We had a crazy week, here at the Scheu household. Luke focused on football this week – including another game. Matt finished his junior year only a couple weeks before starting his senior year at college…and achieved an important milestone. As usual, Abby was the busiest of us all – she had three soccer games, began dance classes at Dixon, had her first Pirateers performance in between finding time for senior pictures, school, work and a social life. Ann & I were constantly on the go, chasing them around and enjoying every minute of it. Ann still had headaches but it was her knees that hindered her the most during our adventures this week. With us having something going on every night, it was hard to find time to get my 15 miles and I fell short, feeling lucky to have gotten in the 10 ½ miles that I did. We got to see Mom & Sandy a couple times and even found time to see our good friends. It was a full week through and through. I didn’t even get a chance to edit all the pictures and video from this week. We do have videos and pictures from last weekend’s concert as well as football and two of three soccer games. Unfortunately, I simply ran out of time to do the Pirateers dance and Bu’s weekend soccer game. It was so hot this week, it’s hard to believe we are in school and not a beach somewhere! Hello again and welcome to this week’s episode of the Scheu Family Blog.
I was thankful that I took the day off on Monday to enjoy sleeping in after being out late last night with Abby at the Foreigner concert. I ran Gigi’s card back to her (thanks again to her for the great pix at Luke’s game last week and all the pictures from this week!) then picked up our annual All-Sports passes from the high school. I met up with Abs at her appointment and swung in to ElRep for a quick lunch before she headed back to school and I came home and did my weekly household chores and wrote out the blog while catching up on my DVR’ed shows. It was a nice, quiet day. Meanwhile Ann & Matt went back to work. Annie had a long, tiring day. Matt went back to Indy after work and had night school, staying up at his apartment for the better part of the week. Luke & Bu went in to school that morning. Lukey had football practice then went shoe shopping and got new cleats and gloves. Abby was worn out but I give her credit for being a trooper. After a full day of high-level classes, she had soccer practice, Pirateers practice, a dance class at Dixon with Kuyhlia and then did her homework late with Trevin – no wonder she has headaches! Ann made tacos for dinner. That evening, we were saddened to hear of Uncle Kenny’s passing. He died last Thursday but no one notified us and we missed his funeral yesterday. Thanks to Mindi for getting with Ann so that I could hear the news. I called Dad & Rob to tell them the news as well. He was always so nice to Mom & I. I’ll always remember him for playing euchre for hours on end with Grandmaw & Grandpaw or Mom & Dad B, for his annual fish fries (still the hands-down best fish I’ve ever had in my life) and for using salt in his Schaffer Beer. We’ll miss ya, Uncle Kenny. With Aunt Marilou, Uncle Kenny, Aunt Dorothy and Grandmaw & Grandpaw Brown all passed away, that leaves only Uncle Timmy as our lone patriarch on that side of our family (the Brown branch of our family tree). I was supposed to have a coaches meeting, but we had to cancel. We hope to get back to form next week. As promised, here are all the pictures from Abby & I last weekend at Deer Creek for the Foreigner / Cheap Trick / Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Experience show last Sunday night.
I returned to work on Tuesday morning with Ms. Ann. I walked 3 miles after a long day at work on a hot, humid, 90-degree day. Matt stayed at school to study for his big final tomorrow and also went to IUPUI to take his CASA entrance exam to get in to the U Indy Education department for his degree. He texted us after the test and said he had confirmation of passing the first two parts and was waiting to hear about the third one but that he felt very positive about it (later, he was notified that he had made it!). Way to go, buddy! Ann & I left early to come watch Abby in her soccer game vs Rising Sun at the Pirate Pitch. Abs didn’t start and honestly she didn’t play nearly as much as last game for whatever reason. The girls weren’t ready today and came out completely flat. Rising Sun – on the other hand – was fast, aggressive and well-coached. They quickly built a lead and poured it on, going up 9-0 at halftime. We switched goalies at the half and only gave up one goal. It made no difference though, as our offense was non-existent and we were blown away, 0-10 – leaving their record at 0-2 on the year. I left at halftime and walked across campus to Luke’s football game next door vs. Franklin Co. Luke again represented the team as a quad-captain and played FB, OLB, kickoff team and kickoff return team. The boys played excellent team defense and were up 6-0 at the half after