Boy the time is flying now! This week went really fast. We again saw everything, weather-wise: cold, hot, wet and dry. We stayed busy as always. Abby & Luke finished up school. Matt split time between working and hanging out with his buddies. Abby spent a lot of time with her besties. Luke played a lot of baseball. And Dad B had knee replacement surgery.
It was a cold day in the 50s, overcast and damp all day. Abby had Megan over and Matt had Devin over for the evening. The kids all had fun in the family room with Nintendo, playing Mario Kart and carrying on loudly. Afterwards, they enjoyed binge-watching That 70s Show, eating popcorn and sharing M&Ms. Meanwhile, Luke played Xbox online with his friends.
Tuesday was another cold day in the 50s. It was the kids’ last day of school. It was Luke’s final day of elementary school and Ann & I’s last tie to the school. We will miss many wonderful teachers and administrative staff from the school but look forward to a good experience in the middle school the next few years. Matt worked from home. Abby went to El Reparo with her friends after school. Luke & I mowed the front yard and then he pitched 60 balls to me before dinner. One of his balls got away from me and nailed me right on the ankle bone. Although it didn’t swell much, it hurt all week and is now a gross black all over it. Dad B had knee replacement surgery today. Lynn kept us updated on his progress. Luke brought home his artwork. For a 5th grader, it’s easy to see why he got an A – great job, buddy!
The kids enjoyed sleeping in on their first day of summer vacation on Wednesday. Matt worked all day and then had Devin over later. Abby had Kama over to spend the night. Luke had baseball practice while I got on treadmill. Ann cooked burgers on the grill and the kids were up late playing Mario Kart again. Dad had a rough day (lots of pain) in the hospital. Thanks again to Lynn for keeping us updated on the status of our dear old dad…
Matt was up early for work on Thursday. Abby had Pirateers practice. Luke had baseball practice. We took the Pacifica back to the shop again. Ann got a loner car – a cool Jeep that the kids loved. I mowed the backyard while Matt had Devin, Andy & Colten over for pizza and the NBA finals. Kama went home. Dad had a better day and took his first few steps. We’re with you in spirit, buddy!! We peeked online to see the kids’ report cards. Ann & I were happy to see that both Abby & Luke got straight A’s again!! Way to go, kiddos! They quickly helped themselves to new $20 bills in my wallet :0) We are so proud of those kids – now we need to get Matt on-board!
The kids did a great job of doing their chores on Friday so I took them all to the batting cages at the YMCA after work. We got a ton of tokens but didn’t need them all because Abby’s softball one got stuck and didn’t ever stop! Ann cooked dinner on the grill. Abby had Megan over to spend the night. We have lots of social media pictures to share this week: Abby, several of Jackie, Sue & Jazmine, Lyndsay, June and Kimmy’s kids, Fort Ouiatenon, the old city pool, Big Dipper and Monkey Island – all landmarks from my childhood, Jimmy Page announced that his final round of Zep reissues will be out at the end of July, Brackett and some Colts were at the school this week, Cathy & Tom at Niagra Falls, and Grace is finally back out on the road.
Saturday was another early day. Abby worked for Gigi as the “Dam Duck??? (or the Disco Duck, depending on who you ask) in Westport’s Covered Bridge Festival. Matt worked with Bryan to tear down after the high school graduation. We threw Drew in the back of our car with Luke and headed south to their baseball tourney in North Vernon. It was their annual Tri-State Tourney. In game one, we faced the Hendrix Co. Hitmen. Luke was the starting pitcher for us and looked good. He went 1 1/3 innings with a few strikeouts, a couple walks and he plunked a guy (he was fine). At the plate, he went 1-2 but was on base both times. He had a walk and then legged out an infield hit to the right side. He has gotten so fast. He had three stolen bases and scored a run. He moved to first base and then out to centerfield. It was a great game that we almost won – we were one strike away…but they instead had a walk-off single that scored 2 runs and we lost 4-5. We had a little time off so we had lunch under our pop-up gazebo. Ann packed us a picnic and I packed us a cooler so we were all set up. In game two, we faced the Indiana Thunder. The team came out flat. Luke again batted 5th in the order and went 0-1 with a strikeout. He played 1st base and centerfield again as we lost badly 1-11. We picked up Abby at Memaw & Gigi’s house and learned that American Pharaoh won the Triple Crown! That night, were up late doing our weekly household chores. We talked to Rob & Sharon over text. We really want to get down there and see them this year…we’ll see. We were happy to hear that Dad got out of the hospital and into the rehab facility.
We got to sleep in a little on Sunday until Mom O came ringing the doorbell to deliver Abby’s paycheck. We packed up the Jeep again and headed down to Luke’s baseball tourney in North Vernon. Our first game was against the Indiana Hurricanes and it was again a good game. Luke started the game at 1st base and Drew was the starting pitcher. He later played a couple innings at 3rd base before moving back over to first. He again batted 5th and hit the ball hard both times he was up. He went 1-2. He smashed a 1-hopper right at the 3rd baseman and then lined a shot to left field. He stole 2nd base and scored a run. He also made a couple nice defensive plays at first but didn’t see much action at 3rd. The team really battled but came up short, 4-7. Ann & I treated the kids to Las Chalupas for a late lunch before coming home to nap and cool down. Later, Abby had Megan over (who had tanning issue that we laughed long and hard about). Matt had all the guys over to watch the big NBA playoff game. The Cavs tied up the series, 1-1.
Our Waybac segment continues to feature items from my childhood scrapbook Mom kept for me. We only have another week or two of material before we get to break out the photo albums that Ann started back in the mid-nineties. I’m excited to get these out because I haven’t seen those in many years. We lead off this week in April 1964 with Grandpaw Brown’s K of C 4th Degree ceremony program and then quickly fast forward to the 80s again: Boston Bruin football award ’81; Riley yearbook 80/81 with the Safety Patrol: me, Mike, Brian, Scott, Carrie and several other neighborhood kids; our UAW baseball team that won the league in the summer of ’82; Boston honor roll in late ’83; a Boston track team picture in May ’84; LPHS wrestling article in December ’85; me in the paper again – this time a picture of me rushing the QB in August ’86; more football in September ’86; my El Pe senior picture from the summer of ’86; senior football team picture in late ’86; all of the grads in the paper in June ’87; another note from Grandpaw Brown in December ’90; a letter from Granny in May of ’91; and the picture inside my FC diploma booklet in June ’91.
Next up is our video section which includes two new family movies and several from around the internet this week.
And that does it for this 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