Tuesday in Grapevine

Today we slept in a bit.  We had to attend the luncheon with Elizabeth today.  She was being recognized. Found out later that she and I were supposed to sit at the head table.  Oh well, we were fine at a table in the front row with Natalie, Christy, Jerri, Nadine and Debbie.  After the luncheon we went to the exhibits again and then back to our room for awhile.  This evening we went to AMC Grapevine to watch Bridesmaids.  We had dinner there as well.  It was so cool because they had leather recliners for you to sit in and watch the movie.  I loved it!  In the morning the girls are heading back to Austin and I am going to Arlington to hang out with Wendy and have lunch on Thursday with Yleen.

Grapevine

So Natalie, Christy, Elizabeth and I apparently look like flight attendants. Some random scary guy asked us that as we walked down the hallway to our room at the Sheraton DFW. We ate at Uncle Julios for dinner which was slightly scary as well because of a portrait hanging over our table. A picture will be posted later. Then we went to WalMart cause Christy forgot her personal hygiene items like deodorant, etc. Once we returned to our room, Christy realized she was short one bag and some of her stuff was missing...left at WalMart. So Monday morning we stopped at WalMart before heading to the Gaylord for the math conference. The line entering the property was long.We got our stuff at registration and tried to get into 2 different sessions and couldn't. We gave up and checked out the exhibits, grabbed a Subway sandwich meal and went to sit in line to see Kim Sutton. After that session we went to our room and got ready to go to the lazy river. The lazy river was great. On the way back Natalie and Christy want to "plank" and I am to take their pictures.  After takingone picture, I tell them to hold on because there is something wrong with the camera but actually Elizabeth and I are walking away,leaving them there.  :)  Now we are back in our room while Christy gets ready for a date.

San Antonio Fun...a little bit out of order...sorry

After spending 3 days in San Antonio with colleagues learning about PLC's, Lester and I spent Friday, June 24 in San Antonio together.  We met the kids at Sea World for the day on Saturday, June 25.  Then we came home and I prepared for another trip to San Antonio.  Monday and Tuesday were spent learning about the SIOP method of instruction for ELL's.  I shared a room with Jennie and we invited Jane and Shannon to our room on Monday night.  We played games and tried to see how many LARGE marshmallows we could get in our mouths.  Check out Jennie and Shannon's attempts in the videos.

On The Road Again...

Been home from conference in Portland for 3 days and now doing laundry and packing for a conference in Grapevine. Leaving tomorrow, the conference runs through Wednesday, and then spending some time with my friend Wendy before heading back home on Friday morning. One good thing about this conference is it didn't cost a thing to register and we are staying at the Gaylord! Should be a fun time! Then maybe I can stay home for a bit....

Portland continued...

So Tuesday we decided to do a little shopping after our day of learning. We checked out an interesting store called Cargo and also visited Powell's bookstore. Then we went to dinner at Old Town Pizza. It is in a 110 year old building that is supposed to be haunted, although we dined uninterrupted. We had a fun time visiting at dinner. I've had a really fun time learning and laughing with my friends. Now it is time to go home.....finally!

Portland continued...

After today's assessment sessions, the IP's decided to go to Hubers Cafe for dinner. It is supposedly the oldest restaurant in Portland. The inside was so charming. Then we went on a river boat cruise on the Portland Spirit. As we cruised down the river we saw lots of interesting things, including a teenage boy who came running out of his house, waved to us, and then mooned us! Following that we met up with administrators at a club called Dante's for "karaoke from hell" as it was called. We had a great time but arrived back late and exhausted.

Portland

First day in Portland, I met my nephew, Jacob, and his friend, Hanna, for dinner at Deschutes Brewery. We had a wonderful visit. Sunday mom, Denny, Jodi and Mike came down to spend the afternoon and evening with me. We drove to Tillamook to see where they make the cheese. We had ice cream too. I had a 3 scoop sampler-wild mountain blackberry, Oregon strawberry, and root beer float. YUMMY! Then we drove to Cannon Beach to see Haystack Rock and the beach. It was beautiful but cold.

Vacation is coming to an end

Friday we spent the day on the Santa Monica beach and pier. The weather was gorgeous! Saturday morning they dropped me at LAX for a flight to Portland for a 4 day conference on assessment. Lester, Lauren, and Michael began the long drive home. They made it to Las Cruces, New Mexico that evening. They made it home on Monday afternoon. Unfortunately when they arrived home they found that the air conditioning in the house was not working. Hope they get that fixed before I get home on Wednesday evening.

