Save the Last Dance for Me

Lightning bugs? Check. Fifteen hours of daylight? Check. Heat index above 100? Check. Gnats and Japanese beetles pestering us? Check. Pop-up fireworks stores back in town? Check. Riding in the back of an old pickup truck around town? Check. Yep, it must be summertime in Indiana! Throw in three days of what appeared to be a full moon in the night sky and you have our week in a nutshell. And it wasn’t just our environment – the kids were in full summer mode as well with Matt working full time at Aspen Place and spending time with his girlfriend, Abby working full time at Wings & Rings and spending time with friends and her boyfriend, and Luke playing four ball games and spending time with his friends. Ann’s shots don’t seem to be doing much for her knees but she still enjoyed spending some porch time with her friends at ball games. I got back on track with my exercise this week, though the diet still needs some improvement. I did manage to get in almost 19 miles in the heat and feel pretty good as I write this entry today. Thank God for air conditioning! Hello again and welcome back to the Scheu Family Blog.

Luke & I were up early on Monday morning for football practice. His basketball practice was cancelled. Matt enjoyed the day off from work. He had a doctor appointment in Columbus that went well. Abby worked at BWR. Ann & I enjoyed fast days at work, thankfully, as we prepared to work a full week for the first time in a while. I walked a 5K after work around the airport property. Angie dropped off Drew at our house and the boys jumped in the back of the truck and we headed out to the complex for our opening playoff game on D1 vs. the Greensburg Cubs. Coaches Bryan & Matt couldn’t make it so it was just Matthew & I – just like old times when he used to help me coach Luke & Abby’s teams through the years. We were short kids and had to play with only 8 boys that evening. That obviously left us short on defense but helped us turn the lineup over four times in six innings and we won 7-3 to take game 1 of the 3-game, season-ending series. Luke played first base the whole game and recorded a pair of unassisted outs as well as four assisted outs, including one of the defensive gems of the game! On a ball hit hard to short, Brogan threw the ball wide and up the line. As Ehan (one of the fastest kids in Luke’s class) was just about to reach safely, Luke came off the base, nabbed the ball and swipe tagged him in the face just before he touched the bag and was called out! From the plate, he broke out of his slump big time going 3-3 with a double, a pair of singles and a walk in his four plate appearances. He stole four bases, knocked in a run and scored a pair of runs as well. In his first at-bat, he hit a towering shot – the hardest ball he’s hit all year – that almost went out! It ended up one-hopping the left field fence and he pulled up with a stand-up double. To celebrate their victory and individual successes (Drew went 2-4, drove in a couple runs and had a 0 ERA in two innings of relief to earn a save), I took the boys out for dinner. They hopped in the back of Betty White on a beautiful summer night under a full moon and Matt (it was so cool to coach with him – he’s great with the kids) followed us in Bébé. We tried to go to ElRep, but their card reader was down so we ran over to Wendy’s for a quick dinner. The boys enjoyed the lovely summer air in the back of the truck as we dropped off Drew at his house and then we did a Chinese fire drill on the way back and Luke drove me home. He let himself off at Addison’s house (we played him tonight with his dad as the Cub’s head coach). Later, then the boys came over to our house and Addison stayed the night. We lead off this week with a slew of pictures from Abby’s final dance competition last week.

