It’s Summertime, Summertime, Sum-sum-summertime!

What a difference a week makes! Gone are the humid, rain-soaked days. It’s suddenly summertime…just like that! As much as the Forth of July is a cherished holiday in our home and Christmas obviously holds a special place as well; the Memorial Day holiday weekend is the one that we look forward to more often each year more than any other, I think. Through the month of June, we look forward to Independence Day and Christmas sneaks up on you after Halloween – you long for it for about 6 weeks. BUT; the Memorial Day weekend is anticipated from January through May…about 5 months – and it’s worth savoring. 😛 It is a unique time in the year when school is ending, the summer break is just ahead of us, the pools are opened, people are out working in their yard, the kids are running around the neighborhood, the largest spectator event in the world – the Indy 500 takes place and of course the real reason we take time this weekend…we honor our fallen heroes – such a blend of emotions. To celebrate, we have our traditional party with family and friends. I’m thankful we get to spend this time with them and make memories for the kids to have the rest of their lives. I’m sure glad we opened the pool a week earlier than normal; we had temps in the upper eighties the entire week with bucket-fulls of sunshine!! We started off this week right where we left off last time – out at the ball diamonds! Gigi gave me a couple memory cards last weekend that I didn’t have a chance to get posted in to our last entry. We’ll start there – off with the newest stuff she had on it. She was able to capture a bunch of good ones from Matt’s final junior high band performance. In addition, I had some leftover pictures from last week where Ann went up to Natalie & Mike’s house for Brayton’s 14th birthday party.

On Monday, we had a doubleheader of sorts out at the ball diamonds. We started off with Lukey’s game. He was still relegated to the outfield and had been moved down to the bottom of the lineup in some sort of juvenile effort to punish he and I for not being at practice last week (Matt had his band concert). I’m so over the childishness on this team already. Not only are Luke’s talents stagnating, he’s actually regressing due to playing the outfield exclusively. It’s like I’m reliving a couple of Matt’s old teams over again…which drove me to be a head coach in the first place. God, I’m getting too old for this… The boys lost again that night, but that’s not the important thing. They really weren’t even competitive. …too much yelling; too much putting down; too much pressure… Thankfully Luke is so easy going; he just loves the game and could care less about all the extra stuff. He continued crushing the ball. He went officially 1 for 3, blasting a double to the outfield, but he got picked off 2nd (actually he thought he was out, so he ran back to the dugout 😛 – which are the basic things we should be working on as a team; not so focused on winning, rather learning the fundamentals so that he will be ready to compete at the next level). So, I find myself pulling him (and other kids) to the side to point out fundamentals and explain why they should do certain things at certain times and really getting them to understand the game of baseball – not just doing something because an adult screams at them until they do it…but I digress. It was good to see Kenny (who doesn’t look half bad as a bald dude) & Becky who was there to watch their grandson. They were sitting with Ally and her newest little one who is absolutely darling. Ann ended up sitting with them. I didn’t get a chance to see Luke’s other two at-bats, but I think Ann said he had a fielder’s choice and a ground out where the shortstop made a really nice play on him. Instead, Matt stood in for me as 1st base coach (thanks again, Lil’ Scheu!) as I went over to take pictures with Abby’s team before helping coach them. Abby played first base and catcher and was much improved defensively! She made a couple of very nice plays. At the bat, she continued ripping the ball as she hit another double. She also grounded out to the shortstop in her only other at-bat of the evening. The other team played very well defensively and retired our batters in order in 3 of the 6 innings we played. We played OK overall, but not nearly at their caliber. Whereas Luke’s team is staying the same, skill-wise; the girls are all improving…

On Tuesday, we actually had a day off! We came home and spent the evening in our pool. It was a tad chilly for the first two minutes; but honestly, it was great after that…there was no breeze, high humidity and sunshine. We played out there for a couple hours before coming in to enjoy a popcorn dinner with American Idol – the last competitive show of the season. Although Ann likes Lee (and has now for several months), I still thought Crystal blew him away again (although it really should’ve been Casey; but I’ve felt that way several times through the years as well). The following night, I ran Luke to baseball practice while Ann took Abby and Matt to the ball diamonds. Abby had practice and Matt had a game. I left practice after about a half hour and one of Ann’s friends brought Luke out to the diamonds. She also has a daughter on Abby’s team, so it’s kind of cool. That allowed me to finally catch a complete game of Matt’s. He played very well defensively, starting at second, but also playing third base as well as centerfield. He had an assist at 2nd, made a nice tag out on a runner at 3rd and caught a deep fly ball in center. At-bat, he went 1-for-3 with a deep fly out, a strikeout and a double down the right field line…well, it would’ve been a double if the lead runner hadn’t been thrown out trying to score. The boys won the game in an exciting, extra-inning game! We came home and couldn’t believe that Lee won American Idol – what a rip! It’s rigged!!!

