Grace the dancer

Grace has rhythm.  Have you ever typed the word rhythm.  The English language is a mess.  As I like to say "You shouldn't be mean to someone who doesn't know the meaning of mean.  They are probably just average." Anyway, going on, when Grace hears music with a distinct beat she has a tendency to break out into a spontaneous dance.  And it's always to the beat.  She has some funny dances, but my favorite is when she makes her arms all stiff, kind of like a robot, and then grooves around the room with her little mechanical arms moving to the beat.  Every once in awhile I'll get up and join her in her"dance."

There have been plenty of occasions when Tracey and I have also broken into some goofy dance.  Sometimes with music and sometimes without.  The girls think it's funny, and it's those moments when I think "Do normal families do this?"  Probably not most.  It's a lot of fun to be goofy and make your kids laugh.  Actually there are also times when Tracey and I have done this and its only us in the kitchen.

So, I guess I never posted this and I'm not sure why there are pictures of the girls learning to ride bikes next to a post about Grace dancing, but since this draft looks like it was never posted 6 years ago (?) I guess I'll post it now.

Awards

This past Tuesday I took a half day off so that I could go to the Van Buren awards assembly.  As I sat there, it dawned on me that this was the first time (that I can remember) I attended an awards assembly for any of the girls.  I'm pretty sure that every year the girls have been in school they have received some sort of award.  Be it Student of the Month, Responsible Citizen, Teacher's Choice, or Award winning artist, they have seemed to get recognition for being good students.  On this particular afternoon, Sarah was helping Mr. Valburg pass out the awards.  Mia received Teacher's Choice Award for "Excellence in Reading Counts."  As she walked down the center aisle, nearly a head taller than a lot of her classmates, she glanced over at Tracey and I and nervously grinned with a little embarrased wrinkle of the nose.  She didn't know that we were going to both be there.  For that matter, I didn't know I was going to be there until the day before.  It was worth the missed time at work. Unfortunately, I wasn't there when Grace received an award for her 1st place art entry.  This is the second time that she has been recognized for her artistic ability.  And apparently, Sarah received recognition for being on a "Battle of the Books" team.  All of this in one day.  I'm a pretty proud father.

  As the girls continue to grow up, they really are becoming hard working, responsible, creative, and caring young ladies.  I couldn't ask for much more.  Granted they destroy my house on a daily basis, Grace and Mia fight with each other as daily entertainment, and none of them want to shower every day, but all in all they are good kids.

Summer 2013

I just started my vacation today for this summer.  After three days of meetings...  Not my favorite way to end a school year.  I'm looking forward to taking the girls Whale watching next Friday.  Hopefully, Sarah doesn't get too motion sick.  We are also going to Hume Lake at the end of the month with my brother-in-laws.  It should be a great trip.  I hope they enjoy it as much as we do.  After that the girls will be going to summer camp through Eastside.  Allen and I will be heading to Vegas.  Then the whole family will be going to Palm Springs.  It wasn't that long ago I was teaching the girls to really swim in the pool at the resort in Palm Springs.  It's a lot less stressful, when you know that they are confident swimmers.  Since Tracey started back full time, I'm hoping we can also squeeze in a 2-3 day trip for our anniversary. We really do live a blessed life.  Summers are great!

Tracey

Tracey Anderson, Mrs. Anderson, Mom, Miss Lees, Trace, Stace, Momma, and many more names come to mind when I think of my wife. She knows how I feel about her already, but I don't think I've ever publicly elaborated on all the reasons that I'm glad she's my wife, best friend and the wonderful mom to my children. This will be stream of consciousness and in no particular order. Generally speaking, she's the same funny woman I met in 1994, I think it was 1994, I have early onset dementia so it could have been 1995. I'm just kidding, I know it was 1994. I'm not quite sure if I'm joking about the early onset dementia though. I have some serious problems with my memory. Usually, my comprehensive recall is really good, the last couple of years it's been a little sketchy at times. I still have a lot of info in my head, but I'm concerned that remembering the content I'm teaching will be lost, and I'll have to start re-reading content the day before I cover a topic in my classrooms. Oh wait, this is supposed to be about my wife. I can't believe I'm typing this fast right now. It's crazy what two to four fingers can type when you don't worry about spelling and can just spell check later. :) Okay, back to Tracey. Not only is she the same funny person I met almost 20 years ago, but she is more beautiful, caring, intelligent and a better worrier than ever before. Seriously, I'm still attracted to my 42 year old wife. She still does it for me. Same old crackers, but I REALLY like those crackers. Even when she's not interested. Now, she can't read that at my eulogy. You can just skip that part hon.

