Take a Hike!

How many times have you wanted to say THAT to someone?

Well, today we did . . . with the Outdoor Club at Hesperia High School. We walked along the Pacific Crest Trail near Silverwood Lake.

It was mostly deserty dry brown stuff, but we did find some shade and trees from time to time. Another teacher is the advisor for the club, but we went along for extra support. There were 12 students and the other teacher. We had a good time, and we're glad we did it. We are also glad we have a pool to come back to.

Jack Shack

We are getting ready!

The whole McKean gang is going to be here the weekend of October 12. Yay!

That includes the newest McKean, Jack Michael. So today we got some stuff for him, and all his brothers, sisters and cousins (that's multiple choice, not necessarily all inclusive, Kallie). The new safari pack n' play we call the "Jack Shack."

Ok, Jack. Y'all come by real soon, y'hear?

Friday Night Lights!

Friday night high school football is back! For over 10 years, maybe for 13, we've spent almost every Friday night home football game with the same group. Don & Tammy Fortner and Joe Ellis, and Darrell Fortner. Our families were in the marching band together, and we've been to dozens of field shows and football games. So last night was a kind of an annual reunion. It helps that our team won 32-10.

We are always as interested in the Marching Band as we are the football game. And, of course, we never think it was as good as back when . . . We have lots of "war stories to tell. We also have a fun rivalry, because between us we are Chargers, Steelers & Raiders fans.

In a time that seems so full of things being unsettled, and all politicians promising change, it's nice to know that some things don't change. Good friendships can withstand a lot!

School Daze

We are both back in full swing in our schools. We've both had parent "Back to School" night, and we've both had conferences with parents of disruptive students. Ah, it's good to be back . . . NOT!

Are we getting too old for this? What happened to an emphasis on good teaching and educating the young? Now it is all test scores and placating parents. Students run the classrooms, and administrators run scared. We are both struggling to keep our eye on the calling that led us to teach in the first place.

Then something good happens. I went to a funeral today for a man who taught briefly in our district after retiring from teaching in Watts, LA, after retiring as a Nazarene Pastor, after working for many years as an nuclear scientist. I haven't seen him or his family for about 5 years. I walked into the church where the funeral was, and his son-in-law, the father of one of my former students, walked right up to me and said, "I don't remember your name, but I remember that you were our daughter's favorite teacher." Ok, now I'm ready for Monday.

Gotta "keep our eyes on the lives" of our students. That's what it's all about!!

Yard & Pool

In my last update, I wanted to include pictures of our yard and pool and night, but I couldn't find them. Well, here they are.

Too bad summer is kinda over. There was still yard work to do today, but too much school work to enjoy the yard and pool this evening. Ugh!

Well, there's always tomorrow. Wait, there's also NASCAR and NFL. That's why we have TiVo.

Summer's End

Some people live by the astronomical calendar, and they think there are 20 more days of summer. We are school teachers. We know when summer really ends. Today! Ugh

Carolyn starts back teaching 2nd grade tomorrow with a room of 30 (eager?) scholars. Let's hope! Actually, Rod started back on August 11. So our summer has been practically done for a while. But we did get in some summertime activites.

Yard Work

We painted the patio cover, which meant taking it mostly apart and painting each board individually with a brush, then reassembling it.

Kayaking

We got to go to Big Bear lake and enjoy our kayaks, along with watching ducks and sailboats. It's nice to have that opportunity less than 1 hour from our house

Pool
We spent a lot of time, when it got too hot to work on the house or in the yard, swimming and reading by the pool. We even spent some evenings watching movies outdoors by projecting from a DVD player to a white board screen. Our own "drive-in" theater.

Hollywood Bowl

We usually do this once a year. This year with Tim & Stef and the Prices, we saw a concert production of Les Miserables. It was fantastic!

NASCAR

This weekend my brother David, along with Marcia and Jon came down from Roseville to join us for 2 NASCAR races. Our favorite drivers didn't win, but it is always fun to suffer in the heat, have your eardrums numbed by the engines, sit next to drunk red necks, and smell that exhaust from 100 octane racing fuel. It was great fun! No, really, it was. This is the third time Carolyn and I have gone down to Fontana, and it is a great experience.

So now our routine changes. Actually, we never stop thinking about teaching. Most days this summer we were reading, revising, planning or dreaming about how to be better teachers. It is a great calling, and we are proud of what we do and how we do it.

We're hoping, though, that we can "get a life" other than teaching. So stay tuned for more updates and we try to keep the adventure going.