ISTEP

ISTEP testing started today and by the end I was completely wiped out.  I don't know if it was the change in schedule or the amount of focus that testing took, but by the end of it the students were completely wound up.  As we started with the same students as our block two and six classes they spent a lot of time with us.  It worked out well for accomplishing all we needed to do in those classes and it provided consistency.  By the end of the day, however, they were ready to get out and get moving.  They did pretty well for day one.  I, however, felt as though I had survived a preschool birthday party.

Needless to say I was absolutely exhausted by the end of the evening.  I was thankful that Doug could pickup Meg and take her to tennis.  Not sure I was up for a trip to Warsaw tonight.  She enjoyed it and Cam and I watched a Valentine's video that we hadn't gotten to.  It was a great way to unwind.

Mondays Aren't Much Fun

Monday mornings are tough, but when they start off with a sour note they become even more challenging to get through.  Today was one of those days.  It didn't help that I couldn't fall asleep easily last night, so I was extra tired.  I was able to get through the day, however.  I realize that sometimes there are days like that and it is easier just to get through than complain or let it ruin a week.

Meg also had a rough day.  She texted several times to let me know how frustrated she was with a current situation.  I don't feel that she was able to shake it off the way I did.  It was nice that we had piano after school as that gave her something positive to do and a place to focus her energy.  Cam and Doug were both busy today, but they felt that their day went well.  I was glad to hear that.  It helped change the focus of the night as they could share what they had been up to.  Thankful that Monday is over.  Ready to face the rest of the week.  

Legos and More Legos

Doug decided several weeks ago that he wanted to start on the basement clean out.  I was a little bit panicked about it as I have always been the organizer in the past and already had an idea of what I wanted to do.  He gave me his thoughts on what he could do without my help as I needed to spend that weekend working on entering grades for the end of trimester 2.  I thought his suggestions were great.  He first started on all of the glassware that we had stored behind the bar and moved to the numerous framed pictures that we had hung on the walls and placed on the shelves.  He was able to get through those projects in a relatively short time and wanted to do more.  He suggested that he start taking down all of the Legos that the Heinisch children had built over the years.

At first I wasn't sure if that would work.  Our basement has played homage to the years and years of Legos that had been constructed starting from Brett's first land speeder at age 4.   Several times in the past few months we had talked about categorizing the Legos, but just hadn't had time.  None of us wanted to just get rid of them, but all agreed it was time to clear them off of the numerous shelves that had displayed them.  Doug decided that the best course of action was to bag up those that he could, match directions with sets and combine all into tubs so that we could store them in our walk in  toy closet.  I was delighted with his plan and glad to have a solution to our storage problem.

Since that time Doug has spent weeks on that project.  This weekend Meg, Cam and I were finally able to help him finish up as well as clean out the rest of the toy sets.  Cam had the most to sort through.  I was impressed with how much he decided to get rid of.  Meg wanted to keep all of her Barbie's for her own children.  Thus, we had to sort through and put all of those in tubs as well.  At the end of night we had an organized storage room and all Legos were in tubs.  All that was left to do was to label the Legos sets and we will be officially done with that project.  There are a couple of other small projects to work on in the basement, but I was totally impressed with all that Doug got done.

On to State Part Two

Cam and his team from Bethany had a fantastic showing at the Chess Team Regional today in Goshen.  Going into the last round they were 3 and 1 and ranked 5th out of 30 teams.  Cam played the number one position on the team which put him up against the toughest opponents on the top teams. He did well and the team won the last round earning a third place trophy and a ticket to the State Team Chess tournament at the end of March.

The boys celebrated by coming to our house to hang out and eat spaghetti.  He, Kayden and JJ had a great time playing ping pong, hide n seek and ghost in the graveyard.  Meg had Kaitlin and Gabrielle over as well.  They also ate spaghetti for dinner and enjoyed the cookies that Doug baked.  Besides going through photos on their phones they spent a good portion of tonight playing Just Dance.  Doug took the boys home around 8:30 and was back by 9:30.  I rented Girl on a Train through Vudu.  It was a lot like the book and I was glad that I watched it.  Doug was back in time to see the twist ending.  It was a nice way to end a busy day.

