Quick Successions: New Mexico Edition

I got to a biennial conference in southern England in the summers. So, I get to see a lot of "1066 country." I try to see something new every time I go. This time I went to Battle Abbey with a group of my colleagues. It was a very warm that day, but we managed to get around the see the Abbey as well as the town. Behind the Abbey is the Battlefield where the Normans conquered the Saxons. Inside the Abbey there is a souvenir shop in the bottom, a place of worship at the top, guest quarters on the backside with large windows, and to the side was the place where the monks lived and trained. 

Not long after school got out we went to Utah to see family.  The first week of June, Hannah had summer camp. She went to a bilingual science camp called Crazy Colors. She learned lots of Spanish as also did stuff with the physics, chemistry, biology all related to colors. Before dropping her off to camp, we picnicked in a lush green space downtown. Huge grassy areas are rare to New Mexico and therefore, all the more treasured.  Here is the camper on her first day. She really had a ton of fun and we plan to look for something similar in the future.  The week after her camp, I taught a class on campus. It was about assessment. I have taught this sort of class before, but not for several years because I was assigned research in graduate school rather than teaching. The teaching did was all linguistics. But I had a lot of fun with the teachers in the class. They were kind and hard working even though 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a week is a grueling ...

The week before Mother's Day, we went to a tea party. Hannah wore her wizard hat I got her at Disney World and we made mine together once we got here.  The day before Mother's day was UNM graduation. Here are the crowds in the "The Pitt" where the lobos play.  Here are the graduates all lined up. One Mothers' Day, we took a photo to commemorate the occassion.  She also made me a book at church.  And did I mention the roses and chocolate pretzels?  After Mother's Day, Hannah officially graduated Kindergarten.  After the ceremony, I took her out for ice cream and to get a foil balloon.  The final event of the year was a trip to the zoo. I supervised a group of exuberant youngsters.  One of which was my daughter. Here they are looking at the snakes. I stayed far away.  On the second to the last day of school, my girl brought this home for...

Hannah's school has a program where students can earn prizes for book reading. She had the goal of reading 30 books to her teacher for a prize, but she took it further and picked out her prize in advance. This dog was the object of her desire. After several weeks and much anxiety over whether she would read the required number and pick it out before someone else, she finally had enough points to bring home this dog. She named it Rainbow Party Polka Dots. It is a nice addition to the family. The day before I left for New York, she drew me this. It is us listening to music. Probably on Spotify. Me sitting in a hotel lobby in New York while it rained heavy cold rain. Eventually a friend called and we met at a restaurant for appetizers and good conversation. The weather was yucky but the conference was good. I need to renew my passport for summer travel. I was having a hard time finding someone to take the passport pictures in Albuquerque. I went to this Duane R...