Things really started to heat up around the Scheu abode this week, but it sure wasn’t the temperatures. The cold returned and with it, more snow. But Mom always said that if March comes in like a lion, it would go out like a lamb. Matt had a full week of student-teaching, made some upgrades to his car and had some nice opportunities open-up for him. Abby had a busy week of classes, participated in some philanthropic activities, made a career change and exercised with me a couple days. Luke continued to be a two-sport athlete as he had both football and baseball practices again this week. He continues to get stronger every week and is already well ahead in terms of strength and conditioning than Matt or I at his age. He spent time with friends and got to participate in an activity he loves this weekend. Ann continued to make progress with her recovery from knee surgery. She had another week of intense physical therapy that really pushed her hard. She also continued prepping for this year’s After-Prom. She did much better this week, getting around more with her cane instead of the walker…and even shed both of her aids and walked around the house several times. I just missed my walking goal this week by getting in 14 miles – one mile short. I’m sure I actually made it, in all reality, with all the walking I did at the flea markets this weekend and my monthly rounds during the week…but I didn’t try to record those steps. Bryan & I officially ended our era of coaching baseball. I started to make progress on my diet and exercise but had a couple cheat meals that kept me from losing any weight this week. Still, it was a good week: I talked to Matt more than I have in the last month, I saw Abby more than I have in the last month and I spent more time with Luke than I have in the last month! Unfortunately, that meant I spent less time with Ms. Ann…but she probably enjoyed that!! Hello again and welcome to the latest edition of the Scheu Family Blog.
We had a cold start to the week on Monday morning. Ann had the week off, still nursing her aching knees back to health. Kristie picked her up that morning and they had a meeting out at the high school for After-Prom. Luke had a busy day to start his week off – he had a long day at school then had football practice that afternoon, followed by baseball practice that night. I had a busy but long day at work then I walked three miles at the mall that evening. I did some grocery shopping, dropped off the food at home and Ann made chili for dinner. While she was cooking, I ran over to Mom & Sandy’s house to fix their computer and visit for a little bit. After dinner, I fell asleep watching TV and Ann went to bed early, wiped-out from her busy day.
Tuesday was warmer and sunny! Luke had a quick day at school then attended football practice. Later, he went to the boys’ varsity sectional game. The Pirates won and will play later this week. He went to McDonalds with his buddies after the game for a quick dinner. Ann had a busy day again. She had physical therapy. Thanks to Dinah for running her to Columbus today! She worked hard in PT then went next door to her doctor appointment. Dr. Guse was very happy with her progress and called her a “rock star!??? I had a very long day at work. I started my monthly rounds, which kept me on my feet all day. My generator test was awful and Cummins ended up coming in to service the device. We had a child discharge a fire extinguisher (that’s a new one for us!) that made a huge mess. It took us a couple hours to get it cleaned up. Of course, it set off the fire alarm as well – which made things even more challenging. Later, we held our scheduled 2nd shift fire drill. Thankfully, it went off without a hitch. I got out of work late that evening then walked three miles outside, around the IUPUC campus and airport property. Ann & I took it easy that night, both worn-out from our long days. Matt called that night and said he had been approached by a lady at the school, where he is working. She wanted him to interview for a few different jobs in the Zionsville school system – how exciting! He also confirmed that he will be going to the the Indianapolis State House next month, so Ann is trying to figure out if we need to have an invite or if we can just walk in to go watch him. Here are various pictures from our recent adventures.
I was up early on Wednesday and into work for my second day of EOC rounds, which again kept me on my feet all day. Ann nursed her legs again and took it easy, watching house restoration shows all day…to the point where she’s ready to re-do our house now! Her quads were really sore from her PT yesterday. Luke had a fast day at school then had his first session of Drivers Ed that night! He did great and the teacher said she could tell he already had a lot of experience and confidence. Abby called me at work and said she was in town for a doctor’s appointment for her headaches and wanted to see if I was up for lunch. She did some shopping and then we met up at Arni’s for lunch. Her check engine light was on so I had her come back with me so we could check it… By the time she got to my work, one of her front tires was flat. We aired it up and got the codes off her check engine light…and by the time we finished, the tire was going flat again. Abby had to get back to school for her afternoon class, so she took Barney and we had Tonya’s tire looked at by a local tire company. It turned out that she must’ve hit a pothole or curb because the tire had suddenly lost its seal around the rim (sound familiar?). It was a quick fix, thankfully, and after I finished my EOC rounds, I headed up to Franklin to return Tonya. The car drove great, so I’ll check with Jerry to see how important the check engine codes are and maybe get them addressed during Spring Break. I got to campus just as Bu & Bri were getting back from Indy, where she had gone to get her liquor license. Bri joined Bu & I as we walked three miles around campus, including the new walking track they have, out by the baseball/softball fields. The three of us finished up, picked-up Carly at Elsey and went out to eat downtown at Shale Creek Brewery. I enjoyed a couple of their Tipsy Blondes with my buffalo chicken (w/o the bun!). We had to get their warm pretzel sticks with beer cheese and of course the fried ravioli…but I was a good boy and let the girls eat 90% of the appetizers and I had a side salad instead… I dropped off the girls at Elsey, ran by CVS to get Abby’s meds and brought Ann home some fried ravioli for her dinner. Later that night, I watched the #14 Boilers beat the Illini in a tightly-contested game. Haarms, Eiffert and Edwards all had big games to keep their Big Ten championship hopes alive!
