Happy Halloween

For the first time in our twenty years of living in the Country Cove neighborhood there were no Heinisch children among the trick or treaters tonight.  Cam went to a party at Samuel's and Meg went trick or treating with Jackie in Goshen.  Thus, there were no pictures on the front porch to share or Heinisch children home watching "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" while swapping candy with their friends at the end of the night.

It didn't really make me sad, but it definitely felt strangely quiet in our house tonight.  Doug didn't even make it home for trick or treating this evening as he worked late.  For awhile I wasn't even sure that we would have anybody stop by as it was pretty slow until about 6:20 or so.  My parents did come up in case I needed to leave and pick up Cameron.  I was glad that they stayed, so someone else could enjoy all of the costumes coming to our door.  The most popular costume of the night seemed to be a giant blow up dinosaur.  It was neat to look at, but I think that it would have been hard to walk  around in while wearing it.

Even though the day was quiet and the night started slow, it was a nice Halloween.  Doug, Cam and Meg all made it home safe and sound.  I did not give out all of the candy, so there was some left for everyone.  Mom had brought up a gift for them to enjoy as well.  I finished the evening by watching one of my favorite scary movies - Vincent Price's Wax Museum.  It was the perfect Halloween movie for me - not too scary or violent.

Indiana Soccer Coaches Association High School All-Academic Award

Tonight was the fall awards ceremony at Bethany.  Doug went to support Meg and was proud to announce that she was given the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association High School All-Academic Award.  She was one of only two members on her team to be chosen for this honor and we were both happy for her.  Sports have been an important part of Meg's high school career, but her main focus has always been her education.  She worked hard to earn this award and we couldn't be more proud.  It was a great way to end her soccer career, honoring her high achieving ability as a student athlete.

Basketball Postponed

There was a girl's scrimmage tonight for Bethany basketball, but Meg wasn't allowed to play.  In fact because she missed the Fall Break practices she won't be eligible to participate in a game until November 9th.  I don't quite agree with the philosophy of it as I believe that Fall Break practices  should not ever be mandatory, but Meg didn't seem to mind.  Thus, we have no problem with her waiting to play.  It will give her time to practice and to learn their new defense.  She really enjoys her teammates and coaches, so being a part of the team was important to her for more reasons than just playing basketball.  We definitely support that.

The nice part about her sitting out tonight was that it freed up an evening for us.  I was able to finish putting away all of the laundry, luggage and souvenirs from Walt Disney World.  Cam had practice after school and then went to the scrimmage.  Just like Meg he enjoys his coach and teammates a lot this year.  Tonight he was happy to report that practice was a lot of fun, even though he and Joey lost a bet to Troy and had to run a down and back.  I guess they won't doubt Coach's three point shot again.

A Day of Rest

Thankfully, Doug slept on the flight home last night, so he was well rested for the drive home.  I was thankful as I did not want to stay in a hotel.   We arrived back in Syracuse at 2:30 a.m. more than ready for bed.  We did unload before turning in, but by 3 a.m. everyone was asleep.  In fact Cam and Meg were still asleep when Doug checked on them at one this afternoon.

The rest of the day was a quiet one here.  Cam tried out a new video game.  Meg did homework and then met Jackie for dinner.  My parents stopped by to see everyone for a little while.  We had gifts for them as well.  I had hoped to get a lot of the unpacking done, but I was just too tired.  When I saw my FitBit report for the week, I could understand why.  It felt great to know how much we had walked, but it definitely answered why my legs were sore today.

One Great Week

Today was our last day at Disney World.  I was sad to see it come, but it had been a fantastic week.  This morning we finished packing our suitcase and carry-ons, so that we could drop them off at baggage services before we left for Animal Kingdom.  It was the last park that Doug had not visited and one of his favorites.  Today we focused on the rides that we hadn't yet had a turn on including the Na'vi River Journey, Dinosaur and Kilimanjaro Safari ride.  We also walked through the African gorilla trails and Asian animal trek which I really enjoyed.  Doug and Cam finished the morning with Kali River Rapids ride.  Meg and I didn't want to get soaked.  In the end they stayed fairly dry compared to previous times.

We spent the afternoon at EPCOT once again enjoying lunch and touring the countries.  Meg wanted to ride The Gran Fiesta Tour one last time.  It had a line, but we were able to get on without a problem.  The weather was cooler today than we had earlier in the week, but we didn't mind.  It was quite a bit warmer than the weather we would return to this evening.  While we were walking through EPCOT, Cam kept us updated on the college football scores.  He stayed up last night to watch IU lose to Minnesota.  It was a typical IU game.  They got down in the first half, rallied to tie it and then fumbled with a minute and a half left to lose in the fourth quarter.  He wasn't too disappointed, but said that he was ready for IU basketball to start.  While we were in the countries we also finished our search for Remi on the Ratatouille map to win a Figment koozie.   It wasn't much of a prize, but it was fun searching for all of them.

