Another week has sped past us already. The kids wrapped up classes and kicked off their summer vacations. It certainly felt like summer as the temperatures were in the 90s every day this week. The humidity reared its evil head this week as well. Graduation party season started for us this week. We continued to plan and prepare for Abby’s party, which is next weekend. Matt continued to work several hours, stay in-shape with his workouts and even got to see Miss Taylor for a little while. Abby worked every day, I think – getting in full time hours. Luke travelled to the east coast, played in a baseball game and was honored with a really cool award at school. Ann’s knees were unbearable for her this week, but her headaches seem to be better. Despite the excessive heat, I managed to get in about 17 miles, bettering my goal of 15 this week. It was a long Memorial Day weekend and it made us think of years past. This was historically a big weekend for us, as we generally opened our pool on this weekend. We really missed it this weekend. It’s the first time this year that I’ve really missed having that in our backyard. Matt & I were out there this weekend and it’s wild how much it has changed. Five years or so ago, we had a big privacy fence, a pool, an immaculate lawn, trees…it was our little oasis. Now, we’re surrounded by houses and the backyard has lost its magic it once held. We need to do something new with it at some point to recapture that magic… Hello again and welcome back to the Scheu Family Blog.
It was back to work for Matt, Ann & I. Abby went back to school and finished her job-shadowing at Stradley’s. She took Tonya to Five Points to get a screw removed from her tire. Luke enjoyed his first full day in DC with his classmates. That day, they visited the Gettysburg battlefield then went on to the White House, the Pentagon and wound up in Virginia for a ghost tour in Alexandria. Ann had a fast day at work then made a stir fry dinner that was delicious. I had a busy but very long day at work then walked about 3 miles on a hot, humid afternoon. It thundered and rained on me a little bit…even though the sun was shining nearly the whole walk! Luke’s baseball game got cancelled due to not enough kids, so we decided to have batting practice on diamond 1…but the weather didn’t cooperate and we had to cancel practice as well. We watched a couple of our favorite shows’ finales. First up was Timeless and then the American Idol finale show. …And your 2018 American Idol is…Maddie Poppe! Here are pictures from Abby’s final Dixon Dance Revue where she won Miss Personality!
Luke enjoyed his second full day in Washington DC on Tuesday. That day, he toured the monuments, the Capital building, the Pentagon, the National Archives, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural & American History, ate at McGill’s pizza then had a cool night tour of the monuments. Abby enjoyed her final day of classes then worked at Wings & Rings. Matt worked at Aspen Place where he saw Gigi, who had a WTRE promo going. He later Face-Timed with Ms. Taylor. Ann enjoyed another fast day then cooked tilapia for dinner. I had a long, busy day at work then walked a 5K on another 90-degree day.
Wednesday was Luke’s last day in DC. Matt slept in then went to Gma’s house for lunch and then worked out at the high school. Abby went to one class then left school early to join Matt at Memaw’s house. She got to drive the Crossfire – Gigi forgot to put an end date on it, so good luck to her ever seeing it this summer! ???? She later worked at BWR again. Ann had a fast day at work then went out with Shawna for dinner and a cocktail. I had a fast day then walked a 5K on another hot afternoon. At least the humidity was lower, but it was still a sweaty walk! When I got home, I sprayed the yard again for weeds – let’s hope it takes out the rest of those nasty broadleaves! Abs called after work, saying the Crossfire wouldn’t start. So, I went out and helped her get it jumped with one of our car starters. We took it to get washed and let the battery charge for about a half hour. When we got home and shut it off, we noticed the lights were flashing and it was making a loud noise. We think the anti-theft system must be malfunctioning for some reason and maybe that is what ran down the battery. We simply pulled the fuse to shut it up and get it secured for now, but we’ll have to tell Gigi and see if Jerry can look at it and figure out what the heck is happening. Luke & his class got returned from Washington DC about an hour earlier than expected. Ann ran out to get him about midnight and bring his weary butt home. Here are pictures of Luke facing the Cubs last week.
On Thursday, Matt was back at AP for work, early that morning. Luke & Abby went to school one last time – this time for Awards Day. Ann & I met up with Mom & Sandy at the high school. Unfortunately, Abs won no awards ?. Luke didn’t want us to come to his ceremony, saying we would embarrass him since no one else’s parents ever come. I wanted to go, but I didn’t want to embarrass him. He was awarded with the coveted All-Sports Award for receiving at least 7 junior high varsity letters. Way to go, Duke! Ann & I got into work just before lunchtime. Both of us had a fast day then I walked a 5K on another hot day, right around 90°. Bu went out with friends all day then worked at BWR before spending the night at a friend’s house. Luke came home and went straight to bed – I tried to get him to go take batting practice at the YMCA cages and then go for a Frosty at Wendy’s, but he refused to get up (even for dinner) and slept through the night. Matt went out to ElRep with friends for dinner and then I picked him up later and brought him home so he didn’t have to drive. Ann & I enjoyed a quiet evening on the couches, enjoying the A/C.
