We’ve enjoyed another week here at the Scheu abode. It was another wet one with temps staying lower than normal again. Luke was a three-sport athlete with basketball workouts, football practices and a baseball game. Abby spent a lot of time with us, worked full time and even got in some Garrett time. It has been so nice having her around again. Matt had a slower week as he continued to adjust to living on his own and the responsibility that it brings. He studied for his big licensing exam that he said was a little tougher than he thought it might be. He’s already taken some pre-tests and did very well, so I have no doubts that he’ll be just fine. He came home this weekend and plans to spend a few days here to work at the old folks’ home next week. Ann had the week off from physical therapy but continued to push herself, getting up and down and even walking around the house without her cane for longer periods of time. She’s still very sore and has a long way to go, but she’s hanging in there. I achieved my walking goals this week with fifteen miles. Justin re-joined me this week, which was cool and we even jogged a little…a very little, but still we jogged. I lost a few pounds but not as much as the previous week due to not fasting each day. I hope to do a little better this next week. Despite some foul weather, Ann and I enjoyed our week together with the kids. This is usually the time of year that always makes me look back on things as it’s historically the time of year that we spent the most time with Mom. Now that she’s gone and I’m getting older, I find myself slowly developing a different outlook on things. It’s funny that you do different things with the kids as they age. You realize the kids are growing up and it’s neat to go through life’s changes and do things with the family as it grows older. Whether it’s the kids now driving us around or sitting and having a drink or just talking about life with them. It’s not something you do with little kids like we just a few years ago. We’re proud of the kiddos and how they’re growing. We want them to go off and do their own thing, but boy it sure was nice this weekend with all of them under the same roof, getting along – the family felt whole again, the house came to life and everything was right in the world. Hello again and welcome back to the Scheu Family Blog.
It was back to work on Monday morning for Ann & I. It looked like it was going to storm at any time but it never did and it turned out to be an amazingly gorgeous day. Luke got up early for basketball practice. Abby worked first shift at Wings & Rings. Ann & I both had very fast days at work. Justin, Vic & I went to lunch at China Buffet. Then, after work, Justin & I walked nearly a 5K around the airport property on a bright, sunny day with a strong, cool breeze. That evening, Luke went to football practice for several hours. Ann made chicken lazone for dinner and we began watching the HBO series called Big Little Lies. We opened up the house that evening because the temps dropped swiftly through the day and hit the 50s overnight. The kids went to Walmart and picked up new leashes for the dogs and told us they were going to exercise with the dogs each morning for 30 minutes. We’ll see how long that lasts… Here are pictures of Luke’s baseball game vs. the Franklin County Zimmer team last week.
Ann & I went into work in the old Barney-mobile on a gorgeous Tuesday morning. Black Betty’s rear tires are very worn and need to be replaced, so we gave her the week off. Luke & Bu took the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood, just as they planned…well mostly like they planned. Molly did great but Lola only made it about halfway and had to be carried all the way back home (what a brat). Later, Abby worked at BWR and Luke had football practice. Justin joined me after work for a 5K walk around the airport property before I picked up Annie and headed back home. We took it easy that evening and watched our DVR’d shows with the dogs on another cool evening with the house open. Here are pictures of Luke’s baseball game vs. the Greensburg Reds last week.
Wednesday would’ve been Mom’s 70th birthday (this comes on the heels of what would’ve been her 41st anniversary, just this last Sunday). Luke didn’t get up on time for basketball practice that morning and Gma had to come in the house to get his butt out of bed. Abby slept in on her day off. Mercifully, Ann & I had fast days at work. Hers was full of meetings all day at CRH. Justin & I called it an early day and walked two and a half miles before I picked up Ann. Luke & Bu were in town shopping and called us to see if we wanted to meet up with them for dinner while they were here. Of course, we said yes and so we met them at 450 N for drinks and pizzas. Afterward, the kids headed up to Greenwood to pick up Abs’ new pair of AirPods at Best Buy. Meanwhile Ann & I came home so she could nap while we watched the next couple episodes of Big Little Lies. Abby & Luke met me at J&A Auto to drop off Black Betty to have her exhaust system put back up after I ripped it off at Davis & Daughters last weekend, getting the oil changed. The kids took the dogs for a walk and poor Lola would only go a half lap again before having to brought back home. She was so tired when she came in…but, miraculously, when the kids went back out with Molly she carried on and whined in the window the entire time. ???? Here are pictures from Megan’s graduation party last weekend.
It rained overnight and we woke up to a wet Thursday morning. I drove in solo that morning to work. Ann stayed home and went with Sandy & Amy to the annual Women in Business conference put on by the Chamber called Power and Purpose. She enjoyed her day and said it was pretty cool. Justin, Vic & I met Dennis at China Buffet for lunch that afternoon. Then later, Justin & I walked about three miles and even jogged a few times! Luke enjoyed an easy day of playing video games and making messes around the house while Abby worked a double shift at Wings & Rings. I met up with Luke & Ann at home and we drove to South Decatur to watch Luke & the Cubs face the Cougars on the varsity field. Luke started at first base and batted clean-up again. He had no action at first, other than a couple throw-overs from the pitcher. He was slated to pitch in relief, but the game was called before he got the chance to take the mound. At the plate, he went 1-2 with a single and was hit by a pitch (right on the spine), reaching base twice. He had 3 RBIs, stone a base or two and scored a pair of runs. With Coach Mitch out in Cali at an AAU tourney with Adison, Steve & Shawn asked me to help them by keeping the book. So I sat out the right field line by the dugout on an especially chilly evening for June. It honestly felt like a spring soccer game out there. Ann didn’t even get out of the van because it was so cold and windy. We were up 15-0 in the third inning when it began raining. Moments later, it started pouring and the umps went ahead and called the game. We came home and heated up our leftover 450 N pizza and watched the season one finale and the season two premiere of Big Little Lies. Here are random pictures from our recent adventures.
