Waiting for the Easter(n) Glow

Man; what a gorgeous week we�ve had!! The temps have been way above normal with near-record highs in the upper 80�s. In fact on Friday we had a first (at least as far as I�ve ever seen or heard). We had a red flag fire watch. I�m not 100% sure what it means, but I bet it means the conditions are likely for quickly spreading fires. However, global warming has its benefits. We were excited to be outdoors longer due to the warm weather and longer days. This week Matt continued to train for his field events at track practice each night after school. Ya know; why is it that the guys that only throw shot & discus have to run as much as the runners? That doesn�t seem to make sense; you�d think they�d be lifting or something� He is improving each week as he gets back in to it and Bu is nearing completion of her training for both her tap and hip-hop (not jazz�I was corrected!) dances. She is now working on a third dance as well! We rode bikes for a half hour each night after work, really giving our Mongooses a work out. That�s right Mom, 30 years after I begged you for a Mongoose, I finally got one!! Well, after my wife made a few comments, I finally decided it was time to get back on the diet, as I had managed to gain back 15 lbs since my birthday. With the combined exercise and stricter diet, I was able to lose 5 lbs this week, so I feel I�m headed back in the right direction. On Tuesday night we finished riding bikes and went out to the back lot and I pitched to the kids for about an hour until dinner time. Matt was really cracking the ball! Abby could hit hard when she wasn�t smiling. �And Luke continues to amaze me with his swing; he�s a natural. The kids all did great on their report cards. Abby got straight A�s again (way to go, Bu)!! Luke achieved straight G�s! �And Matt made the Honor Roll!!! Ann & I are so proud of them for their accomplishments this 9 weeks but know that the second half of this semester is always the hardest as ball games pick up and the weather is nicer and nicer. In the meantime, we are going to treat them (at some point in the next couple weeks) to a movie and ice cream for their efforts! We were thrilled to have some of our favorite shows start back up this week, like Bones, Fringe, Saving Grace and South Park. Mom forwarded an email from her good friend Vicki Crum, who had a bunch of new pictures of one of my best friends, Mark and his son�I need to get in touch with that man; I miss that guy�Speaking of guys I miss, it was really cool to �see??? Robby on Thursday night. He had me to install Windows Live Messenger so we could do video chatting. He gave me a virtual tour of his place and we spent about an hour or so talking Jetson�s style. He sent me a good picture of him and Sharon. In the spirit of Dildo Claus, yellow Tommy Bunny made its way out back in to the house this year. I wonder if Ann can make up a smart ass nickname for him too� On Friday, Matt didn�t have practice due to it being Good Friday. Normally, they wouldn�t have even had school, but had to make it up due to all the snow days this year! He helped Ann make chicken tacos that night. He is a MUCH better cook than I am; especially at his age! They were really good too… Luke hurt his knee during a nasty wipe out on Brandy�s driveway this afternoon during a game of tag, so he petered out on me after a couple laps of biking. Abby joined me and we had a good talk. She�s getting so big. After dinner, we dug out Clue but the boys decided to go shoot bb and pellet guns until dark and we never got back to it. We watched Disney�s version of the classic tale of Ponyo with the little kids, which was a surprisingly good movie. I�m sure some of it is lost in translation, but it was endearing and the story was decent. After putting them to bed, Ann made popcorn and the rest of us watched The Hangover, which was absolutely hilarious. We laughed so hard; what an originally clever film that is!

On Saturday, it was officially spring. We had our old truck back in service (we suspend the insurance through the winter, since it is never driven). �Matt wanted to know if we would still do that when he got his license�man; that is only a couple years away now�ho-ly sh� I was thrilled that even after setting for six months, the truck started the very first time it turned over!! We took the old beast to the hardware store, auto store and of course Wal-Mart to get supplies to perform our annual service to the mower and weed eater, the truck and yard & outside stuff. We were up and at it early, but it took forever. We had to get Bu back for her dance practice, so we dropped her off and headed back out to finish up our errands. We worked in the garage on the mower and weed eater during the pouring rain. If Luke asked me once if we were going to Grandma�s house to mow, he asked me three dozen times! He was so excited to get back to mowing. He can be a big helper�at times�but Keith, Rosie and Megan were in town; so it only made his anticipation worsen. When the rain finally let up, we headed over to mow for the first time to officially kick off the spring season. It was pretty wet and really long, but I finally got through it. Gigi would later harass me that a couple people were questioning her about it. We ran home to get cleaned up and pick up the rest of the family before returning for dinner. Mom & Gigi had 3 types of pizza and 3 types of cheese dip. There was a tangy chili, an interesting crab and my favorite; a spicy cheeseburger dip. The kids had a blast playing football with Jamie in the backyard before I called him inside to watch the Butler game. We also had fun – munching on all the goodies and enjoying such a thrilling hometown victory! Good for the Bulldogs. They�ve got a tall order on Monday against Duke, but we�ll still pull for them. The kids dyed Easter eggs and had a blast. The newest Paas color is a tie-dye! They really came out well. Gigi took a bunch of pictures that she gave me as well (Thanks, Gig!).

