summer

Oh hi. I forgot we had a blog for a few months there. Kidding. I’ve been guilt-wracked since my last post in May. Sort of kidding?

This summer is breezing by. Despite the fact we both work in education, summer seems to be our busiest time of year.  Jordan was teaching a summer course in statistics, and we all know that brain research never sleeps. I was busy shepherding new versions of Seesaw into the edtechnoverse, planning and attending a huge education technology trade show, and then rolling right off of that into Back to School. Back to School is to us what Christmas is to every retailer. It’s go time.

Somehow, we also managed to squeeze in a trip to Portland, a trip to New York, a few weekend visits to Sacramento, and a bit of surfing as well. I decided the best way to tackle the massive time gap between my last post and today’s is by letting the photos on my iPhone dictate the story. According to my camera roll, I did a some halfway decent painting, made some food, and hung out with a lot of sleepy dogs. It’s a magical dream life.

San Francisco
First, Willow. Willow knows what she likes and what she likes is napping. Preferably in the most comfortable spot available, ideally our bed. Second Jordan. Jordan is working in two research labs right now, teaching undergrads how to do psych statistics, and helping any student or lab-mate who asks for it. He is so open and generous with his time, San Francisco State is lucky to have him. Lastly, Emmanoodle. I love my job. Working to build something that has a real impact in classrooms, that helps kids feel engaged and empowered in their learning, helps families know how to support their kids, and makes teachers lives easier, and I get to to that all day with smart, fun, kind people, it’s my dream job. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to say that before, and am so happy it’s true now.

Portland
We visited our friends Josh and Erin. They were incredible hosts, showing us their favorite spots in Portland—Sweedeedee for brunch, Shift, Pepe Le Moko and Expatriate for cocktails, Biwa for ramen/izakaya, Arbor Lodge for coffee, Otto’s for sausages, Bollywood Cinema for Indian. We drank a lot of coffee, cocktails and beer, ate great food, and admired the lush front yards of Overlook. Portland, you’re cute. Erin, Josh and Moon, you’re even cuter.

San Francisco
We celebrated our one year wedding anniversary with cakes from Tartine Bakery, the same cake we had at our wedding. We ordered three cakes, ate lasagna with a dozen friends in our living room, and played Hank Williams’s ‘Baby We’re Really in Love’ on the hi-fi. I hope we host this party every year.

Also, the new SF Moma opened! It is huge and beautiful and well worth a visit. There are two coffee shops inside! And a few thousand pieces of precious art, if you’re into that kind of thing.

New York
We stayed in Park Slope, Brooklyn with our dearest Miykaelah, a hostess with the mostess if there ever was one. It was a college reunion trip of sorts, meeting up with our favorites from my time at Georgetown. We walked all over Brooklyn, had three slices of pizza in one day (two slices after a dinner of BBQ and bluegrass). There was free opera in Brooklyn Bridge Park, bagels and smoked fish at Russ & Daughters. We watched the ever-elegant Katie Norton marry her sweetie Mark, and then stayed out until three in the morning catching up with some real good folks, even when we had flights that same morning at six. It’s hard to leave the bar when your heart is so full, and there’s early 2000s alternative rock on the stereo. This short trip was another reminder from this summer that our life is full of good, good people.

Denver
The International Society for Technology in Education Conference. 15,000 K-12 teachers, a bunch of edtech vendors and a whole lot of Seesaw buzz. Our booth was packed all day, and it was such a joy to meet many teachers in person that I’ve talked to over email throughout the past year. To really feel the impact we’re having in classrooms, to hear our teachers’ stories firsthand, and to thank them for everything they do each day for their students. It was an even better experience than I could have imagined. And I’m so glad it’s done. Planning trade shows is no joke.

While we were bopping all over the country, Willow stayed at my mom’s house and worked on her suntan. Such an elegant hound.

San Francisco
San Francisco summer has descended upon us. It is chilly and foggy and l love it. It feels like the first summer we moved here, waking up in a cloud, the sound of the fog horn in the distance, that misty city smell. We’ve both been heads-down at work, but taking a breather on the weekends to cook a bit, surf a bit, pop around the city and hang out with some really cute dogs. There’s always something to do when you live in the most beautiful city in the world, you’ve just got to walk outside.