Luke & Abby slept in on Friday while Ann & I had to get up for work. I had a fast day then walked 3 miles on a hot afternoon in the 90s again. It was the kids first official day of summer vacation! I ran Matt out to his buddy’s house to pick up Bébé. He ended up driving up to Centerville and spent the day and night with Taylor. Abby (still driving the Crossfire) ended up working at Wings & Rings until late. Luke had Drew & Drayden over for awhile then I took Luke & Drew to our baseball game at the complex. Bryan & Angie had to miss the game as they had a previous engagement, so Coach Haviland & I coached the kids that night. We faced the Cubs again and as in previous games, we were missing several starters again that night. Luke played catcher the whole game. He went 1-2 from the plate with a double. He was hit by Oakley to reach base in his second at-bat and then Oak struck him out on a nasty curveball in his final at-bat. Ann came out to see us lose our 5th straight game, 3-4. We really could’ve won this game. We took the boys out to dinner at El Reparo. The boys enjoyed riding in the back of Betty White to and from the game. There’s nothing like riding in the back of a pickup in the summertime. The boys had friends over and they hung out at the in the family room while I turned-in early, worn-out from the coaching and maybe from the 48 oz margarita? Drew spent the night and the boys were up way too late… Here are pictures from Luke’s baseball game vs. Franklin County Remax last week.
We were awakened early on Saturday morning by Gigi, who was having a computer issue. The station had dead silence over the radio waves as her command computer crashed. It controls the whole programming portion, when put in automatic – allowing the employees to leave the building and have lives outside the station. We managed to get a new power supply installed, but it didn’t help the overall issue and she had to call in an expert. He was able to diagnose it with a motherboard issue. Sandy & I talked and asked them to remove the hard drives from the damaged case and put them into a spare computer she had at the station to at least achieve partial recovery. That did the trick and the girls were finally able to leave for the weekend. Luke & Drew got up and mowed the lawn then joined me at the station where they created a live request show, called appropriately, “The Luke & Drew Hour.??? Afterward, I drove them over to Mom & Sandy’s house where they mowed through the rain. They rode bikes back to our house in a light drizzle. Ann & Bu got to go visit Ms. Phyllis, as she was finally home and feeling up for visitors on her 81st birthday. I was hoping to go with them, but was busy helping at the station. I got cleaned up at home and Ann, Abby & I ran to a couple graduation parties that afternoon. First we stopped at Shawn & Ali’s house for Kyran’s party. They had a good turnout and had some delicious wood-fired pizzas. We saw Gigi and a few other Biddingers as well as the Messers and other friends. We had a few beverages, enjoyed the pizza and laughed through the sweat on an overly humid afternoon. We had to cut it short and head over to Pat & Shawna’s house for Chance’s party. There, we enjoyed their taco bar and a cold beverage. We again had to cut it short – this time we had to get Abby home to change for work. Afterward, I ran Luke, Drew & Alex out to the pool in the back of the truck then they rode their bikes home. Later, the boys rode in the back of the truck out to the Messer’s, where they swam in the pond and camped outside in the tent. Abby had to go in to BWR again to work. Matt eventually came home from Miss Taylor’s house, driving home through a late t-storm His car did fine until he got into town and it died while driving through the park. I’m not sure what’s up with that, but it started right back home and brought him home. Meanwhile, Ann & I relaxed in the A/C on another hot day in the 90’s. Here are pictures from our recent adventures.
I tried to sleep in on Sunday, but work was having issues and so I got up and helped them to figure stuff out. Matt worked early at the old folks’ home. I test drove Bébé and she did just fine, so I’m hoping the check engine light will go out or he may have to take it to Auto Zone to see what’s going on. Abby went in to work at Wings & Rings and Ann & I watched the annual Breakfast at the Brickyard feature on the 13 news. I love the leadup to the race and seeing all the people in the Circle City. It is the greatest day in racing each year, with the Indy 500, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Coca-Cola 600 all taking place. Luke came back from Messers just in time for the Indy 500 to start. It was a little slow early on due to the hot temps, the tires Firestone brought this year and the new down-force package changes. Things got heated up with about 50 to go when the passes got intense and the wrecks inevitably followed. Unfortunately, two of my faves wrecked out – Danica & Helio. It was quite possibly their last Indy 500s, but time will tell… In the end, it was Will Power who won the race. During the race, I created a playlist for Abby’s grad party next weekend. Matt got home just as the race ended and we put on the F1 race, which was fun to watch. There was a late-race crash that set up the win for Daniel Ricciardo. Everybody ended up getting in a short nap that afternoon. Ann cooked steaks on the grill for dinner. Matt & I enjoyed the heat and humidity along with some adult beverages as we played a best-of-nine series of cornhole. He was the big wiener. Although spending time with my oldest son made me a winner too. We had to take a break to go replenish our stock – how nice it is to have the liquor stores open on Sundays now! We came in from the heat, after the sun went down and got cooled back off and watched the Coca-Cola 600 race. Well, I tried anyhow – I fell asleep early on, worn out from all the outdoor activity. Luke went out with his buddies in the neighborhood, ending up next door at the neighbor’s pool. The boys came over and watched the Cavs beat the Celtics to win the East. It was a great way to end the week on a high note. We have lots of social media pictures to share this week.
Next up is our Waybac section, which features a few more of the last bit of pictures from our next three photo albums. We’ve got enough for a few more weeks before I will have to sit down and scan the next album or two. We lead off this week again in May 2002 – first at Walt Disney World for our family vacation (character dinner at the Polynesian) and then back home at Washington Field (Matt’s soccer game). Next, we fast-forward to December 2002 – first Ann, early on Christmas morning then over to Mom & Sandy’s for Dee & Chad’s birthdays and then Christmas Eve for Santa’s visit at our house. We end up in January 2003 where we see Matt & Abby’s snowmen and Matt warming up, back inside afterward during Christmas Break.
Our final section is our video segment, which features five new home movies as well as several from around the internet.
And that does it for this week’s edition 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