We’ve had another busy week speed past us. As Christmas quickly approaches so do the deadlines that come with us taking the rest of the year off. It’s hard to believe that 2020 is just a couple weeks away. Work has been busy for me and it will only get more complicated next week. We did not see Matt this week as he stayed up north, splitting his time between teaching in Zionsville, coaching their wrestling team and spending time with Taylor. Abby finished up Finals Week and came home to spend the week with us. She had Garrett down to spend the weekend with us. Luke had a full week of school. He was again a two-sport athlete this week, spending time playing football and wrestling. He had an up and down week of wrestling and sustained his first injury of the year – tweaking his elbow pretty badly. Ann continues to progress in her knee surgery recovery and really pushed herself this weekend, going on an overnight shopping trip with her friends. I fell short of my walking goal, logging only about ten miles this week. I did good with my diet for the first half of the week and got my lowest blood sugar reading of the last couple months. However, the weekend was a bit more of a challenge for me. We have gotten a ton of precipitation this week. It started off as rain then a cold blast dropped the temps but dried things out. When the precipitation returned this weekend, it came in the form of snow. I guess you could say that it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… Hello again and welcome to the next installment of the Scheu Family Blog.
We had a wet start to the week on Monday morning. In fact, it rained all day. Man – was it a long day for both Ann & I. Plus, I wasn’t feeling particularly well…but I wonder if it was just because it was such a drab day. Justin & I went to lunch at China Buff, which helped a little. I tried to walk outside after work as it was 50 degrees and felt great – but it was just too rainy so I went to the mall and walked about two miles. I picked up Ann and we ran errands. By the time we got home it was pitch black and still raining. No sooner did we get in the house that it absolutely cut loose and began pouring. The dogs were still outside (it’s the first thing they do whenever we get home…even if we’ve only been gone for twenty minutes). Luke had a long day at school then went to wrestling practice. He wrestled-off for 220 and won, so he’ll be our 220#’er again this week at our first dual meet of the year. We took it easy that night, napping and watching Jack Ryan on Prime Video. Ann made cheesy Fireworks popcorn for dinner which really hit the spot. Luke went to Kam’s house for a while that evening then hung out with us before retreating to the family room for the evening to play video games and watch Netflix on his PS4. Here are pictures of Luke’s wrestling meet last weekend in Indy.
Luke was up early on Tuesday morning to pick up Oakley and go to football practice before school. That afternoon, he went on to wrestling practice. Afterwards, he picked up Oak and ran around town, including making a stop at our house to play a game of Madden on the PS4. He said he was really sore and tired. Ann & I both had long days at work. It was much colder today – too cold to walk outside, unfortunately, as the real feel was only 17 degrees! So, I walked at the mall again. The mall was hopping that afternoon as the Love Chapel Christmas Pantry (stationed in the old Hibbett’s store) was in full swing, getting food out to those in need. Just down the hall, the old JC Penny’s was bursting with toys as they were using that space for Cheer Fund. I’d say there were probably 400 people inside the mall that day – the most in a long, long time. Ann & I ran an errand after work and got home at dusk. I took it easy that night as we kept warm with blankets and the dogs. I watched the next couple episodes of Star Trek Discovery on CBS All Access while Ann read another book.
Wednesday had a cold start in the teens with frost on windshields…brrr! It was more of the same for me with another long day at work. Justin, Vic & I went to Sirloin Stockade for lunch then I walked three miles around the airport property after work. When I picked her up, Ann said she had a pretty good day. We ran errands after work and didn’t get home until after dark again. Luke was up and out the door with only minor prompts that morning. After school, he attended wrestling practice then went to the basketball game at North with his buddies. Meanwhile, Abby finished up her Finals Week at FC, packed up all her stuff in Tonya and headed home. Her first question before she even got home? …What’s for dinner??! To help welcome her back home and to celebrate the end of her first semester, we decided to take her out to eat at her choice of restaurant. She chose Tarouya and we had a nice dinner, enjoying catching up with her. We came home and she began unpacking all her stuff while Ann & I watched a few more of our favorite DVR shows that had their “fall finale.??? Meanwhile, Luke came home and the kids ran out to Walmart to get sweet treats for the night. ???? Here are pictures from last weekend’s Cookies with Santa event in Columbus.
