Vacation Days 3 & 4

Part 2 of our vacation to Florida.

Our main purpose for choosing the destination of Tampa for 3 years in a row is, duh, the Royals play there! We were planning on making it to Tuesday's game, but our time at the space center went longer than anticipated. This turned out to be ok, as the Royals lost game #1. We listened to the game on the way to the hotel, checked in, and headed to bed.

Up and at 'em on Wednesday for a trip to the beach. We were afraid weather would spoil our time, but the storms stayed north of us all day. Yippee! We go to the same beach and love it. It's not crowded at all.

Perfect for splashing in the waves, catching up on reading, and celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe it's already been 3 years. It seems like just yesterday that we were in Waco for our wedding. And yet, Andrew is my best friend and I feel I've known much longer than the 5 years we've been together.

Happy anniversary, Andrew!

When we realized we were pretty pink (Andrew worse than me), we headed to our local favorite, The Hurricane, for our routine grouper sandwhich. Still good!

We rested up at the hotel for a bit before heading to game 2 of the Royals / Rays series. Too bad the Royals lost. It wasn't pretty either...they lost pretty bad. 9-0. Boo. The next day's game was scheduled for the afternoon, so we stuck around for another. Crossing our fingers that we could see them pull one out... We had to check out of the hotel, so caught a movie while we waited; Night at the Museum 2. It was good, not great. Amy Adams was cute. At the game, the Royals went ahead early...hooray! We led the game 2-1 until the bottom of the 8th. Then, the Rays scored 2 and ended up winning the game. I was not a happy camper! I know that the Rays were in the world series last year, but they are not that same team, and I couldn't believe we got swept by them....again (we saw them get swept last year). Andrew's theory is they spend too much time at the beach and leave their heads there when they come to the game. Whatever it is, they need to pull it together and start HITTING!!

Forced smile after the game

We headed back and one of my favorite parts of the trip was getting off the interstate for a while. Andrew and I have different styles of driving - I like to get there, and he likes to stop and enjoy the journey. This has caused a few disagreements when we're on the road, but I was tired of the boring road, so agreed to hop off for a while. It added time to our trip but was nice to see some of the small towns that get passed by.

Very old house near Chula, GA

Methodist church

Cute little train depot in Cordele, GA

Vacation Days 1 & 2

One of the many beauties about both working in academics is having summers off. We have a lot of time to travel, and we have taken that opportunity for each of our anniversaries. Andrew and I have made it a tradition to follow the Royals wherever they are. In Tampa 2 years ago and this year, Chicago last year. We'll see where to next year. . . .but for now, here are highlights from this year's trip.

Day 1: Driving

We got up and took off on Monday morning. We would be driving most of the day. This year we decided to go to the Kennedy Space Center. One nice thing about this was a different road for driving. We drove over to Savannah and then headed down I95. It was still interstate, but new roads are always a little more interesting. We stopped for a break at an outlet mall where we found some shirts for a good deal, and a ice cream shop...yum! Back on the road and there by 9:00. Jacksonville, Florida - thought the structure in the water was interesting. Day 2: Kennedy Space Center A new fascination of mine is space travel, exploration, etc. I was very interested in the last mission (STS-125; the last to repair the Hubble). Andrew suggested we go to the space center to explore it more and I was on board! We arrived shortly after they opened at 9:00 and started at the Rocket Garden and Early Explorations. . . a good place to start! We learned about the Gemini and Mercury expeditions. It was neat to see the early rockets, space capsules, and control rooms. Models of the first rockets to get to space...look at how they changed in size over just a few dozen years. Cool! Gemini capsule that was actually in space - you can see how the heat affected the "United States" on re-entry. One of the earliest control rooms! Look at how many buttons and knobs it has. After the room on "Early Space" we headed over to see the IMAX movie about the International Space Station. It was Andrew's favorite part of the day, and I can see why. It was informative, and cool to see in IMAX. It was like we were really in space! (as a bonus, it was narrated by Tom Cruise). There was a room about the Hubble right next to the theater, so we mozied through there. They had information about the last mission to repair it...and I also found out there that they have coffee in space! So, yes Houston, I am ready for lift-off! :o) Here I am with a model of the Atlantis with the Hubble in the payload bay. . .ready for servicing! Next stop, Shuttle Launch Experience. It was a simulator that made it feel like you were taking off in a real space shuttle. I was very nervous, but it turned out to be very fun. There at the beginning I thought my head was going to rattle right off, but when the rocket boosters dropped off, it was much smoother. Even though I know it wasn't the exact same (no adult diapers on this ride), it was neat to get a small taste of what a lift-off is like.

