As Long as we can Make it to the Show Tonight

On Monday, my good friend Dennis visited me at work and hung out all day to help me with my EOC annual report. It was great to finally see him again. We had a good long talk over Max & Erma�s burgers. I hope everything works out well for you, buddy. That night, Luke & I tried to ride bikes but had to cut it short at 10 minutes due to lightning and a steady rain. Luke has become a horrible tattle tail lately. I try to ignore it and then remind him that if he tattles, they�ll both get in trouble (it�s usually Abby�and usually something over Bu�s new Mario GameBoy game). As we geared up to watch the hometown Butler Bulldogs go for a national championship, the weather took a turn for the worse. First came the severe thunderstorm warnings and then the tornado watch set off the emergency sirens. Next came the tornado warning. It first popped up just north of our facility in Columbus. I spoke with the nursing supervisor and was glad to hear that the weather stayed north of the facility. The same thing happened here. It was actually pretty cool. Matt had the Doppler pulled up on his netbook and we had the TV on split screen with the local news station and still watching a program on the DVR. Comcast interrupted not only the broadcast station but also the DVR to announce the tornado warning. I thought that part was pretty cool. The weather stayed north of our county as well. We didn�t even go to the radio station. I did get in touch with Ann who was with Bu at the dance studio, feeding her regular updates. Thankfully, it turned out to be no big deal. However, with all the weather drama happening, I forgot all about that damn game!! I was so upset when I finally realized I had missed the game. Then, when I found out how close of a contest it actually was, I was really pissed at myself! On Tuesday, the kids helped me in the backyard as we finally mowed the in there for the first time this year. I can�t believe how many stupid dandelions are already popping up already. It was too breezy to fertilize it this week, as we had pretty consistently heavy winds with gusts up to 40 mph. The temperature got all the way up to about 85�! We were thrilled to see American Idol have a Lennon/McCartney night!!! It was by far the best episode of the season so far�and most likely the best the program has ever had � well, unless of course until they do a Page/Plant night!! We voted for Casey & Crystal; they are amazing. Rob sent a couple pictures via MSN Messenger. The first one is Rob with Sharon�s sons and then with Sharon up in the TN mountains.

On Wednesday, the kids were rambunctious. Grandma, Gigi and I all thought Matt had grown that day; he just looked bigger�a lot bigger � and thinner. Abby is also looking taller and thinner. She had fun practicing her dance in the living room after Ann got home. The kids enjoyed playing hide and seek in the neighborhood for a couple hours as I worked in the yard. Luke was cute as he �helped??? Mr. Green – our neighbor across the street. He was out working in his yard and Luke helped him drag tree limbs to the curb. Afterward, he rode his bike around and ended up over there and I wish I had a camera to see the two of them sitting on the edge of Dave�s porch, shooting the breeze. We finally started getting out in the front yard. The snow this year really did some damage to our bushes. I need to get out my new tree trimmers that I received for Christmas. It is amazing how fast those tree limbs grow back. Ann went scrapbooking with her friends for a few hours but came home early. Her arm is still painful, but she is doing more and more with it each day. They were calling for more severe weather that night and although we did get a couple minutes of thunderstorms, they were really no big deal. We were a little surprised that the judges on American Idol saved big Mike, although he is a very likeable guy� On Wednesday, the temps began to drop. Luke & I were able to ride bikes, but it was freezing outside. We had to wear heavy sweatshirts, hats & gloves. 😛 On Thursday, we started off the day 50 degrees colder than what it was only 72 hours prior. But from down around the freezing mark, it got right back up to the upper fifties, enough for Luke & I to go out jogging…yes, jogging (I know�) I forgot to stretch though – and Friday morning, my thighs were burning (who am I kidding, my legs are still killing me as I write this four days later)! Matt had a mock track meet before his season kicks off next week. We did some great Joint Commission prep work all day at the office that really benefited me. Kelly took the management team out to lunch at Texas Roadhouse. Dennis and I worked late on my annual report but I promised Abby we could go jogging again, so I hurried home and we got a good workout in before it got dark. Luke brought home a couple of pictures for us that he was very proud of. In lieu of family night, we all went to bed early because it was going to be a long Saturday…

We were up early to get Matt off to the junior high to catch a bus for Columbus. He had his last band contest of Jr. High at Columbus East High School that morning. Matt and the band played three songs: Bavarian Trails March, Maesong & Dances of Terpischore. Matt played the bass & snare for the 1st, the crash symbol for the 2nd (almost broke a sweat on that one, eh buddy?!) 😉 �and the snare on the third� Thankfully, he didn�t lose any percussion pieces during this performance! LOL! The band sounded great and earned a gold medal!! Luke and I were able to attend and Mom & Gigi made a surprise appearance as well! Ann & Abby had to stay home and do make-up and hair before heading on up to Indy with Amy & Baili. Matt was flawless in his performance, as he continues to grow as a percussionist. He announced on Thursday night that he was in the beginning stages of forming his first band with a few of his friends. 🙂 �oh and Luke helped me take pictures of Matt�well sort of, but he did get some fun self-portraits during the performance. 🙂