Winter Break

Bethany had winter break today and Cam started it with a bang by throwing up late last night.  He slept in my room and I stayed home with him.  Cam never sleeps in, so when he was still asleep at 11 a.m.  I was surprised.  He wasn't running a fever, so I decided to wake him up.  He definitely was feeling better and we decided that a long walk Pokemon hunting would help him the most.  He led us with his Pokemon tracker and before I knew it we had made it all the way to Mom's.  She had to drop her car at Monteith, so we asked her to drop us off at home.  Neither one of us wanted to tackle the big hill walking back to our house.  

Cam felt well enough to eat lunch although he ate less than normal.  We spent the rest of the afternoon resting, watching TV and working on Legos.  Meg made it home around 3 p.m.  She had invited Macey to come over tonight, and she arrived around 5 just in time to share Little Caesar's with Meg.  Cam wanted to play games with Grandpa so he headed over there around 5:30.  Doug and I went to dinner together and were home fairly early.  Meg and Macey tried to walk to Casey's for a snack while we were gone, but the rain started before they made it.  I was glad that Mom was able to pick them up.  They thought it was pretty funny and it made for a great story.

Something New

Life is all about changes and adapting to them.  Today Meg tried something new knowing that it would change her normal routine and was happy with the result.  She decided to adopt a positive attitude about the situation and I couldn't be more proud of her for doing so.  The older she gets the harder her life decisions will become.  I am confident that she has a good head on her shoulders and will be here to support her in all that she does.

One Sore Back

Doug's back started really bothering him on Monday and continued today.  We haven't been able to pin point the trigger, but riding in the car and sitting in the office have been the hardest on it. This happens to his back about three times a year and lasts for about five days.  The lower back becomes tight and he can't walk standing up.  The part I have found most strange is that he can still exercise albeit at a less intense pace.  Tonight he decided to try the treadmill at the racquet club.  With a lot of stretching he was able to get in about 45 minutes while watching Meg play.  It sure looks painful, but he said that it doesn't hurt too bad.  Hoping that he starts to feel better soon.

Teacher Work Day

I had worked very hard the last few days to ensure that today wouldn't be extremely stressful at school.  Thus, I was able to finish up grades by 8:30 a.m.  I then spent the rest of the the morning working on JA BizTown and lessons for math.  I am really looking forward to JA.  It focuses on finances and the real world.  At lunch I picked up Meg so that she could help me.  She pumped up all of the basketballs in my room and then headed down to Larson's to catch him up on her second trimester.  After that she popped into Troyer's room to check on him as well.  By the time we left I had almost everything done on my list and was hopeful for an easy trimester three.

Cam had chess after school and then they both had piano.  Mom dropped us off at Sue's, so we could go out to dinner with Doug afterward.  Piano went well and Cam learned some new moves at chess.  Meg picked Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and surprisingly we got in pretty quickly.  It was nice catching up with everyone.  The warm weather has continued which made the evening even more special.

End of Trimester Two

Today was the official end to Trimester Two.  It was supposed to be Friday, but the "icy" roads we had in January used up this snow day.  The students were bummed as they realized that they could have had a four day weekend.  It would have been nice, but overall the day wasn't too bad.  I had my math students finish all tests last week, so I only had a couple that needed to make it up.  Writing lab was my biggest worry, as several students had commentaries to finish, but we got through them all.

Meg texted me at lunch to see if she could go home.  She said that no one was there.  Absences were high as several students were on vacation and others were sick.  The flu bug has hit hard, but not hard enough to cancel school.  At 1:45 Meg called me to say that they were all outside.  There was a fire at school and they weren't allowed back in.  By the end of the day we found out that an air compressor was smoking and it was billowing out of the vents.  Students were allowed back in with 15 minutes left in the school day.  The good news was that it was warm and they could enjoy the weather.  The bad news was that they have to make up the classes they missed this afternoon on Wednesday morning.  Meg was so hoping to be done with Chemistry.