Doug and Cam headed to the lounge around 4 p.m. while I went with Meg to get a chocolate shake.  The guys met up with a zealous Penn State fan and enjoyed watching the Iowa v PSU game with her.  We all had dinner in the lounge again before catching the Magical Express for our 9:05 flight.  The trip was an easy one to the airport.  I was pleased that our flight was on time since we were the last one of the day.  It was packed, but we found seats together.  The flight was bumpy, but that didn't surprise me as it tends to be when we travel north.  We all slept and watched videos for the majority of the flight, sad to be leaving, but thankful for a safe trip home.

 

Be Our Guest

This morning we were all up early for our morning at Magic Kingdom.  Extra Magic hours were from 8 to 9 and we wanted to be there when the rope dropped.  We thought we'd have to take the Minnie van to do so, but got extremely lucky when the bus pulled up just as we were walking out of the hotel.  Our morning was a fun one complete with The Seven Dwarf Mine ride, Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear and more.  We had saved the Tomorrowland Transit Authority for Doug and enjoyed that today.  Normally, we have him go through Laugh Floor with us as well, but we had such success on Wednesday night with Meg and I making the big screen and Cameron having his joke read that we decided to pass on it today.

I had made reservations several months ago for Be Our Guest.  We had never been there for breakfast and I really wanted to try it.  I enjoyed the atmosphere of the Beast's castle as always.  The food was delicious and I got some great pictures of all of us together.  Cam and Meg decided to stay at the park for the Muppet America presentation.  It was as funny as we remembered.  Afterward Doug and Cam caught the monorails to EPCOT and Meg and I did some shopping on Main Street before joining them.

Our afternoon was once again spent touring the countries and riding our favorite rides.  We had run into the Barbers at Magic Kingdom.  They had reservations at ESPN Zone at 5 and Meg wanted to stop in and see them as the restaurant was located on the Boardwalk.  While she was visiting with them I went back to the hotel and started packing.  I was sad to think that we had to leave tomorrow, but we will definitely have a lot of memories to take back with us.

We ate dinner in the lounge.  I was glad that Meg joined us there as well.  It was spaghetti and meatball night and it was delicious.  After dinner we split up.  Doug headed to EPCOT and Cam, Meg and I went to Hollywood Studios to get a seat for Fantasmic.  We were there forty-five minutes early, but needed to be so in order to get a seat.  We filled our time by playing Trivia Crack and doing the wave.  The only down part was the Disney pop music that kept playing.

The show was great.  I didn't remember all of it, so I was glad that we decided to see it.  Afterward we met Doug on the Boardwalk.  The magician's were out in full force, so we stopped to watch their shows.  Cam even got to be part of a card trick.  He then decided to play the "Flip a Lobster" carnival game.  Last year he had terrible luck, but this year he was able to put one in a pot and won a penguin. We ended our last night by enjoying desserts in the lounge.  Everything was wonderful and we could hear the Illuminations fireworks starting as we headed to our room.

 

Doug's Vacation

Doug arrived just after midnight last night, but was up with us at 7:30 to spend the morning at Hollywood Studios.  I wasn't worried about him getting up, but Meg and I weren't sure we would make it.  Cameron really wanted to take Doug on Slinky Dog Dash and fortunately, we all were there once again before rope drop.  The wait was a little bit longer than Monday, but Doug liked it as much as we did.  We then took him on the Alien Saucers before our turn on Toy Story Mania.  Meg was the big winner today.  We then spent several more hours in the park completing our morning with Rock N Roller Coaster, Star Tours and Twilight Tower of Terror.  I was nervous to ride on the Tower, but it was one of my favorite today.  Instead of falling straight down, it was more like a yo-yo, which did not scare me half as much.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at EPCOT.  This was what Doug was most looking forward too.  Cam and I could fill him in on all of the delicious food that we had already tried.  Doug had also done some research on the way down to find the best food and drink stops.  We walked through all of the countries trying different foods.  Once we had had our fill we decided to take a ride on Soarin', Figment and Spaceship Earth.  Cam and Doug then went through the single rider line on Test Track while Meg and I rode Nemo.  The line for that was actually longer than theirs as the clams for Nemo had stopped working for awhile.  We met them afterward and traveled back to the Boardwalk through Canada.

