This is so cool! It's a wheelchair accessible tree house! It is at a camp called Camp Still Meadows in Virginia. It has this long bridge out to the tree to make it accessible. There is another one in New Hampshire.

I think that is such a great idea, esp for children. I loved my tree house when I was a kid. I built it with my two neighborhood friends, so it wasn't so fancy as this. From these photos of me, you can see I loved trees as a kid. On a related note, we found a realtor in the Bay Area who specializes in accessibility. He has a website but right now it has no listings for any properties (rental or to buy) that are accessible. Apparently, the state with the highest number of accessible properties is Florida. They are definitely not easy to find. Kind of frustrating. We aren't looking to move quite yet but hopefully in a year. After I get my credential.

I guess the biggest news here in the Bay Area is the Tahoe fire. It's destroyed about 200 homes and/or vacation houses and 1000 people were evacuated on Monday and Tuesday. The last I heard no one was injured but some lost everything. Very sad. It is not close to where Drew's parents have a timeshare.

I have good news to report. Hannah's grandma is doing much better. She hadn't been able to stand on her own or walk. My grandpa had been putting her in a wheelchair and pushing her around. Well, the last couple of weeks she has been doing balance therapy. It has really helped a lot. Now she can stand alone and walk with a cane. She'll be doing a few more sessions. She has been so depressed about not being able to walk so I know it has lifted her spirits. I still hope my grandparents' names come up on the list for the retirement home. They are on a waiting list.

I've been enjoying tutoring so far except when the parents change their schedules or where to meet. That's happened this week a lot and has made this low paying job temporarily stressful. But mostly, the two kids are very good. And the San Leandro Library is so nice. I guess I've mostly been to old, town libraries from like the 1960's that are kind of rundown. They have their own charm, too. I've been to one in Oakland and this one now in the Bay Area and they are so new and well kept up. This one even has a cafe (Bookmark Cafe) with the best Kona Coffee frappes. They're addicting.

"Don't smile until November." That's what I was told today by the El Cerrito High vice principal. She told me mine was "too pretty". Okay, news to me! I'm usually told I don't smile enough. ECHS is where I'll be observing in the fall and student teaching next spring. I had my placement interview this morning there. I took BART and it was so close. I thought it was further away from BART, but was only 5 blocks. This is the old building which was recently torn down. They are working totally out of portables until at least 2008. Not sure if the trees are there anymore but it is at the bottom of a hill. The school draws students from 7 nearby communities. From what I've seen it seems like a well-run school. of course, the VP we talked to will be going to work at a middle school in Richmond in the fall. She says she's been all over the place. They probably asked her to help them because she has lots of experience. She's almost ready to retire. I interviewed with a biology credential student. She told us some tricks she picked up over the years, like having only jumbo crayons for kids to use if they don't bring a pen or pencil. I didn't see any students really yet. Just one boy came in for his report card. I'll be going to their new teacher orientation in August even though I don't have a job there. Just to get to know the other teachers and hear about the school policies.

Drew did hear back from the principal about the tech job but she had forgotten he was in a wheelchair. So she was going to check about whether the job would work for him. He also heard from another principal about a potential tech job. It would be at a newer school that's more one story. But she's not sure if there will be a job yet. So, we're still waiting about those. Peter and his girlfriend found an apartment in San Francisco finally. They are moving in on the 1st. It is an upstairs unit. Our anniversary is a month from yesterday! We'll be going to Monterey.

Here they are the class of 2015!! Scary... The last day of school was a bit rough-a couple of girls would not let me go! Esp the one in the pink sweater. She had her arms around my legs all day. Watch, in 2 yrs she'll be like Mrs BP who? So, I'm preparing my tutoring curriculum for the summer. I start next week so this is my break week. I have two kids and I'm till hoping I'll get one or two more. I had lunch with Laurel today and played with Vera. Vera is crawling like a champ now and can stand a little with help. She's pretty over peekaboo but still loves her blankie. We sat outside at Starbucks near San Leandro High. The high school kids must have just finished at noon today because Starbucks was packed with them! In a few months I'll be spending lots of time with kids like them. I don't know yet where my student teaching will be. Laurel was reminiscing about teaching when she saw them.