I love that she always wants to plan fun stuff for the family. For example, we just got back from Vegas with the girls and she wanted to take them to the movies the next day. Since we are on vacation she wants to have fun with the family. The Vegas trip was fun, and very out of the ordinary. I would not normally want to take the girls there at such a young age but we planned the trip with ideas for them in mind. The highlight comment of the trip was Grace telling me "The casino is like Chuck E. Cheese's for adults." So true. Oh wait this is about Tracey. Did I mention the stream of consciousness? Welcome to tangent 101.

I love that Tracey and I can just hang and be content. We are like the old couple sitting at Coco's eating dinner in peace and quiet, not speaking to each other for the majority of the meal, because it's about the food not the conversation. There are only so many things you can talk about when you've been with someone for nearly two decades. I say that with teaching schedules in mind. We are currently on Christmas vacation. We still have things to talk about, but during Summer vacation we can go through stretches where there isn't anything new to talk about during a day. It's not like I'm coming home from work and can tell Tracey about how Brian walked into class and said "Okay, class let's get started, Mr. Anderson wants your attention, it's time to learn 'WHHOOOOH'" Life just plugs along on a daily basis and there isn't always something exciting to talk about.   If you can't hang with your wife in silence and be okay with that, then you should never be married. I'm not saying we just sit and stare at each other all the time. Half the time we are yelling at a kid to clean something up or planning something fun to do with the family.  This is another reason why I love Tracey, she is a planner of things. We can't just sit around the house watching the boob tube all day long. We have to get some fresh air and be active. I really appreciate that quality in my wife. This is one of the things that makes her such a great mom. The testament to this fact, is Grace always asking "what are we going to do today." As if it's a given that we will be doing something. Sarah on the other hand likes to be a home body.  I can relate. Some days, I just need to stay home and decompress. Tracey has this balance too, and I like that we usually balance out the doing of stuff with the hanging out and doing nothing. As a married couple we also have a good understanding of having personal time.  It's important to maintain that balance too. For example, she let's me play poker or hang with my friends and it's not a big deal. Unfortunately, I've witnessed couples that always have to do things together. I appreciate the fact that Tracey can go workout or get a massage or go to dinner with her friends to get some time for just her. That feeling is reciprocated in our relationship.

I also love her intelligence. Genetics speaks volumes in this regard. We have some really smart kids. This is a combination of good genes and good parenting. That's right, I'm bragging. We've done a good job of encouraging our kids to be readers. Tracey has been great about buying books, reading to the kids, checking homework, and staying on top of all the things that the girls need to be successful in school. She has also been great about making sure that they do other things too, such as enrolling them in dance and soccer. Tracey is intelligent enough to know that these foundational aspects that we pour into our kids is preparing them for a bright future.  When we met over 18 years ago I was attracted to Tracey physically, intellectually, and to her overall personality.  I was also attracted to her because I knew she was going to be a teacher and that spoke volumes about her character.

Now that she is teaching at Acacia, she is finally getting the positive parental feedback that she's deserved for the years of hard work she's invested in her students.  She worries about doing a good job, challenging her students, making sure she's using technology effectively, and reaching each kid. I'm proud to be married to a woman that strives for perfection in her job. I'm proud to know that she is doing such an amazing job in such a challenging environment, where everything is new. New Principal, new expectations, new socio-economic environment and new challenges.

As I tell Tracey all the time, I wouldn't change a thing about our relationship. I love her goofy personality and her serious personality.  I love her tiredness at 8:30 at night and her early morning workout regimen.  I love the lounging on the couch and the  5-day long camping trips. I love her worried personality (because it means she cares) and her carefree ability to ignore a mess until she can't take it anymore (and then finally starts ordering everyone around to clean up). I love that we have rubbed off on each other so much that we start acting and saying the same kinds of things.  Exhibit A would be her aggressive driving. Exhibit B would be Melissa Hypolite telling me how much Tracey reminds her of me. Hopefully, someday we will be that old couple that eats queitly together in peace, only it wont be Coco's, it'll probably be at Red Robin. I love my wife. I love Mrs. Anderson. And I love "Momma" and all the complex facets that make her who she is.

Almost T-boned

It's been awhile since I felt like I had a brush with tragedy. Today was the day that reminded me of how blessed I am to live the life that I live, and to have the people in my life that I have. I have an amazing wife and wonderful children. I have a great family and great friends. I've got a great job that drives me crazy, but I wouldn't change where I work or what I do. Even though this school year has probably been one of the most difficult years of teaching in awhile.

