In the full swing

Here we are in the full swing of Fall. We know it because Brenda has been in school for two weeks and more importantly (to me) Nebraska has had its first football game. As many of you know, this is the start of the Bo Pelini era. Yesterday's ticket was supposedly one of the hardest tickets to get in many years. Tailgating started yesterday morning at 9:00 though kickoff wasn't until 6:00 PM (I am sure some started their tailgating Friday evening). NAI FMA had their annual tailgate party in the office. Brenda and I made our way downtown early so that Brenda could get a new Husker shirt. at 2:00, we had to go up 3/4 of the way in the parking garage, wade through mobs of husker fans just to spend our money on a new top! Afterwards we went to the company party so that we could run home to watch the game on pay per view. Its a beautiful thing when we can teach our college students economics - supply and demand!

The other sign of fall is fantasy football. Where those who really don't know much about football (but listen most of the day long to sports radio) draft teams so that we can have bragging rights over knowing something that no one else in the world knows. This can consist of things like knowing that this player isn't going to play well all year long, though he makes millions of dollars, or that another player is going to tear is ACL in the first game of the year and be out of commission (who in there right mind would have wanted him).

We start the season with the annual "draft". This is when ten men get together with $200 of imaginery money in their pockets and auction off all the NFL talent to get the best team ever assembled on paper! I was fortunate to spend $72 of my money on the very first player - Tom Brady. Now all I have to do is buy 17 more players with the rest of my money. Once you have spent all of your money you can only pickup players for free. This is another good lesson on economics.... or maybe just accounting - don't spend all of your money on a couple of players and have nothing for the rest of your team.
The other important management rule is to watch out for "bye weeks". These are when the players you have drafted don't play a game. This is important when drafting because it doesn't help if you get one of the best players in the league if he has a "bye week" the same time your other best player in the league does. I do believe this happened once or twice during our draft. Finally we are now ready for the league play to begin. I believe next week is when it all kicks off. I get to play against Andy the first week. Last year his team didn't do too well but it was always interesting to see what his team's name was. He has the tendency to change it quite frequently.
I will make sure to keep you up to date on all of the fall sports in our lives - I didn't even get started on the Red Sox!
Later, Mike

We continue on our southern trek

Tonight we continued our trek to Mexico (or maybe Princeton). We parked the same place that we parked on Monday night. If you remember, we had a pleasant ride to the north to Roca but had to climb Kilamajaro on our return trip. Tonight we headed south towards Princeton. It was another monster climb as we went uphil all the way - climbing 115 feet according to my "altimeter" (doesn't everyone have one?). It was fairly slow going. When we turned around and headed back to the truck, we were able to get back in half the time.
One thing we did notice is the difference in food sources. In all of our trips between Saltillo Road and Hickman Road, we have been able to get our fill of gnats. Now that we are heading south of Hickman Road we had no gnats but the path was covered with grasshoppers! Does this seem to have an Old Testament plague theme???? Anyway, we had to dodge grasshoppers the whole trip. I did find out that it is hard to run over grasshoppers. They just sit there until you get right about to squish them and then they hop away. I did find this frustrating on the slow trip up the mountain. Now on the way back, since I was going faster, they must have underestimated my speed because they were easier to hit!
Anyway, we did surpass our goal of 23 miles before snow flies - as we are now up to 27!