On Thursday, I woke up feeling just plain awful. I had started a z-pack the day before; but I couldn’t even bare to get my butt outta bed. It was the first time I’d called in since taking over this new job a year ago, so I wasn’t even sure how to call in sick. I slept until noon when the weather radio started going off. I got up long enough to eat a quick lunch but fell back asleep until the kids got home – which ended my nap time real quick! It apparently stormed pretty hard, but I didn’t hear a thing. 😉 Anyhow, Matt’s game got rained out, so I had a complete day off and it was nice… On Friday, we were – yep; you guessed it – back out at the ball complex for more games. That night, Abby started things off with a great game. She played catcher and shortstop, making a couple good plays. She did good at bat again, going 2 for 3 with a single, double and a foul out. The gals played much better as a team, but still had a few lapses in judgment on the defensive side of things. We won by one point in an exciting game that went by really fast! I left that game and came directly over to Luke’s game which hadn’t quite started yet. I got the boys warmed up and ready for the game. The boys played pretty good most of the game…until the last inning when the boys wouldn’t listen. I got so frustrated that I went and sat down with Ann in the bleachers. I was a little pissed at the other team’s coach because he was quick pitching before our defense could get set (he even started pitching when we still had coaches in the field three times). They were very competitive but their boys have good fundamentals and hit the ball really well. There were numerous injuries due to the rough nature of the infield and the lateness of the game. We didn’t get home until about 10; waaaaaay too late for kindergartners to be out playing ball. Luke went 2 for 2 from the plate, still batting last – which is a joke since several of his teammates strikeout on a continual basis. Luke realizes that he is batting last and actually said something to the coach that makes out the lineup. Lukey would’ve had two doubles, as he smacked both balls out in to the outfield, but he tripped over first base both times! ;-P Afterwards, the coach said to me that he would be moving Luke up in the order since he was hitting the ball well. I told him he is still swinging exactly how I taught him three years ago. It all depends upon the coach throwing a strike at a fast enough velocity that he is used to hitting. He has always hit the ball hard; the coach is finally pitching balls that aren’t bouncing off the plate or lobbing to him, sinking at the last moment. We’ll see if that comment gets anyone’s attention, but I’m just over the over-competitiveness. The boys did well until the last inning and fell apart – mostly because of the pressure put upon them by all the shouting and comments. Luke started in leftfield and moved in to pitcher in the third inning. He dove for a couple of balls, but didn’t get a chance to make any plays. The kids wanted to go out to eat; but it was almost 10:00 by the time we got done and we had such a busy weekend ahead of us that we went ahead on home and had popcorn before making the kids go to bed…much to their chagrin.

Sunday was race day! We were up early in anticipation of the big day. We had absolutely beautiful weather! It was one of the nicest Memorial Day weekends in my memory. Normally cool and wet; this year it was hot and dry. We had our new tent set up as an extension off the patio, which really helped to shade the area. I think we spent about 12 hours in the pool. I think everyone got sunburned too. Ann really did it up, food-wise. She had homemade mac & cheese, her cheesy potatoes, 7-layer salad, homemade Shallo’s dip, spinach & artichoke dip, baked beans, deviled eggs, a veggie tray and lots of chips & condiments. I was grill master, cooking burgers and dogs on the grill (for what I think may be the first time this year??) On top of that, Jamie made some potatoes and Sandy made a zesty sausage cheese dip and some ham rollups. Ann even had dessert covered with dirt pudding, cupcakes and brownies! We had plenty of ice cold beverages as well. Deanna, Jamie & Grace were the first to arrive, followed by Mom & Gigi. Matt’s friend Andrew came over, as did Amy & Baili. Luke’s friend, Alex, & his family were a no-show, as were our good friends the Smiths. We also invited the Drakes & the Shoups…and although the latter couldn’t make it, we were very pleased to see Paul, Dayla and their kids Brooke, Conner & Cayden. Brooke is such a pretty girl; she played very well with Matt & Andrew as well as Abby & Baili. Luke played very good with Conner and Cayden. Everyone got along very well and the day flew by! The brews went down easy and they were pretty tasty during the race. After the race, Paul began making frozen margaritas that were just the thing for beating the heat on such a blistering late afternoon! As the sun began to set, we opted for a couple tall cups of Sailor Jerry (a gift from Ann’s coworker JJ for a computer job I did for her last week) – which was a perfect way to end the perfect day. As the night came upon us, we broke out a few fireworks we’d picked up yesterday…nothing big; just a few things that thrilled the kids and brought a smile to everyone’s face. Lola is blue & yellow now; after eating and biting (and probably burning herself in the process) at the smoke bombs…crazy dog! 😉 Lola went swimming with the kids for a little while. Both she and Molly were great the whole day; very relaxed and friendly all day. The Drakes left about 10 and helped us clean up, which was really nice. It was great to see them again. Baili ended up spending the night with Abby. They made s’mores with Baili’s little s’mores maker. It was Jamie & Mom who saved the day on Saturday night. While I was setting up the outside, I couldn’t find any of my corn hole bags (never a good thing)…which I haven’t seen since Rob was here… I looked everywhere but couldn’t find them. By 6 pm on the day before the party, I was freakin’. I checked Wal-Mart and the local sports place to no avail. Thankfully, I got a hold of Mom, who was willing to sew me up a couple sets of bags. Jamie was helpful in getting the proper material and actually cut out the bags while Mom sewed them up. That was so cool of them and I am so grateful because we played all day until it was too dark to play any longer! I loved listening to the race on the radio. I guess I have a good imagination; I get to make up in my mind how it looks by the sounds and descriptions of the broadcasters. I still get chills and a little tearful during the opening ceremonies. I get so excited at the pre-race spectacle! What a great race it was; even though Danica, TK nor Helio won…it was cool that Francitti won it, since he led so much of the race all day. I would kill to drive an open wheel, open cockpit race car out of turn four and down the front stretch at 230 mph with the crowd screaming at IMS on Memorial Day weekend! What a thrill that would be… Overall, I would have to say that the party was a success; I can hardly wait until next year!