To celebrate the end of the trimester Meg invited Preston and Aaron over.  They had a great night hanging out.  Cam decided to go to Mom's so he and Dad could chip balls again.  Doug took me out to dinner to celebrate as well.  I got a lot accomplished today and it felt wonderful to be two thirds of the way done with the school year.

Absolutely gorgeous!!

What an absolutely gorgeous weekend we had!  The weather was warm and the sun was out, and I couldn't have appreciated it more.  Cam played more basketball these past two days than he has in a long time.  Meg even took him on in a game once he got home.  I was able to easily get in 10,000 steps both days and Cam caught a lot of Generation 2 Pokemon on our excursions.

Doug ran outside both days and worked in the yard quite a bit.  He also started on the basement as that is our next clean out project.  Meg got home around 5:30 from Kaitlin's birthday party in Indy.  She found a couple of items while she was shopping, but mostly had fun just hanging out.  She had asked if we could go out to dinner, but we decided to take advantage of the warm weather and grill out.  Flip flops, capris and steaks on the grill - bring on Spring.

Yard Work in February

I do not ever remember being able to do yard work in February, but today was the perfect day for it.  Doug and I had talked about cleaning out the basement this weekend, but with the forecast I asked him if we could change that to an outside project.  I don't know if I have ever been happier raking leaves and cleaning out flower beds as I was today.  We took every chance we could to be outside and enjoying the sunshine.  Between Doug and I we were able to fill all of the bird feeders, clean out the garage, trim a bush and burn leaves.  The yard looked fantastic for a mid February day.  Mom even said that her daffodils were starting to break through the ground.  

Cam enjoyed a lot of time outside as well.  He played several games of basketball with Doug, took a very long walk with me and chipped balls with my Dad in his backyard.  Cal called Doug to say that they were spending the day playing basketball outside at his old stomping ground.  Brett took a walk around D.C. and Meg and Kaitlin took pictures at monument circle in Indy.  I know that the weather will turn cold again as Spring is technically a month away, but for now we will sure enjoy this winter reprieve.

What a Wonderful Night!

The warm weather arrived this afternoon just as predicted and it was just beautiful.  After Meg left with Kaitlin for Indy Doug, Cam and I headed to the Tippy Winery.  We enjoyed the weather and the sun.  We also played Qwirkle and Rummy.  It was nice to watch the sunset and relax.  This has been a busy week for Doug and we haven't seen him as much as usual.  Unfortunately for me I was the loser in both games.

On the way home we picked up Bourbon Street Pizza per Cam's request.  The three of us also finished National Treasure.  It was as good as we remembered especially since we were just in Boston and Brett's now living in D.C.  We recognized a lot of the landmarks.  Doug and I were able to finish the snack cake puzzle that we had been working on these past few weeks as well.  Dad gave it to us late last winter and we were happy to have completed it.  Still not sure what a "Yodel" and a "Funny Bone are

Everyone is Sick

I have sent more students to the nurse this week than I have all year.  It seems that either they have strep throat or the stomach flu.  My first block class was minus eight students one of the days which is a lot in a class of 23.  So far I haven't heard of too many teachers becoming ill.  I definitely don't want it.  Meg and Cam have not been sick either even though a few of their friends have been.  Doug said he did not feel the best on Wednesday, but then became overloaded with work and that made him forget all about how he felt.  The weather is supposed to warm up this weekend to Spring like temperatures.  Hopefully, that will end these bugs and we will miss the unpleasantness it brings.

Middle School Ski Trip

Today Cam had his first middle school ski trip with Bethany Christian.  It was at a familiar place to him, Bittersweet Ski Lodge.  He packed his helmet, gloves, hat, snow pants and jacket last night along with $10 for snacks and a sack lunch.

The trip was as much fun as he thought it would be.  He had experience skiing and was happy to say he got two punches on his lift ticket that would allow him to run the big hills.  He decided to stick around with his less experienced friends, however, and had a great afternoon.  He spent a lot of time with Caleb.  He had never skied before and towards the end of the day he was run over by another skier near the lodge.  The two of them decided to hang out inside after that with a hot chocolate and an ice pack for Caleb's busted lip.