I was up well before the dawn and headed over to Columbus on Thursday morning to meet up with Justin for breakfast at the Hangar. We then made our way into work to set up for our annual competency fair. We had a decent turnout, but still not as well as we had planned. I hope one day to make this an electronic event as it takes a large amount of our manpower to put this on each year. It was a long, busy day and although I didn’t get out until about 530, my voice was already hoarse by noon. After putting in nearly twelve hours, I was ready to go home. I thought about exercising but it was snowing and too cold to walk outside…and I wasn’t in the mood to walk at the mall; so, I just headed on home – worn-out from the day. Ann was still sore from her last PT session when I got home. The fact that her leg muscles are so sore – rather than her knees – is surely a good sign! Luke had a busy day as well. After a long day of classes, he went to football workouts and then on to baseball practice. He and Blayne ran through Taco Bell afterward for their dinner. Annie and I just snacked for our dinner and watched a few TV shows before I (shock!) fell asleep on the couch with the dogs. We talked with Abby that night. B-Dubs keeps scheduling her for more hours that she can work and still keep up with her school work. She has told them from the start she can work two shifts per week. Although they said it was fine; they keep scheduling her for several days each week. She finally got to the point where she was over it – continually arguing with the scheduler, frustrated with management still having her train after a dozen shifts (she gets no tips while training) and disappointed with the attitude of the work staff, so she decided to put in her two-week notice. She was miserable even thinking about going to work. I told her she’s too young to put herself through that…there will be plenty of time to feel like that in twenty years…LOL! They went ahead and released her, so now she’s looking for another job. I tried to talk her into working down at the Shale Creek Brewery. It is such a relaxed atmosphere and the people there are so nice…
It snowed overnight but stopped by the time we got up, leaving us with just a dusting on Friday morning. There was enough to cover the vehicles, roofs and part of the grass but the roads were all clear. Thankfully, it was a fast day for me at work. The boys and I went out to the Chinese place for lunch as a thank you for all their hard work on Tuesday when it seemed everything went wrong. I talked to Matt for a while after lunch. He was having some issues with a teacher’s computer and we troubleshot it until he worked it out. After work, I walked about two miles outside. Matt called me again while I was out exercising and said he was finally able to get around to getting new tires. He took his car to Meineke and they told him he needed nearly $3K in repairs! This, of course, freaked him out. I told him we had a similar experience with them when we were just starting out and have never gone back since. I guess they even tried to make him pay to remove his car from the lot, but he wasn’t going for that and they said OK. What a scam! He had a lot of questions and wasn’t sure what direction to go in. I convinced him to get at least two new tires and a spare for now. He can come home and take his car to Jerry’s shop to see if there’s something else he HAS to have done to keep the car in safe working order. After talking to Matt, I spoke to Abby who wanted me to come up to campus and bring her new meds to her. So, I went up to see her. When I got up there, she was just getting back from Indianapolis where she volunteered with her ??? sisters at a soup kitchen. She & I went for a walk around campus again. Bri joined us and we walked about two more miles before it got a little too chilly to keep going. Plus, it was getting late and the kids were hungry. There was some drama that evening: As I got to FC, Dietz was on fire and the fire dept was onsite, vacating the residence hall. It turned out that it was just smoke, so once they got it cleared the kids were able to return to their rooms. We went out for dinner at Athens restaurant where we saw Ann’s sorority sisters – the Malinkas – at dinner. We enjoyed a nice meal and then I picked up some supplies for her at Kroger’s before dropping the girls off and heading back home. I ran past CVS and Walmart before picking up dinner and brining it home for Ms. Ann. I spoke to Bryan that evening and we’re still not sure about coaching baseball this year. Luke had a good day at school then he & Blayne grabbed something to eat and went to the boys’ sectional game. They had to work in the concession stand for a football fundraiser. He saw Paul & Dayla that evening. Both Greensburg & Batesville won, setting up a big showdown between these two rivals for the Sectional championship again tomorrow night! Matt called again that night. He got some clarification on his big day at the State House, later this month. It turns out that he will not be giving a speech but instead, he will be meeting with the bureaucrats and talking unofficially about his experience at U Indy. So, Ann & I were a little disappointed but still think it’s a great opportunity for him and are still very proud of him!
