July 19-Ready for Europe

July 19-Ready for Europe, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Nine months ago this day seemed like a long ways off. That was when we made the commitment to let our daughter join the People to People group for a trip to Europe. It's been a bit of an emotional roller coaster for her. First the excitement that she was actually going, then the disappointment that she wasn't going to France with her classmates over April break, then the excitement returned in May and this past week was a little crazy for her trying to buy presents for her host family and other last minute details. This morning she surprised me when she cried as she told her brother and dog good-bye. But there were no tears as she said good-bye to us at the airport. She doesn't know anyone in her group but it was good to see her chatting with others in the line waiting to go through security. My wish for her is to have the time of her life seeing all the fabulous sites they have lined up and trying new foods and meeting new people. I'll be anxious to hear all about her adventures 19 days from now.
We left the airport and started our trip to Iowa to visit my husband's family and attend his 35th high school reunion.

July 18 Ready to Go

July 18 Ready to Go, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Today was a busy day. we had three events to attend plus finish getting my daughter ready to leave for Europe in the morning. She finally went to bed a little after 11. Her bags are packed and I think she's ready to go!

July 17 Olympus Camera

July 17 Olympus Camera, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Yesterday my daughter went to the lake with some friends. Late in the day she sent a text letting me know her camera wasn't working correctly and I could tell she was stressing. She leaves for her People to People trip to Europe on Sunday and not having a camera was not a choice. I did my best to calm her down with a series of text messages. Today we agreed it was better that the camera stopped working now rather than a week from now! I ran out during my lunch break to Best Buy and then the local camera store. I left the camera store sold on this one-waterproof and shockproof. I had my daughter meet me at the store after class so she look at it and get some instructions. We did buy a little case for it to give it some extra protection and it has a spot for her extra memory card. Now hopefully she'll not only come home with wonderful memories of her experience but some great photos to show us as well.

July 16

July 16, originally uploaded by NedraI.

This afternoon is hot and humid. Finally feeling like summer. But with the humidity comes frequent bursts of rain. So in between showers today I tried taking some macro shots. It was hard to pick which one to post for my picture of the day. That was a good problem for a change!

July 15 Flying Bison

July 15 Flying Bison, originally uploaded by NedraI.

This photo was taken by my husband today. I had planned on taking picutures during a walk on the nature trail. But when I got there the battery was dead and the spare was at home on the charger.
My husband had an appointment in Buffalo today. A former student knew he was coming out and invited him to stop by the Flying Bison Brewery. This student does the art work for their labels. This picture shows a banner of one of the labels. My husband enjoyed seeing the work and loves knowing that another successful person got his start at our local community college.

July 14 21st Birthday

July 14 21st Birthday, originally uploaded by NedraI.

My oldest turned 21 today! My husband brewed him his own batch of beer complete with a custom label. He also made him a t-shirt and a mug to match the label. I think it will be a birthday to remember for him. He had 6 Facebook friends that also had birthdays today, 3 of them are RL friends, and when my husband and I went out tonight there were 2 other birthdays being celebrated. Popular day!

Middle School Quote

Middle School Quote, originally uploaded by NedraI.

I'm attending a class at this school this week. As I've gone in out of this school in the past I had never noticed the quotes on the outside of the building. When I mentioned them to my children they were surprised by them as well. This quote is on the far right side on the front of the building.

With the emphasis our state is placing on test prep, testing and test scores I worry about the foundation of our state. I see our children being taught step by step how to answer tests questions but not being taught how to think for themselves or how to solve problems. I hope by the time our state/country figures out that testing the kids to death is not the answer it won't be too late.