Even with the incident Cam had a great time and also saw Mrs. Brower and Mrs. Fiscus as they were there with the Milford 7th and 8th graders.  Until this  year I did not realize that Bethany took their middle schoolers skiing.  I am glad that Cameron will be able to experience the fun with his friends just like Meg did in 6th and 7th grade.

Valentine's Day #27

Tonight Doug and I celebrated our 27th Valentine's together and it was just as wonderful as the first.  We started the evening at home visiting with Cameron and Meg.  I had gotten them each a small gift.  Cam liked the addition to his Scooby Doo Lego and Meg loved her new glitter waterfall phone case.  Once they were done sampling their candy Doug and I opened our gifts.  Doug gave me several nice ones including a bouquet of flowers.  I loved them all, but the earrings brought back the most memories.  They were just like the large hoops I had received so many years ago with the only difference being in color - silver instead of gold.  Doug had a box filled with his favorite treats and a new Roger Federer shirt that he appreciated very much.

Doug made reservations at Kelly Jae's and we had a wonderful dinner together.  School had been crazy with the excitement of the holiday and it was nice just to relax.  Work has been going well for Doug and he had a lot to share.  We also talked of our plans for the future and the places the Heinisch children have mentioned that they would like to travel to.  We topped off the evening with a delicious dessert - peanut butter ganache.  I couldn't have asked for a better date and feel absolutely blessed to be a part of Doug's life.

Happy 22nd Birthday Brett!!

I talked to Brett several times today via the phone, text and Facebook wishing him a Happy Birthday, posting The Happy, Happy Birthday for him to listen to and to let him know that I was buying his dinner.  He was in a fantastic mood and said he had a great day.  Dinner was at a new place where he could get one of his favorites - salmon.  He even celebrated with a sundae for dessert.

I missed being with him on his birthday, but am so proud of him and how well he has adjusted to living in D.C.  He has enjoyed every day of his internship and can't wait for the next project.  He has also taken advantage of the sites there are to see in the nation's capital plus all of the local events in his area.  Tomorrow night his apartment complex is having a social that he is planning on attending.  Wednesday his work has an event and Thursday he is meeting a friend from Right to Work for dinner.  The only negative I have heard from him since he moved is that Sunday and laundry did not go well.  If that's the only problem so far, we'll take it.

One Clean Kitchen!

Doug has decided that we have "too much stuff" in our home and wants to clean out as much as possible this winter.  I do not mind at all helping him in this endeavor.  I am usually the one that is pushing to organize the house.  I asked him if he was thinking of moving, but he said no.  He is just ready to unload items that we don't need anymore.

This weekend's project was the kitchen.  He took everything out of the cabinets and scrubbed them with wood cleaner.  I sorted through everything with him and then cleaned what we were keeping.  I was impressed that we got through it all by this afternoon.  We now have a lot more room in the kitchen and eight boxes for the garage sale.  Next weekend we start in the basement.

Back Home Again

Cal came home yesterday to visit for the weekend.  Jayce needed a ride back to pick up his car and Cal was ready for a break.  He had a couple of tough tests this week and was homework free this weekend.  I believe he also wanted to spend the weekend with HM with Valentine's day coming up.

It was nice to have him home, especially since we have all been missing Brett this week.  Cal opted out of donkey basketball last night, but wanted to go to dinner with us tonight.  We enjoyed having him and HM join us after their afternoon of shopping at Costco.  Cal talked about basketball all weekend long.  IU probably is out of the tournament, but he has been following Purdue as well especially since Caleb Swannigan is having such a great year.  I promised him I would find the picture of the two of them playing in Fort Wayne when they were in 8th grade.  Tonight's topic was the Warriors vs. The Thunder.  Cal definitely enjoys the NBA as much as college.  It was a lot of fun listening to he and Doug banter back and forth about the best team and player.  Glad that Cal still enjoys coming home to visit.