Luke & I up were early on Saturday morning to pick-up Drew, run a few errands around town and then drive up to Martinsville to play airsoft games at Spec Ops. As the boys played, I went to the nearby indoor flea market which was just two minutes down the street. They played for several hours and Luke ended up buying a new weapon. Afterward, we went next door to a great little burger place called Beefcake Burgers. They had ice cream too, but there was a chance for cross-contamination with peanuts so we passed. After lunch, we went drove to Taylorsville to go to the huge antique mall. The boys were looking for airsoft accessories. Luke wanted a holster for his new gun, but couldn’t find anything he wanted. It is an enormous facility and we only got through about 1/3 of it before they ended up closing. Luke drove us back to Greensburg where we stopped at Walmart for some CO2 cartridges for their guns. Next, Luke drove us out to the Sunken Boat Bar to see Bryan and discuss our coaching future. By the time we got there, he was busy recording a very talented young man, who was assembling a demo tape. Bryan has a nice recording studio setup in the sauna room. The kid has one hell of a voice and can really play the guitar and keyboard. We had a couple cocktails and talked briefly about coaching baseball but came to no conclusions. The Pirates played in the Sectional final against rival Batesville that evening…and although Greensburg had only lost one game all year (22-1), they ended up losing to the darn Bulldogs and now their season is over. On the upside, that means that baseball season will officially start on Monday now! We came home just as Rob & Mary came over, to rub in the Sectional victory a little (they now live there). Luke drove us home that night and we relaxed for a couple hours before turning in early, worn-out from all the time on our feet today. Matt had a long day as well today. He had to be up at Lucas Oil Stadium by 5 am to work at the NFL combine again. I hope to have some pictures from the event to share next week. Afterward, he went out with his buddies to attend a farewell party for one of their friends. Abby went to Newcastle with Garrett to pick up his car but decided not to spend the night due to the impending winter storm warning.
We finally enjoyed sleeping in a little on Sunday. Molly still managed to get me up twice that morning and I decided to just stay up the second time. I got in a couple classic sci-fi shows, waiting for Ann to get up so we could do our weekly household chores. By the time she got up, it had started snowing. The storm has been downgraded several times over the last week. It started out as 12??? then dropped to 8??? and then 6???. Now we are supposed to get 1-2???- if that… We watched the #14 Boilermakers face the Buckeyes on Senior Night and it was a complete blowout! It may have been the best game of the year for the team. There was even a Tommy Luce sighting! If they can win both games next week, they will be the Big Ten champs again! I spoke with Bryan one more time and also contacted the league president, regarding the boys playing summer baseball one more year. Luke & Drew both want to play but they don’t want to play for anyone else but Bryan & I. Bryan talked to one of the high school coaches. He said that it would be nearly impossible to attend all the high school games (and battle through rain-outs, delays and re-schedules) and still find time to practice and play summer league. Bryan & I would miss over half the season and only have eight players during that time before our boys got done with high school ball. That made the decision a little easier as it wouldn’t be fair to the other kids on the summer league team. So, the boys did not attend the mandatory evaluations today at North Decatur. Ant that means, at least for now, we are out for summer baseball for the first time in twelve years. If it holds, that will allow the boys to make some money umpiring games out at the complex in lieu of playing. Luke drove us over to Mom & Sandy’s house that afternoon and we moved a big cabinet outside for the junk-people to come take. It is still decent, but they were done with it and we didn’t have a need for it. It came out of their laundry room, as they prepare to replace both their washer and dryer tomorrow. Afterward, Luke drove us out to Walmart and back to get supplies for Ann to make meatloaf, smashed potatoes and corn. When we got back, Luke went out to the Fieldhouse with Blayne to workout in the weight room, grab some Taco Bell and then came home to play Fortnight for several hours. Later, they went back out to the Fieldhouse – this time to play basketball for a couple hours. We watched the NASCAR races at Las Vegas then the UFC 235 event from last night. Later, we began taping the new season of American Idol and look forward to watching it tomorrow. We finished up the week in typical fashion with The Walking Dead and Talking Dead. It was a relaxing end to a busy week…
Next is our Waybac segment which continues to feature family photo album #17. It is a whole book of nothing but our trip to Walt Disney World in June 2004. We lead off with a few pictures of us on the 737 flying down to Mickey’s house; then we see pix of us at the character dinner in the rotating Garden Grill restaurant in Epcot; next we head to the Magic Kingdom for the Main Street Electrical Light Parade; then over to Animal Kingdom to meet Tigger, Pooh & Eeyore; next we head back to Epcot to catch the Illuminations – Reflections of Earth show; then we meet up with Keith & Rosie at Downtown Disney; then a cute pic of Abby meeting Belle & Beast at the princesses character breakfast called the Royal Table at Cinderella’s castle and finally, we wrap up this week with a few more pix of us watching fireworks over Cinderella’s castle from the top of the Contemporary. What a magical vacation that was!
Next up is our video segment which features one new home movie 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