Squeaky Shoes

Today the halls were abuzz with student's squeaky tennis shoes. It was my first experience with the phenomenon that results from a fast but furious rain shower passing over school right about the time 90 percent of the student body is arriving.

The typical high school student seems to struggles with having all their school supplies with them at any given moment, so having an umbrella on hand would be nothing short of a miracle for most. So, instead, the day started with hallways and classrooms full of damp, squeaky students. As a fellow teacher pointed out, though, it could be worse: instead of wet students, we could spend 90 minutes in a room full of wet dogs. Definately a more positive way to look at the situation :)

Scott Update

Since this blog is entitled "Team McIntyre," I thought, perhaps, I could let you all know how my fabulous husband is doing these days. One word: great! Scott finished the summer quarter at Metro just over a week ago and.....drum roll please......he earned an "A" in Algebra class! Praise the Lord! All that studying was worth it! That officially ends his love/hate relationship with math classes (at least for this degree), so now he's on to more fun, creative things.

This week is Scott's last week at FastTrak Freight Services. He's been driving a delivery truck for them since January, but has signed up for five classes this fall at Metro, so he's going to focus on school fulltime, which he's never been able to do. Uncle Sam is being very generous with his MGI bill, so between that and the tuition reimbursement he'll receive from the Nebraska Air National Guard (that he just joined this week), we'll be a-ok at the McIntyre household. God is so good in how He provides for us.

Part of the National Guard committment will invovled Scott going to Texas for about 2 1/2 months, at some point, for additional training. We're hoping that can be in late spring or late summer so I can spend part of the time in Texas with him over my summer vacation. I've learned in last few years, though, to hold all plans loosely, so we shall see how that all transpires.

Another requirement of the National Guard is passing the physical fitness test. My husband is a fit guy, but running is not on his list of "desirable exercises," so if you see us running in the neighborhood, give us a friendly good luck honk...Scott will get a kick out of that. We'll also be having mini ab and push-up workouts. Hopefully I'll be more buff at the end of all this, too!

So there you have it, the latest on Scott. Join us again next time...

Who are you and what have you done with my husband?

I came home from school today (I successfully survived the first full week...big sigh of relief) to find Scott sitting on the floor of the office, sorting through files, listening to country music! New songs that he had just downloaded, no less. Apparently having the clock radio tuned to KKAT 103 (my local country station of choice) when the alarm going off is starting to have the affect I was hoping (cue sinister laugh: wah-ha-ha!) Just goes to show that lovin' someone will change you in big and little ways.

The Freshman 15

I managed to avoid gaining the dreaded "Freshman 15" at Hastings College, but I fear that I may now gain the "Freshman Teacher 15" at Millard West. I am slightly embarrassed to admit that yesterday I ate a chocolate frosted donut, 3 1/2 pieces of pizza (lunch and dinner combined), an M&M cookie, ice cream bar, a glass of wine, and an assortment of cheese. The only redeeming food was the bowl of cereal at breakfast. Yikes! Hopefully I can dig deep and find more self-control the next day I'm confronted with so many goodies. Wish me luck!

Adventures in Camping and Tubing

Scott and I and 13 friends camped and tubed the Niobrara River this past weekend. We stayed at the now-familiar Rocky Ford near Valentine. If I'm remembering correctly (which is questionable given the mushy state of my "teaching on the brain" mind these days), I've stayed at Rocky Ford six times now...every trip except my first when we stayed at the Last Chance Campground/Landing (yes, that really is the name and yes, the name definately fits the camp...hand pump for water, old-school outhouse for a bathroom, need I say more?)

Even after seven trips, I manage to learn something new everytime:

• When a man in a large red Husker cowboy hat (and I do mean large!) asks if you want to see his bikini bottoms (that he was wearing under his Daisy Duke-ish shorts...so many things wrong with this guy), turn the other way and pray that you start floating faster.
• Always have a water gun to retaliate against the guys sitting in lawn chairs in the water, getting everyone in your party wet.
• Related to guys on lawn chairs in the river...always bring a chair for your cooler. Then you won't have to walk all the way over to the bank every time you want a drink. Really, who wants to go to all that effort?
• Designate one person to keep the island of tubes on track. I know the perfect man for the job. His name is Luke.
• Bring an air mattress. I can't believe I'm typing that because I have been a camping purist in the past. I was that person that would say to myself, "Sissy!" upon seeing someone blow up an air mattress in their tent. This trip, though, I realized that I am too old to sleep on the ground. I had a Thermarest sleeping pad and Scott has a foam one, but I think we've decided that unless we're backpacking and really concerned about weight, an air mattress is the way to go.
• Marshmallows and Hershey bars should not be left in the car during the day. We all already knew this, so I guess it's not so much a "lesson to learn" as a "important item to remember." We iced the melted and squishy smores supplies and were able to enjoy smores later. Tragedy averted.
• Remember to apply sunscreen to the shin area of the leg. It's the only red spot on my body after 7.5 hours on the river.
• Speaking of 7.5 hours on the river...do not believe the outfitters when they say that the route will only take about 6 hours, even though it's listed at 7 to 8 hours on the website. The last 2 hours were long ones.

The big day has arrived!

Tomorrow, for better or for worse, I will finally meet my students! I've spent the last week and a half in a seemingly endless number of meetings, both for new teachers and then all staff. These meetings are necessary, I realize (at least to some extent), but I am meeting-ed out and just want to meet my kids.

Am I ready for the first day? Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell. Let the shaping of young minds begin!