Say, is that Rain or are they Tears?

We lots of drops falling this week – both in the form of tears at the start of the week and rain at the end of the week. It was a week of milestones as we survived Abby’s Senior Night for dance and toured another school with her. She had a very busy week! Luke was back to being a two-sport athlete this week with his weightlifting for football and getting in a couple baseball workouts this week. Matt came home twice this week – once at the start of the week to celebrate Abby’s big night and then he came home this weekend to work as well. Ann was busy with After Prom and scrapbooking. I continued to work on my diet and exercise, surpassing my goal of 15 miles walking and following my keto diet…with a couple exceptions this week. The dogs have some sort of allergy thing going (as they do every year at this time…do they make doggy Benadryl??) right now. We had a deluge of rain towards the end of the week as it started raining on Wednesday and didn’t stop until Sunday morning. With it, came lots of flooding in the area – and it’s only supposed to get worse the next couple of days. And this week the whole town was a-buzz with Hello again and welcome back to the latest installment of the Scheu Family Blog.

We enjoyed a warm start to the week on Monday as temps soared to the mid-seventies. Abby went in early for her final Pirateers practice of her high school career, as the girls worked out the last few issues of the dance that Abby choreographed. Afterward, she & the Pirateers performed their final routine of the year and the last time Bu will dance on the basketball court. We ran Luke to school that morning before making the trek to Columbus. Abs had psych class that morning at the Learning Center (college class) then job shadowed at Stradley’s office again. It was a very fast day for everyone. After work, I walked a 5K on a very blustery day. Luke had football practice at the Fieldhouse. That evening, we met up with Matt, who came down from U Indy for to support Abby and the four of us drove over to the high school to see Abby perform on Senior Night. Gma & Gigi also came out and sat with us for the big night. Before the game, Bu & the Pirateers did pregame one more time then presented the colors during the National Anthem. The boys varsity team played South Ripley in their final home game of the season (which they won). Shortly before the half ended, Ann & I walked down and met up with the other parents, including Bryan & Angie who were there with Miles and Ally & Shawn who were there with Ky. Neither Ann or I remember anything that was said during the ceremony nor could we hear what the announcer was saying about Abby because their sound system absolutely sucks and everyone was so loud for Abby. Thanks to Matt for manning the video camera and Gigi for all the great photos from that evening. Unfortunately, Matt stopped taping and didn’t get back up to get the camera restarted in time to hear the special message for Abby, where the announcer said that she had choreographed the routine and the team thanked her for all that she had done over the past four years. The dance was called, “Sorry Not Sorry Megamix.” There were lots of tears before, during and after the evenings’ events. We met up with everyone, out in the lobby during the 3rd quarter to get more pictures of the big evening. We decided not to stay for the game and instead took off to get dinner at Wings & Rings. On the way, Mom & Sandy backed out, but Trevin joined us to celebrate. Afterward, Matt headed back up to school & Bu went to Trevin’s house until late while Ann & I felt asleep watching the Olympics.

Tuesday was another gorgeous day that actually hit the 80s! It was another fast day and I walked a 5K after work on a humid, windy day with 40 mph gusts. It made walking a challenge when going into it! Luke went to football practice after school and Abby had Big Brothers / Big Sisters at lunchtime then worked at BWR until late.

We endured a 40-degree drop on Wednesday as it rained all day. Bu went in to school while Ann & I took the day off and enjoyed sleeping in a little bit. Abs had psych class at Ivy Tech (Learning Center) and then went to Stradley’s to job shadow again. She came home afterward and the three of us headed up to Indy for her 4th college tour. This time, we explored Marian University. It was a nice campus tour – despite the rain. It actually held off during our walk, which counted towards my weekly workout – going 1.5 miles. We met with an excellent admissions counselor- probably the best we’ve met during our tours. When we finished, we took Abby out to eat at Big Woods Brewery in Speedway. It was really good and we look forward to returning there soon – or one of their other establishments in the state. While there, we enjoyed a couple Six Foot Strawberry Blonde beers along with our huge meals. We were able to get a couple carry-out packs and brought home a ton of leftovers. That evening, Ann facilitated her next After Prom meeting then went on to Dixon, where Bu had her tap and jazz classes. Luke played on his PS4 then went to the YMCA with friends to play basketball. That all added up to me being left alone to enjoy some peace & quiet and a quick nap while watching the Olympic games in South Korea.

Luke went with Drew to football after school on Thursday. They walked from there to Mesco for a baseball workout with Bryan. Abby had the day off from school in order to follow a student at Franklin College as she went about her day…and loved it. In fact, I think she’s leaning towards becoming a Grizzly now! She worked at Buffalo Wings & Rings after her long day at FC and then came home late from Trevin’s house at some point. Ann was in a training all day while I had a busy day and got out to walk late, getting in only 2.5 miles. When we got back to town, I went to Mesco to meet with Bryan and pickup Luke. We went Keto shopping and got back late to watch #9 Purdue face Illinois without Vince Edwards again. Despite some hiccups, the beat the Illini, thanks in part to Carson Edwards’ big, 40-point game. It was the first time a Boiler hit that milestone since my all-time favorite Purdue player – Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson did it back in ’94!

