A Rare Night Off

Tonight was a rare night off from soccer.  Meg and Cam both had practice, but no games.  Cam enjoyed a quiet night at home.  Meg used her free time to hangout at Izzy's studying for a history test.  Izzy was in Meg's second grade class.  They were friends then and were happy to become reacquainted once again. The workload at Bethany has been quite a bit more than her time at Wawasee, but Meg has gotten used to it and still maintains awesome grades.  The best part, however, has been watching her transform into the happy, confident Meg that we knew from her middle school.

I was off from school this afternoon to go meet with Dr. Cutteback at Goshen Orthopedic.  He reviewed the MRI with me and then gave me two options - injections or surgery.  I talked to him about it for awhile and after our discussion he agreed to let me try physical therapy instead.  I have to wear the boot half days for a week or so and stay on the medication that Dr. Mohr prescribed.  I have to return to see him on October 16th.  I also scheduled an appointment with Joan's office and should start physical therapy a week from Friday.  It felt great to have a plan of action.

BMW Classic

Cam and Doug were out the door before either Meg or I were up this morning.  They had tickets to the BMW Classic in Chicago.  It was a beautiful day for a golf tournament and they spent six hours following the best that the tour had to offer including Phil, Sergio, Spieth, Day and more.  They also had access to a suite by the fifteenth hole.  There was plenty of food for them to enjoy and a great view of a 350 yard par four that most tried to drive, but few succeeded.  They left by 4:00 happy with their day of golf.

I had hoped to go with them, but my ankle wasn't up for the walking.  That worked out fine for Meg as I decided that we would try shopping again.  We dropped her friends off in Goshen before lunch and then headed to South Bend.  I wasn't able to do quite as much as I did before, but we still made it to Kohl's, Shoe Carnival, Target, and Yankee Candle.  Meg was able to shop in a couple of other stores while we were at the mall and also pick her favorite lunch spot - Noodles & Company.  It wasn't the day we had originally planned, but a wonderful one for all four of us.

A Morning of Soccer & An Afternoon of Fun

This morning both Cam and Meg had home soccer games.  That worked out well for us as we could sit in-between the two and watch both.  Cam played the majority of the game that ended with a tie.  He was proud to report that he had several shots on goal.  Meg's team had no problem with Culver Community Schools.  Meg played center midfield for a good portion of the second half and had several nice shots on goal converting on a perfect one.

The rest of the afternoon was fun for both.  Meg hung out with her friends at the boys game and then went with a group to Hacienda.  Jackie and McKinsy came back to Syracuse with her.  They hung out here for awhile and then tried Chubbie's for dinner.  They met up with Aaron at Syracuse Beach before getting ice cream at Joe's.  Netflix was on the agenda for the rest of the evening.  While Meg was having fun with her friends, Cam was at the golf course playing his own big cup tourney with Grandma and Grandpa.  They had a great time and Cam was able to redeem himself from the devastating score he had on number 16 last year.  Doug and I enjoyed a quiet dinner at home while everyone was out.  It was made even better knowing that the Heinisch children had such a spectacular  day.

Camp Friedenswald

Cameron left yesterday morning for Camp Friedenswald with the 6th and 7th grade at Bethany.  He couldn't wait to get there especially since the two hour delay changed their schedule a little.  Tonight when I picked him up he was all smiles and couldn't wait to tell me about all of the activities that he had participated in during the two day event.  While there they went orienteering, tied with the 6th grade at capture the flag, learned a new game called carnivores, herbivores and omnivores, played ultimate frisbee and took a turn at frisbee golf.  Cameron said that the food was excellent and he really enjoyed the ghost stories around the bonfire and the night hike on Thursday night.  Mr. Willems was his cabin chaperone and Cam got a kick out of how many times he heard him say, "Who's showering next?"

Doug and I really enjoyed listening to Cam talk.  A large part of the reason that Bethany takes these trips so early in the school year is to build camaraderie among classmates.  The seventh grade definitely walked away with a lot of shared memories and stories to tell.  When we decided to switch to Bethany we did not know about activities like Camp Friedenswald.  What a wonderful addition to his educational experience.

A Hug Says a Thousand Words

Watching Bethany beat Elkhart Memorial in a close game was fun. Seeing Meg score was awesome. Watching her jump into the arms of her newfound friends and teammates made my heart smile!!  I was so happy that Doug, myself and my parents were all there to see it.  We have all been so proud of how well Meg has done with the transition to Bethany.  When we meet with Wawasee's administration to build a case for Meg to be allowed to play sports at Bethany it was never about Meg scoring at soccer or being on a winning team.  Both of those could be fun, but the best part of high school sports has always been the friendships that are made.  We were so glad to see that Meg has finally found a team that she has bounded with and that have supported her through this new endeavor.  

A Long Week

I am not sure why, but this week feels very long at school.  A couple of other teachers had said the same thing.  Last summer at IU's freshmen orientation they said the fourth week of school was always the toughest to get through.  Maybe it's the same with middle school.

As my week felt long I decided that Cal's may have as well.  Although not a freshmen, he was still an undergraduate.  Thus, I decided to get a package ready to send him.  It wasn't full of much, but it did have several of his favorites including Sour Patch Kids.  I also spent a portion of the evening helping Cam get ready for his camping trip with the seventh grade.  Those two activities brought my spirits back and by the end of the evening I was ready to face another day.

More Than Just Wins & Loses

Tonight Doug, Mom, Dad and I met at Elkhart Christian Academy for Cameron's game tonight.  It was an easy win of the boys and Cameron played almost all of the second half.  He did well at fullback, made a lot of nice plays during the game and had fun along the way.  Meg also had a great evening with soccer.  After practice they went to a teammates home for dinner and then were off to the boys' game at Goshen.  Meg didn't get home until close to nine and had homework to do.  She didn't mind, though, as she had had a lot of fun as well.

My favorite part of the evening, however, occurred when Cam and Meg were talking to me for a brief moment before they headed upstairs.  Cam chimed into the conversation with "Hey, Mom, did I tell you that Samuel broke his thumb?"  Before I could answer, Meg replied, "I heard that.  Gabby told me."  From there they took turns relaying the entire incident first from Samuel's side and then from his sister's.  Of all of the benefits of going to Bethany that I had thought of for Meg, the best one never even occurred to me until recently.  Cam and Meg at the same school again has been the best part of the switch.  They have created shared memories and have become even closer than they were before.