Now, let me paint the picture of my brush with potential death and a certain hospital visit for me and my girls. I was stopped at a red light. I had just finished yelling at Grace and Mia for fighting with each other in the car. If you are a parent of three kids or more, you know how sitting lined up in a row in the backseat can set the kids off. My girls get along most of the time, but 70% of the time that I drive them in my Camry someone will be annoyed by someone else because "she's singing, she's touching me, she won't let me use her iPod, I don't want to sit in the middle, she's looking at me, she won't let me use the crayons, I don't have enough room fro my legs, her breath stinks, she's bothering me, she just kicked me...." You get the idea? I can't take it. I have a confession. I'm not patient. The squabbling in the backseat drives me CRAZY! Tracey has this amazing ability to tune it out. I think it's because she works with elementary aged kids all day long. Because I teach high schoolers, I don't have the same level of patience for conflict resolution. If there's a conflict I want it resolved. Now. End of discussion. But, in the reality of "elbow touching" seven and ten year olds, they just fight. It's annoying to say the least, and infuriating when I'm cranky, tired, or just trying to get home so I can make dinner, check homework, and get children ready for bed. The other issue is, it's distracting.

So, I had just gotten finished explaining, in a rather loud tone that Grace and Mia needed to "knock it off" and be quiet while I drove, because I need to be focused while I was driving. Then, the light turns green and I glance to the left and see the car in the far right lane slow down, and then I start to drive through the intersection.  As I start to look forward, I can see in my peripheral vision to the left that there is a car in the left lane that is barreling down on me. When I turned my head I was looking staright at an older lady with giant dark sunglasses, blowing right through the red light. I instantly punched my accelerator, and she barely missed my car. I would estimate that she missed my car by about a half a car length. She never slowed down.  That stretch of road is 50 MPH and she was speeding through the red light. If I didn't notice her she would have T-boned my car right where Mia was sitting. In the split second after I accelerated, I double checked the light to see that it was green.  It was green as a Sprite can. Somehow, the car behind me hadn't started driving forward. I saw them brake right as they saw the Oldsmobile flying through the intersection.  As soon as I hit the railroad tracks I could feel the adrenaline running through my body. I said a quick "Thank you God for protecting me" and then proceeded to think about how thankful I am that my girls and I were alive and not heading to the hospital.  I then yelled at them again. :) "This is why you can't fight in the car. If I were distracted and looking back at them we would have definitely been in a major accident."

So, after this post I'm going to tell you why I'm thankful for my wife and family. That way if I die anytime soon there's a record of it. The twins are half way to 20. Mia is halfway to 14. Time is flying by, and you really don't know when some 65 year old will be running a red light (so she's not late for church) and killing you in the process.  This doesn't even bring up the lock down we had at Diamond Ranch last Friday because of a phone threat. Nothing quite like hearing the helicopters and SWAT team landing on your roof when your locked in a dark classroom with 30 teenagers sitting quietly and praying that it's just an idiotic prank.

I'm glad I'm alive. If I die I hope my wife, children, family and friends know how much I love them and want the best for them in life.

Bike riding on the Horsetrail

I occasionaly think to myself I really need to blog...then I don't.  Then when I sit down to type something up I'm not sure where to start.  It doesn't help that I chicken peck, because then I can't type as fast as I think. Right now I'm cruising because I'm not worrying about typos and will spell check in a minute.  So here are my initial thoughts for blogging.  I need to write about Mia, her artistic abilities, the fun we've been having with biking etc., and Donuts for Dads.  I need to write about the girls past soccer season and the playoff game that I'll never forget. I need to back track and write about this past school year.  Inclusion and the presentations should be at the top of the list.  Gilberto and Deanna's presentation was awesome, and so was Briana and Herlyn's.  Okay now I need to reread that mess for fluency.

Alright I guess I'll start with Mia.  She is amazing. She drives me crazy. She's a little mini-me. Mia has to be a perfectionist and in control.  If she can't do it right she gets frustrated and doesn't want to do it at all.  Once it clicks, she really wants to focus on that one thing until she gets better at it.  Riding bikes is a perfect example.  Last week we went riding after she was done with school.  We rode along the Yorba Linda horsetrail.  We rode for miles.  I was on my skateboard and she was tooling along on her bike.  She had a couple of minor crashes but brushed them off and popped right back on.  She's improved a ton and she has asked to go biking every day since the day we started on the horsetrail.  She loves it.  When I tucked her into bed that night she said "I had a really fun day with you dad."  I had a really fun day too.  It was great having that one on one time.

The second day she rode her bike she said "I can't wait to go to Yosemite!  Maybe I will be good enough to ride my bike the whole time."  At her current level of obsession I think she will be. The only issues will be how tired she gets and how many people she runs over. The whole family is really looking forward to camping.  It comes up almost daily.  As in "how many more days before we go to Yosemite?"

Bucket List

These are things I would like to experience or witness before I die. This list is not in any particular order.

1. Travel to Hawaii with the family.

2. Travel to Europe with the family.

3. Watch the girls graduate from high school and hopefully watch them graduate from college.

4. Walk Grace, Sarah and Mia down the aisle on their wedding day. Hopefully this will be on different days because I'm pretty sure my heart wouldn't be able to take it all in the same day. I suppose I should preface this wish with the idea that my girls marry someone that has their lives figured out and that the girls have grown into young ladies that are already living fulfilled lives.