We had a cool start to our Thursday. It was a little bit better day today for Ann & I at work. I walked three miles after a busy day. We left town a little early and came home to let the dogs out, pick up Abby, switch vehicles and drive down to North Vernon. Luke left home early that morning then had a long day of classes. After school, Luke rode down with the wrestling team to face Jennings County. They had such a large team that they invited two schools – us and Switzerland Co. – and facilitated two meets simultaneously. Luke wrestled 220 and faced off with another large senior. He was holding his own in the match, but the young man had a better skill set and ended up putting Luke on his back a couple times. He fought through the first round, tweaking his shoulder in the process. In the 2nd round, he got into a bad position that couldn’t get out of and got pinned. The team lost like 18-48, giving up a ton of forfeits. That brings Luke’s record to 2-9 while the team’s record slips to 4-7. We came home to an absolutely gorgeous sunset that evening. We ate leftovers and watched a couple shows on the DVR before falling asleep in the living room. Here are pictures of recent additions to my Hot Wheels collection.
Luke was up and out the door for football practice early on Friday. I didn’t even wake him up or even open his door. It was a little warmer start to the day and I think it actually got up into the 40s. The dogs did much better last night, sleeping with Abby. Luke had football practice where he worked on linebacker drills before he headed on to school. He said he had a good wrestling practice that afternoon and is ready to go tomorrow. He was in a much better mood that he was last night. He hates losing nearly as much as I do. Ann & I went in to work where our days flew by. Ann had her Christmas party after they finished office that afternoon. They had Blackerby’s (The Hangar) cater the party. She called me in the early afternoon to come get her when they finished and we ran a few errands before I dropped her off and went shopping at the Walmart. It was so busy in there that it took me forever and didn’t get home until after dark. I tidied up the lights on the porch that were driving Ann nuts and then got the cooler filled and loaded into the van for tomorrow’s meet. In the early evening, Angie, Aly and a couple others picked up Annie and they headed down to Louisville for a girls’ night out to celebrate Aly’s birthday. She is the big four-oh this year! I wrote-out bills and then Luke drove us through the Taco Bell drive-thru for a quick dinner and we watched Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw on the big screen. Neither one of us saw the end of the movie. Abby checked-off another bucket-list entry for Ms. Molly earlier that afternoon as they went to Dairy Queen for a pup-cup ice cream bowl. Bus said she loved it! ???? Later, Abs drove up to Indy where she did some babysitting for several hours today. She came home with Megan and woke Luke & I up. They ran to the Mart of Wal and Megan spent the night. Here are random pictures from our recent adventures.