On Easter morning, Luke & Abby had us up very early. I actually had to wake up Matt! We hadn�t had to do that in 12 years� The Easter Bunny hid their baskets really good this year. The kids were told to wait for us to get up, but that didn�t stop them from scouring the house for goodies. They had to follow clues to find them this year. It started with an envelope under the Easter tree (yes, we actually have two small ones). It took them a little over 5 minutes to find them all and they had fun figuring out all the clues. They got lots of toys and goodies in their baskets this year. The two little ones got new kites. All the kids got new clothing and Matt got an updated Rubick�s Cube called a Rubick�s 360 (sphere). It�s really hard!

We went over to Maryann & Sandy�s house about noon for a great lunch. They had ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, noodles, pasta salad, potato salad, homemade macaroni & cheese and lots of different desserts. We were so full from lunch, that we didn�t even have much of a lunch, snacking on popcorn during the Simpsons. Megan is so funny. She is very smart and articulate, but still innocent; which is can be an amusing combination. She came in from playing outside and stated she needed to change her pretty dress, which had a bright, flowery pattern. She stated that she had to change her dress real quick. When she was asked why, her response was the funniest thing I heard all day. She said, �I need to change my dress because I saw a bee. Bees pollinate flowers and I don�t want to get stung if they think I�ve got flowers on me!??? ??? It was all very cute. Deanna & Jamie set up an Easter egg hunt for all the kids outside. They each had 12 eggs to find, full of candy and $. The little ones had a much easier time than the older ones. In fact, Matt�s were darn near impossible to find. He had to have some helpful hints in order for him to find them all. They did a good job of hiding his loot! Lukey �won??? since he found all of his first, but Matt was the real winner, as he had the biggest smile on his face the entire time. It took him close to 15 minutes to find them all. 😛 We ended up playing what has become a tradition on the holidays � several games of bingo. The girls all did great, but Abby was the big winner this year. Afterwards, Keith & Rosie broke out a game called, Scene It from the 80�s. It was a pretty cool media-based trivia game that we played on my laptop. Everyone except Matt left to come back home for a couple hours. Matt wanted more time with Keith, Rosie & Megan, so we were happy to oblige. The kids & I worked on weekly chores and went for a bike ride around the front and back subdivisions. When Ann went back to pick up Matt, Megan was at it again. She stuck her tongue out at her dad. Keith did it back. She started to do it back again and a spark when off in her head and she quipped, �You know Dad, I�ve never tasted you.??? ??? Rosie went with Gigi out to the station to record a commercial for WTRE. She did a great job!

Here�s a quick Waybac feature: Leading off, we start with another picture of Grandpaw Brown�s sweet ride from late 1967; Grandmaw & Grandpaw Brown in February of 1973 in someone�s trailer in Florida; Mom & Dad Bryan in June of �78 at the 40 & 8 for their wedding reception; and Ann in her dance outfit in her living room around 1980.

In the next group we have another dance picture of Ann; this time from about �83; Grandma Owens and Martha at Ann�s house in approximately 1985; Ann�s senior pic in �88; and Grandpaw Brown in December of �89 at the 40 & 8.

Wrapping up this section is a boys picture at the Bryan Christmas in �93; Rob & George out on a wave runner in the Gulf in May of �96; Matt says, �What�s up!???? at Grandma & Grandpa�s house in Rossville on Rob�s birthday and finally another pic of Matt on Christmas Day in �96 in Columbus.

Well that�s it for this week�s episode of the Scheu Family Blog. Thanks for hangin� out with us for a little while and we�ll catch up to you next time. Until then, have a good one.
Later, Scheu