5. Attend Aryel's graduation from college.

6. That Aryel will someday meet the guy that she is meant to marry and that I can be there when she gets married.

7. See Dave Matthews, or U2, or Coldplay perform at Red Rocks.

8. Go to the Grand Canyon with the family.

9. Visit Elizabeth in New Jersey.

10. Win a poker tournament at a Casino.

11. Travel to the Rain Forest.

12. Go to Australia.

13. Camp in Yellowstone with the family.

14. Visit Uncle Tim in Louisiana.

15. Play Poker in Atlantic City.

16. Watch the Angels win another World Series and attend one of the games.

17. Travel to Alaska.

18. Travel to Canada.

19. Play in a World Series of Poker event.

20. Go River Rafting again.

I'm sure there is more that I have thought about in the past, so I will have to add to this list later. Apparently, I really want to travel.

My Bucket List post-completion.

John Dutton read a wish list that Lucy had written out on yellow legal paper. It included some memorable items. Some of the things I can remember: family trip to Hawaii, car for Liana and Mark, new car for Melissa, T.V. room in the garage, outdoor carpet around the pool, new mattress, nose job, and a trip to Scotland. John was hysterical as he went through the list, gesturing check marks in the air when the wishes had been met, and shaking his head "no" when they weren't. Gary cracked everybody up, on the mattress wish, as he bellowed out "Cuz' they wore that thing out!!"

It was a great list and it got me thinking that I should do the same thing. With the added wrinkle of listing my currently completed wishes. So here goes, in no particular order, but still numbered for simplicity's sake.

Post-completion list with commentary:

1. Fly an airplane. My parents paid for me to fly a Cessna when I was 15. I even got to take-it off which was pretty cool.

2. Sky dive. Tracey wasn't too keen on this idea, but I explained that I was going to do this at some point in my life. I went sky diving as part of my Bachelor Party. My comment to Trace was you can either have a dead fiancee or a dead husband.

3. Run a marathon. In 1995 I ran the Disneyland Marathon and finished in 3:10 or 3:11. I was running 6:45 pace for the first 22 miles. The my left calf muscle cramped up and I was a mess after that.

4. Get married. 1999

5. Buy a house. 2001

6. Have kids. March 26, 2002 Grace and Sarah. October 25, 2005 Mia. I often get asked if I wished I had a boy. It's not really something I even think about. The only weird deal is that I wished that the Anderson name would get passed down. Hopefully, one of my siblings can make that happen.

7. Stay married to the same woman. So far so good. Read the last post. I do feel like we have a great relationship.

8. Be a supportive father. You'll have to ask the girls this question later in life.

9. Become a teacher and coach. Sixteen years and counting, although I stopped coaching once Mia was born. Now I'm coaching girls soccer. I got a terrific compliment last weekend from Butch Cheliah. He said that I made a big difference in Payton last season. I helped instill confidence in her ability. She went on to score three goals in a game last week. As far as teaching is concerned, I was Teacher of the Year at Diamond Ranch in 2009. I now have a handful of students that are teachers and even some former students that are Doctors.

10. At one point in coaching, my goal was to win League in Cross-Country and Track. It took a little while for this to happen at Wilson, but when the Boys team won League in 2000 it was the first time in over 25 years, and that team went on to CIF Finals. My coaching goals changed as time went on. They went from wanting to be League champs, to CIF Champs, to State Champs. The best Cross Country finish was 3rd in CIF and 9th in State. My last year coaching Track we were 2nd in CIF. We had individual CIF and State Champions on more than one occasion. There are times I miss coaching, but I don't miss the countless hours that it took to compete at such a high level. At this stage, I would rather watch my kids play soccer on a Saturday afternoon.

11. Graduate from College.

12. Earn my Master's Degree.

13. Travel in Europe. I took a year off of school in 1994 and back packed around Europe on my own for three months. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I traveled to England, Wales, Ireland, North Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Hungary, Austria, Spain, Monaco, France, and Belgium.

As I sit here and ponder my previous goals I can't really think of anything else major that I wanted to accomplish and have completed. I'm sure there were some other things that I had hoped for and then accomplished, but maybe not. This makes creating a future Bucket List all that more exciting. Hopefully, I'll type that up later today.

John and Lucy Dutton

Lucy Dutton passed away last week at the ripe old age of 81 years old. She was an amazing woman that brought joy to many different people. She was a wonderful wife, mom, friend and teacher. Her funeral was yesterday and the outpouring of love was perfect for someone so deserving. I probably first met Lucy and John the summer I first started dating Tracey in 1994. The Duttons had the kind of love for each other that someone like me strives for. As Melissa, Liana, and Mark eulogized Lucy yesterday it confirmed everything that I felt about this family already. Loving parents that wanted the best for their kids, and a couple that liked to have a good time. The kids talked about summers at the beach, parties in the backyard, and a mom that always went to their "gigs" even if they didn't want their mom there. Lucy was the life of the party. She had a way of making everyone feel welcome and a way of ensuring that everyone had a good time. I remember that same vivaciousness and in many ways it reminds me of Tracey. Tracey has a way of letting loose when it's time to have a good time. Which is pretty impressive for someone that is usually in bed by 9:00 most nights.

