‘Cause He are The Champion…of the (Science) World

On Monday, Luke was all excited as he had a special day at school, called Fancy Nancy day. He got to dress up in snazzy clothes and really seemed to enjoy it. He was all smiles and didn’t want to take them off when he got home (are we sure that’s my kid??). 😉 Matt was tired from wrestling as coach is pushing them hard to get back in shape. Abby had fun at the Dixon Dance Studio with Ann. Ann got to tease her friend Amy that there was a lovely junior high picture up on the blog from last week. She got a good laugh out of that. Matt and I finally got a chance to catch up on a few weeks’ worth of DVR programming that had been saved during the bowl weeks. I think we both ended up falling asleep on the couch that night…

On Tuesday, it started to get a little bit warmer. We were very near the freezing mark, topping out at 31. The sun was out and the snow was melting like crazy. We missed Pep Band practice, which I’m sure pleased Matt’s band teacher… Both Luke and Abby enjoyed having Dad to update their iPods with new music choices. Luke especially is funny, as he listens to it all the time and fell asleep with them on while watching American Idol that night. Speaking of which, we didn’t care for it as much without Paula…and judging by the fact that Simon announced today that he wouldn’t be returning next year, I’d say the show’s time has probably run its course. Ann & I give it another 2 years, max before it goes off the air without Simon. Matt had wrestling practice again tonight. Ann & I also attended a parents meeting with the coaches at the Fieldhouse. I was glad to see that coach is not going to allow his junior high wrestlers to cut a lot of weight. The meeting was followed by a high school meet, where it was senior night. Matt thought that was pretty cool; although Greensburg’s varsity squad apparently leaves a little something to be desired. We played with the dogs for a while at home. Molly is so funny with trying to catch Matt’s laser light. That never gets old!! 🙂

Wednesday was again American Idol night for the second straight night. Now, all we need is 24 and Bones to start up again this week and we’ll be good to go! Matt prepared for his Science Fair presentation tomorrow. He seemed a little nervous, but we know he’ll do fine… Ann and I have been catching up on older Saving Grace episodes. If you haven’t seen it, you owe it to yourself to watch a couple episodes. I wasn’t sure about it a couple years ago, accidentally caught part of one and I was hooked. Ann was the same way; didn’t care for the lead actress, but the storylines and interplay between the characters is top notch. The writing has actually become better than Bones, which had fallen off a little, earlier this season. Lukey brought home a couple projects. Here’s one he wanted to show Grandmaw & Grandpaw…it’s his version of Lola & Molly. 🙂

Thursday saw another gradual warm-up. Instead of starting off in the teens, as we’ve done each day of this New Year, we started at 25 and worked our way all the way up to the low forties. When we left for work, we had a yard full of snow…when we returned, there was only a little around the outside. After work, we picked up the kids and made our way back to the junior high school to view Matt’s science fair project. He had texted me earlier in the day, so I already new the outcome. It was great news…he had earned Grand Champion in the earth sciences field!! Way to go Matt!!

On Friday, Luke turned in his 100 project. The night before, he decided to do 100 dots for his project. We talked about how Matt did postcards when he was in kindergarten (he still has that old collection in his room somewhere). This year, he has begun doing his homework at our old school desk. I really need to refinish that old thing again. I’ve done it a few times through the years. I’ve had it since I was little, living in Lafayette. Proving again that he is getting too big (he promised years ago that he would stay little!), we had to raise the seat and then the desk up to the highest levels so that he sufficient room. He was awfully proud that morning, showing off his project. He is still so excited about school; it’s neat to watch him. That day, I got to meet up with two of my good friends at work. Allen Smith came over from the fire station. It was the second day in a row that I’d seen him. He still looks great. I was going to get a picture of him with myself and my other good friend (and former boss), Dennis. He was also in-house. I took him out for his 45th birthday. I gave him hell about rounding up his age to 50 now. 😛 That night, we celebrated Matt’s accomplishments during family night. I got off late from work and met Ann & the kids out at Chili’s. We came home, got on our jimmies, snuggled up on the couch and watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It was a good movie that kept everyone’s attention (except Ann, who fell asleep again) throughout.

On Saturday, the boys were up early and out the door by 7:30. We ran to the bank, dropped off Matt at the junior high (he attended a field trip with the wrestling team to Bloomington to watch IU grapple vs. two opponents (American University & Cleveland St.). He had a blast with his buddies. He was a little apprehensive, due to it being IU and he being such a huge Purdue fan. However, the team gave him and a couple other guys a hand-signed roster that really hooked him in! I have to admit, that was pretty darn cool… Luke & I then went to Acra’s Dodge dealership for an oil change in the Pacifica. Luke & I spent a long time checking out the two 2010 Dodge Challengers in their showroom. 🙂 Luke wanted to trade the minivan for the black one! We Skyped Grandmaw & Grandpaw Bryan when we got home. They were doing well, but she said there was a fire in their neighborhood the night before. They were looking forward to seeing Ann & Sharon in a few weeks and were even talking about coming home for a week or so in the near future! Ann went out shopping all day with Amy, in last minute preparation for their upcoming Vegas trip. The little kids enjoyed playing the old Game Cube for several hours that morning and afternoon. When Matt returned home later that afternoon, he & I enjoyed watching the Saints whip the Cardinals while flipping over to watch the #6-ranked Purdue take on Northwestern. It was an ugly, physical, typical Big 10 game. The Boilers really got ‘homered’ at the Wildcats, as there were many questionable calls. Between foul trouble and injuries, it just wasn’t their day. They lost their third straight game. Robbie Hummel is amazing to watch and should get a chance to play at the next level whenever he decides to move on. Even he missed shots that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing him make. Matt couldn’t even watch the last minute of the game due to frustration They made their fans proud by not giving up, but it just wasn’t enough.. Afterwards, we settled down and watched the Colts take on the Ravens.

