We’ve had a great week since we last touched base. Although we didn’t win any of the huge lotteries that were out there, we did play – which was exciting because we usually don’t… We received more snow but it came along with a wintery mix, so much of it melted then froze then melted again. As I write this entry on Sunday night, it is snowing and freezing everything again. Matt worked and taught at the middle school in Zionsville while continuing to live with Taylor, up in Carmel. We enjoyed seeing him briefly this week. Abby enjoyed her final week of winter break, spending time here with the family and dogs (Itch, Twitchy and DJ). She is now back at school with her friends and boyfriend as I write this tonight. We miss her and we know she misses us but starting tomorrow it will begin to become a little easier with each passing day. Luke had a full week of school and wrestling practice leading up to the annual Sectional tourney. When the season started, we didn’t even know if we would get this far – so we’re thankful just for the opportunity. It was Luke’s second state tournament and he again performed very well in the opening round. We spent time with Mom & Sandy this week and celebrated Ann’s birthday week, culminating in a big night out with just us and the kids. I continued to workout with Bryan and walk after work. Unfortunately, this week was a little too busy for me to reach my goals, only managing six miles of exercise. But the workouts more than supplemented nicely. The week went really fast so it was little wonder that it was probably one of the best weeks we’ve had in a while because time flies when you’re having fun!! Hello and welcome to the latest iteration of the Scheu Family Blog.
We were up early to head back to work on Monday morning…well, not as early as I should’ve because I pushed snooze six times. But I still managed to get Annie to work on time for her daily huddle meeting. Abby had a doctor appointment and got her COVID test in order to return to campus next week. Thankfully, it would come back negative. Luke had a fast day at school then went on to wrestling practice. Ann and I had long days at work. I had planned to run a fire drill first thing that morning but the kids decided to get into fights, stuff their pockets with food and squirt toothpaste on the doors, walls and floors. Needless to say, the staff were too busy to be put through an emergency drill at that point. So, we decided to postpone it until later this week. The day was full of challenges like this and I didn’t achieve half of what I intended for the day. I got out late that afternoon and only managed about a mile and a half of walking at the mall. I had to walk indoors because it rained all day. In fact, it was still raining when we got home that evening. Luke took Abby out for dinner, I cleaned out the leftovers from the fridge and Ann ate birthday cake. The kids played video games all evening while Ann read and I worked on transferring last week’s pix and vids while I began watching the third season of Star Trek Discovery. It is excellent – the entire series has been top notch to this point…and my favorite since TNG. I couldn’t stop watching and wound up staying up later than I should have… Here are pictures of Ann’s birthday party last weekend.
It was another drab day on Tuesday. It rained on and off the whole time but never snowed like they promised us. I had another long day. It was day two of my monthly EOC rounds. The boys and I went out to lunch at Snappy Pizza that helped break up the day. I finished up my rounds that afternoon. I walked about two and a half miles at the mall after work because it was too cold to walk outside again. After I dropped Ann off at home, I went out to the Sunken Boat Gym to work out with Bryan and Mike. When I got home, Abby and Ann had made a healthy dinner of garlic chicken and cauliflower rice with some white wine. It was perfect! When we got done eating, Abs jumped on an important Pi Phi Zoom meeting for a couple hours. Luke said he had a boring day at school but was sore from Advanced PE and wrestling practice. He went out for a couple hours to go cruising with his buddies then came home and played video games with his sister until bedtime. Ann & I took it easy that evening as we watched our DVR’d shows with the dogs. My thighs were sore from rubbing together 15,000 times that day – that’s how many steps I wound up with when I took off my watch that evening after dinner. I was just hoping that I wasn’t too sore in the morning because I didn’t stretch after working out…