Matt was the first one out of the house on Tuesday morning, as he headed in to work. Abby enjoyed the day off and spent it writing thank you notes. Luke slept in and Addison went home. It rained most of the day and stormed for a couple hours. It stopped in time for me to walk another 5K. It was a cooler day but the storms left our old friend Mr. Humidity behind – like that house guest that just won’t go away. It was at the 90% level that afternoon when we came home. That evening, Ann took a nap while I ran out to the high school to watch Luke and the Pirates face Jennings County in a football practice game. The scrimmage ran 20 varsity plays on offense and then 20 on defense. That was followed by 20 JV plays on offense / defense apiece and then repeated both a second time. Luke did not get any varsity reps at this scrimmage due to still learning the program. In fact, the coaches spent much of their time working with him as he played all the JV plays – 80 in all! Offensively, he played fullback for most of the time but also moved to tight end in a few formations. On defense, he played middle linebacker the whole time. With Ehan sitting out this year, he should see a lot of playing time but will have to learn that position (he played outside linebacker the last two years). Now I’m having second thoughts about not running the Pirates defense in youth football, as that was the last time he played this position…but it’s really cool that he’s being groomed for that spot! Afterward we stopped at Chester’s and brought home dinner. Here are pictures from Luke’s game last week that I missed – thanks to Gigi for the pictures of him & Drew facing the Cubs!

Wednesday was a warmer, humid day. Ann had a meeting and got her hair done, so we drove separately. My day flew by then I walked a 5K, sweating profusely. Matt & Abby both worked first shift then had the night off. Luke enjoyed a quiet day at home then I picked him up and we ran out to the complex for game 2 of the Babe Ruth tourney vs. the Cubs. Luke started and played first base the whole game again. He went 2-3 with a pair of doubles, was hit by a pitch and hit into a fielder’s choice, again reaching base in all four plate appearances. He had two RBIs, stole three bases and scored a run on our way to winning 15-8 to win the Babe Ruth tourney for the second straight year! It was our fifth straight title since rejoining the league after our Titans excursion and our seventh overall for Bryan & I! We were missing Bryan again and the kids rallied around his absence to win the game for him! Matthew was again a HUGE help by getting the boys prepared in pre-game and being my 3rd base coach. I dropped Luke off at home so he could shower and then go over to a girl’s house while the rest of us celebrated with dinner and drinks at El Rep! After dinner, Abs went out with friends until late. Ann fell asleep in her chair (worn out from “porch time” in right field -with Angie), Matt Face-Timed Taylor and went to bed. And I submitted an article & picture to the Daily News. The sports editor thanked me and said it would be in the paper on Friday. Here are pictures from Luke’s 15th birthday party last weekend.

I was up early to run Luke to football practice on a hot, humid Thursday that quickly jumped back into the 90s. Matt & Abby both worked. I had a long day at work, completing the first half of my semi-annual hazard surveillance rounds then walked 5K on a sweaty afternoon. I got in well over 10K steps by the time we headed home that evening. Luke & I went to baseball for the third time this week. That evening, the game was just for fun. We threw different pitchers, including a pair of guys that hadn’t pitched all year and two that had only pitched once. The infielders played in the outfield and vice versa. And we flipped the batting order completely upside down. We hadn’t planned to win the game until we got going and after keeping it close through the first couple innings, we blew it wide open in the 3rd – bringing fifteen boys to the plate and held on to win 11-5. That brought us up to a 7-7 record on the year, unofficially – who would’ve guessed that a month ago?? Luke started at catcher and then moved to right centerfield as we only had 8 players that night again. Luke batted 7th out of 8 players and went 3-3 with a double, 2 singles and a walk in his four plate appearances. He batted in two runs, stole four bases and scored two runs. As has become tradition, Bryan took the kids out for ice cream at the Parkside Sweet Shoppe to celebrate the conclusion of another season. We hung out for a while with the kids and talked about all-stars. The bad thing is that I still don’t know anything about all-stars (I’m not sure anyone does)! All I know is that Luke & Drew have been named to the team but I have no idea about anyone else. That evening, we did get clarification on our record and it has been updated from 7-7 to 8-6! Previously, I counted that one game where we faced 2 teams at once as a loss. I had counted the overall points by us against those of the two Franklin County teams and they had more overall than us. Instead, we now are counting only the points against the scheduled team and considering the points against the non-scheduled team as a practice/scrimmage game. Essentially, we subtracted one loss and added one victory to give us a winning record on the year! We are anxious to see the overall records of all the teams in our league to see how we finished the year. Afterward, Matt & Abby went to ElRep again for dinner while the rest of us came home where Ann made Fireworks popcorn for dinner. We tried to watch a couple TV shows, but I fell asleep early on the couch. Here are pictures of Luke and the Marlins facing the Indians last week.