After the graveside service I had a chance to briefly talk with John. I waited awhile before I bothered him, but I had to tell him "thank you for setting such a wonderful example of a loving marriage." He had what I'm shooting for, I want to be married to Tracey in a loving relationship where we both grow old together and raise happy kids. He said "so far, it looks like you are heading in the right direction....people today forget that it takes compromise to make it work, they just give up when it gets too hard." Read that again in case you missed it. That's right, it turns out that sometimes relationships involve work...compromise. Today in church the message was about putting others needs before your own. People don't live that way today. I know...that's a total generalization, but seriously, if we thought about others before ourselves wouldn't that change our general perspective?

I've often said successful relationships aren't about finding the right person, but being the right person. In my life, my parents have been married seven times between the two of them. For me, that meant, a long time ago, that I had to figure out how to make it work in my relationships. "Picking the right person" is only a part of the equation. No one can fix you. I don't care what Coldplay says. There are people I wish I could fix, but my wife isn't one of them. I need to fix myself. I need to truly love others, put others first, think about how I can treat other people before being selfish. On a day to day basis, that means being there for my immediate family first. Then my students and coworkers. I need to be mindful of their needs. Obviously, I need to get my stuff together first, but I can't be so selfish that I don't think about what Tracey, Grace, Sarah, Mia, my mom, dad, etc. actually need. I can't fix anybody. But I can be that listening ear. The sounding board. Husband. Dad. Son. Teacher. Friend. The person that I need to be, depending on the situation.

I thank God, for the "Duttons" in my life. Even if they are few and far between. Thank you John and Lucy for setting the example of a truly meaningful realtionship. I can only pray that when I've been married to Tracey after 57 years I can crawl into her hospital gurney and envelope her with my love. Okay, I'll be honest, I hope it's me in the hospital bed first and Tracey is spooning my nearly lifeless body. And if it is, Tracey, can you please live for our kids and (future) grandkids. I'll see you soon enough. They still need you.

Ripple Effect #2

At the end of the school year Christine Rodriguez came to me and showed me a letter that Jenessa had written in her class after the Final Exam. Christine just had the students write about whatever they wanted once they finished the exam. Below is what Jenessa wrote.

"Personally I have really enjoyed my Junior Year and think it has been one of the best years of my life. I have had so many classes where I had to work hard and apply myself, but I learned so much about myself and how to treat others. I think one of the greatest experiences this year was getting to work with Amber and 11th grade special needs student. I sat next to her in 3rd period AP Biology and helped her do her assignments. It seriously was a roller coaster ride; some days I would be so happy because she understood the concept and there were others where I was really frustrated. I did all I could for her and can only hope I impacted her life as much as she did mine. I think it all became clear today when I walked into class dressed for my presentation and she just looked at me, a mixture of awe and respect in her eyes as she said 'Wow, you look pretty.' Coming from Amber, I knew that we had been through so much together and she really did respect me as a trusted friend."

If this doesn't demonstrate the impact of inclusion, then I don't know what does. Jenessa grew through this experience and so did Amber. In some way different kids got to experience something unique that hopefully will stick with them for a lifetime. I know this is true for Jenessa. She is such a great kid anyway, but the fact that she got to grow from all she experienced last year makes me extremely happy.

Bobby

Bobby has the best smile. He is all smile. Last year he brought more happiness to my class than any other student. Now he is in band playing the bass drum. He wanted to be in marching band so bad last year. This is probably one of the best examples of inclusion. During the first assembly I saw him banging away on the drum...in rhythm. He was so focused. And I was so proud. How cool is that he is in band.

Ripple Effect

Elliott is eating lunch with Claudia and the giraffes (Jazmin & Daniella). I know this means nothing to you, but to me it means that the full inclusion classes that Maizel and I taught have opened up friendships that would not have otherwise been possible. Just a little side note. Last weekend at church I was thinking about how much I need to blog all of these different things that have happened in the last year, but I wasn't sure if I should use actual names. If I don't use names though I'll forget. So, I'm using names, if you somehow read the random blog and you think this is a bad idea, then tell me. If I'm talking about you and you think I should use an alias let me know. I'm documenting for me more than anything else. So brace yourself. :) Or not. That sounds really ominous, and again no one else reads a blog that's updated every six months.

