In progress...

I've been trying to paint the exterior of the house since we bought the paint on Memorial Day. Got the whole thing cleaned, scraped, primed, prepped, got the main color done, got the shutters put back on--just need to tackle the trim now. I have a week before we head back on vacation, so I'm hoping the weather will be reasonable. The wettest June since the 1870's has certainly slowed the process, but we're coming along. No photos until it's done.

McConaughy

Two weeks ago we took a five-day weekend and spent it at Lake McConaughy in Nebraska. It's a family tradition for Stacey's family, and it's fun--especially when the weather's nice. With McConaughy that's no guarantee, but we were darn lucky and had a fabulous time.
The littlest mermaid.
Seth is such a poser.

Scout camp

Last week David and I spent the week at Camp Cortlandt Deitler for Scout Camp. We both had a fantabulous time. The camp is based on the patrol method, so the boys did all of their own cooking (though the food was provided by the camp). Honestly, it's the best scout camp food I've ever had. As I put on my facebook status, here are two things I like. 1. Camping. 2. Coming home from camping.

Working on outpost shelter 1.0


Archery is still my favorite scout camp activity (honestly, I just like shooting things).

Quite probably the coolest photo David has ever taken.

Another great reason to love summer

Hannah is getting close to sticking the flip

Seth gets some serious air

I want to ride my bicycle...

Hannah has upgraded bikes, but has skipped the training wheels and gone straight to learning the two-wheeler. Seth, of course, wanted in on the action.

Weekend fun

Friday evening Stacey and I went out to dinner at Cuba Cuba (downtown) and dessert at the Cheesecake Factory while her mom watched the children. While we enjoyed the evening out, the highlight came after she said we needed to make one more stop. Much to my surprise, and I was absolutely surprised, she had planned an overnight stay for us at the Capitol Hill Mansion Bed and Breakfast.


It was a really great stay and a very pleasant surprise. On Saturday we hung around downtown, went to the peoples' fair, went to the movies ("Up" in 3-D) and enjoyed the Italian Chalk Art festival at Larimer Square. The chalk art was amazing! All in all, a thoroughly memorable and enjoyable weekend.

A good week at work

Last week was one of my better work weeks--ever. Last Friday was the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences awards reception, at which I was presented the College's Excellence in Teaching award as well as the Excellence in Service award (that's 2 of 3 possible awards for the college). Also, my graduate student won the Outstanding M.A. graduate award and another colleague won the Excellence in Teaching award for non-tenure track faculty. A great showing for the department.
Click here for a link to photos from the reception.

On Tuesday I got the news for which I've been holding my breath since last summer--the Provost approved my tenure case. While it still needs to be approved by the Board of Regents, folks tell me that's pretty much pro forma. Since then it's been party, party, party! We had a nice faculty lunch/party (to celebrate my tenure) at PF Chang's this Friday, followed by graduation on Saturday morning and a party for my "Outstanding Graduate Student" that evening. All in all, a pretty good week. Now, back to grading those finals!