Pictures from Today

Spent the day with Aunt Jessie downtown in Pioneer Square. Emma was obsessed with some hacky sackers. They even gave Emma a hacky sack and tried to get her to do it.

Video of Emma Laughing

Her new thing is to throw something and if you go to get it she cracks up......not sure why but it is funny to her.

Emma Updates, Her New Hair Cut

The most obvious updates shown in the pictures is Emma's new hair cut. At only 17 months her hair was out of control so it was time to get her first hair cut. SHE IS EVEN CUTER....IS THIS POSSIBLE? Sounds like she did a great job while her hair was being cut.

She is talking all the time and her vocabulary is pretty expansive. She loves to feed her dolls and stuffed animals. She will put them into her booster seat and give them fake food or even some of her real food. She also loves to put her dolls and stuffed animals to sleep. She will lay them down and cover them and say "night, night" and then tell us to "shoosh". Pretty darn cute. Nana has taught her to shake her head yes so we can ask her if she wants something and instead of pointing or whining she can shake her head "yes".

I am home for a couple of days and then head back for one more week in Montana on Sunday. Tasha got her hair cut and it looks fabulous.

Montana So Far

Well, it is officially here, the start of recruitment season and as usually happens, I am the first out the door. Montana for whatever reason starts early.

Sunday was my travel day….nothing too exciting. It is tough to leave my family. My daughter was not happy about me leaving which killed me.

Was happy that none of my flights were canceled since I was flying Horizon. Had to fly up to Seattle and then over to Bozeman. It is quite obvious that Montana has had a bad fire season. The smoke is thick. The sunrise this morning in Bozeman was somewhat muted by the smoke which created a cool effect.

Had my first two college fairs yesterday, Bozeman and Livingston. I wasn’t sure what to expect since we have never traveled to Montana before. But I was very happy by how many students stopped by to talk and studying at PNCA. Had a fair amount of driving which will be the case every day. This is a big state!!

If you are even in Billings and need a little dive bar for drinks, make sure to visit the “Rainbow”. We met a man who claimed to be Jesus…they have shuffle board and cheap Pabst on tap.

Today’s college fair in Billings went very well. Lots of students interested in Photography. Overall I am very pleased with the response.

After the fair it was off to Lewistown which is a small town right in the center of Montana. In the hotel I am staying at (Yogo Inn), they have a marker in the courtyard that shows the geographic center of Montana. Great little town. Will have dinner with some other admissions types and then off to the famous Montana Tavern which has a river that runs beneath it and you can usually see trout. Kind of weird as you sip a beer and watch the trout below you. They also have shuffle board!

Tomorrow there are two fairs, one here in Lewistown and then one in Great Falls. Tomorrow night we will visit the most famous bar in all of Montana. It is in Great Falls and is called the Sip and Dip.

The bar was rated by GQ as the #1 bar in the world. If you ever are in Great Falls you MUST go to the Sip and Dip.

As for the picture, that was van parked at Montana State University where the Bozeman Fair was held yesterday. They take their sports and mascots seriously.

I Am In Montana

I will be in Montana this week....flew into Bozeman today. During the week I will be in Bozeman, Livingston, Billings, Lewistown, Great Falls, and Shelby. Pretty smoky here with all of the wild fires that have occurred.

Recent Pictures of Emma

Video of Emma on a Slide

Dart Match #1.....One We Let Get Away

Last night was the first match for the Fall 2007 season of the Portland Area Dart Association. I am on a team for the first time, excited to be a part of the team that won the C division last year. We are in the B division this year. We actually have a very strong team with 3 great dart players. I am likely the wink link on the team but I will get better as the season goes on. I haven't played that long and only got serious about a month ago and try to practice most evenings.

We lost, I believe the final score was 17-12. We were up 8-3 at the beginning but hit a wall. The entire team started to play horribly and included two of our best players being swept in singles cricket. Wayne, our team captain, got swept, he lost only once all last year in singles cricket. I went 2-4 on the night. Wayne and I swept our first round of doubles. I got swept in singles cricket but the other teams best player. Then Eric and I got swept in doubles even though we were well ahead in both matches. Was one of those nights. The team we lost to won the B division a year ago so we were going against a great team.

We play every Thursday night. If you care to keep up, the PADA has a great web site. We are in the B division and our team is the Mooninites.

Yet Another Word

Emma learned how to say bubble today!

Sorry if I am posting these too often but I don't want to forget what she is saying and she is learning so fast.

Even More Words For Emma

She has added happy, eye, and elbow.

Web Article About PNCA Enrollment

PNCA put out an announcement on their web page about the enrollment growth that I am quoted in: PNCA Article

More Words for Emma

Emma keeps saying new words and has added the following to her vocabulary: up, baby, please, daddy, and No.

Amazing Enrollment for Jr's (Chris) First Fall at PNCA

Today is the first day of classes and the numbers of students coming through the doors for the start of fall is staggering. The goal for undergraduate enrollment to start this fall was 377. As of this morning we are at 426 (nearly 50 students over goal). The new student goal was 155 and we are 195 right now and it is expect that another 2-3 students will register in the next couple of days.

I wish I could take the credit for this but I have a truly amazing staff. This staff is a bunch of "doers". All I do is mention that something needs to be done and like magic, it is done. I don't need to beg or ask twice. It is truly impressive and a joy for me as a supervisor. They make me look good.

When combined with our first MFA class, the total enrollment on campus is 440. Last year at the start of fall, the enrollment was 336 so we have 100 more students on campus this fall. That is truly amazing for a school our size. The most impressive stat is that nearly 50% of all students in classes this fall are new to the campus! And not only is this class huge but they are the most talented we have ever had and represent 28 states and 3 foreign countries.

The weird thing is now we need to really focus on next year's class.....off to Montana in 2 weeks.