On Sunday, we did our chores and cleaned up around the house. Matt & I had to turn off the Cowboys divisional playoff game in Minnesota. It was ugly. We were glad to see the Saints (with Purdue alum, Drew Brees at the helm) advance earlier in the day. Go Colts, I guess… With the warm-up, has come the melting snow…not enough to melt the ice on the pool cover, mind you; but just enough to turn the edges of our yard to mush. Needless to say, the dogs love it. So, each time they came in this weekend (even on Friday), they’ve had to go straight to the kitchen sink for a quick rinse. Although Lola is cool with the cleaning, Molly on the other hand has a fit each time. You’d think we were trying to really hurt her the way she acts. Normally it’s just the opposite…Lola is on edge and guarded, Molly laid back and forgiving. They’re such a stark contrast of each other – a perfect match. Luke was excited to go spend the night at Christi and Alex’s house on Sunday night, as there is no school on Monday (Dr. King’s Day). It was just such a blah day; gray and overcast. I fought with a virus on our main computer all day. I’m still not sure if I got all of it out or not… Anyhow, here’s a video from this week:

Now it’s time to hit the Waybac switch and take a peek at this week’s group of moldy oldies from the good old days. 🙂 As always, we’ll go by decade; oldest to newest….so leading off this week, we have a very cool picture of my grandmaw Brown standing in front of a sweet 3-door ’34 Ford! Man, I wish this was still in the family! I would guess this was taken in the 1940’s. We also have a school picture of Maryann from the fall of 1953.

Next, it’s off to the magical decade of the sixties. The first one is Mom B from late summer, 1960. Next is Grandpaw Brown in late 1962 in the back of his basement in Lafayette. Next is Gramdpaw again, this time with Uncle Ralph in late ’65. Also, we have Grandmaw & Grandpaw in March of ’67 out at the 40 & 8. Next we have a couple from ’68 (a great year!)…Keith from March of that year and Mom B with Dad S at their wedding at the K of C’s in April. Finally, we have 2 of me from ’69. First up is one of me with my thumb and blankie at Grandmaw & Grandpaw’s house in July and then at our little home on Shortridge at Christmas, along with Mom.

Here are a bunch from the seventies. First up is a darling picture of my beautiful wife at the age of 18 months in ’71…followed by another one from early in ’73. I see she learned some habits at an early age! 😛 Next up is Grandpaw Brown dressed in full sheriff deputy garb in his dining room in February of ’74. Next is a school picture of Keith, approximately fall of ’77. I believe the next picture is the first one the three of us took as a little family. My best guess is that it is from early 1978. I believe that’s taken in the living room on Shortridge. I don’t know; Mom, you need to help with that one. Am I close? The next two are from 1979, out in Temple City. The first is Mom hidden in the tomato garden in our back yard. On the back, Mom has written to her mother, “Yoo! Hoo! Here I am…can you find me???? 🙂 “Tomatoes toward from are cherries – others Big Boy & Better Boy.??? This was shot in July of ’79, as was the other one; taken at the baseball fields. Here I am hitting my 1st grand slam! That’s me entering the picture on the far left. Notice my old Schwinn bike in the foreground with the handle bars flipped. Wrapping up this decade, we have 2 from October of ’79 in Lafayette. The first is Great Grandpa Morgan on the 21st and then Grandmaw a week later; both taken at her Elmwood Ave home.

Havin’ fun yet? On to the eighties! I love this first one of Rob in early ’81. We were in LaPorte by this point. Also from approximately that same year, we have Dee in her school picture from later in the fall. Next up we have a couple of my Smith cousins from ’82. The first is Katie at Easter and the last one is Nathan & Katie in their backyard in May. Next up is a couple from Dee in or about 1982. There is one of Dee in her dance uniform and then her school picture from about that same year. This one looks familiar; may be a repeat…there were several repeats in the box I got from Grandma & Gigi’s basement. Anyhow, this is Ann in June of ’88, graduating high school. The last one is Ann, Dee and her boyfriend at the time back in ’88 also.

Capping off this round we have one of my favorites from the era. It’s Dad B from the family room of the “Dream Home??? in Rossville in late ’94, wearing his new Bears skull cap. We would inherit that couch system, which was pretty decent when we received it. We moved it from Rossville to Columbus and then on to Greensburg, where Abby puked on it and it was never the same…in fact, it never came back in the house after that because we could never get the smell out of it! Thanks a lot, Bu! 😉

Well, that’s it for this week’s episode of the Scheu Family Blog. Thanks for keeping up with us and we’ll catch up with ya next time. Until then, have a good one.
Later, Scheu