preparing for summer

The apples are growing on the tree that is next to our balcony and we hope that when we return we will be able to make apply pie every day! We will leave on July 3rd and return somewhere around the 1st of September. Our housemate, Greg, serenading his friends with guitar as they enjoy conversation and a cool evening after work. Gordon picking the blackberry seeds out of his drink while keeping updated on baseball and the news. Cooling down after humid 104 degree fahrenheit weather with a game of texas hold 'em in our PJ's. On Tuesday, June 12th Ebru (our housemate) had a going away party early, as she went to Vermont on July 17th to attend a master's teaching program. We went to a local restaurant- Mania and had pizza plus more then we returned to our house and played Cranium. On Friday, June 15th we had a going away party for the teachers leaving this year... I read a poem "Oh, the places you'll go!" by Dr. Seuss to kick off the night. There were other poems written and songs sung and music dedicated. Taking inventory of the English Department books. On Wednesday, June 28th the international teachers united to celebrate summer birthdays (gordon will be 35 on aug 12th!). Each of the four faculty houses on campus hosted a party and planned unique activities and preapred good food. I made a double layer lemon cake with lemon curd in between the layers and lemon cream cheese frosting. It was delicious! Mark, Gordon's friend, arrived on Thu, June 28th and will be traveling with us until July 16th. He will fly out of Stuttgart. We fly to Venice on July 3rd and plan on traveling throughout Italy, Switzerland, and Germany with him. After his departure we will go to France, Spain, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia. It should be an awesome summer and we will try to post as many blogs as possible. This weekend Gordon and Mark will go out for a "guy's weekend" (on the Black Sea) and I will go to a P!nk concert with some friends. Please check back for more blogs in mid-July!

ACS Arts Festival

The American College of Sofia holds an Arts Festival every year during the beginning of June and this year it was on June 9th, 2007. There were various activities- dancing, singing, painting, drawing, bead making, and much more. It is a fundraiser for the college since it is a non-profit educational institution.

Above you can see Gordon and his friend Aaron participating in the 'Wet Sponge Throw'- where students pay money to hit their teachers with a wet sponge in the lovely prop of a mermaid and octopus.

Then there is the 'Lost at Sea with Richard Parker and the ACS Three' which consists of Mr. Munby, Mr. Schmidt, Mr. Spiegel, Miss. Gibson, Miss. Spinney, and Miss. Rummel- all teachers are ACS. They sang "Son of a Preacher" by Dusty Springfield, "Dream" by Fleetwoodmac, and "Give me One Reason" by Tracy Chapman- all excellent performances, along with 2 jams written and played by the guys listed above.

The spectators- mostly ACS students with some parents and friends.

My housemate, Ebru, and I cheering on our colleagues as they play! I had my face painted by some students presented by the Culture Jam Club- a flower from Georgie (an Aussie) and some Korean writing by Esjay on the other cheek.

my nephew and niece

Here are pics of my nephew and niece. Zakary Allen at 2 years and 9 months and Ashlynn Rose at 11 months. They are the cutest ever and they have the most wonderful mother in the world (my big sissy)!

Zakary is throwing rocks in the water and being a curious and adventurous little boy as his sister carefully watches him from her blanket on the shore longing to be mobile on two legs as he is! Doesnt she have a great smilee?!

weekends around Sofia

Paintball games with American College of Sofia colleagues and friends. 16 BGN to begin with full gear and 100 paintballs and then 5 leva for each additional 100 balls. A good deal for hours of combat!
Gordon joined a Sofia Amateur Baseball League and plays with the "Lions". Practice is on Tuesdays & Thursdays and games are held on Saturdays & Sundays. Gordon usually plays outfield and has made some spectacular plays- including some homeruns! He is #4 and below you can see him up at bat and swinging!

Spring Fling school dance

Gordon and I went to the Spring Fling on Saturday, June 2nd, 2007. There were 150 students present at this formal school dance held at the downtown Grand Hotel Sofia. The cost was 35 BGN per ticket, 30 leva paying for the formal sit down dinner and the other 5 went to the fundraising of costumes for the popular and highly esteemed Balkan Dance group at the American College of Sofia. Hence, there was a decent dinner served and Balkan dancing plus modern dance. It was a fun time!