IU Scholarships for the Win

Cameron sent me a text today asking me if I had checked his bursar account lately.  Since it wasn’t August yet, I hadn’t even thought about looking at his tuition bill.  He told me to look at his financial aid package when I had a chance as he thought that there might be some changes to it.  I was definitely curious after his text, but didn’t have time to log in until after lunch.  

When I finally sat down at the computer, I couldn’t believe what I was reading.  In the section for financial aid awards there was an extra $4628 in addition to his annual provost scholarship of $4000.  I had to read it twice to even believe what I saw was true.  Cameron had won the Douglas A and Rebecca L Smock Scholarship award for $2628 and the Padget Family Bicentennial Scholarship for $2000.  Both were merit based scholarships in the Kelley School of Business given to undergraduate students demonstrating academic excellence and campus involvement.  Cameron fit the definition perfectly.

As soon as I found out, I texted Cameron to congratulate him on his hard work.  I then called Doug to tell him and started crying.  I had spent over ten hours last March helping Cameron fill out his FAFSA, the general scholarship application, and the one for the business school specifically.  At the time I told myself if he got a thousand extra dollars it would be worth it.  Now he was getting over $4600 and it couldn’t have come at a better time.  The cost of living in Bloomington had skyrocketed over the past three years.  Cameron’s rent alone was twice what I had paid for Cal his senior year.  From my estimates this summer, I was going to be $3500 short in the account that I had set aside to pay for Cameron’s final year.  Now with these two scholarships I had a little breathing room.  It felt like a gigantic win and a wonderful reminder that God does answer our prayers.  

Fourteen Years and Still Going Strong

This post popped up on my memories today and it made me smile instantly.  I absolutely loved our 2012 Honda Odyssey and was happy to know that it was still going strong.  It had seen a lot in its fourteen years.  It was the last car that we bought when all four children lived at home, it had moved each one of them to college and would have been the last car that Grandma Heinisch knew for our family.  The van had not only made numerous trips in the Midwest, but it had also been to Washington DC, Boston, Maine, Vermont, Niagara Falls, Texas, Orlando, Tennessee, and Wisconsin as well.  The Odyssey had known me as a driver for nine of those years, Cameron for four and now Karen for almost one.  It overheard more conversations between our children and I than I could ever count and has truly become an important part of our family.  I know that one day we will have to say goodbye, but not thankfully, not today.

 

World Cup Final

Doug and I left DeKalb yesterday afternoon with the hope of making it to Tennessee before stopping for the night.  Thankfully, traffic was light and we made it to Ocala with no issues.  We were both tired when we pulled into our driveway today but extremely thankful to be home.  We had three boxes to unpack from my parents' home, but nothing like the last time we traveled back from the Midwest.  

While we were driving yesterday, our afternoon entertainment was listening to the finals of The World Cup between Argentina and Spain.  Doug was hoping that Argentina would win as he was a fan of Messi and I was rooting for Spain, mostly because Cora had Spain and we had a girls' alliance in the Heinisch family pool after a lot of trash talking from the guys occurred in the beginning of the tournament.  The hype around the game was big outside of our family as well because it was the first time that two Spanish speaking countries had played each other in the final since 1966.  

Thankfully, the game lived up to the hype and even though it was low scoring with Spain winning 1-0, it was still very exciting.  It also kept Doug and I entertained on our long drive.  Although, I had been pulling for Meg's England team to win in the final four, I was still very happy that Cora won our pool's $50.  The best part for me, however, was all of the family texts back and forth throughout the tournament.  It was a great way to keep in touch and made the World Cup even more fun.

DeKalb

Doug was up early this morning so that he could meet his dad for breakfast.  He really enjoyed his visit and was able to see Uncle Ray as well.  Uncle Ray had moved into Oak Crest last spring and although unsure at first, had really come to enjoy living there.  I wasn't surprised to hear that as I know that Carl and Marina really like their new life in the senior living community.  

While Doug was busy, I appreciated the extra time with Cal and Maggie.  I was also thankful that they could take me to DeKalb to meet Doug so that we could leave for home from there.  Doug and I offered to give Maggie a tour of DeKalb since she had never been to Doug's home city.  She got to see Inboden's, our favorite butcher shop that was a highlight of our family's many trips to visit Grandma when she was sick.  She also got to see St. Mary's Church and visit Jeanette's gravesite.  As nice as it was to share our memories of those sites with her, the best part was taking her to Doug's childhood home.  The new owners were in the driveway when we went by, so Cal stopped and asked if we could walk around.  They were incredibly nice and we all had so much fun talking about all of the good times that we had shared in Grandma's backyard - from our wedding rehearsal dinner, to the garden, to the pine trees that Doug watered every day when they moved-in, to the clubhouse that Carl built, to the bench from the golf course that Dan brought home, to the back porch, to the place where Apache was buried - it was a wonderful walk down memory lane and I appreciated Cal and Maggie taking the time to share it with us.

After our tour of DeKalb, Doug and I went to a cousins' gathering at Dan's.  It was very nice to see Doug's cousins and catch up with so many of them.  Doug hadn't seen a lot of them since Uncle Jim died four years ago.  It was also nice to visit with Addie and Morgan.  They have had some major life changes recently and it was fun listening to them talk about their futures.  We weren't able to stay very long but really enjoyed the visit.  It was a little bittersweet without Jeanette, but extremely nice just the same.  