So many sights to see

Thursday morning began with a 75 minute walking tour of Hollywood  While we did this Jennifer Aniston was busy putting in her footprints and handprints at Graumans Theatre.  There were tons of people watching. After lunch we went to Universal Studios.  Then we went to dinner at Musso and Frank's Grill. This restaurant has been there since 1919 and famous people like to go there but we didn't see any. Bummer!

Hooray for Hollywood!

Wednesday began with a Starline tour of movie star homes. We saw the homes of people like Bob Barker, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox. After the tour we walked along Hollywood Boulevard looking at all the stars on the Walk of Fame. Then we went to Madame Tussad's Wax Museum. It was so fun. It was very interactive and the wax people looked so real. Then we came back to the hotel and swam for a bit before going to the Hollywood Improv.There were several comics that we didn't recognize but there were 2 that have also had roles in movies...Owen Benjamin from House Bunny and Nick Kroll from Date Night. We had a great time.

Dolphins And More Dolphins

Tuesday we left Anaheim and drove to Dana Point for a 3 hour dolphin and whale watching cruise. We had a great time on the boat and saw tons and tons of dolphins. They were right beside the boat, splahing us with their spray and making noises. So cool! We saw one fin whale from a distance as well. There was another passenger and his family on the boat....it was the guy who held the assistant superintendent of human resources job in EISD just before Lester...Steve Ebell. How weird is that? Afterwards we drove part of Pacific Coast Highway up towards Hollywood. We stopped for lunch in Laguna Beach at Ruby's Diner. When we walked in, there sat Christy Cox, one of our 4th grade teachers and her daughter. What a small world! Arrived in Hollywood and checked in.

Disney Fun

Spent all day Monday at California Adventure Park and Disneyland. Ended the 4th of July watching The World Of Color water show at California Adventure Park. It was so cool! Got back to the hotel a little after midnight. My foot is killing me but had a great time!

California Here We Come!

Before leaving Vegas Lauren and I went down to the Mirage to see the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. Siegfried and Roy have a dolphin research center and a lion habitat. Then we headed out for California. We stopped for lunch at Buffalo Bill's Resort and Casino on the Nevada California border. I wasn't hungry so I went and found a Wheel of Fortune game. The kids had each given me $15 dollars to try to win more for them. I won $95 for them to split. Then I won $100 more from my money! I love Wheel of Fortune! After arriving in Anaheim, we checked into our hotel which is within walking distance of Disneyland and then went to Bubba Gump's for dinner.

Vegas Style

After lunch, Lester, Lauren and I drove down the strip from the Stratosphere back to the Luxor. We passed several Vegas style wedding chapels including the Little White Wedding Chapel and it's tunnel of love. Lester refused to go there and renew our vows. I told him I guess that shows how much he loves me. Lauren and I gave him a hard time all afternoon about it. :) Then we saw a great show called "Nathan Burton's Comedy Magic." When we got back to the Luxor, Lauren and I went to see the "Bodies" exhibit and the "Titanic"exhibit. Both were very interesting but the Titanc was my favorite. There were several places that were created to give you the illusion of being on the ship including the Grand Staircase. You got a boarding card of a real person when you entered and at the end you could see if they survived or not. After dinner Lester and I walked to Mandaly Bay. I won $1300 playing Wheel of Fortune!

Vegas baby!

So we arrived in Vegas around 1:30 on Friday and went straight to In and Out Burger for lunch.  Yummy!   Then we checked into the Luxor or as Michael called it the "Suxor."  They do not have wifi only wired and it took an hour to figure it out. The room was HOT! and not cooling and the tv remote was not working.  We called guest services.  An hour later we called again since no one had come to help yet. They said we did not have to sit in the room and wait for them so Lester and I went downstairs to gamble. Two hours later (and $300 poorer) we returned to the room to find they still had not been there.  We took the kids and walked down the strip. I overdid it. I could barely make it back to our hotel.When we got back at 9:30 the staff still had not been there to solve the problems. Lester went downstairs to talk to them and came back telling us we were leaving.  Lauren and I thought he meant leaving the Suxor but it turned out they moved us to a suite with a hottub in it. Sat in the hottub for a long time soaking and then crawled into bed.  Yawn!

Our adventure thus far...

We arrived in Roswell on Wed. night and found the spaceship shaped McDonalds as well as the street lights which look like alien faces.  The   next morning we visited the International UFO museum. Then we began our drive to the Grand Canyon. We stopped in Winslow, AZ to take a picture of us "standing on the corner."  We arrived at Yavapai Lodge on the south rim around 10 pm. Got up this am in time to catch the 4:30 sunrise bus tour. Amazng!  Saw deer and elk.  Now headed to Vegas baby!  Pictures coming soon.