making an impressive goal line stand to end the half! The defense was the only score of the game at that point as we intercepted a pass and turned it into a pick-six. We came out a little flat after halftime and went down 6-8 as we entered the final quarter. We had a nice drive to get down to about their 20-yardline but our second-string QB (remember, we lost our 1st stringer before the season even started!) got injured and we had to bring in our emergency QB – Luke’s best friend Drew – on fourth down. Although he was able to complete a sweet pass, the receiver was well short of the first down marker and we turned the ball over on downs. The boys were noticeably deflated as the momentum began to shift. On the ensuing play they ran an end-around and broke it for a long TD run. After that, many of the boys simply gave up and we were done…making blunder after blunder. Coach Harris will be none too happy to see the play of the boys in the 4th quarter. The offense struggled all evening and were shut out in this game. The line wasn’t staying with their blocks, the backs weren’t blocking for each other and runners had to break tackles to get positive yards the entire night. To their credit, they took this game on a two-day turnaround. They played last Thursday, had a light practice on Friday (still nursing sore muscles after the game), had the weekend off and went “pro-pads??? on Monday (a light practice that ensures no injuries the day before a game) and then played on Tuesday. It showed in the offense because they were DOA. Again; can’t say enough about how good the defense played – but we still need to work on the outside containment. The Pirates suffered their first loss of the season, 6-22 as they broke another one for a long TD late in the game. Luke’s stats for the game: 6 rushes for 23 yards, 7 tackles and 1 hurry (it came on a blitz that was nearly a sack but caused the pick-six). The young Pirates’ record now stands at 1-1 on the year. Mom & Sandy came to watch – thx to Gigi for the awesome pix! After the soccer game, Ann, Abby & Trevin all came over to support Lukey as well. We came home after the game to have taco salad and upload the video to Hudl for the players and coaches to review in the morning.
Ann was off on Wednesday to be with Bu for her appointments. Later that day, she had senior pictures with Farren Carlson Photography…and they turned out amazingly! I walked about 4 ½ miles after work. Abby had soccer practice that evening then hurried to Pirateers before going to Dixon again for back-to-back competition dance classes. Ann joined her at the studio to do her dance mom thing. Luke had football practice then we went and got him a new mouth guard and ended up throwing the football in the front yard for him to work on pass catching with his new gloves. A little later, I went over at Bryan’s house to comfort him after a long 24 hours and a procedure earlier today. He looked pretty good and we took it easy, enjoying a cocktail at the Sunken Boat Bar and watching a war movie on the big screen. We called it an early night so he could get some rest and I came home and worked on another computer for Shawna’s girls. Matt went to his final exam to finish up summer school and just about aced it! He was so relieved and even got registered for fall classes. Later, Ann did all the financial stuff for Matt so he’s all good to go now.
On Thursday, Abby was up and out the door to Pirateers practice before school. That evening she and her teammates travelled to face South Dearborn in a soccer matchup. Ann & I had another short day then traveled to Aurora to support Bu and the Lady Pirates. They were missing a couple players that night and were completely out-classed and got smoked, 0-15 on a nearly-unbearable day for soccer, dropping to 0-3 on the year. The heat index was well above 100 degrees. During the 2nd half, Abby went out suddenly with a breathing issue and had to have a hit off of a teammate’s puffer. I had my first official senior moment during the game. The guy sitting beside me leans over after one of the Knights’ numerous goals and says, “That’s my granddaughter that scored that goal.??? I smiled and acknowledged him and then he says to me, “Do you have a grandchild playing today???? 😛 Ann didn’t say much about that comment during the game; she just snickered and smirked at me…but she gave me shit about it for the rest of the week. Abs didn’t play much due to having those asthma-like symptoms, although she was OK after using an inhaler, thankfully. Luke’s football practice was cancelled due to the threat of the thunderstorms and the high heat index but did enjoy Picture Day, saying he made funny faces for the photographer. Man, I hope not… Somehow he forgot to turn in his form! How does that even happen?? I’ll have to wait a few weeks and try to order them online. Matt worked at Aspen Place where he said the kitchen was nearly 90 degrees. Needless to say, we all enjoyed the A/C that evening during leftover night at the house.
