Today was a wonderful vacation day for the kids and me and a good first day back to work for Bob. It is wonderful to see him glowing about being welcomed back with hugs from female teachers and administrators and a handshake from stern and very competent Mr. Washington, who teaches fifth grade. I asked Bob if he felt "home" back at Menger today and he said he did. He said it's a good time to be at Menger. As much as we see wrong with the standardized testing, having done well and being a recognized school does feel good, and there are going to be University of Texas researchers on campus this year doing a study of something about first to third grade math. I think Bob, like me, finds the presence of academic researchers pleasing.

The kids and I spent a long day at the Texas State Aquarium, which just gets better every time I visit it. it is, of course, one of Danny's favorite places on earth and he really was able to show us around after having been there all week lat week. The aquarium has acquired a bunch of new rays - really big black ones, who impressed the heck out of me with their size and the grace of their flight through the water. I also enjoyed watching K.K. and Danny both confidently identify some easy birds (roseate spoonbill, white ibis, and great blue heron) in captivity after seeing these birds in the wild yesterday. They were justifiably proud of their skills.