Ghouls' Night Out

I was out of town for Halloween (as faithful readers know), so I didn't get to take our little girls out trick-or-treating while Susan stayed home to hand out candy, as we usually do it. Instead, Susan's dad came to our house and manned the candy bowl while Susan took the girls out and about. She did, however, take some photos and e-mail them to me so that I could see them that evening in Portland! Hillary dressed as a princess, Abigail as a jack-o'-lantern, and Suzanna as a news reporter. Here they are:

Yes, I realize that this is one more photo of Suzanna than of her sisters, but her facial expression is just too much! It make-a me to laugh.

Braggin'

We've got some smart kids. Tonight were parent/teacher conferences at the girls' school, and in one classroom after the other, we heard the same compliments. If you know me, you'll allow me this indulgence and forgive my bragging about our children. If you don't know me, what are you doing even reading this blog?! (Just kidding!)

Hillary had started off the school year a tad behind many of her classmates in terms of her reading skills (after spending last year in kindergarten at a parochial school with a more laissez-faire approach to teaching reading), so Susan and I amped up the at-home reading with her and helped her prepare each night for the next-day quiz she would take on her nightly take-home books. Now, it seems, she's one of the top readers in her class, reading at a second- or third-grade reading level. She is an eager participant in class, a good helper for her peers, and an independent worker.

Abigail's third-grade teacher was Suzanna's teacher last year and drew favorable comparisons between the girls. Abigail was chosen as one of a half dozen kids in the class to attend supplemental gifted-and-talented sessions outside of class occasionally (something Suzanna did last year, too). She, too, is a good reader, and it was fun to read some of her writing, as well. We discovered at conferences that Abigail has a student-teacher--something we had not heard about previously from Abigail! Must have slipped her mind.

Suzanna's fourth-grade teacher was Susan's sister Cassie's teacher 20 years ago! She praised Suzanna's reading and writing, etc., and noted Suzanna's outgoing personality ("She's a self-proclaimed drama queen," she said). The teacher told us about her own role in a minor family crisis one day when Hillary's class was invited to Suzanna's classroom to have Halloween stories read to them by the fourth-graders. Suzanna and Hillary had previously discussed it at home and agreed that, because Suzanna can read to Hillary anytime at home, she would select another first-grader to read to that day. However, when that day came, Suzanna's teacher greeted Hillary at the door and led her over to Suzanna, promising the "special treat" of having her sister read to her. When Suzanna said, "No, Hillary, remember? I'm reading to ___ instead," Hillary got caught up in the moment, registered rejection, and started to cry, requiring consolation from Suzanna's teacher.

(Suzanna's teacher also commented on how cute it is that Abigail, in relation to her sisters, introduces herself as the "middlest," as in, "Suzanna is the oldest, Hillary is the youngest, and I'm the middlest.")

The report cards were all good (A's, S's, E's, and the like), the representative work and assessments that the teachers shared were exemplary, and the art projects on display were cute and clever. The girls are fortunate to be in a good school with excellent teachers, and we're fortunate to have daughters who are good students.

Traveling, Learning, Reuniting, Bidding Adieu, and Crying

Ah, faithful readers, your patience is a virtue. I just returned today from several days in Portland, OR for a conference: the College Reading and Learning Association's 40th annual conference, as a matter of fact. It was great, but it took me away from my on-line diarizing; forgive me. In any case, here are the deets:

On Tuesday the 30th, I flew out of Bismarck, ND, no thanks to the counter agent. I presented him with my ticket information, and he looked it up on the computer, told me that he couldn't find on the computer that I even had a ticket, and then just looked at me. Didn't offer me a solution, didn't make any suggestions, didn't check with any of his fellow employees . . . just focused on the problem and then turned it over to me. Great customer service, huh? I asked to use a phone and called the travel agent who made the flight arrangements for the university. The travel agent asked to speak to the counter agent, who took his sweet time helping a group before walking away through a door and out of sight without first checking back with me. I flagged down another counter agent instead, who spoke with the travel agent, did some tapping on the computer keyboard, and then handed me my boarding information. Hm, seems that the problem was pretty easily solvable . . . and with a smile, I might add, thanks to the second counter agent.

Uneventful flight to Denver, CO and then on to Portland, OR. My sister Cathy and her roommate, Kathy, picked me up at the airport and drove me to their home in Woodburn, where I spent the night. It was my first time in their house, where they've lived for two years now, so I first enjoyed a tour--and a reconnecting visit with the cats: friendly 20-year-old Buddy and stand-offish Spooky. I spent Wednesday, October 31 in Woodburn. Kathy had to work, but Cathy fixed us two a big breakfast and showed me the beautiful landscaping around the house. We set up some light-up tombstones in the front yard and plugged them in before driving off for a tour of the schools where Cathy works as a computer/network technician. I saw where she does her magic with the computers of an elementary school and an adjacent middle school (and with the district's Web site), and I met several of her coworkers (theme of the day: "We surely enjoy working with Cathy!"), including a couple technology department colleagues whom she mentions from time to time. After work, Kathy joined us downtown at a Mexican restaurant for a mid-afternoon late dinner/early supper. We all returned home to receive trick-or-treaters, and then Cathy drove me back to Portland to spend the night in my hotel room.

