Daily life

Coop went back to visit Raintree teachers.  This is a round table that Alan made for Cooper's pre-K classroom.  Still in use!

Reading:

Helping the school secretary change the school sign:

Nana Beverly decked out for the holidays:

Dress for Success Monday:

Reading in bed:

Choir

Cooper made district choir.  Vest and bow tie for the occasion:

The concert was held at Topeka High School:

A bit of one of their songs:

I found Coop in the audience (with the other choir members) after they sang.  He was less than thrilled to see me:

Fancy

Cooper's pets both enjoyed some Washburn swag, even if it was not quite the right size for them:

Cooper got all dressed up for his first 7th-8th grade dance:

With his friends:

Thanksgiving week

Cooper and I flew to Denver for a quick Thanksgiving gathering with my family.  We went to the movies, and Syl fell asleep on Coop:

Reading in the morning:

I cleaned Kelly's oven in anticipation for all of the cooking:

Our flight home was delayed, which means that Coop was going to miss Molly's birthday party.  He was sad:

But he did make it home for Eliza's paintball birthday party the next day:

Me

I went back home and visited with some LHS students about coming to law school some day:

 Good to be back home.

Also went to Topeka for lunch with my Washburn friends, who I've been missing this semester while on sabbatical:

Athens, GA and beyond

After my trip to Montgomery, I drove to Athens, GA (outside Atlanta) to visit Michael and Kristen and their boys:

Zac and I at the University of Georgia football stadium:

Parker and I:

And then before I headed to the airport, I drove to Cleveland, GA to see Babyland General.

Don't know what that is??  It's the home of the cabbage patch kid!!

I loved it, but it was super hokey.  I did get to see a baby being born (though in truth, I couldn't stop giggling, and maybe even snorted once!):

I stopped at a place where I could pan for gemstones:

Success!

Montgomery, AL

I planned a long weekend trip for myself.  First stop, Montgomery, AL.  I found a fun taproom for lunch.  This wall is like serve-yourself frozen yogurt, but for beer and wine!  Many bad choices have been made here, I'm sure:

And then I found the offices of Equal Justice Initiative, a group of lawyers who provide representation for prisoners who can't afford attorneys or who have been wrongfully convicted.  The founder of EJI is Bryan Stevenson, who wrote Just Mercy.

EJI also established the Legacy Museum, which documents the racial issues in slavery up through modern mass incarceration:

And I went to this memorial:

Which is a memorial to victims of lynchings:

This wall was really moving.  It's glass jars of dirt from each of the lynching sites the memorial features:

Cooper misc

Coop was tired of his loft bed, so we ordered this one, with a bookshelf head board and some storage drawers in the side:

One afternoon, Coop had a couple of hours between school dismissal and play practice.  So he brought a group of friends over to have snacks and hang out:

True to my nature, I talked them into painting canvasses:

Homework on the kitchen floor:

Half Marathon

I've been really enjoying going for long walks after walking Cooper to school in the mornings.  I decided to walk the half marathon in Lawrence recently.

A bit chilly (windy) at the start, but it was near 60 by the end.  Gorgeous morning.

One of the best pit stops I've seen on a race.  Particularly when it's a bit chilly at the beginning:

Not a lot of walkers, so there were at least several points in the race when I was bringing up the rear:

Finished!

Portland

I made a quick trip up to visit Carmen and Vada in Portland.  Vada introduced me to her chinchilla:

We went to a pumpkin patch:

Tall sunflowers:

Dinner at a Mexican restaurant, and Vada helped make guacamole table side!

Tea party with the dog and Vada's stuffed animals.  We had toast, sprinkles, tea, and marshmallows.

At Vada'a favorite dumpling restaurant:

Kelly and Vada modeling halloween masks at Michaels:

Brand new couch!

The arts

Cooper is in the Cougar Chorus, which meets before school at 7:10am.  They had a fall concert recently.  It was wonderful and, surprisingly, it lasted all of 26 minutes!  Brilliant!

Coop is also in the Honors Choir, a select group of chorus members.  He's one of four tenors.  They sang Seasons of Love at the concert:

Coop got a part in the fall school play, too!  It was called "Writing a Will can be Murder," and it was super clever.  I was so impressed with the kids!