Meanwhile, in Indiana

Tonight was the Donkey Ball fundraiser at Bethany Christian.  Cam wasn't sure at first that he wanted to attend, but as the event got closer, he became a lot more interested.  The night started off with the teachers playing the pastors.  We got a kick out of the players trying to ride the donkeys without being bucked off.  Next were the juniors and seniors pitted against one another.  I was nervous that one of them would get hurt, but the students did pretty well maneuvering on the donkeys.  At halftime children 12 and under could ride a donkey if they wanted to and Cameron took them up on the offer.  He said it was a little scary, but by the time he is a junior he will be ready to ride them again.  The last game featured the winners of the first two. Cam couldn't decide if he should cheer for the juniors or the pastors.  The game was just as funny as the other two with a couple of donkeys with a mind of their own.  In the end the juniors were the victors and Cam was absolutely pleased with the evening.

It was a fun family night and that was what impressed both Doug and I.  Families were laughing and having fun together all while supporting Bethany.  Our favorite moment of the night however, may have been when Brett took a picture that Doug sent out via text and posted it to Facebook.  The caption read, "Meanwhile in Indiana . . ."  Totally correct - only in Indiana would donkey basketball be a real sporting event.

Read In

Cam stayed after school to participate in a read in at Bethany.  February is the annual read-a-thon for middle school students.  The money they raise is used for new playground equipment, books for the library and also to purchase school supplies at an elementary that Bethany sponsors in South America.  Cameron had fun staying after to read even though there were not a lot of middle school students in attendance.  There were snacks for them to eat and a prime spot on the library couch.

I picked Cam up at 5.  He was happy to say that he read over 60 minutes today.  His goal is 300 minutes a week for the month.  My parents and Doug and I have sponsored him for a total of 7 cents a minute.  With that and the pledge that Carl made he should be able to raise over a $100 this month.  Glad he has taken this task seriously.

Signs of Winter

This has been one of the warmest winters that I can remember in a long time.  This week we even had a day at 60 degrees.  Therefore, tonight's snow was a shock to the system.  There wasn't a lot of it, but what did come down made the roads very slick.  While Cam was at tennis there were multiple slide offs on US 30.  When Doug drove Meg home he had to wait on an accident on 15.  We all made it to Warsaw and back safely, however.  Wishing this would continue so that we could have a snow delay tomorrow, but doesn't look like it.

An Early Dinner

Cam had tennis tonight and Meg started tennis conditioning.  Mom invited them to eat dinner at their house afterward.  Doug and I decided to go to dinner as soon as he dropped off Cam.  Normally our time together starts closer to 8.  Tonight we were able to walk into the restaurant before 6 p.m.  Even the waitress noticed that we were in before dark.  It was nice to have dinner together and then still have time at home to relax.  With indoor soccer coming to a close and basketball over we should have more time together like tonight.

End of Indoor

Meg went to her last indoor soccer practice of the winter and it was a good one for her.  She had a lot of fun and even scored a goal.  The competition has become tougher with the boys attending, but she hasn't minded.  Doug has wanted her to work on getting open without the ball and she has definitely been able to improve her skills in that area.

She has to call it quits, however, as tennis is taking front and center.  She starts conditioning this week on Tuesday.  She then has her group lessons on Wednesday and Thursday plus another day of conditioning on Thursday as well.  Finally, she is back at the racquet club on Sunday for their two hour competition session.  With all of the tennis commitments, academic super bowl and homework we decided to call it quits on indoor soccer.  Proud of her for being committed.

Super Bowl Sunday

Normally we spend the afternoon at the Knight's Super Bowl party before watching the big game.  This year was different, however, as Cam had basketball and Meg had tennis.  Thus, we weren't able to attend the festivities.  Even without the party we did have a great day.  Cam's team played the best that they ever have leading the first round of the tournament game in the second half.  The final score was 27-20, but Doug said the game was a lot closer than that.  Cameron was proud of all of the rebounds he had.  It was a great way to end the AAU season.

At first Meg thought that she might skip tennis today because of the Super Bowl, but decided in the end that she would rather play.  They didn't have as many athletes as normal, but still had more than enough to play.  I was able to catch up on my grading while she was there and got to watch her play some awesome tennis.  She has really improved in the offseason.  