Summer Wine Fest

After having a wonderful time with Brett and Karen, Doug and I followed it up with a fantastic day with Cal and Maggie.  We arrived in Chicago at 11 a.m. this morning and spent the entire day in Lincoln Park enjoying all that the area had to offer.  We started by walking to one of Cal and Maggie's favorite places for German beer.  The beer was good, but the best item on the menu was their soft pretzel.  It was not only delicious but enough for four people to enjoy.  While walking back to our car we even got to visit the movie theater where Dillinger was gunned down.  It felt a little morbid at first until I realized that it was a stop on the Chicago True Crime bus tour.  I guess if others were checking it out, it was ok if we did too. Either way, it made for a great photo opportunity next to the giant mural on the alley wall.

Cal picked Tuco and Blondie's for our next stop.  We had been there before, and Doug was more than ready to go back.  The restaurant was named after two of the characters from one of his favorite Clint Eastwood movies - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.  The margaritas were great, and we enjoyed the atmosphere very much.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at Cal and Maggie's apartment watching France and England play in the third-place play-off World Cup soccer match.  It was a high scoring game with England wining 4-6.  None of us could still believe that France wasn't in the final.  They had looked like the best team throughout the tournament and now were officially 4th.  While we were watching, Maggie was making dinner for everyone.  We loved the meatballs and charcuterie board that she made.  

Cal had bought all of us tickets for the Summer Wine Fest at the Lincoln Park Zoo tonight.  We were worried that it would be cancelled due to the air quality issues from the Canadian wildfires.  Thankfully, the levels remained ok today and most of the tables were moved indoors, so we did not have any problems with the smoke.  The wine night was a lot of fun.  There were thirty different wineries represented and we tried wines from quite a few of them. Many of the animals were still out and about, so we could walk through the zoo, drinking wine and see many of our favorites. Although the baby zebra was adorable, nothing compared to the baby rhino that was running all over its area.  It was the cutest animal that I had ever seen.  Overall, the wine night was a huge success and the perfect way to end a wonderful day in Chicago.

Celebrating Anniversary #1 in Columbus

After I left Paula's last night, I picked up Doug at the Indy airport.  I was happy that his flight got in early and thought that maybe I would be able to get to bed close to midnight.  Once we pulled into the parking lot, however, I heard a loud beeping coming from an apartment or a garage near Brett's apartment. I hoped that it would go away, but unfortunately it didn't and I accepted the fact that I would be staying up much later than I had planned.  I couldn't hear it inside of Brett's apartment, but as soon as I opened his door the loud four beeps were going strong.  I asked Google Gemini and looked it up online for verification and they both agreed.  It was a carbon monoxide detector and needed immediate attention from the fire department.  

I debated for a little while about what I should do next but finally realized that I wouldn't sleep if I didn't call 911 and report it.  Once I said four beeps, they instantly sent a truck.  It was after 2 a.m. when they arrived and I worried that I was wasting their time, but within ten minutes they had confirmed that it was carbon monoxide and even found the garage that it was coming from with their handheld detectors.  After walking through Brett's apartment with their gauges and assuring me that we were carbon monoxide free, the firemen showed me the problem in the garage.  A golf cart had been charging overnight.  With the heat and the corroded batteries, it had filled the garage with the poisonous gas.  Thankfully, they were able to clear it out fairly quickly and soon I was waking Brett and Doug up to let them know what they missed.

Although I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, I still had a lot of fun today with Brett and Karen celebrating their first anniversary as a married couple.  They spent the day giving Doug and I a tour of Columbus stopping at some of their favorite spots and trying out some new ones. While we were out, we went to three different bookstores, ate lunch at a local pub, checked out the hot sauce store, visited Brett's place of work, went to Bear Wallow Distillery and waited out a thunderstorm at Range 46 Winery.  We ended our tour at the pizza place that Karen and Brett went on their first date which was perfect for their one-year anniversary dinner from Doug and I.  It was so much fun hanging out with the two of them and seeing the place that they now call home.  We may not have been visiting on their actual anniversary date, but it was awesome to see how much they had grown in the past year together and to celebrate with them both.  

A Much Needed Visit

I enjoyed a very laid-back morning and afternoon today.  I hung out at Brett and Karen's reading and working on my computer in the morning.  In the afternoon I went to Kohl's and found four shirts that I absolutely loved.  Afterward I chatted with Karen for a while when she wasn't on a work call and was extremely thankful for a day of rest.

Tonight, I met Paula in McCordsville for dinner and a fun evening at her home.  She took me to a restaurant near her that was right on the lake.  The food was great and I loved the atmosphere.  The best part was talking to Paula.  It was so nice to share things with a friend that understood me so well. She not only listened but helped me to feel better about all that was going on in my life right now.  She knew exactly what to say and I left dinner feeling so much better than I had a couple of days ago.

After dinner, Paula and I went back to her house for the rest of the evening.  I was happy to see Gabrielle was home from work when we got there.  She told us all about her day in the research lab and her thoughts about being an anthropology major.  I loved her stories as I had taken anthropology classes at IU and found them to be extremely fascinating as well.  It was also nice to see how happy she was.  Before I left, Paula showed me her new backyard project complete with a pool, new landscaping and the perfect patio.  I cannot wait to see the finished project when I return in September.