Meg and I did some shopping while Doug and Cam went swimming.  It was the perfect day for it as it was close to 90 degrees this afternoon.  Meg and I didn't find a lot while shopping so we planned on hitting the Emporium tomorrow at Magic Kingdom.  We had a delicious dinner in the lounge complete with pork brisket before walking back to EPCOT.  Meg and I decided to wait in the Frozen ride line while Doug and Cam toured the countries again.  We all met up for Illuminations afterward. We had heard that it was going to be replaced in 2019, so we definitely wanted to see it one more time.  We ended our evening in the lounge once again enjoying the desserts that were offered.  We had talked about hanging out on the Boardwalk, but decided against it as we wanted to get up early for Magic Kingdom's extra magic hours.  Thus, we called it an early night, happy from our busy day.

Sleeping In

 


We decided last night that we were all going to sleep in.  We have had a lot of fun, but were completely exhausted when we left the Halloween party last night.  Cam was the only one who said that he was still going to be up by 8:30, however, he was completely out when I woke everyone up at 10:15 today.  It felt great to be fully rested when we started our day.

We ate a late breakfast in the lounge before heading out.  I had been craving peanut butter this past month and was pleased to find peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the serving tray today.  We walked over to Fantasia Mini golf after we ate.  Normally, the wait can be quite long, so we usually arrive when it opens.  Since it was close to noon when we paid, we prepared for a half hour or more wait time.  We were pleasantly surprised to find out that we were next on the tee.  It was a fun round as usual and for the first time ever, Meg won.  She was pleased with that and I was impressed with how well she played.  Cam was right on her heels losing by only one stroke.  I completely fell apart and had no chance of catching up to them.

The bus service to the parks and Disney Springs had been pretty spotty this week.  At times we have had great luck catching a bus within minutes of arriving at the station.  Other times we have had to wait forty minutes or more.  Since Animal Kingdom was the most unreliable we decided the Minnie van was the best way to get to there form mini-golf.  Our driver arrived within minutes and gave us a lot of great information on the way to the park.

We had not been to Rainforest Cafe in several years and decided to have lunch there.  It wasn't too crowded and by the time we finished shopping our table was ready.  We all enjoyed our lunch before heading into the park.  We had several Fast Passes for today including Pandora and Expedition Everest.  I sat out of the roller coaster as my back had been hurting, but tried Pandora with Cam and Meg.  Last time I rode it, it made me nauseous, but this time I had no problem.  Meg didn't feel the greatest, but after she rested she felt better.  While she was out I rode Primeval Whirl with Cam.  We had wanted to go on Dinosaur, but it was closed all afternoon.  Thankfully, we did get to see "It's Tough to Be a Bug" before being seated for the River of Lights show.  It was just as wonderful as in the past.

After the show we caught the bus to Magic Kingdom.  I regretted that we did not order a Minnie van again.  The bus took awhile to get there and it was packed.  Cam counted 80 passengers.  We did make it to the park safely, however, and had a lot of fun riding our favorites again.  There were extra magic hours from 10-12, so after the fireworks show, the park really thinned out.  While we were in the park Doug was on a flight from Midway to Orlando.  There were no delays and he was on the Magical Express when we caught a midnight Minnie van back to the Boardwalk.  We had just crawled into bed when he walked in the door.  It was awesome to see him.  Glad that he was ale to make it.  

 

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

We were up early again this morning, but this time we headed to EPCOT.  We had a Fast Pass for Test Track, but wanted to ride Frozen when the park opened.  Cam couldn't believe that we talked him into going again.  Mrs. Zimmerman ruined the movie for him when she made his elementary choir class sing the soundtrack two years in a row.  We did make it to Test Track and Soarin', however, so he was fine with those two rides.  He also got to ride Mission Space and agreed to another trip on Figment.

Meg split off from us after the rides.  She wanted to meet up with the Barber family.  Cam and I tried the foods at the Coastal Eats and Australia.  Once again everything was delicious.  We then went to The Land for our Behind the Seeds tour.  Cam wasn't sure how he would like it, but in the end he found it very interesting.  He especially enjoyed the section of controlling pests including the leaf miner.  We also toured the greenhouse and Cam even had a turn at feeding the tilapia.

Our night was spent at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party.  It was the same format as years past with a "Boo to You" parade, Hocus Pocus show in front of Cinderella's castle, trick-or-treat throughout the park, Hallowishes fireworks and characters dressed in costumes.  We really enjoyed all of the events and each ended up with a bag of candy by the end of the evening.  The majority of the rides were open and we had fun on them once again.  It was a late night for us and a long day in general, but so worth it.  We all had a fantastic day at Walt Disney World.

Toy Story Land

We went to bed early last night so that we could make it to Hollywood Studios before it opened.  Our objective was to ride the new attractions at the Toy Story Land addition that premiered at the end of June.  There was a crowd when the rope dropped at 8:45 with the majority of park goers heading to the Slinky Dog roller coaster.  Fortunately, we were toward the front of the pack and were able to make it on the ride with only a fifteen minute wait.  All three of us really liked it as it was just the right speed and smooth all the way around.  Since we got on Slinky Dog so quickly we had time to ride the Alien saucers as well.  It was fun, especially for younger children.  We had a Fast Pass for Toy Story Mania next and with that finished our first experience at Toy Story Land.