We were awakened at God knows what hour on Wednesday morning. Usually, a call at that time of day is never a good thing. Thankfully, this was Mom O calling Ms. Ann to sing Happy Birthday – a tradition that she started decades ago. We actually look forward to it every year (I get one too! ????). It was her 51st birthday. I felt pretty good as we commuted to Columbus that morning, thankful that my muscles may be starting to adapt to the new level of activity. We had a fast morning at work then Abby drove over and picked us up and took us out for Ann’s birthday lunch. After a yummy meal at Five Guys, Abs dropped us back off at work and went shopping for a new lamp for the birthday girl. She also ran some other errands and came back to wrap up her presents and make a card – a nice card. After work, I walked two miles in the mall when it finally started snowing. It continued snowing while I was in there and the roads had turned to mush – what a slippery mess. We tried to go the back way but didn’t make it out of the city before we decided to go the front way on 46. Even then, we wound up passing a few folks before finally getting stuck behind slowpokes along the way. When we finally got home, Bu had everything set up. Ann opened her gifts once Lukey got home. Luke had a good day at school and wrestling practice. He did fine driving the Hot Rod Lincoln in the snow and ice. He had shoveled and salted the driveway when we got home that evening, which was very nice. Heck, he even pulled the trash can back up the drive! We were worn-out by the time we got home so we decided to order-in. She wanted the new Noble Roman’s (which is out at the Wolf Theaters) but they didn’t deliver. Instead, the kids braved the elements to get our dinner. It was really good! Best of all, Ann was pleased with it, so it was all good. Later, Abby Facetimed Matt and we sang Happy Bday to her as we enjoyed her second bday cake. ???? We took it easy that evening, watching more DVR’d shows on the big screen with the dogs. I was very disappointed to hear that Clemens and Bonds did not get elected to the baseball hall of fame. Even if you throw out their last five “suspicious??? years that folks have concerns over, they both already had hall of fame careers that should stand on their own merit, IMHO. Here are random pictures from our recent adventures.
We got up at the usual time on Thursday but we didn’t go into work. Instead, Ann & I drove to Rushville that morning for her doctor appointment. This was an important rheumatologist office visit to see if she had bigger issues with the reason she always has cold hands. While she was given a thorough once-over, I did some Hot Wheels hunting around town. I did find a couple new gems as well as a used LP that I had as a teenager. We came back and while Ann napped, Abby and I ran errands around town and brought home lunch. After doing some work for a while, we binge-watched the Simpsons and wound up taking a nap. I woke up and worked some more on my annual report before changing and going to the Sunken Boat Gym to work out with Bryan. Afterward, we went across the yard to the Bewley’s B&B Bar for a night of cards. It was my lucky night as I won big, enjoyed great food and had a few cocktails as well. We talked and laughed and before we knew it, it was time to come home. I busted my ass on their driveway as I walked to the van on the ice. I hope there is video of it – I can’t wait to see how graceful I was that night, under the full moon. LOL ????
Friday was a great day, as Ann’s birthday celebration week continued. Abby & I took her to work via the Dunkin drive through. We also picked up some goodies for Mom O and swung over to see her. I set up her new computer and then came back home and went to work in the family room while Abs spent the morning with her Gma. That morning, Verizon must’ve lost a cell tower or a voice server as none of our cell phones worked. We were able to text but no calls went through for several hours. Around noon Ann texted and said she was ready. After I picked her up, we ran over to Mom and Sandy’s house to join Abby with some Mom O time. Abs and I got the battery charged in the Crossfire then I returned to work. I got a good chunk of my annual report done then when Luke returned from school and wrestling practice, we all got dressed up and headed up to Indy. Gigi loaned us her car for the weekend, which would turn out to be a wonderful thing… That night, we met Matt at Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse in downtown Indy – near Conseco. It was Ann’s last and main birthday present for this year. …And it was amazing! I hadn’t eaten in a place like that before. We had their giant salad bar and something like a dozen different cuts of meat that they brought around to our table every five or ten minutes. They kept coming and coming as we enjoyed the “full experience!??? They had different cuts of steak, chicken, lamb and pork but my favorite had to be the sausage. I know how odd that sounds, but I love sausage and this was damn good! We enjoyed a cocktail and even had some dessert. They had to roll us out the door when we finished! But the best money we spent that night was on the valet parking. It made our lives so much easier! We said our goodbyes to Matthew while we waited for our cars and headed home. It was much calmer than our ride up. On our way there on 465, we were passed on the right shoulder by two assholes who were racing each other. Then, just as we were getting ready to get onto I-65, we came to a dead stop on the freeway due to a three- or four-car pileup. Thankfully, we made it right on time – walking in the door at 715. When we got back, we relaxed while still digesting our amazing dinner and watching SEAL Team and SWAT before finally calling it a night… We have a ton of social media pictures to share this week.