So back to using names. Elliott is one of the students that has been identified as having moderate to severe learning disabilities. To me he's just another kid with a big heart that wants to learn and doesn't want to disappoint anybody. His phrase last year was "I'm sorry." As in "I'm sorry, Mr. Anderson...I'm sorry, Justin." Usually there was no reason for him to be sorry. I'll never forget his presentation last year with Marty. He drew the most incredible drawings in their presentations.

Soccer Joy

The quick version for soccer this current season is that winning is more fun than losing. The first two games the girls have done so great. The team won the first two games. The first game they won Grace and Sarah had the biggest smiles of pure joy on their face. Sarah had an assist, and Grace had a great clear out on defense that helped create the winning goal. The second game Sarah positioned herself right in front of the goal and then scored. She thrust her little arms triumphantly in the air and then immediately looked at the sideline. She was so proud. You should have heard the tone in Tracey's voice "My Sarah just scored a goal...oh my gosh!" I'm pretty sure her voice cracked just a little bit. Of course I had the camera in hand and got no picture, because I was too busy screaming...okay, maybe I was a little proud too. :)

Raise your hand if you had fun today?

Let me start by saying that I really lag at staying up on posting. I'm going to work my way backwards in time. Today at the end of my first period class I decided to ask my students if they had fun in class. It was just one of those days where I got to watch the light turn on for so many different students. They were totally engaged. Well, at least most of them were. It started yesterday when we did the first lab using microscopes. My favorite moment yesterday was Alexandra saying "Oh, I see it! I found it! How cool it looks sooooo different." All of that, and she was just looking at a letter "e" on the microscope. Today they got to look at evidence samples. This class started out at the beginning of the year and it gave me total anxiety. It is a combo class with Honors and CP students and 15 of the CP students are in Special Ed. I really wasn't sure what to expect. It's still a lot like work, but I feel like I'm getting some of the RSP students interested in Biology or at least more motivated to put in the effort. I had the sense today that they really had "fun" in class today. So I said "Raise your hand if you had fun today." 3/4 of the kids raised their hands. I followed that up by saying that we would continue looking at the evidence samples on Monday because they were so on task and so into what we were doing. Vicky Walker (the Special Education teacher that I'm working with) said "they" are usually only good for one or two days like this in a year. I said "Well, hopefully we can have 1-2 days like this every week or so."

Senior Retreat 2010

For the last couple of years I've considered going on a Senior Retreat at Diamond Ranch. Two years ago I felt guilty because I wasn't able to go. Then when students got back from the trip I heard nothing but positive comments about how meaningful it was for these students. Last year I helped persuade some students to go. The caveat was, "I'll go if you go Mr. Anderson." "I'm going this year" I said. Well I got half way up the mountain in 2009. Then it snowed on the way up. No problem. That's what chains are for...until they break. Then I couldn't attend the make-up session because it fell on the same weekend as mom's 55th birthday. No way was I going to miss that day. So I didn't go. There were some disappointed kids when I informed them that I wasn't going to be able to make it. Fortunately, when they came back they still had a wonderful experience.

Now 2010 rolls around, and the retreat was scheduled for the Spring...on mom's birthday again. I really didn't want to miss her birthday, but when I explained the situation to her, she understood. Mom is cool like that.

I suppose I sort of knew what to expect, but not to the level that it would impact me. It was an amazing experience for the young men and women that had the opportunity to attend. Jam packed with fun, honesty, openness, self-reflection, and encouragement for the future. I have amazing colleagues that are willing to open themselves up to students in order to provide guidance and encouragement to these kids. I was so impressed by the things that were shared by students and staff. I was also impressed by the acceptance that everyone had of each other and the ability of these kids to be so open about personal experiences. Obviously, the retreat is well planned out, but unless the sessions and conversations are embraced and accepted by the students then it would be meaningless.

One of the things that I have taken away from the retreat is that these kids have gone through so much at this point in their lives, but they are resilient. So many of these kids have damaged homes. Parents try to do their best, but it turns out that parenting is difficult. Every kid is different. Every parent is different. What works with one child, may not be effective for another. As a dad I know that my three girls are all very different, and yet somehow, I'm supposed to know exactly what to do, what to say, and how to say it, but it's impossible to get it right every time. Just like these kids' parents, I try to do my best, based upon my past experiences and what I learned growing up. I love my parents, but they weren't perfect. I'm just trying to do my best, just like they did. But I blow it, just like every parent that has ever walked this planet.

Inclusion - "Using RNA"

Just recently I was teaching my AP Biology class about viruses. I was explaining that viruses, specifically bacteriophages, inject their genetic material into bacterial cells and take over the machinery of the bacteria, which forces the cell to make proteins for the virus. As soon as I finished making this statement, Chris chimes in "using RNA." I was totally floored by this statement, because Chris was making the connection from a previous concept that was covered in my class. He knew that protein synthesis involves using RNA. Since the viruses use the bacteria to make protein, then naturally they must be using RNA. What is so awesome about this statement is that Chris has a traumatic brain injury and is one of the students in the Moderate-Severe program that is enrolled in my AP class. The inclusion program has been more than just the social growth that has taken place, it is also about "meaningful learning" as Maizel would say.

