Monday started off pretty dicey…literally; as we received a wintery mix of sleet, freezing rain and snow just as our morning commute was beginning – causing the roads to resemble ice skating rinks. It was the worst I’d seen in a decade, here in southeastern Indiana. It took Ann upwards of an hour and half (3 x longer) to get to work, seeing numerous slide-offs, witnessing traffic accidents and nearly going off the road a few times herself. I had a similar experience, nearly involving myself in fender benders twice…while going 15 miles per hour, I might add. Once at work, my boss Dennis and I worked outside for two and half hours on our parking lot. We spoke with the trash man while we were out there (by this time it was about 10) and he said he heard on the city radio that there had been 25 rear-end accidents called in during that past hour alone! Thankfully, the nasty stuff lasted only until about noon and then warmed up. See what you’re missing, Mom??
Tuesday, it rained all day – I mean all day…it seemed like Seattle…over 2 inches total (Ann and I wish it would’ve been snow…we were trying to imagine how much it would’ve been if it had!!). We got I-Step Test results back for both Abby & Matt. They both did fabulously and missed receiving the coveted “pass plus??? by only a handful of points!! They were both waaay above the state average. Matt also had his final presentation in front of the judges for Science Fair as well. He was nervous (and a little grumpy) early in the morning, in anticipation of the big moment. He is a little competitive with one of his (girl) friends of many years now, Mallory; as she has won the Grand Champion award the past few years. Matt wanted to beat her this year, trying really hard to have a good experiment and presentation. As it turned out, his hopes became reality as he earned Grand Champion!!! J Way to go, Matt! He was very happy and we are very proud him. We came home early from work, as Ann made sandwiches for the boys (a group of Moms got together and decided to pitch-in for the 5 or so away games so the boys would have something half way decent to eat on those nights) before we left. We then got the other two kids and travelled to Rushville that night for Matt’s basketball game. The results of Science Fair weren’t released until 5 pm and of course he and the rest of us were out of town and in Rushville by that time. Grandma and Gigi went to the Open House showing of all the projects at the Jr. High school and called us with the big news. We relayed the information to Matt during warm-ups, but he didn’t believe us! LOL! Unfortunately, as Ann was telling his coach (and our good friend / neighbor, Dave Green) the exciting news, Matt wasn’t looking and got hit right in the face by the ball he was supposed to catch with his hands, not nose! Thankfully, he was OK. He kept asking if we were messing with him until he was finally satisfied. He was all smiles the entire night…which was great to see. Both Matt and the team played very well – especially on the defensive end of the court. Despite having 2 extra players from the A team with them that night, Matt played about 8 minutes, going 0-1 from the field, with 2 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, a steal and 2 “good??? fouls. Matt is now in the best shape of his life and it showed tonight. His hustle and enthusiasm were obvious, as he received many compliments and lots of encouragement from the crowd. The Pirates easily beat the Cubs (who, to their credit, made it close at the end) 18-14. The 8th grade boys also won to make it a clean sweep of the night! Abby, on the other hand, was busy hanging out with the cheerleaders…which we’re not sure is a good thing or bad thing…
Wednesday night, Ann went scrapbooking with the girls while the rest of us stayed home and watched Christmas movies. On Thursday we travelled to Shelbyville to watch Matt play another game. While Grandma O took Bu to hip-hop/jazz class, Lukey got to hang out at the station with Gigi. It was a nice treat to sit quietly and watch the entire game without the little ones. They had brought three boys down from the A team to play, meaning all the regular B kiddos got much less playing time. L Matt played about 4 and a half minutes. He hustled but didn’t have any shot attempts. He did set good picks, especially one mean one and got in one nice, hard foul on the biggest kid on their team (again, he got their two centers). The Pirates had the lead for most of the game and held off the Golden Bears in the final seconds to win by 24 – 23.
Friday began with a beautiful full moon directly over our house that was picture perfect. It was down in the lower teens with frost everywhere when we took this picture from Coach Green’s side yard. By Friday night, the two shopaholics (Ann & Amy) had already left work early in the afternoon and went shopping in Greenwood and didn’t get home until 1 am! …Now you have to admit; that takes dedication… The kids and I ordered pizzas and watched the holiday staple and all-time classic It’s a Wonderful Life. I had forgotten how gorgeous Donna Reed was in that show!
Saturday, I put in an extra shift at work (ironically enough, the movie for the kids was It’s a Wonderful Life!) and then met Ann in Columbus to get Matt & MaryAnn new phones. They were due for their 2-year upgrades and we decided to get both of them the new Verizon Blitz. We had to activate the phones at the store, so there was no sense in waiting to give them their phones. We had Grandma & Gigi over after supper. Since Matt and Grandma were getting presents, Ann & I decided to hand out gifts to the other three so they wouldn’t feel left out. Gigi got a Mama Mia soundtrack CD. Lukey and Bu both received clothes. Whereas Abby had to model her new vest; Lukey just matter-of-factly said, “Clothes!? I don’t need clothes for Christmas, Mom!” J The kids also received a Guitar Hero – World Tour game. The kids had a blast (even the big kid)! However, we had trouble with the drums right out of the box, as the orange cymbal never worked and the system kept freezing during the game. So, we’ll have to do some troubleshooting and get a hold of Nintendo, as an online search turned up squat on this issue…
On Sunday, we attended Matt’s first band concert of the year. It was held at the high school’s auditorium and featured not only the three Jr. High bands, but also the two high school ones as well. The 7th graders played three songs. Matt played the drum kit for the first and last song (“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year??? and “North Pole Sleigh Ride.???) with a broken bass drum that Matt, “really had to stomp on to get it to work??? – as the skin was ripped. He is the only percussionist in the band. On the middle song (“African Noel???), Matt played an African bongo-type of drum. That song was really cool and got the best ovation afterward. We were able to sneak out after the Jr. High portion! J Grandma and Gigi were also in attendance. We had to Tivo the Colts game and then come home to watch them barely squeak by the lowly Lions. Matt and I are gearing up for the big Dallas game tonight. Go Cowboys!
We have a few more WAYBAC pictures this week. Thanks goes out to Aunt Sharon again for another outstanding batch of photos! Here’s what we have for you this time:
The first couple of pictures are from the 2006 Bryan Christmas at Mom & Dad’s in Rossville.
The next picture is from the ’98 Bryan Christmas at Vird & Belinda’s in Indy.
One more Bryan Christmas: Here is a classic flashback to 1980. We had just moved back from California a few months earlier, which puts this at the big house on Kenwood up in LaPorte. I loved that house!!
Here’s a picture I found on my PC at work. This was taken at the annual Christmas Extravaganza in the dining room at Columbus Behavioral Center. Santa Elvis is played by my good friend and current boss, Dennis. Our old CEO Richard is next to him and to his left is our current CEO Kelly. I was huge – over 300 lbs – in this picture…
We end with a great photo that I am so happy Shar sent to us. This is my little brother, Robby with Santa in 1981 at our second home in LaPorte (on Rockwood). This would’ve been our first Christmas in this house and the 1st of three straight years when Santa visited Rob on Christmas Eve. J
What a fun week this was (and a fast one!). Although we received some form of precipitation each day, we have had no good snow accumulation yet!!! …Just one more regular week to go and then we’re heading in to vacation mode again… We only have seven more working days left in 2008 for both Ann and I, as we both are taking off Christmas Eve through the end of the year. We can’t wait! Until next time, have a good one…