Luke & I were up early on Saturday morning. I was his backup alarm clock. I’m glad I did – when I opened his bedroom door, he was sound asleep with his alarm going off! He got up and headed into school while I jumped in the shower. Megan went home and I got Abby up. Shortly thereafter, we headed up to Rushville in the Barney-mobile where the varsity Pirates wrestling team were invited to participate in the Rushville Super 5. First up, we faced Centerville. They would eventually win the whole event. They easily beat us as we gave up seven forfeits. Luke faced a huge dude in his match. He came out very aggressive and a few seconds in to the 2nd period, he pinned his guy! Up next we faced Rushville. They again beat us easily. They did not have a 220, so he won by forfeit. The Pirates faced Batesville in the third round. We lost again but Luke was aggressive again. He ended up pinning his guy in the 2nd round but it came at a cost. He hurt his elbow and the coach shut him down for his own safety. Abby took good care of him in Ann’s absence. Christie also helped out as well. In the final round, we faced Connersville. Luke had a fill-in at 220 who was wrestling 285 earlier in the day. He moved back down to 220 since Luke got pinned and promptly got pinned in 12 seconds. Luke was very disappointed that he didn’t get a chance to compete for the title and his first medal. But we were very proud of his efforts today and we hope that he heals up quickly. We iced it and he saw their trainer. We’ll wait and see how he does over the weekend and maybe have him see Kevin on Monday. We stopped at Hardee’s before we left town for a quick lunch. Garrett joined us today and he drove Luke home afterward while Abby & I went junking around Rushville before heading home. Luke showered and rested before going out to hang with Brayden. Abby & Garrett laid down and I worked on the blog. Later, I headed over to the Sunken Boat Bar to meet up with our friends for Aly’s surprise birthday party! I helped the boys park cars at the neighbor’s house, valet style, in order to keep the rouse alive. The girls brought Aly back to town and met up with us at the Messer’s house, where Shawn & Bryan put together a big surprise party. She was totally caught off guard and we in tears for most of the night. There was a great crowd – I’d say 60-ish, all told. They hired a couple bartenders and Bryan & Rob (joined by Nate) provided entertainment. They sounded good, despite Bryan not feeling well. Shawn made a ton of food and we ate, drank, sang and danced until late. We came home and Ann joined all the kids in Abby’s room. Seriously, they had six people crammed into that room – oh and the dogs as well! When Ann went on to bed, I stayed up and played a game of euchre with the kids. It was Gary & I vs. Megan & Bu. The boys creamed the girls, 10-2. We have lots of social media pictures to share this week.
Ann was up early on Sunday morning as she couldn’t get comfortable. I slept in a little before getting up to get to our weekly household chores. I made some bacon & eggs and watched SNL, an old episode of 1968 Star Trek as well as the episode of the Mandalorian on Disney+ before flipping over to watch RedZone. Grayson spent the night last night with Luke. They enjoyed sleeping before running out to get lunch. Ann got ready and went out with her scrapbooking friends to do some artsy-fartsy stuff at Paint the Town, which is up on the square. Abby & Gary drove her up there and ended up staying to paint also. Afterward, Ann and the girls went over to Dinah’s house while Abs & Gary went to Tarouya for dinner. They came home and watched football with me. Later, Mom & Sandy came over to visit with us and got home just before it started snowing. It quickly began accumulating and we had to call Luke to have him come home before the roads got too bad. I went out and treated the driveway. I thought I had a full bag of salt, but it was just kitty litter. I guess it will do for now, but I’ll have to pick some up this week. Luke made it home safely but he said he had trouble running Oakley home, which is why we didn’t want him out in the country with these type of road conditions as he nearly slid off the road going up a hill. It sounds like we may need to go out and practice driving in the snow again. Luke jumped in the shower and is hoping for a 2-hour delay in the morning! I worked on adding new music to my phone in between working on the blog as the Cowboys beat the Rams and looked for once! They still have a shot of making the playoffs, but they need to win these last two weeks. It sets up a showdown with the Eagles in Dallas next weekend! Go Cowboys! We took it easy and napped while watching our DVR’d shows with the dogs, watching it snow and keeping warm under blankets. It was a relaxing way to wind down the week before we start it all over again tomorrow.
Next up is our Waybac section with features a few different photo albums from various years. We lead off with Ann and friends at bible vacation school circa 1985 then Amy & Melvin at Ann’s Main St home, circa 1986; that’s followed by several pictures of Ann & I at our wedding and then several from our reception – all in September 1995; then we have Abby’s soccer picture with Matt & I in September 2004 and finally a few classic photos of our Christmas pictures in December 2004.
We wrap up with our video section which features on new home movie this week as well as several from around the interent.
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 again next time. Until then, have a good one. We miss ya, Mom.
Later, Scheu