When we got home from tennis Doug had queso dip, quesadillas and guacamole ready for the game. Meg and I had missed part of it and walked in to find the Falcons were up by two touchdowns.  Doug was nervous as he is a huge Tom Brady fan and really wanted the Patriots to win.  By halftime it looked pretty bleak as New England was trailing 21-3.  Lady Gaga was the halftime show.  It wasn't my favorite halftime show, but from the posts on Twitter most viewers didn't agree with me.  The second half of the game started much the same as the first.  Within minutes the Falcons had scored again and were leading 28-3.  Cam decided shortly after that to call it a night.  Meg had already given up watching.  Doug stayed hopeful, however, almost willing a Patriots come back.  He got his wish as Brady took over and with just seconds left in the game, New England tied it at 28.  It was to be the first overtime in Super Bowl history.  After the coin toss the Patriots kept right on marching and with only one possession were able to score giving them the victory and the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.  Doug was elated and Brett instantly let us know how disappointed he was.  He had never forgiven New England for beating the Panthers in a Super Bowl game over a decade ago.  Cal said the best part was that he won $5.  All in all it was a great night.  

He Made It!

Brett texted me at 9:30 this morning to let me know that he was driving by the White House.  They were able to check in early and by 10:30 a.m. Doug posted a picture of Brett outside his apartment with The Capitol Building in the background.  They unpacked pretty quickly and were able to walk around for 45 minutes or so before Brett was ready to be on his own.  They found out that the Supreme Court building was across the street from his new place and The Capitol was only a five minute walk.  They checked out Brett's new office building and took a few pictures.  He will easily be able to walk to work and they both were thrilled with his new location.  Brett met his new roommate after lunch and was happy to let us know that there would only be two of them even though they get the discount for a quad.  Doug was able to get on the road before noon.  He wanted to get through the mountains of Pennsylvania before it was dark and would definitely be able to do so.  He did bring back Brett's TV and Playstation 4.  His roommate already had one in the apartment and there wasn't room for two.  He kept his controller and games, however.

While Doug was traveling home and Brett was busy getting acclimated to his new surroundings, Cameron, Meg and I headed to South Bend.  We stopped at Noodles & Company first before doing some serious shopping.  Meg found tennis shoes at Dick's and I found some at Kohl's.  We tried to get Cam a new Scooby Doo Lego at Toys R Us, but didn't have any luck.  We stopped at the Barnes & Noble, The Disney Store and Yankee Candle at the mall.  On our way home we drove through Dunlap so that we could pick up some supplies and Valentine's gifts at Target.  Cam and Meg wanted wings, so we ordered them from Buffalo Wild Wings while we shopped.

Doug called several times on his trip home.  He made very good time and planned to be home at 8:30.  We decided to go out to dinner when he got here.  Cam was ok with staying home alone, but Meg said she and Kaitlin would hang out here while we were gone.  I appreciated that.  I enjoyed catching up with Doug.  He was very pleased with Brett's new situation.  Doug took Meg and Kaitlin to McDonald's for ice cream when we got back.  Then the girls went to Kaitlin's to spend the night.  What a great day we all had!

Heading to D.C.

I was home today and appreciated the fact that Brett was still here and could run me to the appointments I had.  It also gave me a little more time to spend with him before he left.  He was up early and after he showered he finished packing his computer, chargers, and other items he left out for last night.  He even had two books ready to read on the 9 and a half hour drive.

In between appointments and running errands, Brett and I packed Doug's CRV.  He had left it here for that purpose and drove Brett's car to work instead.  We were able to easily get everything in the back of the car once we put down the seats.  We then picked up Subway for lunch.  Doug was home earlier than normal.  He worked a lot this week to make that happen.  I was glad as that would put them closer to D.C. before they had to stop for the night.  He hurried and changed and they were on the road before Cam and Meg got home from school.  I was sad watching Brett leave, but so incredibly proud of him.  He has been ready for this adventure and I am glad that Doug was able to start the journey with him.

As I did not have any other appointments after 12:30 I decided that I would spend the rest of my afternoon cleaning.  Brett had done a great job getting the basement in order, so I focused on the main level.  I listened to music and cleaned as much as I could before I had to leave to get Cameron.  Cleaning also helped me relax.  As excited as I am for Brett I am also a little nervous.

