Well to say things didn’t exactly work out the way we thought they would this week, would be an understatement. Luke was supposed to have a couple games that he ended up sitting out of, Abby was supposed to attend the Winter Formal that never came to fruition and we ended up having to deal with a couple deaths in the extended family. Matt spent is final week at home, working almost every day. Abby was busy as usual with dance, work and school. Luke was sick early in the week but is feeling much better at I write this. Ann continues to struggle with her knees and I finally got back in to the swing of things, walking about a dozen miles.
We had a cold start to the week on Monday morning but it warmed up to about the freezing mark. We left “The Fridge??? (Black Betty) home this week and took Barney to work, which kept us nice and warm. :0) Luke had us up at 3 am, puking a couple times overnight. He missed school and his basketball game that evening. Matt had to work at Aspen Place. Abby had school and then went to an SAT prep class. After that she had Pirateers then out to eat at Buffalo Wings & Rings before coming home and going straight to bed. I walked 2 ½ miles after work then Ann & I made our way to Batesville for the 7th grade basketball game – without Lukey, who was sick at home. The game was insanely close as they missed his abilities down low and everyone seemed out of sync. They somehow found a way to win 38-36. I taped and uploaded the video to Hudl while Ann took pictures of the boys and I uploaded them to Facebook. That night, Matt & I stayed up late to watch the NCAA championship football game where Clemson beat ‘Alabama to become #1 in the nation. Here are some random photos from this week.
Tuesday was warmer day but we still took Barney to work again. Luke stayed home sick again. He tried to make it to the game, but couldn’t stay out of the bathroom long enough to get to school. He was pretty week as well, as you might guess. Abby was in early for Student Council before school then worked at BWR afterwards. Matt had the day off because he had planned to watch Luke play but instead he took good care of his baby brother. I walked about 3 miles after work in a very strong wind and some rain. Ann & I went to Northside Middle School, just around the block there in Columbus to watch the 7th grade Pirates play w/o Luke again. Again they really missed him down low which made for a very close game…but the Cardiac Kids pulled out another 2-point win, 39-37. I uploaded the game to take to Hudl as we actually had thunderstorms that night (in January!). We had some nasty, sustained winds of 35 mph with gusts in the 40s. I had to call our tree contractor to come take down an old White Pine that had partially become uprooted and was leaning badly towards my building. Ann, Matt & I watched Inferno on our big screen that night until bedtime. Well, we actually fell asleep and need to watch it again but what we saw was really good. Sadly, we heard the news that Paul’s mom Patsy passed away…she was 86. She was a very special lady that reminds me so much of Maryann. They are cut from the same cloth and come from a different era. She will be sorely missed. Our hearts are with the Drakes.
On Wednesday, the kids had a 2-hr delay due to all that rain yesterday freezing overnight. Luke returned to school and did fine. Ann & I slipped & slid our way in to work in Barney. Abby worked at Dixon Dance Studio after school and later she returned with Ann for jazz class. Matt returned to worked at the old folks’ home. And we were saddened again to learn of another death. This time it was my dear, Aunt Dorothy who passed away at the age of 89. Our thoughts and love are with Uncle Timmy and the girls.
Thursday had a warm start that cooled drastically through the day. It rained on & off most of the day. Luke returned to basketball practice after school. But had Pirateers practice after school then went on to DDS with Ann for tap class. Matt again worked at the retirement home. I walked 2 miles after work and Ann made salmon for dinner. Yum! We have lots of new social media pictures: Lindsay & Walt; Ms. Patsy; Aunt Dorothy; Bu & Pirateers; Abs & friends; Barney & fam in the Caymans; John & June with their newest grandson; the Smiths; Ms. Angie; Devin & Darby; Courtney & Cassie; the twins; classic Columbian Park; and a few memes.
