Recently....AKA "The Good Life"

Life is good. The term has ended. Grades are done. A lot of the students are gone for the summer and Corvallis is half the town it was a week ago. No traffic. No lines at restaurants. I can go to the bathroom without worrying that it might be class change.

Some have asked what I do in the summer when the kiddos are gone. I am working on research and writing papers and revising the student teaching manual for fall. We are going on a departmental retreat in a few weeks and then I can begin working on fall courses (once I know what they are).

All of those side projects are getting some time in the forefront. I think the best part is that I feel productive all day and I am able to turn off the work when I go home at night. After the spring term I just went through, the pace of summer is a much-welcome change.

It also begins summer travel season. I will head to Hood River for OVATA summer conference, then home for the family beach trip. I go straight from there to Denver for the Association of Leadership Educators annual conference and back to Oregon just in time for some State FFA Officer training. Even with all of that, the pace is different when you are traveling and NOT missing classes. I am looking forward to all of it.

After I gave my final exam last week, I went to the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show with Betsy. It is held over in Union, OR - a mere 6 hour drive one way. All of these photos are Betsy's. She is amazingly talented. Enjoy.