Friday was another hot, humid day from the get-go. It was also another long day of EOC rounds, another sweaty 5K walk and another day with the heat index over 100°. Matt and Abby both worked again at their respective employers while Luke enjoyed a rare day off. Ann & Taylor surprised Matt by having Taylor come stay the night with us. She set him up pretty good. As he was showering, she arrived at the house. When he got out, she called him and asked if he got his package on the front porch. When he came out to check, she was there waiting to surprise him! I wish I could’ve seen his face. Ann made pork chops on the grill with red potatoes and baked, cheesy broccoli for dinner. I got a shower to cool down after my long day and then fell asleep early again. Here are pictures of Miles’ graduation party and the day after from last weekend.

Luke & I were up early on Saturday to get a head start on yard work before it got too hot outside. Abby worked a double shift out at Buffalo Wings & Rings while Matt had the day off to spend with Taylor. They went to ElRep for lunch. Meanwhile, Luke & I mowed and trimmed at Mom & Sandy’s house, hauled some large trash to the dumpster at the station and then came back and mowed / trimmed at home on a gruelingly hot and nasty day with the heat index well in excess of 100°. Ann did her weekly household chores as Luke & I grabbed a quick shower and a bite to eat. We all enjoyed naps that afternoon, lounging in the glorious air conditioning. Later, I paid bills (I hate paying bills) while Ann made dinner. Everyone agreed, her chicken lazone was amazing that night! We also had our summertime favorite side – corn on the cob. Yum! Luke ran around the neighborhood with his buddies until late. Ms. Taylor had to leave us and headed home later, after Ann made a pan of cookies for the kids that smelled scrumptious (they weren’t keto-friendly). Here are random pictures from our recent adventures.

I enjoyed sleeping in on Sunday morning. Not sure why I’ve been so tired this week. I wonder if it has anything to do with all the carbs I had enjoyed the last couple weeks and am just now returning back to normal. Matt had to get up early for work at AP. Abby spent the night at Trevin’s house and came back that morning long enough to get a cup of coffee, get cleaned up, change and head right back out for yet another double shift at BWR. Luke spent most of the day playing Fortnight and napping. I eventually got up and did my weekly household chores. As I wrote out today’s blog entry, I got caught up on my DVR’ed shows – classic sci-fi (Star Trek & Battlestar Galactica), races (trucks, Xfinity & Cup), Bellator & UFC fights, Humyns and 4 hours of Ancient Aliens! Ann made tuna salad for dinner as we enjoyed the slower pace today. I have to admit, I’m pretty worn out from all the excitement this week and enjoyed taking it easy today. We have lots of social media pictures to share this week.

Next up is our Waybac section. This week, we have a surprise batch of pictures from Ann’s family. She recently re-discovered some old pictures from her cousin Jill. I don’t have all the dates and definitely don’t have all the names, but I think I might have them all in the proper decade / order. We lead off with a post card from Ann’s great uncle in 1932; then MaryAnn with her mom & dad at Lake McCoy in the early 1940s; a family picture and a Christmas picture in the 1950s; Ann’s great-grandma on the farm with her animals in 1953; MaryAnn & Dean’s wedding in November 1958; a couple school pictures in the 1960s; several different family pictures from the 1970s; Ann’s uncle in his Michael Jackson jacket in the 1980s; Ann’s cousin Jill and cousins in September, 1981; and Ann’s cousin John’s wedding in 2009.

We wrap up this entry with our video segment, which features one new family movie this week as well as 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 time out and we’ll catch up with you again next time. Until then, have a good one. We miss ya, Mom.
Later, Scheu