tales from a far-land

Grading period one at BASIS Phoenix Primary concluded in mid-September.  I cannot believe how fast the school year is going already.  We seem to have settled into a routine and the kids are thriving.  In fact, both kids achieved the 90s Club Award for grading period one.  That means, on average, they are receiving a 90% or better in their classes.  Way to go, kiddos!  At BASIS, the kids actually move from classroom to classroom throughout the day along with their Learning Expert Teacher (LET).  An LET is like a home room teacher who assist the kids all day long in each of their core classes (math/humanities) and specials (art/music/drama/PE).  Aiden's favorite classes are math, engineering and Kenpo/PE.  Madilyn's favorites are art, humanities and connections.  Most nights the kids have about two worksheets of math homework, a page or two for humanities, and twenty minutes of reading.  Not too bad, as long as they do not fight us in completing it.  After school, once a week

As many know, I am a huge sports fan.  Growing up, I played many, many different sports.  From soccer to swimming. Softball to golf.  I even played water polo in college.  I guess you could say it is in my blood.  Since the kids were born, we have had the opportunity to take the kids to various sporting events.  But as they grow older, attending a live game is so much more fun.  They are starting to really understand the rules and attentively watch the game of play.  Plus, they both love rooting for the home team.  I enjoy watching the game through their eyes, energy and questions.  I am so glad that, in that moment, I can share my love of sports with them. At the end of August, we had the opportunity to attend a Diamondbacks game at Chase Field on a Sunday.  And then, on Thursday, we attended the Broncos versus Cardinals last preseason game at University of Phoenix Stadium.  What a sports week!  The kids has so much fun, especially at the football game.  We watched the game from the

In mid-August, I traveled to Utah for the NAHU's Region 7 Leadership Conference.  The meeting was held about an hour outside of Salt Lake City in the mountain town of Midway.  We stayed at this very cute chalet-style resort called the Zermatt.  The resort was beautiful and I even had a chance to feed their on-property goats. The primary reason for the conference is to educate and train in-coming board members.  We had some great speakers and panels.  Hopefully, all of the boards members across our region are prepared and ready to serve.  I, personally, gained some new insights and tidbits. However, the best part of this particular conference was the social event held on Thursday.  We had the opportunity to visit the Utah Olympic Park, which is the home of the 2002 Olympic Games.  During the social event, we enjoyed bobsledding down the same track they used during the Olympic, except without the ice and with a professional driver.  Each sled was traveling about seventy miles per