As for our Waybac feature this week; it’s a little different. Along with the old pictures you’re used to seeing; we also have some more recent Waybacs (still before the blog days though) from Gigi’s 2nd memory card she let me borrow. Also included are some video clips from the same era. I love to hear the difference in Matt’s voice! 😛 Leading off this week, we have Mom O with Keith, back in ’66 in Greensburg; Keith and probably the back of Ann’s head at some lake back in approximately 1975….Maryann, any other info on this photo?; Brenda, Cathy, Great Grandpa Morgan, Aunt Norma and possible Great Grandma Morgan (?) at the 40 & 8 at Mom & Dad B’s wedding reception in June of ’78 and Ann & Deanna in their Main St. home in 1980.

Next up we have the 1984 Bryan Christmas at our Rockwood St home in LP w/ me, Katie, Rob & Nathan); another view of a familiar picture from Dan & Sharon’s old home on S Waugh in Kokomo during the summer of ’84; and two pix from our ’85 family vacation up in Wisconsin (Mom, what was the name of that place we stayed?): Dad B & Rob with the day’s catch outside our cabin and then Kenny & Marylou at the office. What a beautiful part of the country; I’ve never seen anything like it before or since…truly God’s country.

Next up we have another tuxedo picture of poor old Mel at the Main St home in about ’87; Rob, Grandpaw & I in LaPorte during a small birthday party in October of ’91; Matt at Grandma O’s home in Ryle Edition on 10/26/96 and then a couple months later at his first home in Columbus and finally Dad B and Joe in Rossville, out back as ground was first broke for their last house, the one up on the hill on March 11, 1997.

And wrapping up this entry are the ones from Gigi (thanks, Sandy!): Matt from his Christmas band performance on 12/19/07; Minnie Mabel Campsendell on 12/30/07; Charlie on New Year’s Day in 2008; Gigi & Muffin on March 16 of 2008; Megan on March 23rd with Keith & w/ Gma at her home in East Aurora; Gigi at the Home & Garden Show at the fairgrounds on 5/3/08; Gigi & Lola (and Grace) at our house on 5/11/08; Gigi with her new tricycle on 5/15/08; and Bu at the Greensburg High School on 5/18/08. Thanks again Sandra K!

Here are our videos from this week; including a couple of cool ones I wanted to share with you:

First off; we have two from the week: the first includes clips from Brayton’s birthday party last weekend and the kids playing ball out at the diamonds & the second is more of the same; the third is from this weekend’s Memorial Day party:

Those were cool; but now it’s time for a little fun! The first one is a collection of videos from Gigi’s old memory card she let me borrow recently. These are from late 2007 and early 2008. It’s ironic that a week after posting Matt’s last junior high band performance; I post an alternate version of Matt’s first junior high band performance. Then the second one is our newest Jib Jab video of us in Star Wars:

…And finally, we have a couple Zep-related videos. The first is a newly synched Greensboro ’77 show that is exactly 33 years old today (5/31)! The 2nd one is of Black Country Communion doing their 1st single “One Last Soul.??? BCC features Bonzo’s son Jason Bonham on drums. Let’s rock:

Thanks for checking out this week’s blog. We’ll catch up you next time. Until then, have a good one.
Later, Scheu