Scenes from Our Vacation

Cat and I have been traveling the west on our way to a family reunion in Yellowstone National Park.

Some pictures from where we have been.

Clinton Library Visit Part of Our "Mini-Vacation"

Cat and I decided we'd get out of town for a trip together, so we decided to go to Little Rock, Arkansas mainly to visit the Clinton Presidential library there. Other people take trips to the lake or beach. We go to political and historical sites.

The Clinton Library was very impressive. The building is designed to look like a bridge to go along with the theme for Clinton's successful "re-election" campaign: The Bridge to the 21st Century."

President Clinton Presidential Library

The library includes a replication of theCabinet Room,

And theOval Office

President's get many gifts from citizens and foreign visitors. This puppet was one of my favorites: Clinton Hand Puppet

The were even gifts of chess sets, so I HAD to include these.
"Masters of the Sea" Chess Set
"Celtic Themed" Chess Set

Dog Sitting

We looked after a friend and fellow teacher's dog, named Oscar, for him while he visited family in the East during the Winter Break.

Oscar

Our dog Tutor had the usual "territorial issues" in the beginning, but at the end they would occasionally play with one another.

Last Day of Vacation

Parents Rejoice!

Tomorrow we report back to school, teachers and staff only. This is our "Records Day" when we record the students' grades from the previous semester and do some planning for next semester.

All good things come to an end.

The Tween Days

Stressed
Right now Cat and I are in what I call the "Tween Days" of our annual winter break. These are the days between Christmas and New Years. We have a few days before Christmas and after New Years before we report back to school (this year January 4th for us and January 7th for our students).

I never quite know what to do with these days. Should I be trying to do all the stuff around the house that I've been putting off like clean out the junk room? Should I be preparing my lesson plans for the coming semester? Should I try to read that book I've been meaning to read since the Clinton administration? Should I try to prepare for the upcoming election year? After all, the Oklahoma presidential primary is coming up February 5th. Or should I just "veg out" and recover from the stress of what has been a very disrupted semester?

Usually I try to do a combination of everything which, as a result, means that I go back to school really not feeling as if I got what I needed out of the break. Oh well, I do the best I know how to do.