Summer 2010

We've been really busy recently, so the blog has been neglected. (So let'ts be honest, it was neglected for most of the summer....sorry about that!) I taught summer school this summer and Derek attended many workshops to prepare for the year. I enjoyed teaching summer school, but I don't think I will teach it all summer next year. I felt like I helped some kids who needed a little boost to finish 7th grade. Some of them are at Westbrook this year and it's fun to see them in the halls!
The day after summer school ended, we drove up to Arlington to spend some time with our family. We took a 10 day vacation with my parents, Courtney, and Michael to the northeast. We visited our grandparents in Delaware and Pennsylvania before sightseeing in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC. It was a really fun trip! Derek especially enjoyed seeing many of the historic places he will teach his students about this year. There's something special about going back to our nation's roots. It makes you feel really patriotic and connected to where it all started. I know I'm cheesy, but I love it!
The highlights of our trip were tours of Independence Hall in Philadelphia and the Capitol building in DC. We saw the Declaration of Independence and founding documents in the National Archives. We went to tons of museums including the Betsy Ross House, Benjamin Franklin's Print Shop and underground museum, Christ's Church, the International Spy Museum, the American History Smithsonian, the Air and Space Smithsonian, and the Holocaust museum. Everyone's favorite museum was the Newseum in DC. It's an amazing museum that captures the history and future of the news. They have hundreds of newspapers dating from the 1400s to present day. There are sections of the Berlin Wall, the only Guard Tower(Checkpoint Charlie) in the United States, and the radio tower from the Twin Towers. All of the exhibits are so well done! They also have excellent movies and 4D theatres. I highly recommend it for your next visit! The best part is that your ticket is good for two days, so you can actually process all of the information you're seeing. I wish more museums would do that!
Of course we couldn't forget the Phillies. We caught two of their games; one in Philly and the other in DC. Both stadiums are really nice. It's so different to have a stadium in the middle of a big city. I know Minute Maid is, but the Ballpark is still what I compare everything to. I'm a new Houstonian. (Go Rangers!) There was a fireworks show after the game in DC. Roy O had just been traded to the Phillies, so we watch his first game. Not his best showing, but it was fun to watch him play.
Between our three cameras, we took over 1000 pictures! My mom was wanting to make a photobook of our vacation. I had to talk her out of it because I wanted to make one for her! Here is the link to the book.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Acs3LZk2btGLnI

Obviously, it doesn't have all 1000 pictures, but I tried to choose the best ones. We had a great time!

We got to spend time with the Cains when we got back. Grandma C "rescued" Cooper from PetSmart while we were gone. He was SOOO excited to see her! We had a wonderful time catching up with the Cains;) Hopefully we'll get to see them again soon. We're talking about taking a trip to Oregon with them in the near future. We can't wait!!

Once we got back from Arlington, Derek set up his classroom and started more workshops for new teachers. We both prepared for the busy school year we had ahead of us. This year I'm coaching 7B volleyball. Derek is coaching 7th and 8th grade football, 7th grade basketball, and 7th and 8th grade track. We're already busy, but we're loving it! Coaching gives you an extra opportunity to work with kids and shape their lives. Our athletes have progressed a lot and the season is just starting. We can't wait to see how far they come this year!

I probably won't get to post again until volleyball is over, so here's your Cain summer recap. We have some exciting trips planned for the rest of 2010 and the summer of 2011, so be looking for the Fall 2010 update in a few months!