Mike

Exercise update

I know that you all have been waiting with bated breath(how do you spell this - and what does it mean!) for an update on our extensive exercise program. Since the first message on our exercising we have ridden three more times!!!! The next time we rode was in Lincoln. We decided to have a picnic date night and then ride. We noticed that we could eat our picnic without the need to save room for gnats. We also noticed (because we are VERY observant people) that riding on concrete paths is easier than rock paths. Since we didn't have gnats to contend with we had other path enthusiasts. This has always made for a little game that I like to play while riding. Yes I can multi-task with the best of them. Anyway, I try to greet most everyone I meet. The trick is to get them to say what I say. If I greet them with a "hello", they need to respond back with a "hello". Now if they greet me first, I must respond different than them. If they say "hello" I need to say something different like "hi" or "good evening". So far, I do believe that I am far ahead of everyone that I have met.
Anyway, the second night we went back to the Gnat Buffet. We rode from Saltillo all the way to Roca Road. When we got back I thought I had been impaled by a big gnat but on further investigation I think I have a zit on my cheek! Believe me, when you ride as fast as we do it is not hard to get facial injuries from these bugs.
Tonight, we started west of Hickman and rode north to Roca Road. This was a very pleasant ride all the way there. I did notice that according to my "altimeter" (doesn't everyone have one of those?) we had dropped 65 feet. I just figured that it was acting up. After we turned around I realized that I was right. It didn't feel like 65 feet, it felt like we had to climb 6500 feet back to where we started. Actually the "altimeter" was right about the 65 feet.
I also noticed that the gnats on the southern part of the trail taste different. I do believe they have a smoother bouquet - and are bigger. I also noticed that there weren't as many but still do choke you when you inhale them.
All together we have now ridden 22 miles since we started last week. Hopefully we will reach our goal of 23 miles before the first snow fall.

Mike

And now the school year begins!

We now have survived the first week of students. Brenda has gone through the phases of mourning. Last Wednesday was denial - it really couldn't be starting, followed by anger (hence the "defcon 3" report last week). We have gone through the other phases and are now into acceptance. So we now have decided that if we want to live into our retirement days we need to exercise. Brenda couldn't sleep last night and has figured that if we get into better shape it will help in all aspects of our lives, like being to sleep.
Tonight we decided to ride our bikes. Just south of Lincoln on Saltillo Road, the bike path goes south on an old railroad bed supposedly all the way to Cortland and beyond! We drove to the parking lot and thought we would start out easy by riding for thirty minutes. As we got started, Brenda needed to know if we were going up or down (and we think Braydon asks important questions). Since my bike has an altimeter (doesn't everyone??) I told her that I would watch. Of course in my infinite wisdom and technology prowess, I somehow changed by cyclometer from US measurment to Metric. I could only tell her if we were going up or down by meters. On a railroad bed that is fairly level you can go along ways before you climb a meter!
Not only were we getting exercise riding on this flat trail but we made the mistake of eating before we went. This was a mistake because we were getting our daily allowance of protein in the bugs that we kept swallowing. Brenda decided to take some home with her by letting them hitch a ride in her eyes. I was being more selective - if I can't either breathe them in or swallow them, I don't want them.
Anyway, we survived our ride and we will be able to tell our grandkids how we rode through swarms of giant gnats, going uphill both ways (probably in a few years we will talk about the knee deep snow). We did go 8.4 Km - hopefully by the next time we ride I will be able to get back to US miles.
We need to have you keep us accountable for our exercise. Ask us how we are doing and we will try to keep you informed right here on "Weekly's Reader".

Mike

Why fifth graders need to study American history

I teach American history to my fifth graders. At the beginning of each year I give my students a pretest to see what they already know. I always have a chuckle over some of the answers I get. Here are some of them from my class this year. They took the pretest today.

Who fought in the Revolutionary War?
Answer: The Republicans and Democrats
Who won the war?
Answer: Republicans

What was the cause of the Civil War?
Answer: to get our land back from France

How did Abraham Lincoln die?
Answer: three of my students said that he was at the movies, and was shot

Who fought in the Revolutionary War?
Answer: George Bush
Who won?:
Answer: USA

Who was the first president of the United States:
Answer: two of the students said - George W. Bush
three of my students said - Abraham Lincoln

Approximately what year was America discovered by Christopher Columbus?
Answer: 1992.

And my personal favorite -
Why do we celebrate the Fourth of July?
Answer: when the pioneers came here and thought that it was Africa

And this is one of the reasons I love teaching!