We spent a couple of more hours in Hollywood Studios.  The park just wasn't that big, so we could definitely ride everything in just half a day.  We finished our morning with Muppet Vision 3-D, Star Tours and Rock N Roller Coaster.  We were going to eat at Pizzeria Rizzo's, but it was closed.  Thus, Cam decided that we should return to EPCOT for lunch.  I was ok with that as we tried some new foods today with my favorite being the crab cakes.

We rested at the hotel for awhile this afternoon.  While we were there I talked to both my Mom and Doug.  Our big tree in the backyard by our porch became a vicim of the windstorm on Saturday evening.  My parents never saw it, so Doug was the one who found it yesterday afternoon.  It was ironic as I had just talked to Doug about the gap at the bottom between the tree and the ground.  We had agreed to have it cut down this Spring.  Guess we won't have to worry about that now.  It was a lot of work tonight for Doug and my parents.  Thankfully, our neighbor had a large chainsaw and offered to help. They were able to finish the majority of it before it got too dark.

I felt bad that we weren't there to help, but Cam, Meg and I did have a lot of fun at Magic Kingdom this evening.  It was crowded, but we were still able to ride many of our favorites including Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Peter Pan, Ariel, the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean and Winnie the Pooh.  Somehow we even talked Cam into a trip through It's a Small World.

On Our Way

Doug dropped us at the Indianapolis airport at 7:30 this morning for our 9:30 flight.  Check-in was easy and he was back on the road to Elkhart by 8 a.m.  He had plans to work all day which would allow him to join us Wednesday night.  Our flight was a smooth one until the end.  Cam and I had noticed on flight tracker that we were supposed to land early.  We saw the airport approaching, but then the plane flew past it.  At that point we noticed that we were circling the Orlando area.  The pilot eventually informed us that the landing gear was having a mechanical issue and that we would have to hover at 2000 feet while it was checked.  The circling at low altitude made both Meg and I nauseous, so we were glad to hear that we were going to try it again.  The pilot had said that he wasn't 100% sure that the gear would work correctly, but thankfully we landed safely.

We quickly made it to the ground floor and were the last ones on the Magical Express before it left the airport.  We were glad for the short wait.  Our room was not ready when we arrived at the Boardwalk, but we were able to leave our carry-ons with the bellhop before heading to EPCOT.  Our first priority was lunch.  I made a stop in France for a slushy while Cam headed to Brazil for cheese bread.  Meg tried the pasta in Italy before we used our first Fast Pass of the trip on the Frozen ride.  It definitely has become one of Meg's favorites.  We spent the rest of the afternoon sampling food from around the countries and taking a turn on several other rides including Figment, Spaceship Earth, Soarin' and Finding Nemo.

We got a text around 4 p.m. letting us know that our room was ready, so we walked back to the Boardwalk.  I had time to unpack before we ate dinner in the lounge.  Cam tried mussels for the first time while Meg stuck with the cheese fondu.  We next caught a bus to Disney Springs.  We didn't buy a lot, but Meg found a purse she liked and both of them bought Disney pins from the pin trader shop. Our last stop of the night was Goofy's Candy Shoppe where we each got a treat to bring back to our hotel.  It was a long day, but a fun one for all.

Bloomington

Cam, Doug, Brett and I had planned to see Halloween this weekend if we could fit it in around the IU vs. Penn State game.  Thankfully, AMC 12 had a 10:30 showing this morning which worked out perfectly.  The movie was a sequel to the original Halloween complete with Jamie Lee Curtis.  It was just as intense as the first one and definitely more gory.  In the end we weren't sure that Michael Myers was dead, but we enjoyed the movie just the same.

After the movie we stopped by Brett's to pick up Meg for the tailgate.  Brett opted out to work on homework, but the rest of us walked over.  Meg took macaroni and cheese from Noodles & Company and Doug brought a couple of pizzas from Mother Bears.  Cal was already there when we arrived with a several of his friends.  We had fun visiting with everyone.  Doug, Cam and Cal had tickets for the game, so when they went in Meg and I walked back to Brett's.

Meg changed and then she and I walked through campus taking more senior pictures.  It was the perfect way to announce her acceptance into IU.  We stopped at the chapel, Showalter Fountain, Hoagie Carmichael's piano, Ernie Pyle's statue, Sample Gates and Herman B. Wells' bench.  The pictures looked fantastic.  We picked up Brett afterward for a trip to the mall.  The power went out when we were shopping which altered our purchase at American Eagle, but everywhere else was up and running.  On the way home Meg picked up chicken tenders at Chick-Fil-A while Brett and I chose Hartzel's for a snack.