We were up early again on Saturday morning. Luke was the first out the door, meeting up with his teammates at the high school to ride the bus back down to South Dearborn again. This time, it was for the first round of the wrestling State Finals – the Sectionals. He came in ranked #6 out of 11 in the 195-pound weight class. Unfortunately, there were no spectators allowed with the exception of parents – meaning Matt & Abby weren’t supposed to attend. However, we did get one extra voucher so we drug Abby along with us that morning. We left a little early so we could stop by the gas station, grocery store and Dunkin (Bu’s only stipulation) before leaving town. We had an easy drive on a lovely morning down to Aurora where we met up with Luke and gave him his cooler, which had his food and drinks for the day (they aren’t allowed to do bulk food for the kids…although the EC parents still do it). We could see that he had a different mindset – more focused I would say. When I accidentally hit him in the eye with my bleacher seat, it sort of pissed him off, which really put him in a mood. In the first round, he faced Connersville with that mood still fresh. They had faced each other a couple times this year already with each winning once. The rubber match started off rough with the boy slapping, pushing and poking Luke in the eye. Luke attempted a shot and got stuffed. As he struggled and even went backwards a bit, we though the worst…but then he pushed through and imposed his will and got the takedown. From there, you could see his confidence grow and he would go on to win in dominant fashion, 15-1! In the 2nd round, he faced the #2 seed from Lawrenceburg and nearly won. He had the boy pinned, but the ref didn’t call it and Luke got a little sloppy with his pin attempt. The ref was slow to get down on the floor and he wound up getting rolled and got himself pinned in the first round. That made the 3rd round a must-win vs. Milan. Win and move on or lose and go home. Thankfully, he came out fired-up and aggressive. He won by pin in 51 seconds of the first round! With the win, he punched his ticket to the next round – we are headed to Regionals, baby!! ???? So, it looks like we’ll take a trip to Richmond next weekend – Woo! Hoo! He came up to see us in the stands and we celebrated…but he wasn’t done yet. He still had to wrestle for 3rd / 4th place. In the final round, he faced the kid from Batesville for the third time this year (losing both previous matchups). Unfortunately, Luke lost to him again this time, getting pinned in the third period. Although he was hoping for a third-place finish again this year, his 4th place spot on the podium was still good enough to send him on and that’s the more important part of it. He rode the bus back to school with his teammates so that he could get on to work at Hibbett’s that night. Meanwhile, the girls and I returned to Oasis Craft Burgers & Brews in Lawrenceburg. This time we opted to forego their delicious burgers and instead we explored other parts of their menu. Ann got the pork tenderloin; Abby had the fish (haddock) and I opted for their Crueben (cross between a Cuban and Rueben sandwich). All three were again outstanding. We had a huge, warm Bavarian pretzel with beer cheese and a couple beers while we waited on our entrée. I again had the Quaff On! Six-Foot Strawberry Blonde (on tap) while Ann had Sun King Sunlight cream ale and Abby had Angry Orchard (boring). They had live music that night, but we couldn’t stay long…in fact, we probably stayed just a little too long. Once we realized that it had started snowing, we quickly got on our way home. It was snowing so hard that it was nearly impossible to see. Thankfully, we didn’t have anywhere to be that night, so we just slowed down and took our time. The route brought us through the country and let us out at I-74. Although it was snowing big, wet, sloppy flakes, it wasn’t sticking until we got on the interstate. We were good at first but as we got closer to Batesville, it was really starting to stick and make the roads slick. We decided to get off at that exit and just come the rest of the way on 46. That road got worse and worse the further along we got. We obviously beat any snow plow out on the road. At one point I could barely see and we wound up nearly coming to a stop in the middle of the highway. We might have been going 20 mph for a mile or so. Slowly but surely, we made it home that evening. The dogs had quite the mess waiting for us when we got in the house that took a while to clean up. Later, Lola was hurting and wouldn’t stop shaking. Annie gave her some meds to calm her down and dull her pain (she’s such a weenie) and she finally settled down by the time we went to bed. As I headed to bed first, the snow had begun to change back over to rain. Here are some pictures of the newest additions to my Hot Wheels collection.