This comment came up today in my class, as well. We were previewing our social studies book and looking at all of the presidents. The last president in our book was Bill Clinton. I asked the students who was missing. They all could tell me George W. Bush. But then one little boy spoke up and said that Obama was missing too. The boy next to him told him that Obama wasn't president yet. The first boy was shocked. He thought for sure that Obama was our president!

Let Fall Begin

Well it is here. That time of the year that is depicted by yellow buses, listening to school lunch menus on the radio and trying to survive that first week of school. Of course I am speaking as the one sandwiched between the desks - the students and the teachers desks that is. I am the "spouse" of the teacher and the grandfather of the students.
The season always starts with the time of preparation. This is usually highlighted with at least one trip to the classroom for something. This year it was much easier than in years past. We just went out to pickup all of Brenda's posters so that she could sort them out (in our basement).
The week that school starts is like being in the military waiting and watching for an invasion. The closer we get to the first day of students, the higher our alert level gets. By the time Wednesday night gets here, we are at "Defcon 3"! Only a nuclear attack would be greater than the tension of Wednesdays.
When Thursday morning arrives, it is only a matter of time before "Fall" begins. The timing of school starting on Thursday was perfect. I had golf league this evening giving the teacher time to reflect on the day and unwind at home.
When I did arrive, Brenda was getting ready to water her plants and give me the lowdown on her day. As it turns out, her day was good - although it was very long and her feet hurt (read below). She likes many of her students already (by the end of the school year she will love most of them). The best part of being the spouse of a teacher and grandfather of the students is that Brenda gets to meet our grandkids at the bus and take their pictures. She then walks them to the elementary school and wishes them the best school year. I then get to see their pictures when I get home.
Now it is on to more important things of fall. In just over two weeks comes the important Fantasy Football draft, followed in less than one week with the start of the Bo Pelini era.
One can only hope that we, like Brenda, will like what we see only to love it in the near future.
Mike

First Day of School

A new year has begun. My school day started at 7:00. I had an hour of peace and quiet in my room before the chaos started. Once the 8:00 bell rang, I was busy helping students open lockers and answering their many questions. I took a 20 minute break, though, and went down to the elementary building to meet Breck and Braydon's and Emma's buses. Here are some pictures of them getting off of their buses. I then walked Braydon (with Breck too) down to his classroom. Along the way, in the hallway, we met Emma, so I got a picture of all three of them! I would have loved to have stayed down there with them, but I knew I had to go back to the middle school.

It was a very hectic day. I only had about two 20 minute breaks all day. By the end of the day my voice was hoarse, and my feet were killing me!

Tomorrow will be a better day. Maybe I will only have to help open 20 lockers, instead of 50. And, it's Friday!

Conversations that happen only at church

Today at church I was just sitting reading the bulletin and a little boy came up to me to ask a question. He was very serious and I knew it was important for him to know something. He asked me if I knew that a female dog and a male dog needed to "mate" before they have puppies. I stated that I did know this - and his question was "what does mate mean?"

After a few seconds to take all of this in, I replied to him that he really needed to ask his mother about this and he dejectedly said, " I have and she won't tell me." - Mike

Reflections

My summer is over. On Monday I start my 19th year of teaching. This past week I spent tying up loose ends and preparing for the new year. I got my license renewed, prepared some meals for the freezer, and got some of my classroom decorated. In anticipation of the election year, the theme of my room is patriotic. By Tuesday, I have to have everything clean and ready for our open house. Usually at the the beginning of my summer vacation, I have all sorts of expectations and goals. This year I didn't put any pressure on myself, and therefore, I had a very relaxing summer. Here are some highlights of my vacation:

Trip to Branson with our family

I read 27 books - the two that had the most impact on me were Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, and Knowing & Loving the Bible by Catherine Martin. The first book was about bullying and a school shooting. This has given me a lot to ponder about what I can do in my own classroom to be an advocate for those students who are bullied. The second book has helped me spiritually prepare for the school year. I set a goal of reading through the Bible chronologically, and chose a verse for the school year. The verse is Romans 12:1-2. I am excited to see what God has in store for me this year.

