just pacing the floor...

Have I shown you this? It is my portfolio. In printed form it is 12x12 individual coverstock sheets all wrapped up in a cool “envelope” I made out of watercolor paper. Pretty sweet if you ask me. It was a class project for Electronic Prepress and has been AWESOME for job seeking! My professor was the BEST!!!! He is a graphic artist at Samaritan’s Purse. Too bad the job there didn’t work out for me.

Had a Pic Nic today for the residents of Mountaineer Apartments. It was nice. Catered by Backyard Burger….and free ta boot! I wish I took my camera. Nicholas had a blast hanging out with Sasha and “Eggs”. Sasha moves in a couple of weeks and Eggs just got his orders for the Army! We will be sure to get an address from him. I know Nicholas will like to keep in touch with him! How cool for him to know a Soldier!

No more classes! No exams! I’m just waiting around for feedback from the grad school on my Thesis and then Graduation on the 6^th! Were has the time gone?!?!?!?! Check out this picture of the children when we first moved here in August 2004! Robin was 14 months old! And Nicholas had JUST turned 4!

Saw Adam and Jess yesterday for lunch. That was nice. Adam, where’s the blog update with the picture? I was going to get a copy that way! (and how was Chad’s class?)

Well. Now that school is over, I don’t know what to do with myself. Last night I was pacing in the house. I wanted to do something that I wanted to do…but I couldn’t figure out what that was! It’s going to take a while to get used to this!!!

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the Founders Award

The 2006 Sustainable Building Design Competition was held in Raleigh this weekend, at the NC Natural Museum of Science.

Here are some pictures of the children enjoying the museum:

There was a really neat butterfly sanctuary we could go in. They were all over the place! Nicholas dressed up like a yellow jecket in the museum's discovery room.Robin and the hissing cockroaches.

Nicholas and Robin learned all about things animals make. Here they're making a caddisfly.

Robin checking out a bullfrog. Did you know it takes 2 years for them to turn from tadpoles to bullfrogs?

Nicholas learned that salamanders and frogs both hatch into tadpoles and even biologists have a hard time telling them apart until the salamanders develop frilly "gills" behind the eyes.Daddy holds Robin up to see a beautiful green Pithon.
Nicholas didn't like the bottled water....AT ALL!

Now on to the competition:
Team 12 won the "Founders Award" for most innovative design and reveived $1000 for the team! Here is a list of the judges (for my dad):

• Chris Benedict Architect, Chris Benedict, R.A, New York, N.Y.

• Bob Calhoun Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity of Key West and Lower Florida Keys, Ramrod Key, Fla.

• Brian Coble Director, Healthy Buildings Resource Center, Advanced Energy, Raleigh, N.C

• Dan Estes President, Weaver Cooke Construction, Greensboro, N.C.

• Rex Pace Universal Design Solutions, Raleigh, N.C

• Sam Rashkin National Director, ENERGY STAR for Homes, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington D.C.

• Sharlyn Underwood Interior Designer, SmithLewis ARCHITECTURE, Roanoke, Va.

It sure was windy in Raleigh! (Adrian and Nicholas)Team XII sets up the display!

Here is the master team: Adrian, Walker, Beth, Matt, and Nikki
The finished display! Ready for the judges.

Charline: I don't have your email.

Easter fun

So the semester is winding down and projects are finally being finished. I got 7 signature pages signed today for my Thesis. Whew! My newspaper project is due tomorrow with a group presentation. No worries. My team (Jess and Justin) ROCK!!!

We head to Raleigh this weekend for my design competition. Our team (Team 12) won the ASU competition, I'll have pictures soon!!! (Here's the book I designed for it!) So we’re off to Raleigh for the state competition. If we win there we go to Colorado in November to compete agian in the 2006 Greenbuild Conference. CRAZY!!! Many people think we have a good chance to win in Raleigh!

Nicholas and our RA Andrew. We know him as "Eggs"

So, Easter was great fun. Went to Momma El and Papa Ray's then off to Sammy and Melissa’s on Monday. Here are some pictures!

Robin dying Easter Eggs at Momma El'sNicholas dying Easter Eggs at Momma El's

Eating recently dyed eggs!
The Easter Bunny visits NicholasThe Easter Bunny visits RobinA hunt for eggs at Momma El'sThis is not what it looks like.
When one of them got an egg that was the favorite color of the other, they would share. Robin was putting orange eggs in his basket and taking a pink one. The Clemson Tiger was at the city-wide easter egg hunt in Walhalla!Daddy and Robin in the shade.Nicholas shares his eggs with a boy who had none.
(You trade the eggs in for items or food at the festival. It was all FREE!!!)
Carter!Raigan!

(thanks Raigan for the wonderful hand-me-downs for Robin. She LOVES them!)

Sable

Erin and Nathan are taking such good care of Sable for us. I know it will be strange for all of us when we are ready to move and take her with us. They have loved her so much and it is obvious by her happiness there.

Busy here. Off to spend some time with Rob then to school for work on Adobe programs which I don't have.

Have a nice weekend!

school work for all!

Here is a sample of Nicholas recent homework. We had to research trout. We looked on wikipedia for the information. He loved it. I read the article to him and he determined the answers!

Also, this week was report card week. Still improving!!! He wanted to go to Chick-Fill-A as a reward.

Will turn in my final "draft" of my thesis tomorrow before the "really-final-draft" goes to the Graduate school on the 12th! Still working on the book for our Sustainable Design Competition. I'll have to PDF a few pages when I get it done. It is NICE!!!

I have a meeting tomorrow with a new Graphic Arts faculty member to discuss potential employment opportunities in the Carolinas!

Rob is feeling puney now. This time change has got us all messed up!

Busy day tomorrow.

all better now

B E A U T I F U L weather here in the mountains!!! It has been very nice to enjoy a lot of time outdoors this week.

I turn in my final Thesis on the 12^th so the last draft will go to (some of) my committee member(s) this coming week.

Need to spend more time looking for a job and finishing more school projects.

Here are a few fun spring pictures!

Chicken with Daddy's reomte control car...

that Robin is driving!

playing with a motion sensored video game (that was funny)
Right at Daddy's side!