We finally enjoyed sleeping in on Sunday morning. We slowly got around to doing our weekly household chores. I put on last night’s Purdue game while I worked on the blog. This freshman class is really stepping up and was thrilled to watch them beat another ranked team. I was way behind on the blog coming into the day and worked on it pretty much all day, editing the pictures and videos, uploading everything, writing out the html code and finishing up the entry. It continued raining that morning and into the afternoon, making our backyard a muddy mess. Delilah loved it but her older sisters weren’t really thrilled. Abby swapped vehicles back with Gigi that morning then ran to the store for Ann before coming home to begin packing up for school. Ann made fish tacos for Bu’s going away lunch. Luke got up in the late morning and went into work at Hibbett’s until close. Matt met up with our cousin Cathy for lunch in Carmel. Ann & I wonder if there may be a job opportunity in the cards for him. That afternoon, Abs packed up Tonya on a rainy afternoon and headed back to the FC campus. We had just gotten used to her being around again, but we were proud to see her go back to school and know she will excel as she always does. And then it was just the two of us again – alone with the dogs. Before we knew it, the afternoon had flown past and it was already evening. As the sun set, the rain turned back into snow. Abby made it safely back to Franklin, which we were relieved of – even if she was a little homesick at first. That night, Ann made cheesy Fireworks popcorn and we watched the new movie on HBO Max called The Little Things with Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Ledo – which we really enjoyed. Afterward, Ann read while I finished up the blog while watching several more episodes of the newest season of Star Trek Discovery. Luke came out and we watched game film on the big screen. By the time I got everything finished and headed to bed, it was pretty late and had been snowing for several hours. Luke was hoping for a two-hour delay but we were hoping for a safe commute in the morning. Funny how your priorities change as you age, isn’t it? ???? What a week…
Next up is our Waybac segment which continues to feature two collections: Ann’s Uncle Red family pix from various years and Deanna’s digital camera pix from 2004. We lead off with Ann’s Uncle Walter (Morrison)’s birth announcement in June of 1945; next a picture of Malinda Thompson (30 years old) and Sarah Douglas Monroe (52 years old) – both living on Lindsey St. in Kokomo, IN in Sept of ‘45; Malinda in March 1952; then a ton of school pictures from the 1960s and Uncle Red in the 1970s; then we move on to 2004: April – Easter Day; June – Luke’s bday; July – 4th of July downtown, at Mom & Sandy’s and then back to our house, the Fair Parade and night at the fair; Grace’s bday, and the Indy Blues Fest; August – Gma & Gigi’s new puppies; September – Abby’s bday, Sandy’s bday; October – Trick or Treating at our house; November – Thanksgiving Day at Mom & Sandy’s house; and December – Christmas fun…
Next up is our video segment which includes one new home movie this week as well as several from around the internet.
And that does it for this week’s edition of the Scheu Family Blog. Thanks for keeping up with us this time out and we’ll catch up with you again next time. Until then, have a good one and stay safe our there. We miss ya, Mom.
Later, Scheu