Cam and Doug got back shortly after 7 p.m. The day had started out sunny and warm, but turned windy and cold in the late afternoon.  They had a lot of fun anyway, but were disappointed in IU's fourth quarter.  The game ended with a Penn State victory of 33-28.  We picked up Cal and the six of us spent the next hour and a half trying to get dinner.  The wait at BJ's was too long, so we decided to try Red Robin.  We had just gotten seated and received our drinks when their power went out.  Unfortunately, during that time something caught on fire in the kitchen and we had to evacuate.  We went back to BJ's and they said they'd get us in within fifteen minutes.  After a half hour of waiting there we left.  Doug suggested breadsticks, but the rest of us wanted something else.  We finally found a table at Bruschetta's.  The service was quick and the food was delicious.  Although it looked the evening would be a disaster it ended up being a great family evening.

Bloomington Bound

It was a long day today getting ready for our trip, but we finally made it to Bloomington tonight just after midnight.  Cam and Meg had their last day of school.  Both were tired, but glad to be able to finish out the week.  Cameron had practice right after school.  Doug picked him up from there and took him to a fall party at Anika's.  He had a lot of fun, but had to leave at 8:15 so we could make the trip tonight.  Meg didn't have practice until 5:15 which made for a long day for her.  Thankfully, they called it early as only four players were able to attend.  I spent the day cleaning and packing.  By the time I finished I had my 10,000 steps in without even going for a walk.  I was glad for that as the weather had been crummy lately and this afternoon was no exception with 50 degrees and rain.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Meg had her second day of job shadowing.  This time she chose to spend a day with Mr. Larson.  She enjoyed it just as I thought that she would.  She spent the first part of the morning with Reiker, his grandson, and was impressed with his academic ability.  While in the classroom she graded papers, helped students and even read "A Bridge to Terabithia" to the class.  Of course she had to read the saddest chapter.  She had a lot of fun spending time with her favorite middle school teacher, but was not impressed with the new grading procedures.  When Meg was in middle school she really wanted to be a teacher.  That has changed over the years, but today was another great experience for her.

Cam had a big day as well.  He finally had his expander removed.  They also had to put on four new brackets, so his mouth was sore, but he was thankful to be able to eat normally again.  On the way back to Bethany we stopped and bought him a new pair of basketball shoes.  He was wearing Doug's shoes until he decided for sure that he wanted to play.  He told me today that he definitely wants to be part of it all and was happy to announce that he had made the "A" team.

Tonight Doug and I went to parent-teacher conferences at Bethany.  We met with all of Meg's teachers and half of Cameron's.  Everyone had wonderful remarks concerning their work effort, academic ability and communication skills.  It was nice to hear how well they were thriving at Bethany.  They have made some real connections with several of their teachers.  Their support was greatly appreciation by Doug and I.

Job Shadowing

Bethany requires that all of their seniors spend two days job shadowing as a requirement for graduation.  Meg had to pick two different occupations and knew exactly which one that she wanted to start with - her Dad.  Although she couldn't technically follow him around for the day, she could shadow those in the accounting department that report to him.  Therefore, she left this morning at 8 ready to spend a day at Champion.

She called me when it was over to report on her day at work.  Although she was assigned to the account manager, she also got to spend time with accounts receivable, accounts payable and human resources.    She said that her favorites were hr and accounts receivable.  She could, however, see herself as an account manager, but definitely wasn't ready for the daily demands of life as a CFO.  While there she also got to attend meetings and even work on a few projects.  Her favorite part was going to Lucchese's with her Dad for lunch.  All in all it was a great experience for her.  She absolutely could see herself working in the business field one day.  Doug and I were both glad to hear that and were thankful that Bethany provided this opportunity for her.

A Productive Day

Today was an unusually busy day for me.  I started the morning with my typical routine of picking up, making beds and putting laundry away. After that I left for Warsaw.   Jen's brother had died last week and today was his funeral service.  I wasn't quite sure what the service would be like.  Jeff had suffered from mental illness since his college days and kept to himself a lot.  I was so incredibly impressed with his funeral and those who spoke.  They did not shy away from the struggles that he had endured.  They focused on his relationship with his family and had one of his friends from high school share memories from his life before the voices started.  I was glad that I went.  It gave me a lot of time to reflect on the friendship that Jen and I started thirty-five years ago.

Once the service was over I went to the courthouse to vote.  I had decided to do so as I would then avoid the questions at the community center.  As always it was fun to vote for Doug.  He was running unopposed, so we knew he would win, but it was nice just the same.  Amanda texted me when I left to let me know that she could cut my hair earlier than my 2:30 appointment if I wanted.  I took her up on it and met her shortly after lunch.