We had a cool start to our Friday. Ann had meetings literally all day. I had a fast day then walked another two and a half miles before picking up Ann and coming home early. Abby worked a double shift at BWR while Luke had the day off. When we got home, Luke & I mowed and trimmed the yard. Afterwards, Luke drove us in Betty White over to Mom & Sandy’s house to mow and trim their yard. After a quick shower, Gma picked up Luke so he could dog-watch at their house while they went out to Texas Roadhouse with friends. Ann & I cooked-out on the grill then later, with all the kids out of the house, the Wests came over and we enjoyed Moscow Mules and a couple hours of patio time. Here are recent additions to my Hot Wheels collection.
We enjoyed sleeping in on a rainy Saturday morning. I slowly got up and I paid the bills, waiting for Luke to get up. Meanwhile, Annie & Abs got cleaned-up and enjoyed some mommy/daughter time. They drove Tonya to Crawfordsville to meet up with Stacy for Darby’s wedding shower (that just doesn’t sound right!). They enjoyed margaritas and did whatever girly stuff you do at a bridal shower. Next they went to Molie’s graduation party when they got back in town. Meanwhile, Luke & I went to Columbus for some father/son time. He drove Barney around town as we ran several errands before heading over to Columbus in the pouring rain. It was good practice for him. In fact, he drove us around all day. We went to pawn shops, second-hand stores and indoor flea markets. Although he only found one army thing he was looking for, I had better luck with my Hot Wheels hunt. We enjoyed a dinner at Arni’s before heading back to town where we picked-up Black Betty from Jerry’s shop and came home to relax. Abby drove to Newcastle to spend the night with Garrett while Ann napped. Although it rained on and off all day, some nasty stuff rolled through the state, bringing with it three tornado warnings and a couple severe thunderstorm warnings that evening. Luke, Ann, the dogs and I moved to our safe spot in the hallway and rode it out. Thankfully the worst of it went north of us and hit Rushville where a funnel cloud supposedly touched down. All told, we got about three inches of rain which caused lots of flooding in our area, including closing Park Rd by the golf course. Ann heard that the town of Seymour (just south of Columbus) was completely closed due to the flooding. She showed me a picture of several inches of water flowing across I-65. There was also nasty weather in the Greenwood and Newcastle areas that night, but thankfully the kids safely made it through everything unscathed. Later, we heard that we the NWS confirmed eight tornadoes in the state that evening. Happy birthday, Drake – it was wild one! We have lots of social media pictures to share this week.
On Sunday, we again enjoyed sleeping in. We awoke to a sunny morning but it quickly became overcast again and continued raining later. We did our weekly household chores and watched some DVR’d shows on a slow, easy morning. It was Father’s Day and I enjoyed calling Dad Scheu & Dad Bryan and getting caught up with them. I’m a horrible son and don’t call nearly as often as I should – that’s something I need to get better at doing since they aren’t getting any younger. Abby got home safely from Garrett’s house and drove Ann to the store to get food for the special meal that day. While they were gone to the store, I welcomed Matt back home. He drove down from his apartment and planned to stay a couple days with us. We had a chance to only sit for a moment and talk before the girls got home and we helped carry things inside. We tried to help put stuff away, but I got shooed out of the kitchen and the kids began helping Ann start cooking. It was about that time that Luke finally got up. The three kids did a nice job of helping Ann fix a great meal. They made bacon-wrapped jalapeno popper-stuffed chicken, cheesy potato casserole and bacon-wrapped carrots. My God was it good. It took them a couple hours to prep and another hour or so to cook. While we were waiting, the kids gave me some cool presents – a bunch of beef jerky and bourbon! ???? Hell ya!! We enjoyed a glass of Basil Hayden and a couple glasses of Simmons blackberry wine we picked up earlier this week and sat down to watch the Women’s Team USA World Cup soccer games we taped this week. They absolutely rocked! After that, we closed-up the house and turned the air back on as the humidity was awful. We ate dessert and watched a couple movies on the new big screen that evening – Captain Marvel and Dumbo. We set Matt up in the Family Room for him to have a little privacy and some quiet space for him to sleep. It was great to have the kids back home and as I reflect back on the day; I think of how lucky I am and how much I enjoyed having them all together today. I don’t know how many more times Ann and I will have all the kids together on special occasions like Father’s Day. I hope we have at least twenty-three more, but I guess you never know what life will throw at you…so you have to stop and smell the roses and appreciate the little things in life when you get the chance. Today I did. Ann made today a great way to wrap up our week. After Ann and the kids went to bed, I finished writing the blog as I watched the NASCAR race and Fear the Walking Dead before finally calling it a night.
Next up is our Waybac section which features the final round of pictures from our #17 photo album that has all our pix from our Walt Disney World family vacation in June 2004. We lead off in the Magic Kingdom in Fantasyland on the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride. Next, we head over to Animal Kingdom to meet Pooh and Friends. Then we move to Epcot’s World Showcase to pose for pictures at the Japan Pavilion. And we wrap up at the Contemporary Resort, down at the playground area by the Seven Seas lagoon, shortly before we left. What an amazing vacation we had – so many wonderful memories we made. It was fun looking back at all those. Now I will have to work on scanning our final photo album (#18) next week some time…
And finally, we have our video segment which features one new home movie this week as well as several from around the internet.
Well, that wraps up 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