A model of one of the orbiters that we could walk in and see the payload bay. The last thing we did was hop on the bus for a tour of some of the space center buildings. First stop was the viewing station. This is where people can go and see the space shuttles launch. It's about 5 miles away, but you have a great view. The Endeavor was on the launch pad ready for the June 13 take-off, so that was neat to see. One thing we learned was about the special gravel they have on the road that the shuttle moves along when they transport it. It doesn't allow any friction, which is important because of all the fuel in the rockets. One spark could mean very bad things!Space shuttle Endeavor. The special gravel road is on the far left of the picture next to the main road. The second stop on the bus tour was to see the Saturn V - the rocket that did all the Apollo missions. It was HUGE - slightly longer than a professional football field. No way could we get it in one picture. It was interesting to read about all the Apollo missions in the room around the rocket. The tip of the Saturn V rocket and the command module under it. The last stop was to the room where they are working on parts for the International Space Station. There was an observation deck overlooking the room where they work on parts that are going to be installed. There were even some that are going up next week - cooool! It also explained future plans for the ISS. Andrew was interested in the window going in that looks like on in Star Wars - called the Cupola. It will be installed in the fall. . . we'll keep up with the mission that includes that. :o) It also had an area that had modules of some of the segments where the astronauts work and live. The part in the front, right part of the picture is going up next week (I'm pretty sure that's the one the lady was talking about). Strap yourself in - it's time for bed! I can stop working for a quick pose (p.s. I have no idea what those buttons are for...maybe it's a good thing there was a panel there....haha)

We had a great day! We were planning on getting over to Tampa in time for the first Royals game, but the Space Center was an all day event. And that ended up being ok. We had more fun than we would've watching the Royals lose (more on that later...) We listened to the game and arrived in St. Petersburg that night.

Girl Talk & Itzhak!

Last weekend was a lot of fun; so much fun that I want to share it with you. Friday night started with a "cleaning party" at school. Anna and I turned on some music and worked on getting things organized in the classroom. She has been great for me in that area of my life. I've never seen the bottom of my desk for a week at a time, yet alone almost every day of the school year! Afterwards, she followed me home and we headed to dinner at Taco Mac in Decatur. I had a delicious fish & veggies dish. I was surprised at how good it tasted since Taco Mac is more known for it's selection of beers. Claire joined us after dinner for a glass of wine at Tastings - right across the street. I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with these ladies. We talked about Claire's upcoming wedding, shopping, school, and whatever else was on our minds. It was a great night out with the girls! One point Anna brought up was how great it is that we get along so well. We spend all day together working, and still like each other enough to hang out in social settings afterward. I've heard, that we will be working together next year too. Yay! Saturday was date night! I found out in September that Itzhak Perlman was coming to play with the Atlanta Symphony. We decided to grab dinner at our favorite Chinese place beforehand. Can't go wrong with Fortune Cookie! As we were sitting in the concert hall, and the music started, I realized that nothing really makes me happier than great classical music. I get goosebumps when I hear an orchestra. And man, is Itzhak good! (duh!) One thing I was a bit disappointed about was that he only played one piece and then conducted the last 2 symphonies. I would've loved to hear him play more. But it was a great night. We are very fortunate to be in a city where there is a spectacular orchestra within 10 minutes of our house! I love going down there - it makes me feel very "big city". :o)

"Play Ball!!"

