Beautiful Lake Placid, NY

Rob and Jenny- the beautiful bride and handsome groom! Congratulations!

The Chando family in Lake Placid

Camp BearBerry on Lake Placid

Jenny and Rob had a picture perfect day and a very romantic wedding. Camp Bearberry was such a neat historic arts and crafts style home to spend a weekend in visiting and celebrating with family. This family wedding was special too because it marked the first time our expanded family all traveled together- even little Preston went! We toured the little town of Lake Placid and visited the Olympic venue sites. We shopped some in the outlets in the downtown area too. Carl took us out on the boat which came with Camp Bearberry for a little tour of the Whiteface Resort from the waterside. We built fires in the evenings and wore short sleeves in the middle of the day. The weather was PERFECT- just like the wedding. The Adirondack surroundings inspired the theme of the wedding. The wedding cake was made to look like Birch bark and the reception area looked out over Lake Placid and had the neatest style chairs to match the location. Jenny and Rob had brewed their own beers and bottled them as favors for the guests and they functioned as table markers giving the beer bottles original names and a unique handcrafted look. Of course, Jenny was truly beautiful in her dress. Absolutely serenely radiant! The wedding was outside and lakeside and the cocktail hour was in the adjacent resort boathouse restaurant- very nice with mountain and lake views. The music was provided by an excellent three-piece Irish band. It was great to spend time with MaryAnne and Joe and meet some of the Taylor side of the family.

Taking Washington, D.C. by Storm

My dear friends and co-workers at SFA- DYNAMIC PEOPLE!

The 8th graders have a moment of unity on their class trip to Washington, D.C.

The trip to D.C. started early Monday morning May 16th and ended fairly late Thursday night May 19th, but what a whirlwind of activities and experiences we all now share as a collective memory. Highlights of this trip include a visit to the White House and the Capitol building, the Smithsonian Museums of American History, Natural History, the Air and Space collection and the Holocaust Museum. On the base of the Lincoln Memorial the students presented Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech which was moving to everyone present at the memorial. The wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery brought tears to the eyes and reminded all of us of the price of freedom.

The just for fun part of the tour included a moonlight dinner dance and cruise down the Potomac River with other school groups and a trip to Baltimore to see the Orioles take on the New York Yankees at beautiful Camden Yards. The weather cooperated when we needed it to be dry. We really could not have asked for a more enjoyable trip.

I work with the most amazing group of teachers. The trip for the students would not have been possible without their help and support. I look forward to next year and more adventures in student travel.

Old Man River- the Mighty Mississippi 2011

Mark Twain would not be amazed at the river front in Memphis.

"The Mississippi River will always have its own way; no engineering skill can persuade it to do otherwise... -" Mark Twain

This is a city on the bluff and you cannot see ANY bluff in this picture. It is always interesting to live in a river town. The Mississippi River is usually 1/2 mile wide here and this week it was 3 MILES wide. This view is about 20 miles from our home in the suburbs. The street covered in water is Riverside Drive. The small clumps of land between the road and the M bridge are Mud Island and the river theme park on the south side of the island. There is a model of the Mississippi River on the island which ends where the flagpoles are located with a replica/swimming pool of the Gulf of Mexico.