New Zealand* again

I was invited back to New Zealand for a second trip to speak at the 2019 Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert Hui. It’s all the MIEExperts from New Zealand who can make it, plus some Aussies too. It is a great group and such an honor to be invited – back! I flew down on October 1 and landed on October 3.

Once I got settled into my studio apartment overlooking city center (!), I went out for breakfast.

Then I walked to St Patrick’s Cathedral…

And to Albert Park…

And to the Auckland Art Gallery.

I spent the afternoon at Takepuna Beach, got caught in the rain, and saw a rainbow!

Then I met up with four of the six MIE Fellows for dinner: Nikkie, Carmen, and Rachel. These are the ladies I work with to do this trip, who arrange my travel and pay me to be there. They are an awesome bunch. I’ve seen them in Seattle, Toronto, Budapest, and Singapore!

Friday morning I woke up to this lovely view of the Sky Tower out my balcony. I made breakfast in my apartment (thanks to a “breakfast basket” full of eggs, muesli, yogurt, toaster muffins, and fruit thanks to Nikkie) and took off for Rangitoto Island by ferry.

Rangitoto Island is a nature preserve. It is pest-free! There is no fresh water, snack shack, or power. It has miles of hiking trails, one that goes to the summit. I was ready for the day with my backpack of water, lunch, and rain gear.

The view from the top was gorgeous, as expected. The afternoon even warmed up a little. I walked lots of extra trails and – at one point – went 45 minutes without seeing another human being. It was so peaceful and invigorating!

I crawled through these lava caves in the pitch black too.

And then took the ferry back to Auckland. If you miss the last ferry back, you spend the night on the island!

On Saturday, I went to the first day of the summit and was immediately reunited with more educators I’ve met in cities around the world or in Auckland.

In the afternoon, we visited Freeman’s Bay School, a Microsoft Showcase School. It was a beautiful campus! I presented three workshop sessions that afternoon on a variety of topics.

We also had travel adventures in Ubers…

and in buses!

That evening was the fancy dinner. All the ladies wear dresses and a lot of the men wear collared shirts and there is a plated dinner.

Afterward, we walked back to the apartments to hang out as a group and socialize.

On Sunday, I had my keynote talk first thing in the morning. I told everyone to be on time and they were! 🙂

Then I attended some sessions put on by the local educators and sent encouraging tweets out to everyone I met.

At lunch, I went Lime scootering with two of the Australian educators. They planned ahead and even parked some scooters by the Microsoft offices that morning, and then told me about their plan to take me out!

We went all around the harbor in the sunshine. It was so fun!

We wrapped up the day with a learning challenge. I mainly walk around and talk to people and clap at their great ideas. It’s a nice way to end a busy weekend. I also organized a group photo! 🙂

And then I flew home… in premium. They take such good care of me! It was really fun to fly international premium. The seats are big and fully recline, and I had a real pillow, eye mask, cozy socks, lip balm, and food served in real dishes, in three courses each meal. I slept for seven hours straight!

Out and About

I had a pretty full last week of September in the Puget Sound area. First, my mom and sister in law and I went to see the Downton Abbey movie! We loved it. It was a great continuation of the tv shows.

Then I visited two schools in the area to interview people for my book. Cherokee Middle School in Clyde Hill is doing amazing things with Microsoft Translator at its parent nights.

Tesla STEM High School has a class called entrepreneurialism in which students learn to design, create, and sell products for an audience.

I also went to the gaming exhibit at the Museum of Pop Culture for a work team field trip.

And finally, I had a meeting at Foundry 10 on Lake Union – an amazing company that does education action research, on a beautiful sunny day!

Arizona Trip

I had to go to Phoenix for a work trip for a few days, so I invited Jim along. We had such a fun time in the hot sunshine! We landed on Wednesday and immediately went to hike Camelback, which we did a whopping 20 years ago together.

We didn’t finish the hike… it was 103 degrees, we started at 3 PM, it is rated double black diamond “extremely difficult,” and I got hurt a month prior and haven’t been able to exercise. There were things against us for sure!

So we went back to town and checked into our hotel. We were given a recommendation on where to stay by a colleague of mine who works there, and we were not disappointed in any way! There was even a waterslide!

We went to dinner across town at Jim’s cousin Alicia’s house, where she lives with her hubby and son – his aunt Julie and uncle Rick were in town from Portland too, so we had an awesome evening with family! We also hunted for scorpions in the dark, which Jim found fascinating!