Abs got to sleep in on Friday morning, as her psych class didn’t meet at the LC, so I ran Luke in to school before heading over to Columbus. I worked late, finishing up my annual report, then walked about 4.5 miles while talking to Rob during my trek. He & Sharon are doing well, and he may end up coming up to visit sometime soon! Matt came home that afternoon & took Luke shoe shopping in Greenwood until late. Abs job shadowed at Stradley’s office before class and then after school, she worked at BWR then came home at a decent time from Trevin’s house for once! Ann scrapbooked in Burney with Shawna and friends until late…meaning I had another quiet evening and finally finished setting-up my phone. Here are some random pictures from our recent adventures.

Saturday morning came early for the girls. Abby was up and going early, as she met up with Ms. Kuyhlia to head up to Indianapolis for a Colts Cheerleader workshop. She had a lot of fun and plans on going to future workshops as a build-up for possibly trying out for the Colts dance team! Ann headed back to Burney for more scrapbooking, despite Black Betty acting up a little. Luke stopped playing PS4 long enough to go with Memaw for a while to do some chores at her house then went to Conner’s house to spend the night. Matt was actually the first out of the house this morning as he worked at Aspen Place then came home and took a long nap. I had a quiet day of paying bills and doing a few chores around the house before taking a lengthy nap myself. I didn’t sleep much nor well last night, so I made up for it on the couch that afternoon. The dogs have been out of sorts lately, keeping both Ann & I up – not sure if it’s related to the critters in the backyard or the kids’ schedules, but between them being needy and itching their fur literally off (there were tumbleweeds of dog fur in the living room floor!), we were seriously looking at locking them in the kitchen that night. Ann & I took Matt & Abby out for dinner & a pitcher of margaritas at ElRep – thx to Bu for driving us home! The Lady Pirates basketball team battled Kokomo Northwestern that evening at the 3-A state finals at the Indianapolis Fieldhouse. Unfortunately, they came up short and had to settle for the runner-up trophy; but what a run for these seniors! They made the whole town proud. Matt & I watched a couple bad movies until we fell asleep on the couches that night.

We enjoyed sleeping in on Sunday morning. Even Matt was a little late getting to work this morning. We eventually got around to our weekly household chores. I picked up Luke from Conner’s house and then ran him out to Top Flight for a baseball workout. I’m not sure if they didn’t advertise it well or what, but there was a piss-poor turnout. There were only about a dozen boys there, representing all levels of league ball. The poor turnout was good news for Luke, who got a lot of reps. They have a decent little setup out there for indoor workouts. It’s never bad to get in some BP and throwing in February. Ann made bacon cheeseburgers for lunch while Abby worked at Wings & Rings again today. When Matt got back from work at AP, he & Ann went out grocery shopping before he went back up to school. Luke & I watched the Boilers play the Golden Gophers on Senior Night – I’m going to miss this group of kids next year. It was close at the break, but they blew out Minnesota in the second half. Along the way, the senior class set records for most wins (100) and most wins at Mackey (62). Mathias is clearly the leader of this team and had the game of his life (25 pts, 7 3’s, 7 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals & 2 blocks) to propel the team to a victory going in to the Big Ten tourney. They finish the regular season with a 26-5 mark (tied for 2nd in the conference with a 15-3 record). That’s good enough to get the double-bye in the tourney in NYC this weekend. The Boilermakers will play next at MSG on Friday night at 9 pm. We watched the rain-delayed NASCAR race from ATL and then wrapped up the evening with the return of The Walking Dead / Talking Dead. It was a very sad episode as they killed off one of the main characters – Carl (Chandler Riggs). ☹ Despite that, it was still a great way to wrap up the week. We have lots of social media pictures to share this week.

Next up is our Waybac section, which features the next three photo albums from our archives, chronicling the first few years of the new century…and eight new photos of Mom. We lead off with Matt & Abby on the midway of the Decatur County Fair in July 2001; then we head up to LaPorte for some boat time on Pine Lake in August 2001; next we head back to the Ryle home for Abby’s birthday (including pix of Laura & Pace, Kenzie & Matt & Bu on the old swing set – all in September 2001; then we fast-forward to Christmas Eve in December 2001; next we head down to Treasure Island for more of the sunset cruise on the pirate ship in May 2002; then up to Rossville to see Mom & Dad for Easter in June 2002; next we head over to Washington Field for Matt’s soccer game in June 2002; next is more from Abby’s birthday party in September 2002; then the kids out riding bikes with the Welage kids in September 2002; and finally we have lots of photos from Halloween in October 2002.

Next up is our video segment which features two new home movies from this week as well as several from around the internet.

And that does it for this week’s entry 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