Thursday, November 1 I had a full day of conference events, which culminated in an early evening of complimentary appetizers and Oregon wines in the conference hotel's exhibitors' hall. I picked up several free books for our Academic Success Center, many of which the authors themselves were available to sign for me. I must say: I found every session at the entire conference to be quite worthwhile, and I have lots of information and ideas to put to use now at work. Anyway, I spent the evening alone at my hotel, about a ten-minute walk away from the conference hotel, taking advantage of the time to relax and sort through the information from the day (including ideas from Skip Downing, the morning's keynote speaker).

Friday, November 2 was another full day of events, including lunch with Carolyn Hopper, who shared ideas with a half-dozen of us on using classroom assessment to guide instruction (NOT the same as post-instruction testing, assessment is a set of techniques to use while teaching to tell whether, and to what extent, students are comprehending what one is teaching). Kathy picked me up after she was done with work and I was done with conference activities, and she drove me to Pastini Pastaria, a delicious Italian restaurant in Bridgeport Village in Tigard, OR where we met Cathy and two of their friends: Kathy and Kim (yep: Cathy, Kathy, Kathy, Kim, and Kevin). Afterward, Cathy and Kathy drove me back to Portland to Huber's, an historic restaurant and bar downtown. We had some adult coffee beverages, which they prepare right at the table with theatrical flair. On the way to and fro Huber's, the two of them shared details about all the beautiful sights and sites of Portland, whose skyline is quite appealing at night.

Saturday, November 3 the conference wrapped up with a couple sessions in the morning, after which Cathy and Kathy picked me up to spend the day together. We got some coffees, parked near Lloyd Center (next to the conference hotel, actually), and took the MAX (Portland's light rail, part of their efficient public transportation system that includes buses and streetcars, too) downtown to Portland Saturday Market. We browsed the booths of arts and crafts, listened to the street musicians, saw an entertainer on the corner who wore gold face paint and moved slowly and joltingly like a robot, and ate dinner courtesy street vendors (Greek lamb gyros for Kathy and me and Chinese food for Cathy). I bought three friendship bracelets (like this) for my daughters (I usually get them a little something each time I'm away several days for a conference).

Then we took the MAX back to the vehicle and hit the road for a scenic drive along the Historic Columbia River Highway with stops at Vista House to look out over the river and at Multnomah Falls for a hike up to Benson Bridge to take advantage of the photo op (and a couple strangers there handed me their cameras and asked me to snap pics of them, too). The hills and mountains, the waterfalls and brooks and the river, the winding roads, the forests and half-hidden homes tucked into the trees: all made for a gorgeous and relaxing drive en route to Mt. Hood. We drove up the mountain and explored Timberline Lodge and stood on a puny little snow drift that was all we could find of the snow that we had expected to be covering the mountain by this time of year. It was dark out by the time we made it back to the bottom of the mountain, so we drove in darkness through all the cities on our way back to Woodburn (to feed the kitties) and then on to Portland. Lots of driving = lots of opportunity to talk, and I enjoyed all the visiting with Kathy and my sister, something we don't often get a chance to do.

Cathy and Kathy spent the night in the hotel room with me because they had agreed to take me back to the airport . . . at 4:00 A.M.!! Yep, I had a 6:00 A.M. flight out this morning. Kathy stayed with the car while Cathy accompanied me inside to check my luggage and get my boarding pass. She walked me to security and waited on her side while I wound my way through the paths and process of getting my possessions and person X-rayed and okayed for boarding. On the other side of the security area, I looked back and saw that she was still standing there, and she waved at me as I walked toward my gate and out of her sight.

Confession: This brought me to tears. It's something our mom (now deceased) would have done--and in fact often did do when sending Cathy or our sister, Sandy, off for a flight out of the Minot (ND) International Airport. That was back in the day when loved ones could accompany passengers to the gate and press their noses against the windows to watch the boarding of the plane and to catch recognizable glimpses through the airplane's windows. Mom didn't want to leave the window until she had watched the plane lift off and fly out of sight, and only then did she turn, teary-eyed, to leave. This simple act on Cathy's part--of remaining until I had passed out of security and waving me off as long as she could still see me--filled my heart and brought back a flood of fond memories and happy tears. (I'm crying even now as I type.)

Anyhoo, I arrived at Bismarck (via Denver) around midday and drove back to Dickinson by early afternoon. "Welcome back" hugs and kisses and reports on everybody's past several days ensued. My dad and stepmom arrived by late afternoon for a last visit before heading off tomorrow in their motorhome for their second annual wintertime tour of the United States. We did our best to wear out their dog, Bandy, and to stuff them full of supper and dessert and to sing and play piano for them and to tire them with tales of school and Halloween and travel adventures before they went out to the motorhome for the night. Pretty sure that we'll all sleep well tonight!

Suzanna plays a song from her piano lessons while Grandpa improvises accompaniment an octave or two higher. Cathy and Sandy, does this remind you of anything from when Dad still had a piano in his house?