A long overdue post- Reagan's Guest Blog

Chris and I in San Fran

Wow, we've been so busy! I can't believe that July is already half way over! I've taken it upon myself to update the blog. I apologize for the lengthy post. Feel free to stop reading at any time :)

Chris has been EXTREMELY busy lately- planning and executing his experiment, and studying for his written qualifying exam. Last week, after a month of preparation, a 7.5 hour test, and a week of waiting, we found out that he passed! Congrats Chris! (I knew he could do it all along) Next up: a long summer of work in the lab, and another crazy year of classes and lab work, to be followed by oral qualifying exams.

Chris and his lab assistant, studying

One of the highlights this month was when Taira, my childhood neighbor and close friend came to visit the Sacramento area (she was the cute one in the black dress passing out programs at the wedding). She was in town for a week to help with a friend's wedding, and we were lucky enough to have her stay with us for a few nights. During that time we showed her around Davis, and took a little trip to San Fran. We walked all over the city- the waterfront, fisherman's wharf, china town, north beach, it was really fun. Now that we're a little more familiar with the city I think future trips will be easier to plan. Just by chance, we ended up parking along the parade route for the Gay Pride Parade, and we caught the second half of the festival. A lot of the people in the parade were families who had just gotten married, as Gay Marriage was just legalized in California, so the celebration was extra big this year. It was really fun to see such crazy and flamboyant floats, and to be in such a party atmosphere, amid a huge crowd of people who were open to accepting everyone around them.

Chris, at Lombard Street

A parade float

A very proud dog

Last weekend Chris and I went to the annual Davis fourth of July picnic. It was really cute. This place is such a weird bubble- it seems so out of touch with the rest of America/the world sometimes, but it is so nice and clean and picturesque- I guess you could say that it is idealized small town Americana--realized. And that is really nice. Davis is the embodiment of nice. It's awesome. Just weird, as I have had experience with living in the city and in somewhat rural suburbs, but have little experience with small towns. I only experienced them as places to pull of the highway and use the bathroom--and somehow I had this idea that they were all full of isolated or sheltered (read- close minded) people. That was Before Davis (BD)

The Independence Day celebration was in Community Park, which is a green space as big as a golf course, and complete with something for everyone- a dog run, a skate park, every type of sports field, giant play structures for every age group, a pool, etc. The picnic was free (with food for sale at booths to benefit local sports teams and charities), and featured live music, sky divers, and of course, fireworks. The whole town came, and since most people walk or ride bikes there was NO traffic before or after the show. Crazy. People spread out blankets everywhere, and there were tons of little kids dressed in patriotic colors dancing around with sparklers and flags. Yes, seriously. The people next to us were grandparents and brought their whole family. They invited us to join them and play dice and cards and eat their cookies. The grandma was distressed that we don't have family in the area, so she gave us her phone number and a standing invitation to all of their family functions. Of course The fireworks were nice- and the no traffic was nicer still.

At the park

Skydiver at sunset

On Sunday we went to Tahoe and hiked in Desolation Wilderness. We got to see some very remote and beautiful areas along the Pacific Crest Trail (running from Canada to Mexico) and met some serious hikers and wilderness people at the little outpost, including a hitchhiker making his way north from Mexico, and a couple who had been living in the woods for several weeks.

The hike was really amazing- green lakes and alpine meadows and huge slabs of granite. Lots of warnings at the outpost about bears and other wildlife, although mostly we encountered birds and butterflies. It was so hot that we eventually had to cut the hike off short for fear of running out of water. They have this awesome water taxi- hikers can call it from this little wooden shack just off of the trail with a phone inside, and they came to pick us up from a dock a few miles from the general store/restroom/parking lot. They ferry around all of the hikers and locals and summer people, as there is no road access to the cabins around Echo Lake. I just can't imagine furnishing a cabin or ferrying groceries in all on this aluminum boat.

While we were waiting, Scout was so hot that she hopped into the shallows of the lake, going in up to her shoulders and then swimming out a little bit as a lured her with string cheese. (This was my idea of teaching her to swim as an important survival skill...) A little while later a big group of people with a poodle joined us at the dock. Poodles are supposedly water dogs. This one was somewhat deficient though. It ran off the end of the dock, then started flailing around while it's owners screamed and hopped around on the shore, finally one guy leaned off of the dock and pulled the dog towards land by its collar. Scout watched the whole thing, but ignored the uncoordinated dog (or so I thought). Chris and I were eating a snack, and a few minutes later we heard this "plunk." I guess scout was inspired by the poodle... as we saw ripples and a trail of bubbles in the water. She had happily jumped off the end of the dock- maybe to try and catch a Canadian goose, but I'm not actually sure. The one witness said it looked like she had been swimming off docks all of her life. However, apparently my string cheese swim lessons had left her water-dog skills a bit lacking. Her head popped up, went down, and she started to float under the dock. Another hiker grabbed her by the harness and pulled her onto the dock. She choked a little on some water, then ran around happily and dried herself off on a towel on the ground. It was a little funny, mostly because she seemed so surprised after her big plunge. Chris and I are wondering if she dreams/thinks about what happened. We'll have to see what she does when we take her to Blue Lake in a few weeks!

The outpost at the trail head

I set the camera on a boulder, turned on the timer, and scrambled down the rocks just in time to take a family photo along the trail

Scout, captain of the water taxi

Dream House

A cabin we passed in the water taxi, on it's own island, only accessible by boat (although I imagine in the winter you could trek across the ice)

Right now there are so many forest fires that the air quality here is deemed "very unhealthy" and the temperature is projected to be over 100 for the whole week. That means I am stuck inside with toddlers every day, which is hard, but at least we have air conditioning, and an excuse to play with the hose and eat frozen fruit when we take our little 15 minute recess.

At work I am preparing for the big takeover. When we get back from vacation I'll be stepping into my role as head teacher. I am SO excited about the positive impact I'm going to have working with these kids. I'm trying to read a lot of developmental literature and make some lesson plans to prepare myself... but I'm starting to get a little nervous. The dynamics of our class are a little wild right now, with most of the kids under 2 years, and 15 of the 20 are boys. I'm beginning to worry that the parents might not think I'm doing a good job if our class is on the wild side. I have just started to have anxiety dreams about taking over the head teacher position. Two so far have been about being locked in a bathroom. Once I dreamed that I was in there with my potty-learners and it started to flood. I woke up thinking I was drowning in urine. I also dream that I lose them. Their parents come to get them and I've forgotten them outside, or they simply aren't there. Recently, I have a dream that they are in my house- I turn a corner and there is a kid from my class sitting in my living room. Where did he come from? It's a little scary.

I just have to remind myself of all of the brain development research that shows the major window for cognitive development and relationship/bonding skills is open from about birth to 2 or 3 years, which is right when they're in my class. I know how important bonding with adults and having a model of positive loving relationships and gentle behavior is, and that's why I'm so excited to work with these kids. Plus, they are so funny, and smart, and cuddly- and always doing something new and cool. It's amazing.

Here are some of my wonderful students:

I am ready for my vacation. Only one week to go! I can't wait to see all of our family and friends in Woodinville, Seattle, Richland and Beyond! I'm hoping for some cool, damp weather and a lot of rest!

Love, Reagan