We returned to the same place for breakfast, and then we headed off to Busch Gardens for some fun. The kids were AMAZED to hear that I was willing to ride with them on any roller-coaster they wanted. The group I was with managed to hit about 4 coasters, along with several water rides (necessary because it was HOT!), the bumper cars, and lots of walking. We put off getting our lunch until the last minute and ate on the bus, so we wouldn't waste any of our fun time. I managed to soak my cell phone on the Roman Rapids, causing it to refuse to acknowledge some buttons while randomly pushing others. 97482lshh2984! I had to turn it off for the remainder of the trip.

Upon leaving the park, we took a 3 hour trip to Charlottesville, Virginia, where we stayed the night. There was plenty of time for swimming (imagine a tiny indoor pool surrounded by incredibly slippery floor and filled with 30 screaming children - this should be one of the circles of hell, if you ask me.) and hanging out before bed, although we were pretty Busch-ed from our fun in the sun.

~Day 4~
Up early for a very bad continental breakfast before heading to Monticello - the home of Thomas Jefferson. We had a very nice tour of the house before being allowed to wander the grounds and (of course) do some gift shopping. Then we were off to Mount Vernon - the home of George Washington. Again, touring, wandering, and shopping, before heading to Washington, D.C. and checking into our hotel for the night. Thank goodness, the pool here was outside. Even better, it had its very own lifeguard! My relief was boundless.

The remainder of our trip is discussed in the next post...