02.22.14

Busy Day
I started out the day remembering our one and only "Brown Dog"...Bailey. He was our cocker spaniel that we lost three years ago today. With this pre-shave hairdo he could have been a member of One Direction! He had been a part of our family for 14 years...I miss him and think of him often. :(

I spent the majority of the day at the Downtown Aquarium with Discovery Education. They had a Science Techbook training. We got a behind the scenes tour and ton of PD around the Techbook. I was excited to smell salt water and neoprene. Even though this isn't how I like to see my sharks, I prefer up close and personal, it was fun to see them, along with some of my other favorite critters. ;)

And finally, today was the start of the annual Denver Restaurant Week. We have a few locations lined up for the week. Tonight was Zink. I enjoyed Thai Brussel Sprouts, Bulgogi Chicken and a Maple BACON Brownie Cupcake. (I had taken a pic of the sprouts, but the dessert looked much more appetizing.) I was a good girl and brought half of it home. :)

01.29.13

Travel Documents
Exciting day!!! Our "Travel Documents" arrived today...counting the days until blowing bubbles!

10.17.09

CSE Underwater

At school we have a bulletin board to showcase the locations our CSE shirts visit.  I took my t-shirt with us to Turks & Caicos and soon realized that a photo on a boat in the middle of the ocean would be boring.  I decided to put my shirt on over my wetsuit...had a little explaining to do when the other guests on the boat were just looking at me.

I had hoped to get a shot with a shark over my shoulder, but that didn't pan out.  :o)

You can view more of our trip photos here:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38245&id=1343482331&l=6239004057

10.16.09

Not a Shark

Okay, we did some other fun creatures...other than sharks.  :o)  We saw several turtles...they are always fun to watch and swim with.

You can view more of our trip photos here:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38245&id=1343482331&l=6239004057

10.15.09

Another Shark

I said that we saw a lot of them...here's another.  I thought about bringing one home, but I don't think the neighbors would let me keep it in their pool.

You can view more of our trip photos here:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38245&id=1343482331&l=6239004057

10.14.09

Up Close and Personal

It was great getting to see the Grey Reef Sharks so upclose.  There were a few that made me nervous, but it was very exciting.

You can view more of our trip photos here:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38245&id=1343482331&l=6239004057

10.13.09

Head-On

An underwater head-on takes on a whole new meaning!

You can view more of our trip photos here:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38245&id=1343482331&l=6239004057

10.12.09

Angels & Memories

Even underwater you can find angles (or grey angelfish). Today was bittersweet. One year ago today, my friend and colleague Tonya passed away. Tonya was on a family vacation in Hawaii. It was freak and tragic accident. One of the toughest things for me about Tonya's death is that the ocean, the one thing I love and so enjoy, is what took her from us. I remember Tonya greeting me with her wonderful and contagious smile every morning. Tonya will live on in our hearts and memories forever.

10.11.09

Shark on Reef

Sharks are amazing creatures.  I particularly liked how the sun reflected off their them.

The sharks on this trip came closer than the other ones...they were within arms' reach and on every dive.  There was no type of chumming going on.  These sharks were simply interested in us.

10.10.09

Chad & His New Friend

One of the reasons we wanted to go aboard the Turks & Caicos Explorer II again was because of the sharks we had encountered on several of our dives.

And we weren't disappointed the second time!  On this particualr dive we ended up with three different sharks that circled around both Chad and I.  I captured the still photos...Chad captured the video.

You can view more of our trip photos here:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38245&id=1343482331&l=6239004057

10.09.09

The View for the Week

Fall Break has officially begun and we are headed to Turks and Caicos.  Our morning started early and a little white-knuckled.

The weathermen were forcasting a little snow.  Things didn't seem bad until we got a few miles down the interstate...black ice and LOTS of it.  On our drive to the airport (which usually takes 45 minutes) we saw 5 different rollover accidents.  Fortunately we made it to the airport in one piece and on time for our flight. Deicing at DIA took an extra 1 1/2 hours, but our layover in Atlanta gave us enough of a buffer.  After grabbing a snack we boarded the last leg of our journey and actually arrived early in T&C! 

These two photos were the views Chad and I had for the week.  We were aboard the Turks & Caicos Explorer II.  We were on this same boat two years and had a wonderful trip.  On the last trip there were 18-20 people on the boat...this week, only 6...it was AWESOME!

The first picture is of the dive deck and the second photo is of the bottom of the boat...took it while on our safety stop.

You can view more of our trip photos here:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38245&id=1343482331&l=6239004057

02.03.09

Well, as I promised last night...diving!

I was VERY excited to see the release of Google Earth 5.0! I had to get it downloaded on my "teacher" computer at school ASAP. Once I had it installed an began exploring, underwater of course, I had to call over a fellow teacher and scuba diver. We agreed that we had logged our first dive at CSE!

Tonight I managed to get it installed on my laptop and to do some more exploring. Using my screen capture, y photo today was taken just east of one of my favorite dive sites - Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman. You can see some of the underwater topography and the waves lapping overhead.


So what have our friends at Google improved this time? As for the ocean layer, there are some great resources. Not only can you dive under the surface, but you can add photos to dive sites, watch videos, visit live blogs, and more. Another great feature that I like is the historical imagery. You are able to see the changes a location has undergone over time. Our house is still not on the map, but it was fun to see what the subdivision looked like before the golf course and houses. Finally, I'm looking forward to trying the recording feature. This allows you to record a tour for others to take.

The one downfall of all these changes...I have figure it all out so I can share it with our students and teachers. A great example for students that you are always learning, no matter how "old" you are.

If you are interested in checking out the Google Earth 5.0, here's the link. Enjoy!!
http://earth.google.com/