Right after Chris said "using RNA." Jocelyn said "and DNA", because the genetic material is DNA. Jocelyn wanted to demonstrate that she knows what's going on too. By the way, Jocelyn is a student with Down Syndrome.

Every week there are moments like this, that confirm the inclusion classes have been worth the extra work. If you had told me on the first day of this class, that Chris would be volunteering insightful answers to unasked questions, then I would have said "No way." The first day of class Chris was feeling so much anxiety from this completely new room filled with 35 students, that he had his knees pulled up to his chin with his lanky arms wrapped them, and he was rocking back and forth. He wanted no part of this new classroom. But the school year would not be the same without him in my class.

Soccer - Mid Life Crisis

My brother-in-law, Scott and I watched some arena (indoor) soccer back in October while at GJ's b-day party. He said "we should get a team together" and I laughed at him. I told him I would play, but that he had no idea how tiring it is to play indoor. There's a reason why they sub out all the time. So, now we are playing soccer. Tonight was our 6th game and we only lost 7-8. We have improved so much. The first time we played this team, we lost 4-22. No, that wasn't a typo. It helps that Kent and Andy joined the team. They have ball handling skills, but collectively as a team we have gotten significantly better. I still stink, but I hustle when I'm out there and disrupt the flow of the other team. I try to position as well as I can, but my ball handling skills aren't good at all. It's a total blast, and if you had asked me if I would be playing soccer at 38, I would have laughed.

The first game we played the girls came and watched. When I came home Sarah looked sad and dejected and she said "I'm sorry that you lost." It was really cute. I told her that it didn't matter because I had so much fun. She's just as competitive as I am. Sarah always wants to win, be the best, smartest, etc. Sometimes, that saying "It doesn't matter if you win or lose it's how you play the game," actually rings true. This group of guys is having fun and now we might be getting competitive.

Winter Formal

This school year I've been working with Matthew Maizel in co-teaching two AP Biology classes. Matthew teaches students that are in the Moderate-Severe Special Education program at Diamond Ranch. I've thought about logging some of the experiences that we have had this past school year, but I just haven't taken the time. The short version of what we have done is that we have combined AP Biology students with students that have moderate to severe disabilities, all while teaching the AP Biology curriculum and following IEPs. Eventually

I will have to back track with some of the stories from the beginning of the school year. I have a terrible memory for details so I hope I can do this later. Anyway, what I wanted to document now is the ripple effect of this experiment of inclusion. It's not really an experiment so much as an experience. These kids have had such a good experience. I know what you just thought. Which kids? THE Kids, all of them have gained something through this. Some more than others. Recently, ASB decided that they would invite all of the students involved in the Moderrate-Severe program to the Winter Formal, free of charge. This has never been done, as far as I know. I'm not sure whose grand idea it was in the first place, probably Lilliana's, but I'm sure it was an ASB student that is in one of the inclusion classes. I don't think that this would have happened unless we had the inclusion class. As I said before, it's the ripple effect of being in the same class everyday together. They are all just kids, students, people, with different abilities, interests, and experiences. And they are just kids with some of the same abilities, interests, and experiences.

Moutains then the Beach

Just a quick post, since I haven't done this in awhile. I suppose it's better to have started a blog and posted something then to never log my thoughts, experiences, joys and frustrations. Of course, I don't think I've complained yet, but there's always that possibility.

Anyway, here is the experience. Yesterday we went up towards Mountain High to go play in the snow. It was very casual, so we got a late start. Mia wasn't too keen on the idea, but Grace and Sarah were looking forward to sledding and making a snowman. Once we got up there it took a little while to find a place to park and play. Eventually the girls had a blast sledding, playing in the snow, and building a snowman. Mia ended up having a good time. She struggled walking around the snow at first, but loved sledding with Tracey and even went down on her own a couple of times.

Today we went down to Balboa and rode our bikes along the boardwalk. We rode all the way down to Newport Pier and then ate some ice cream and frozen bananas. Grace and Sarah did a great job cruising along the busy sidewalk. It was relatively crash free, one little slide in a sandy section, but no scraped knees or hands. When we were walking along Balboa Pier, the sun was setting and the view of Catalina was awesome.

The drive down there was nerve wracking with the bikes strapped to the back of the van. My bike tires sat pretty low and actually hit the road when I pulled into the Woody's Diner parking lot. No damage because everything flexed up, but it's time for a bike hitch.

I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've been in the snow one day, and then at the beach the very next day.

I almost forgot, apparently we were on Private Property in the mountains. Didn't see the sign until we were leaving.