It was a cooler Friday. It was Friday the 13th and a full moon – perhaps that helps explain why things were so messed up this week. It was also Matt’s last day of work before he heads back to school. Abby was in early for Optimist Club. She was supposed to attend the Winter Formal but the school cancelled it due to the threat of freezing rain (that never came). She ended up working at BWR until late. Luke had no basketball practice that night so he went home with his buddy Oakley, who recently moved out of the neighborhood. He ended up spending the night at his house. I walked another couple miles in the cold before heading to Shelbyville where I met up with Ann to see Paul and pay our respects to Ms Patsy. Although it was great to see Paul, Dayla & boys along with other friends (Pat & Penny, Wayne & Shannon and Wes & Mandy)… it just wasn’t a good setting, obviously. Sad that it takes weddings and funerals to see our friends and family anymore…one thing’s for sure, we definitely look older and fatter! Ann & I got up there early so that we could leave early to stay ahead of the impending threat of a freezing rain storm (did I say that it never came?). The weather held out, obviously and so we ended up stopping for dinner at ElRep when we got in to town. I am a creature of habit and when I find something I like, I stick with it. I ended up trying something new that night with a few of their “authentic??? Mexican tacos. I think I found a new favorite! I ended up falling asleep early (what can I say, it was a good margarita!) when we got home while Ann ended up staying up till 2 in the morning talking with Matt, Abby & Randall.
I was up early on Saturday to get a head start on paying bills and doing a few things around the house. Eventually the others started to stir and we took down the Christmas tree and decorations. We upgraded our storage system this year due to continual degradation of our ornaments. We got rid of our cardboard boxes from the 90s (OK, some from the 80s and one I think from the 70s!) and the new locking plastic bins are great. We ended up having one extra bin and one extra bulb box for future growth, so we did well in estimating our purchase. Ann “made??? Papa Johns’ pizzas for lunch. Matt got all packed up and went back to school. It was sad, but he’ll be back next weekend to work, so we will see a little of him. Abby picked up Luke for us at Oakley’s house. That night, Ann & I headed over to the high school to see Abby and the Pirateers perform at the girls’ basketball game on Senior Night against the South Dearborn Lady Knight. I watched the NFL playoff games on my phone during the game, which was a blowout. The NFL games weren’t very good though. We left at halftime, after another fabulous performance by the Pirateers. Sadly, this is their last dance for several weeks (last one this month?). I ran to Walmart for a few things while the girls went out to eat at BWR and to see Randall. He ended up coming over after he got off work and we played euchre until early in the morning. Ann made Moscow Mules, which were quite tasty.
We enjoyed sleeping in on Sunday morning. We slowly got up and did our weekly household chores. Ann made pancakes for breakfast. Randall ended up staying the night and after breakfast, he went in to work. Abby took Luke to the Messers in the afternoon to play airsoft guns with Drew out in the woods. He ended up spending the night with them. Abby worked 2nd shift at Wings & Rings. So it was a nice, quiet night for Ann & I and the dogs. We watched the NFL playoff games, including the one I’ve been waiting to see for a couple weeks – a tough game for my Cowboys vs. the red-hot Packers. The ‘Boys came out rusty after being off a couple weeks but picked it up in the 2nd quarter. They came back from 18 down and tied it with only a few seconds left but somehow Rodgers was able to get the ball down the field and we lost on a last-second field goal. What heartbreak…I’m still in disbelief. I had no doubt they would pull it out – even as that final kick was on its way to the left upright. As it turned out, the defense just couldn’t come up with a big play when it needed it…very disappointing way to end the season and yet another example of how things just didn’t turn out like we had planned this week…
Next up is our Waybac section. Today’s batch again features photo albums #7 – 12 of our young family, during our stay in the Main St home. We lead off this time in Greensburg at Christmastime – first at Gma & Gigi’s then at our Main St home in December 1998; then Matt & Darby at our home in December 1998; next we hop on a jet with Mom & Dad and head to Orlando for vacation with the mouse in May 1999; Matt at the Indy Zoo in June 1999; Matt with Jeff Gordon’s car in North Vernon in June 1999; Christmas with Keith & Rosie at our home in December 1999; Matt’s 4th bday party at our home in March 2000; Matt & Abby staying at our home with the chicken pox in June 2000; Gigi broadcasting from the newly-remodeled fairgrounds in July 2000; Matt on the new YMCA soccer field in September 2000; the Brown Family Christmas at Tammie & Brett’s house (with Aunt Dorothy & Uncle Timmy) in Rossville in November 2000; Grace’s baptism in Greensburg in November 2000; Christmas morning at our Main St home in December 2000; and Ann’s birthday party at our home in January 2001.
Next up is our video segment which features one new home movie (should’ve been five or six!) and several from around the internet.
And that does it for this week’s episode of the Scheu Family Blog. Thanks for keeping up with us this week and we’ll catch up with you again next time. Until then, have a good one. We miss ya Mom…say hi to Aunt Dorothy for me…
Later, Scheu