We immediately left the high school moments after his performances concluded and headed straight up to Beech Grove for Abby�s first dance competition this year. The Show Stopper competition was held at the Beech Grove High School again this year. The four girls rode up by themselves. Amy�s husband Rob was recovering at home after a heart procedure a few days earlier this week. We wish him a speedy recovery and he gets his butt back out on patrol soon! The girls were all excited to finally have a chance to show off all they�ve learned this year and they didn�t disappoint. The Show Stoppers competition was 3 days long with several different divisions. From our group, Abby was up first with her jazz / hip-hop dance shortly after noon; called, �Something I Don�t Know.??? Abby was by far the class of the stage during the performance. Although it wasn�t a perfect routine by the group, it was good enough for a first place gold! Next up was Baili�s class. They also earned gold! Abby�s other dance was her tap routine, called, �Itty Bitty Pretty One.??? This is the same group that earned the studio�s first double platinum award last year and the overall victor two years running, so there was a little pressure to repeat the standard. Although it was a very, very good rendition, it did have a couple minor issues and they missed the coveted double platinum by a mere tenth of a point! 🙁 They�ll have one more chance for it at the next competition coming up in a few weeks. At the awards ceremony, Abby was not only recognized but was smart enough to get at the end of the line so she could get some extra mic time! �atta girl, Bu! She was so beautiful up on that stage. She has really progressed in her skills. Afterward we went out to O�Charley�s in Southport for dinner with Amy & Baili. Luke didn�t do to bad�but he was definitely a six year old�

When we got home Saturday night, we had several messages as the baseball / softball draft was held that morning. Abby got on a team she was with three years ago that should be fun but probably not super competitive in the league. Luke moved up a league. The coaches will still pitch, but no tee this year. He is so excited! He has the same coach he had last year, which may end up having challenges�we�ll see. I had stipulated on the kids� sheets that I did not want to help with coaching, but I will probably end up helping with Lukey�s team more often than not. Matt was disappointed to learn that he wasn�t able to return to the fun team he was on last year. Although they finished back in the standings for the league, he learned more with that coach than he had the previous several years. It was a fun team that also had parents who were friends which is always cool. The problem is that Matt isn�t interested in all-stars and his team was made up of almost all of a travelling team. That made it hard on the coach. And although the kids were supposed to stay with the same team, the league president decided to override the league by-laws to benefit himself again, so Matt and others moved on to other teams. So we now have four teams from Greensburg in our league � two of which are also travelling all-star teams (one with 13 year olds and one with 14 year olds) and two made up of regular Joes�tell me how that is fair?! It�s bull crap if you ask me�but whatever; it�s not the first time the league president has changed things to benefit himself�and Greens-tucky obviously doesn�t give a crap either. I just hope they get what they really want � and they wonder why they can�t field teams because of waning interest in this sport�very sad. On Sunday, the dance studio owner dropped by some more videos of the gals; this time it was the judges� feedback videos. I�ll feature them next time, but I made a DVD out of the files for Lori to show the gals at Monday�s practice. The video files were really compressed, so they won�t be nearly as nice as our videos from the show. Speaking of our videos, I also made up other video discs for Amy and a gal at Ann�s work of their respective daughters� performances. Matt & I got in a little trouble while we were there, as it was obviously posted everywhere that you weren�t supposed to video tape and not use flash photography � both of which we did. A gal came over and asked if I was shooting video or pictures. I wasn�t lying by saying I was taking pictures�however the video camera setting in front of Matt should�ve been a dead giveaway. 🙂 I did stop taking flash pictures�well mostly. 🙂
Time for just a few Waybac photos real quick this week: First up, we Maryann serenely swinging by herself circa 1944 and then approximately as a sophomore in the fall of �53; Mom, Dad S, Grandpaw and me at Grandmaw & Grandpaw�s dining room in late 1969; Grandmaw & Grandpaw at Aunt Norma & Uncle Ralph�s kitchen in the mid-seventies; and Schnapps showing off for treats with his towel in May of �78.

The last batch has Keith from junior high in approximately �81; Rob opening birthday gifts in our living room in �89; Rob probably at his First Communion in �90-ish with Mom, Dad B, Aunt Dorothy and Grandpaw; and finally two of Matt in his first home in Columbus on August 18th and then September 8th in 1996.

Well that�s it for this entry of the Scheu Family Blog. Thanks as always for stopping in to say hi and don�t forget to leave a message�we�d love to hear from you. We�ll catch up with you next time. Until then, have a good one.
Later, Scheu