Thursday morning, Jim dropped me off at class and I did this.

He picked me up from class after staying by the pool all day long. He was totally taken care of by the pool girl – drinks, lunch, umbrellas, the works. He had a lovely time! We went to Taco Guild for dinner – this taco place in a restored church. Very cool!

Friday was my second day of class. Once again Jim dropped me off, went for a run, and then found himself a spot by the pool.

My view:

Jim’s view:

I was so happy for him. Really! At the end of the two days, I was ready to launch into the second phase of my certification, and he was tanned and happy. Success for all!

Friends Celebration

Haley planned a back-to-school-end-of-summer-celebration party for JT and two friends. It was so sweet to watch her plan a menu, purchase everything, make decorations, and set up the house. (She directed JT and I as helpers, but we just did whatever she told us to do!)

She planned pizza, salad, fruit, fruit punch, and dessert. She invited Sawyer and Jozie, and it was a surprise when they arrived!

What a little hostess. 🙂

Back to School 2019

How exciting to be starting another school year! Both kids were so excited to go back. They love their teachers and they

But let’s begin at the beginning. First, Haley and I went back-to-school shopping with Grandma Keene, an annual tradition. We got clothes and shoes and even some things for JT. Grandma Keene is always so generous and we have a blast watching Haley pick out and try on clothes!

The day before school started, the kids had their hair cut appointments. Haley decided to go short!

…and our Zappos back-to-school shoe shopping order arrived. They each chose a pair and the rest went back, as usual. It’s the best!

And then the big day arrived.

We waited at the bus stop for quite awhile (first day and all), and JT took some time to explain some school specific details to Haley.

And then I stopped at our neighborhood bus stop (our kids ride a different bus to a different school) and took a quick photo with the other neighbor moms to celebrate!

Spirit Lake 2019

Yet another fabulous Labor Day Weekend spent in the sunshine at my aunt and uncle’s cabin on Spirit Lake! What was special about this year is that the cabin wasn’t empty… my aunt and uncle were there, as well as my cousin and her two kids. We had so much fun hanging out with them!

We stopped for pizza in Spokane on the way in on Friday night.

Then woke up Saturday to some clouds, but still warm weather.

The clouds definitely didn’t stop us from enjoying the water right away!

And then the sun poked through…

Saturday afternoon, Jim got to watch Alabama play football from the deck. This is one of his favorite parts of the weekend!

And I spent reading on the dock, one of MY favorites ways to spend the weekend!

We had a campfire each night, and s’mores… which is so much fun.

Sunday morning took the kids on a treasure hunt field trip to the island on the lake.

And Sunday afternoon, the kids and I did a little hike. Just a short one, but the view is beautiful.

We wrapped up the day with lots more water play!

Leaving Monday afternoon was tough! We loved our little bunkhouse for the weekend, and we had a great time enjoying time away.

We stopped for dinner in Cle Elum on the way home, and the kids got blizzards at Dairy Queen for dessert. This is historic because apparently neither one of them have ever had one!

Date in the Boat to Poulsbo

Jim and I have been doing a boat trip to Poulsbo for the last five years or so. We are so thankful my parents still have an ocean-going vessel! Sometimes we invite friends along with us, but this year we decided to just go with the two of us. It was a gorgeous day on Puget Sound!

We had an early dinner at our favorite spot, The Loft.

We also walked around and ate chocolates (okay, just I did that).

It was really relaxing and fun. Hooray for date day!

Haley Turns 9

We were so excited for Haley to turn nine! We started with a family birthday dinner a couple of days early.

Haley is now 4 foot 3.5 inches, making her 38th percentile, which is exactly where she was last year! She has dropped in weight and BMI, but her muscular gymnastics body is the reason why – and her doctor pointed that out!

One of her most exciting gifts was a new desk for her room. Haley rearranged over the summer and has been hoping for this addition to make her vision a reality.

We had an ice cream sundae bar for dessert…

And then woke her up on her actual birthday for cinnamon rolls and gifts.

JT planned a scavenger hunt with clues placed around the house for her to find her gift. It was really sweet!

And she was beyond excited to get a new beam AND tumbling mat for the play room!

Then we went to her birthday party with friends – an ice skating party for five friends.

The girls had the best time skating together and giggling about falling on the ice. Everyone did great!

We went across the street to the park afterward to play, have snacks, and open gifts. The rain held off until we were on our way home (praise the Lord!).