Every year I anticipate the start of a new baseball season. This year was no different. Some may say I was even more excited. Back in the fall when the baseball schedule was announced, I realized that the Royals home opener would fall on the 2nd weekend of my spring break! In addition to the excitement of being at home for the start of baseball season (Andrew and I didn't make it to the K last year), we also got to be some of the first to see & explore the new stadium. Kauffman Stadium had $250 million in renovations in the off-season. It was a beautiful day for baseball & the "new" stadium is gorgeous! I have not been to all of the ballparks but it is definitely the prettiest I've ever seen! Too bad the Royals lost the game (& to the stinky Yankees). I told Andrew the experience of the new stadium with the loss was similar to seeing all the pretty packages on Christmas morning; opening them to find underwear!! But we are off to a pretty good start for the year (7-5)! Let's keep it up. Here are pictures of the stadium: Ok...pictures coming later. My photo uploader isn't working...

5/3/09 - Sorry it took so long...my computer had to be reimaged and I lost a few pictures that were on my laptop. But, here they are now... Also, the Royals are still doing very well 13-11 and in first place in the central division. Woohoo! Enjoy the pictures!

Welcome to the New K!!

First view of the field as you exit the escalators - perfect!

The new Pepsi Porch and Rivals Party Deck

View from the outfield of the press boxes

Fountains above the Pepsi porch all lit up at night

Andrew and I with the scoreboard - the crown is new this year.

Glasses!

While at home for Christmas I realized my vision was getting to the point where it was time for a check-up. I haven't had great luck with eye doctors here in Atlanta, but finally decided to pony up a little more money to have a doctor from Emory eye center. (In the top 9 in the country!). I'm so glad I did, because I have a doctor that has been very patient and willing to work with me.

I tried soft contacts, but never got used to the fact that they weren't as sharp as the gas perms I'd had my whole life. I went back to gas perms, and got a new set of glasses. They are much lighter than my previous pair so they don't sliiiiiiiiiiiide down my nose. I was reluctant to get a new pair when I didn't "really" need them. But my doctor told me that I was going to continue permanent damage to my eyes if I only wore contacts.

And...here are my new glasses and I LOVE them!! I've become a glasses person again!

Let me know what you think. :o)

How Would You Measure A Lion?

We've been doing measurement in math this week. Yesterday's lesson was about converting feet and inches to only inches (Ex. 3 feet, 4 inches would be 40 inches). One question on last night's homework asked for an item they wouldn't use feet and inches to measure and explain why not...here are some of the answers we received: 1. An apple seed because it's too small to measure with feet and inches. (good!) 2. You wouldn't measure water with feet and inches because it's liquid. You could use cups (great!) 3. I wouldn't measure a lion with feet and inches. I think he would be so mad that I was touching him, he would just kill me. (hilarious!) That is one of my favorite answers I've ever received while teaching 3rd grade. I laughed out loud for several minutes when I read it, and then again later while thinking about it. Ahhhh kids. They really do say the darndest things!

Happy Valentine's Day

Yay!!! Notice the picture - it's time to Rock again! :o) After several months without a CD player, we finally got it replaced in the car. This was my Valentine's Day present from Andrew. I couldn't be happier. If you know me, you know I love music. It was very tough not to be able to listen to my music to and from work. The commute is about an hour 45 minutes every day, and music definitely helps pass the time.

To go along with the new CD player, Andrew got me the Rush greatest hits CD. 80's Canadian Rock....yes! I found out that I'm really into them when we started playing them on Rockband. I heard a few of their other songs on the radio (while without a CD player), and enjoyed them as well. It's kinda cheesy, but I like it.

Thanks, Andrew for my Valentine's present!!