We finally got a break from the humidity on Friday after we got a little bit of rain overnight. Abby was up early and out the door again for an early Pirateers practice before school so I ran Luke to the junior high before heading in to work. My day went super-fast and before I knew it, I was out walking 3 miles before heading home. Luke had football practice after classes and Abby had soccer practice. She went on to Pirateers for last-minute fine-tuning and then performed twice at the varsity football game. Ann & I sat in our usual seats on the far side of the stands, which are very nice. The handrails allow folks to safely go up and down those stairs but the aluminum material really reflects the light and we joke that we have tans on our left sides from it! Mom & Sandy joined us as well as the Wests and even Matthew, who worked the early shift out at the old-folks home and came home to sleep for a few hours. The Pirateers performed their pregame routine with the high school band and Abby got to hold the American flag during the anthem. After a rough first half for the Pirates, they gained some momentum after blocking a punt and scoring a field goal as time expired before intermission. During the halftime show, the girls performed with the band again and looked great. It was good to see them FINALLY out dancing again. The game itself was one-sided as the boys lost 10-31. We took advantage of being able to leave at halftime. As Coach Nobbe pointed out, we won’t be able to do that next year with Luke on the sideline! Luke stayed to watch end of the game with buddies but the rest of us left. While Abby & Ann went to Trevin’s mom’s birthday party, Matt & I had a celebratory dinner and drinks at ElRep to mark the end of the school year and the official acceptance into the UI School of Education! We sat in the bar and enjoyed a couple cocktails and another excellent dinner. We had a great father / son talk that I really enjoyed and were good boys, calling it an early evening. We came home and had another drink before he took a phone call from his friend and I ended up falling asleep on the couch, watching TV. Here are some random pictures from this week’s adventures.
Matt was up early again on Saturday morning to head in to work at AP. He came home from work, got cleaned up and headed to Bloomington to spend the weekend with his buddy at IU. Abby was the next one out the door as she met up with her teammates to head over to Union County to play another soccer game. It must’ve rained a little overnight, as the car and roads were a little damp. Ann & I let Luke sleep in as we travelled to Liberty to watch the Lady Pirates face the smaller Patriots team. We matched up fairly well, talent-wise, with their girls. However, their coach had a better game plan and we again struggled on both ends of the pitch and were again shut-out. This time it was better, only losing 0-6 but their record now stands at 0-4. The girls played hard but still couldn’t do much. It was so hot today, which didn’t help things. Abby ended up having another breathing issue and had to come out of the game in the 2nd half and did not return. She was fine again afterwards, but we are a little concerned at this point. To add insult to injury, we heard that Emma might have a concussion now as well as Kiersten. Between these two and Abby, that’s half of the seniors on the team. The girls stayed to watch the boys play afterward. Trevin is the captain of the boys’ soccer team but they didn’t have much better luck than the girls, unfortunately. We got pulled over on the way to the game, just as we entered Rushville. The trooper was very cool and let me off with a warning. He even messed with me a little bit, asking me if there was a reason why my license would come back suspended…eventually telling me it didn’t but he just wanted to know if there was any reason it would and then cracked a grin. We still made it on time to see the girls. Ann & I (on the recommendation of the officer) drove to Brookville Lake after the game to eat at Ainsley’s Café for lunch. We figured it would only be good karma so we paid it forward. We came home afterward and both took naps. Abby got in a few winks then had to work at BWR. Luke stayed home all day and rearranged his room. He decided not to mow/trim the yard (it really didn’t need it), so I’ll try and knock it out mid-week or so if we get a break in the action next week. Later, Ann & I went to the Nobbes for the evening and enjoyed talking and laughing with them, the Messers and the Reynolds. We enjoyed a few cold beverages and really had a good time with our friends. We have lots of new social media pictures to share.
We enjoyed sleeping in on Sunday morning. Matt stayed at IU all day. Abby had to go to work at Wings & Rings. Luke went to his friend’s house to go swimming. Ann fixed a tasty pasta dish for lunch but otherwise slept all day. Meanwhile I did weekly household chores and watched Kyle Busch sweep the three Bristol races as well as some NFL action. I saw where the Cowboys beat the Colts last night in preseason play.
Next up is our Waybac section which continues to feature our young family when we were just a foursome in our new Ryle home. We lead off this week with the cover shot of Mom & Dad O’s 1953 GCHS yearbook; then Abby at the Greensburg Park and a trip up to Pine Lake in LP for a ride on Aquaholic – both in August 2001; next Abby’s 2nd bday party at our new Ryle home in September 2001; then Matt’s birthday party at Parkside Lanes with buddies in March 2002; Matt & Gracie getting haircuts in March 2003; Abby’s birthday at Gma & Gigi’s house in September 2002; Matt playing soccer at Washington Fields in September 2002; and finally our first glimpses of our little Lukey in November 2002.
We end with our video section which features 10 new home movies this week as well as several from around the internet.
Well that does it for this week’s entry into the Scheu Family Blog. We want to thank you for keeping up with us this time out and we’ll catch up with you again next time. Until then, have a good one. We miss ya Mom…
Later, Scheu