Meg stayed late after school with Preston to work on a chemistry lab.  Mom picked them up for me as I was in Goshen getting Cameron.  He went over to Mom and Dad's to eat dinner and play games while I went out to dinner with my co-workers to celebrate a couple of birthdays.  It was a nice break from the busy day I had and the women turning 48 enjoyed it.  Cam and I watched Goosebumps when I got back.  I finished more cleaning as well.  Clayton, Meg and Preston went to Steak N Shake and the movie Split.  They had a lot of fun, even though the movie was very depressing.

I talked to Doug several times on the trip out.  They made it to Silver Springs, Maryland before they stopped for the night.  There was a restaurant across the street for them to eat at and they were pleased with their driving progress.  I was still cleaning when they called, but finished most of it by the time I went to bed.  When Cameron's movie was over he headed upstairs.  Since Brett no longer needs the satellite receiver in the basement, I set it up in Cam's room.  He was happy about that.  Meg and I watched more of Kate & Leopold while I finished the last of the laundry.  She fell asleep before it was over, and I was finally able to call it a night.

Ready to Go

I had a meeting after school today that lasted until 4.  As soon as I left I called Brett to check on his packing progress.  He felt he was on top of it and when I got home I had to agree.  Brett had everything organized and moved out of the bedroom he had been sleeping in.  He went to Shopko this afternoon and bought some tubs to store the items that he would not be taking and had started putting everything in them.

I joined him in the basement as soon as I walked in.  We first packed the items he would need, starting with the clothes.  As he will have roommates and a furnished apartment we decided to focus mostly on bedding, towels, toiletries, groceries, clothes and some office supplies.  By the time Meg left for tennis we had everything packed and moved upstairs.

We thought this was the perfect time to take a break.  Brett wanted to eat dinner at the Rootbeer Stand, so Cam and I joined him.  The food was good and Brett was happy to go to one of his favorite local stops.  When we got home we finished putting everything that he didn't want to take in tubs.  For now we will be storing his items in the basement under the stairs.  Cleaning out the storage room in January gave us some extra storage space and since he has been on the go a lot, it will be easier to have everything packed and in one area of the house.

Doug had to work late tonight, but was able to pick up Meg and exercise while she was at tennis.  When he got back we were completely ready.  The only help we needed was unhooking the Playstation 4 and the TV.  Brett was not sure if he will need them, but wanted to take them just in case.  Doug was impressed with all that we had gotten done.  I was too!

Last Trivia Night for Awhile

Brett worked very hard during the day to get a lot of his packing done.  In taking inventory of his clothes Doug thought he would need two more dress shirts, so Meg and I took him to Kohl's before tennis.  While looking for the shirts, we found a sports coat on sale for 80% off.  He had one, but we thought we couldn't go wrong with getting one more.  We definitely couldn't beat the price.

We picked up Cam when we dropped Meg off and headed to Chubbie's for our last trivia night for awhile.  We ate in the new family room which I liked a lot better.  It was warmer and everything was new.  We did pretty well compared to last week and Brett knew a couple of answers that no one else had any idea.  The last category was Vice Presidents and Brett was the only who was able to answer that Adlai Stevenson the 1st was the vice president to Grover Cleveland.  That brought us up from 6th to 3rd and earned our group a $5 gift certificate for our next visit.  Brett was proud of that and felt we represented the name Larry, Darrell and Darrell well.

After trivia night we celebrated his birthday at our house.  Doug and Meg were back from tennis to join us and my parents came up.  Brett really liked his gifts - Lemony Snicket books to complete his collection, money and two new PS 4 games.  I believe his favorite present, however, may have been the item I gave him.  He hadn't asked for it, but over break when I heard him say to his siblings, "You know what the world needs, more characters like Dick Dastardly," I knew he needed a Wacky Racers shirt.  It even had Muttley on it.  We sang after he opened his gifts and had a big cookie, chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert.  We will miss him on his birthday, but were glad to be able to celebrate tonight.