The Stone Arch Bridge, mountain bikes, and the mighty Mississippi.
I am now in my last four days of Teach for America's summer institute in Tulsa. Five weeks has flown by, and I am always amazed at how quickly time passes. Saturday I will be back in Denver, and Sunday- on to Crested Butte!
This past weekend I pulled a marathon drive to Minneapolis to surprise my brother Luke for the 4th of July. Let me tell you, 750 miles from Tulsa to Minneapolis through the night is no small feat of endurance! I arrived at my cousin Nina's house at three in the morning utterly delirious and ready for bed. I woke up after a glorious 5 hours of sleep ready to pounce on Luke when he walked in the door. There is something entirely special about brothers who are reunited after a stint apart, and this was no exception. All I can say, is it felt good to be back with one of my best friends.
I don't have time to bore you with the details, seeing as writing this blog is already a means of distracting myself from lesson planning. Instead I'll just post some pictures from the weekend. Minneapolis is a special place, and I absolutely loved spending time with Luke, and my sweet family Nina, Andrew, Liam, and Scott. Shout out to the Wiskus clan for helping to make the trip affordable.
Halfway to the equator, halfway to the North Pole.
Liam- the coolest kid around and my birthday buddy to boot.
This week is testing week at Webster High which is my summer placement school. My kids are on track to test at a level significantly higher than where they began at, which is exciting. Even more exciting is the fact that I feel as if I have significantly broadened what they believe to be possible in their own lives. Whether it was through conducting college spotlight Fridays, or through millennium challenge problems. I leave you with two pictures of yours truly. The first is me giving a seminar last week on helping students articulate goals, which is a lesson I feel all of us could stand to benefit from. The second is of me at Tulsa's premier bottle shop. Special shout out to my homeboy Nate van Dyk- I drank a brew (or two) for you my friend.
I am excited to head back to Colorado. I have yet to find a a place to live, but that sounds like an awfully fun adventure. For those of you I get to see next week, expect big hugs! Especially a certain bleach blonde vagabond. You know who you are.
No flannel today.
Diamond in the rough.
I'm off to my glorious five hours of sleep a night. No rest for the weary. . . .
Ps. My good friend Ronnie was in a horrible bike crash yesterday. He has extensive facial trauma and is currently in critical condition. Many of you know him- please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