Summer 2009

I just went back to school last week and several people have asked "how was your summer?" My response has been "this has been the best summer since I started teaching." It's the first time in the last thirteen years that I haven't had some other responsibility during the summer. No summer school. No coaching. No babies being born. No Master's program. No WASC. No major house projects. No kidding.

We had lots of plans this summer and really had a great time. Tracey and I are truly blessed to both be teachers and have the financial ability to stay home for the summer with our children. It's awesome.

The first trip this summer we went camping in Sequoia as a family. We camped with Grandma Judy (GJ), Uncle Scott, Aunt Amy, Emily, and Abby, as well the Shirotas and Wes. It was beautiful, relaxing, and lots of fun. It was great hanging out with friends and family. Hiking, cooking together, hanging out by the fire, riding bikes, and enjoying nature. Last summer we stayed in Yosemite, but couldn't get a campsite there this summer. We "settled" for Sequioa, which sounds ridiculous because it is such a beautiful place. I'm sure we will camp in Sequoia for many years to come. We were only able to see such a small portion of this National Park. We hiked Tokopah Falls, visited Crystal Cave, General Sherman and drove through a Sequoia (I can't remember the name). We also got dangerously close to running out of gas on the way down the mountain. Note to self: get gas before you enter a National Park.

A week later we camped in Carpinteria with the Medlins, Alexanders, Shorts, and Contis. We have known the Medlins for a long time. Tracey has worked with Cindy for nearly 16 years and has known Christy about the same amount of time. The other families are all involved in the Indian Princess program so Grace and Sarah had lots of friends to play with while we were there. The campsite is right by the beach. The days were filled with bike rides, dips in the ocean, seaweed gathering, hole digging and.....throwing up. Unfortunately, Tracey got sick on the third night of a five night trip. In the morning she was absolutely miserable so we quickly packed up and came home. It turns out that having the stomach flu in a campsite is actually worse than just having the stomach flu. A 50 meter walk before you puke in a dirty public bathroom is not a good time. Although we had fun while we were there it ended on a bad note. You could say that it left a bad taste in our mouths. Okay, in Tracey's mouth, because somehow no one else got sick.

In between camping trips we spent a lot of time in the newly redone pool. We had a couple of BBQs with friends and family. We went to Disneyland several times. Tracey and I also bought bikes for our 10-year anniversary. So we went bike riding as a family which the girls love to do.

I played poker throughout the summer. I hosted a poker tournament and 20 people showed up. I won, so it looked totally rigged, but the very next night I played at Pat's house and finished 2nd. He also had 20 people in his tourney and several of the players, played both nights. I also played at the card club a couple of times.

Tracey and I spent three nights in Las Vegas for our 10-year anniversary. The first night we saw a stand-up, Vinny Favorito, he was very funny. The second night I played in a poker tournament at Caesar's Palace. Tracey encouraged me to play, because she knew I wanted to, and it didn't start until 10 PM, so she slept through most of it. I finished 3rd overall out of 67 entries and was really comfortable at the final table. I won $470 which was great. Sometime around 2 AM, one of the guys that I was playing with asked where my wife was, and if she played poker. I had to laugh, because I realized that it was now the next day, and it was technically our anniversary day. So I said "She's in bed, and actually today is our 10-year anniversary." My end of the table overheard the conversation and really didn't believe me. I then explained that we had plans that evening.

The third night in Vegas, Tracey and I ate at a restaurant overlooking the dancing waters at the Bellagio. It was very cool to eat out on the balcony and really enjoy the ambiance. We then saw the Cirque de Soleil show "Love" it was incredible. We both really enjoyed the show and I think we will go back and watch "O" sometime in the future.

A week later we had a nice dinner with my mom's side of the family. She wanted to take Tracey and I out for our 10-year anniversary. It was really thoughtful of her and made me appreciate, even more, the life that I have with my wife. My mom, Grandma Cathy, Mark, Uncle Scott, Aunt Jackie, Uncle Mickey, Aunt Dawn-Ellen, and cousin Courtney were all there. We don't usually all get together like this, unless it's a holiday, so it was nice that they could all celebrate with us.

Last weekend I went to Havasu Springs for the annual guys trip to the river. Allen has a boat and sets up the trip for everybody. It's one of the few times that we all get together during the year. It seems like I usually see those guys individually and not as a group. This year everybody made it out: Allen, Wade, Dave, Mark, and Kirk. I've known Allen, Wade, and Dave since high school. It's been nearly 25 years that we have been friends and I'm sure that we will be friends until we're all old guys. Okay, older guys than we currently are. Forty is right around the corner. Once again we all had a good time. It's funny how there can be no set plans other than a boat, the water, and some beverages, and we always have a good time.

As the summer winds down and I head into another school year, I'm really happy with all the things that I got to do this summer with my family, with friends and on my own. I'm looking forward to the next school year and for many more wonderful summers to come.