I scrapbooked 20 pages. That really isn't very many considering all the time I had, but I scrapbooker's block.

I knitted four socks. That makes 16 socks in the last year (with 6 pairs finished!)

I tended my garden, and am finally reaping the rewards with tomatoes, green peppers, and onions.

Trip exploring Nebraska

Tried many new recipes. The most spectacular one was a triple chocolate cake from Paula Dean.

I watched every episode of So You Think You Can Dance.

Volunteered at Walt Library every Thursday. It's always been a dream of mine to work in a library. I love books!

Cataloged and prepared over 50 books for our church library.

Spent time with the grandkids

And now chapter 19 starts next week. Stay posted for this year's adventures in teaching!

Spiderman turns three

On Sunday, August 3rd, Lawson celebrated his third birthday with a "Spiderman Birthday". Since everything had a spiderman theme, Lawson decided to dress the part! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY

Braydon and the Rattlesnake

Braydon spent the day with me while Breck and Jaime had a special day together. This morning we went out to water my flowers. Braydon took out the super soaker water gun and watered the flowers his way, while I watered them the traditional way. As I watered my flowers in the front by our steps, I noticed a hole in the ground that hadn't been there before. I showed Braydon, and asked him what he thought might be in the hole. I suggested that he squirt water in the hole and see if anything comes out. I went on with my watering, and the next thing I know is Braydon running to me yelling to me that he saw something. He thought it was probably a rattlesnake. I asked him to describe what he saw. "It was green, and had TWO sharp teeth. It wanted to bite me, and it looked angry! " He sure noticed a lot for the second he looked before he took off running! I assured him that it wasn't a rattlesnake, but he was positive it WAS A SNAKE! I told him that if it was a snake, it was probably a garter snake. I also said that I didn't think snakes had teeth. He suggested that we search the web and find out about garter snakes to see if they have teeth and bite people. We wanted to find a picture to verify his claims. We did learn that garter snakes have teeth, but they don't bite people (actually, they can if they are provoked, but I didn't want him to know that - he was already freaked out enough!) We learned lots of other things about garter snakes, but unfortunately, our computer was very sloooow and no pictures came up. Braydon also let me know that his computer at home is much faster than ours. Anyway, he just knew that what he saw was in fact an angry snake!

For the rest of day, he just wouldn't let go of the worry. He even made sure that our front door was locked so it wouldn't come in. When we left to go to lunch with Grandpa he made sure we left through the garage, but he still ran as fast as he could to get in the van. When we came home he really didn't want to get out of the van for fear that the angry snake had gotten in our garage. I assured him that snakes don't like concrete and wouldn't get in the garage. After running to the door, he turned to me and breathed a big sigh of relief that he had escaped the angry snake again. But then he begin to worry about Mommy and Breck coming to pick him up and encountering the snake. He wanted me to call them and warn them and tell them to run to the door. I didn't, and that made him more concerned. When they did come, he was so relieved when they made it safely inside. He also described for Jaime, how angry the snake was, and warned her to be careful going to the car. When he left today, he jumped off the porch and ran through the yard to avoid the hole with the angry snake.

Throughout the day, I assured him that Grandpa would take care of it when he came home. Then he needed to know what "taking care of it" meant. He really didn't want Grandpa to kill it, but he sure didn't want it to live here. Such worry for a little boy!

After Mike came home, I took him out to the "snake's home." He grabbed a shovel ready to be the dragonslayer. I went back inside because I don't like snakes either, and I really didn't want to know what Mike was going to do with it. Soon he was calling me outside to see the "angry snake." There beside my flowers was a baby toad! I had to call Braydon and tell him what was in the hole. When he found out it was a baby toad, he wanted to have us keep it as a pet! He was somewhat disappointed when I told him that the toad had already disappeared. From an angry rattlesnake to a cute little baby toad - it was certainly an emotional rollercoaster ride day for Braydon! (From the picture you can see how little the toad is!)