I made it home in time to walk before I had to pick up Cam.  It has been harder to motivate myself these past few days as the weather is cold and windy.  It wasn't too bad, however, and I easily got my 10,000 steps in for the day.  We didn't get home until close to six from Cam's practice.  He said that he enjoyed it.  He ate chicken pizza while I filled out the medical records for our new doctor.  My other projects for the day were to contact Nordictrack about our faulty touch screen, change our Discover accounts and fix our DirectTV app.  NordicTrack could not repair the elliptical screen, but agreed to ship a new one to us.  Unfortunately, DirectTV was not as helpful with the issue we were having with them and I ended that call in frustration.  I was able to resolve the problem later and change all of our accounts that needed updated with our new Discover card.  I definitely was glad that Doug made it home early enough from the basketball meeting to take me to dinner tonight.  It was a nice way to end a busy day.

Basketball Season Begins

Cameron completely surprised us over the weekend when he announced that he had decided to play basketball again this year.  He really did not seem to enjoy it last year and was more than ready for it to be over.  At that point he told us that he did not have plans to play again and instead would focus on chess and tennis this winter.  That seemed to change for him last week when he realized that all of his friends would be playing basketball and that they really wanted him to be a part of the team again.  He also felt that soccer went well for him, Thus, changing his attitude towards winning and ability.  He practiced tonight right after school and said that he had a lot of fun.  I went to the parent meeting and talked to Troy just to make sure that Cam would still be able to go to the chess lesson on Tuesday afternoon.  Troy agreed to that, so now we are on a mission to find new basketball shoes.

Meg started basketball as well tonight.  She was very happy to be back on the court.  It was a tough workout for her, but she didn't mind.  She really likes her coaches and teammates.  They couldn't scrimmage yet as volleyball was still in season after winning sectionals.  That eliminated over half of their team from practice this week.  Doug will attend the basketball meeting tomorrow night.  Can't deny it any longer - a new season is upon us.  Hope they both enjoy it.

Celebrating Fall

Today was the perfect day for some fall activities. The weather was beautiful and with the changing leaves it actually looked like fall too.  Doug used the day to take in all of the outside summer decorations and to move the potted plants that were still in bloom to Mom's garage.  Our hope was that the hibiscus would make it through the winter that way.  Cam took advantage of the nice weather to play nine holes with Mom.  He was proud of the 40 that he shot from the reds.  Meg had an easy afternoon with only a few items to catch up on for the week.  She was glad to relax.  I enjoyed walking in the sunshine.  Although it was still in the 50s, the wind and rain of a couple of days ago was gone.

The most important fall activity on our agenda today was carving pumpkins.  Meg and Cam had each picked one out last weekend at Fashion Farm.  Meg went with a smaller one this year and was happy that she had less to clean out.  Cam stayed with his plan of getting the biggest one that he could lift.  It took some time, but in the end both jack o'lanterns turned out well and looked fantastic on our front porch.  Glad that Meg and Cam decided to continue the Heinisch tradition as the pumpkins were a wonderful addition to our fall decorations.

Weddings & Grandchildren

Today Doug and I went to Jacob Schwartz's wedding.  He was in Brett's class at Wawasee and we have known the family for a long time.  Although it was a little chilly when it started, it was a beautiful day to get married outside with the sun and the fall colors as background.  The reception was inside a converted barn that also housed a brewery.  We sat with the Goralczyk family and enjoyed catching up with those who passed by our table, especially Miss Suzanne.  She had a lot of memories to share with us from. her days as Brett and Cal's preschool teacher.  Nelson's catered the reception and the food was delicious.  All in all it was a nice way to celebrate the start of a new life.

While we were waiting to eat Ron stopped by to chat with us.  Jake and Breann had asked him to officiate at their wedding, so he then became ordained via the internet.  He offered his services for the Heinisch children if we were interested.  We laughed, but said that we were good.  Doug and I talked later about weddings and grandchildren and realized that we were not ready for either.  I still feel like there has been a lot that Brett, Cal, Meg and Cam have needed our help with this past year.  I cannot imagine adding spouses and children to that as well.  In the end it really won't be our choice and we will adjust as needed.  Right now we will just enjoy our current family.

Change of Weather

Wow!  What a difference a day can make, especially when it comes to the weather.  Early in the week it was near record highs with temperatures close to ninety degrees.  Yesterday all of that came crashing down when the temperature dropped almost fifty degrees.  To add to the drastic change in temperature, the wind picked up and it was down right cold.

