My best friend Jared's house. I used to run over there all of the time!

 

Snapshots around our old neighborhood! Look familiar??

Our Cheery, Wonderful SSN Room!!

Jen and I had the most hilarious time creating this masterpiece, affectionately termed the "Mystical Castle." Our stellar knight, atop his faithful unicorn, has come to rescue the Damsel in Distress, fair Princess Nermeen, trapped in her tower. Have no fear little knight! The magical tree to your left will give you powers! I've never laughed so hard!!

Our special ed team did all of the decorations for our room (can you tell??). Jen is the construction paper genius...I've never known someone who could make so many incredible things out of construction paper!!!!!!

End-of-the-Year Work Party (just a few snapshots)

You know how work parties can get a little wild and crazy...well ours got completely OC after Joanne, the PE teacher, busted out the little scooter things! It all began relatively safely on the driveway, then it extended to the sidewalk, and pretty soon we were screaming down the street at break-neck speeds, as crazy and reckless as the kids we teach! This is Danielle, Jen, and Joanne! (Note the "helmet," commonly known as a box, atop Joanne's head...safety first!) 

A Sampling of the awesome people I work with!!

 

Downtown Denver...My Last Trip

Because my time in the Denver area is ticking quickly away, my friend Dan and I hopped downtown (for me) one last time. It was great fun. And at the end of it all, we took the edge off our appetites by indulging in a Chipotle burrito! Ahh...a Denver classic. This is the State Capitol. 

A sweet sentimental moment at Colorado's State Capitol...as a first grader on a field trip, I sat on these very same steps while wearing a bright yellow t-shirt that read "Class of 2000." I distinctly remember sitting here and looking out over the city, wondering if I would ever really live long enough to graduate in 2000! I was in much the same position then as I am now...getting ready to move West! At that time (1989) my family was moving to Northern California...this time I'm only going as far as Utah! It is rare that the locations of my childhood memories link up with my present position on the globe, due to my family's frequent moves. It is very special to me when it does happen!

 

Looking out at downtown Denver from the State Capitol. I love this place! :)

 

16th Street Mall!

 

This is the new addition to the Denver Art Museum! I think they're planning for it to be complete in October. It is "cutting-edge," designed by Libeskind - the same architect who designed the new Twin Towers. 

An afterthought! This is a sampling of British sweetums and souveniers!

My Trip to the United Kingdom!

I arrived to a drizzly, cold London March 25, 2006 at about 10:30 in the morning (tho' my body said it was 2:30 am). First impressions (beginning with the airplane ride): Wow! English Accents! I loved listening to the different way the English express themselves...including the little things--the steward saying, "Cheers! Cheers!" while throwing away our "rubbish," friends referring to each other as "mate," etc. Once in London, it surprised me how close buildings were to one another! Incredible specimens of 13th century architecture were smack next Victorian buildings which were smack next to Bauhaus structures which were smack next to the most avant-garde architecture of today. Those beautiful old buildings we've seen so many pictures of actually exist...and without too much fanfare...they are just there, everywhere, as part of the city. Also, I noticed lots of people wear scarves! Especially the men. After getting my luggage and attempting to figure out the train system, I arrived at Paddington Station in Bayswater, London, close to Ted's flat. Directly after I dropped off my things, we headed out to ride a ferry down the Thames! You can see a picture of Amy (we taught in Taiwan together and she served as a missionary in London) and Ted (whom Amy taught on her mission. He was our amazing London benefactor!)

We rode the ferry to Greenwich, England...the city which marks the starting point of every time zone in the world! It rests at zero degrees longitude. Here I am standing both East AND West at the Royal Observatory.

You can't tell from here, but Amy is standing across from the FIRST SHOP IN THE WORLD! It is at .4 degrees longitude! :)

Watch out for humped pelicans! We later learned that a "humped pelican crossing" is a crossing for pedestrians monitored by traffic lights, unlike a zebra crossing, which is not.

The Victoria & Albert Museum was the first museum I visited in London. It would have taken hours to wander through. We absorbed an exhibit on the evolution of fashion, among others. All the museums in London operate by donation only. It rocked.

Inside the gardens of the V&A. 

The magnificent St. Paul's Cathedral. Beautimous. It is undergoing an exterior cleaning right now...note the contrast between the stone on the picture on the far-left versus the stone in the other pictures! In the picture on the far-right, you can actually see a visible line where they cleaned and where they did not! 

We attended church in the Hyde Park Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the building with the golden spire). I was amazed to discover that the English were far outnumbered by others from all over the world! People from New Zealand, Australia, Estonia, Czechoslovakia, the U.S., Canada, Africa...amazing! Yet we all embraced the same beliefs, loving the same truths.

Talk about avant-garde architecture! This looks like a factory, doesn't it? Well, it's an office building! 

The Tate Modern from the "The Millenium [Foot] Bridge" across the Thames. 

Inside the Tate Modern. Behind me is a piece of interactive art where, as Amy put it, one becomes an actual part of the art whilst moving about it. 

The Globe Theatre! The construction of this building was carefully researched by scholars and is thought to be an exact replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. 

The interior of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Yes - it is an open-roofed theatre and yes, plays are still performed inside! Trying to keep things as authentic as possible, they've left space in front of the stage for standing tickets. 1000 peasants would typically squeeze themselves into that small space! There are boxed seats behind the stage for the "educated aristocrats", chairs for the upper class, and benches for everyone else. Being at the theatre changed the way I envisioned Shakespeare and the times!