The weather didn't detour me from walking, although I did add gloves to my exercise wardrobe.  Yesterday was challenging with the wind, but today was better.  It helped that I knew what to expect when I walked out of the door.  The weather did change our evening plans, however.  We were going to go to the Knights bonfire, but decided against it.  The cold didn't scare me, but the rain sure did.  Instead Doug and I went to dinner and then played "Oh Hell" with Cam and my parents.

Meg took advantage of the dreary weather by going with Jackie and Sarah to the Niles Scream Park.  They had a lot of fun and did quite a bit of screaming along the way.  The girls all stayed at our house afterward in order to get an early start for the boys' soccer regional at Argos tomorrow.

"Blah" Thursday

Today just was just "blah" here in the Heinisch home.  I got a lot done on my 2017 photo album and finished washing all of the bedding in the house, but overall the day was best when it was over.  Cam and Meg were both exhausted.  Neither had slept well this week and the dreary weather did not help.  It was their only day home right after school this week, but I think they both wished that they had something to do.

We did eat dinner with my parents which was nice.  Cam and Meg hit Dad up for payment on their grades.  Mom was more generous than he expected, which led to some grumbling.  They did do well this quarter, however, and there was no argument with that.  Doug was absolutely swamped at work this week which left him absent from home more than usual.  He also had a Knights meeting and county council which increased his workload.  That may have added to the long week as well.

Thankfully, tomorrow will start the weekend.  Except for a wedding on Saturday we do not have a lot of on our agenda.  Doug may have to work Saturday morning, but should be home in time to watch the IU vs. Iowa game with Cam.  That has been all that Cam has talked about this week.  We are hopeful that the Hoosiers are victorious.  They haven't won a homecoming game since 2010.  Meg is looking forward to a night out with Jackie and Sarah tomorrow.  They have plans to go to the Niles Scream Park and then spend the night at our house.  That way they can go to the boys' soccer regional at Argos Saturday morning.  I know I speak for all of us tonight - Friday cannot come soon enough.

My Favorite Coach

Lately, the best part of Facebook has been the memories that show up on my daily feed.  We have done so much as a family over the past decade and I love being reminded of that.  Today's memory featured one of my all time favorite photographs, Cameron in goal.  It seemed to be timed perfectly as I was just talking to Doug about his coaching days and how much I appreciated not only the time he spent with the Heinisch children, but all that he did for the soccer program in our community as well.  

Doug had coached soccer since we first started dating in the early 1990s.  He loved playing the sport in his youth and wanted to share that passion with others.  For him it was never about winning, although his teams won multiple championships over the years.  Instead it was always about getting as many players on the field as possible.  It was his goal to make every player feel like an important part of the team whether they were the leading scorer or a backup fullback.  That was easier when he was part of the Lakeland Youth Center program, but he did continue the same philosophy when he coached at the high school level.  Because of his passion for the sport and desire to introduce it to as many youth players as possible, the LYC program grew during his tenure.  He was also able to support a junior varsity girls program at the high school.  When his workload off the field increased and he had to give up coaching soccer at the high school level, I had several mothers tell me that their daughters chose to step out of soccer because his philosophy was not carried on without him there.  They felt that coaches, parents and players had infiltrated the high school program only looking to further than own personal agenda, taking the fun out of it.

I do not know if that was the case at Wawasee the last two years.  I did notice that the number of girls playing soccer had decreased and the junior varsity team was non-existence this year.  I was sorry to see that, but it really didn't effect us this year.  Doug's absence of coaching may or may not have been felt in Syracuse, but it was definitely felt by our family.  It was challenging to watch someone else coach Meg who did not share Doug's philosophies.  It was not just about playing time, but building positive relationships, making every player feel an important part of the team and preparing athletes for life off of the field.  I feel bad that Meg missed out on that these past two years, but am so thankful that she and her brothers had years of positive influence from Doug's coaching philosophy.  I hope that one day they will be able to follow in his footsteps, passing on their own love of a sport or activity to others.

A New Quarter

Today started a new quarter for both Cam and Meg.  My hope for them was that it would be a lot less stressful than the first one.  With soccer for both, Doug's increased workload and college applications to fill out, it was a busy one for all.  Cam was optimistic about his fresh start.  He had decided not to play basketball this year which will free up a lot of time for him in the upcoming months.  He planned to use that extra time to focus on chess and tennis.  Tonight both of those were put on hold, however, as he took advantage of the 80+ degree day to shoot an 89 at Maxwelton.

Meg will be playing basketball this winter, but was confident that it would be a great season.  She appreciates her coaches' support and has made quite a few friends on the team.  She finished the SAT today for the third and final time, thus ending her need to practice for that.  She does have to job shadowing next week and fish fry tickets to sell, but neither of those events should cause too much stress.

Doug's workload will not let up anytime soon, but we've adjusted to it well.  The only bad part has been that we haven't been able to start The Sopranos like Cal asked us to do.  Even though that has been the case, we have still been able to enjoy family life when Doug has not been working.  With me at home to stay on top of our to-do list, our weekends have actually freed up more than was typical in the past.  Thus, I will forever be thankful that I was able to quit teaching and support the Heinisch family from home.

There Were a lot of Great Memories Made

Today was my brother's 55th birthday.  As I looked through pictures that I had or ones that my Mom posted on Facebook I was reminded that although his time with us was short, thirteen years, there were a lot of great memories made with him.  I was the most annoying little sister that I could be.  After he died that used to make me feel sad, that was, until I had children of my own.  I realized that part of being a younger sibling was being annoying, just like part of being an older sibling was to pick on those below you.  Bunk scowled in most pictures that were taken of him.  I assumed that was because he couldn't stand me.  Then I learned as a parent that most children hate having their pictures taken.  It almost seems like a right of passage to get annoyed with your mom or dad for snapping a photo at every moment possible.  The part that I can see now that children can't is just how much those pictures mean later in life.  Without them the memories fade quicker.  Thus, when my Mom posted a picture of Bunk and I that I hadn't seen before I was thankful.  Then I laughed.  Why wouldn't he have been annoyed with me?  I never left him alone.

My memories of Bunk will never truly fade, however, and this year I have appreciated how much Cameron has changed in appearance.  Although typical of a thirteen year old, the part that has been most enjoyable for me is seeing my brother in him.  Sometimes it is his actual appearance - the hair, braces, glasses, eyes, and nose, but other times it is his mannerism or the scowl on his face.  To me it is an ever present reminder that someone else is part of our family even if he couldn't be here in person.  For that I do not need photographs.

A Funday Sunday

             


Our day started at 11 a.m. mass this morning with Meg as lector, Cam as altar server and Doug ushering.  Meg and Doug got a kick out of Cam's facial expression when he realized that he hadn't rung the bell, but he corrected it immediately and all went well.  Doug made pancakes and eggs afterward for those who did not want leftovers.  Robyn and Mike stopped by with Winston before Cal and Brett headed out.  They had items for Hannah-Marie since she couldn't come home this weekend.  She went with the IU Civic Leadership group to visit the EPA in Washington D.C. for fall break.  It was nice talking with them.

Once the boys left Meg, Cam and I went to Fashion Farm to check out the pumpkin display in Fantasyland.  The theme was space and we thought that the pumpkins were a lot better than last year.  We then went to corn maze.  The corn was much taller than we expected, so Cam and Meg took a turn through it.  Even with all of the people walking through, they had fun.  We stopped for ice cream and pumpkins on the way out.

I talked Doug into going with me to see "A Star is Born" this afternoon.  It had gotten great reviews and I really wanted to see it.  It was even better than I thought it would be, leaving me in tears the last forty-five minutes of the movie.  Doug didn't cry, but he said that it was definitely sad.  We were both glad that we got a chance to see it.  Afterward Cam and Meg met us at Hacienda for dinner.  Normally, Doug says no when we suggest it as a dinner choice, but tonight he was alright with it as a celebration of the end of a quarter, soccer and a very long week.  It was a fantastic way to end a wonderful family weekend.

             

Saturday

We all had different ideas of what our Saturday should look like in the Heinisch family and each one of us felt satisfied with the choices made for the day.  Cam had a chess tournament at Bethany that took up the majority of his morning and afternoon.  He started off his day well earning his first win of the day in a grueling one and a half hour match.  He finished 4-1 overall which put him at 3rd place in the reserve section out of 38 opponents.  

Doug was able to make it to several of his matches including the last two.  He also had time to spend several hours at work.  With the new CEO's arrival, the three day sales meeting last week, a new account manager starting, month end to finish and the budget due he will be absolutely swamped next week.  It was nice that he had time today to get a jump start on it all.

Meg slept in this morning and then headed to Fairfield to pick up Jackie.  They went to Maria's for lunch and also hung out here for awhile.  They were able to catch the first 30 minutes of the boys sectional soccer final before it was called for lightening.  Bethany was up 1-0, so Meg plans to return Monday night to see the end of the game.  

Brett, Cal and I were home most of the day.  Cal did run over to see Winston for awhile in the morning and took him for a walk.  He spent the afternoon catching up on college football and resting from his long week of tests.  I watched quite a few of the games with him.  Brett popped upstairs several times during the day to give us updates on his homework, video game playing and the gigantic fly that kept buzzing around his head.  By dinner he was pleased with how much homework he had completed and was also happy to announce that he solved the fly issue as well.  

Tonight was spent watching the IU vs. Ohio State football game.  The game was a lot closer than we expected with IU jumping out to an early lead.  In the end no one was too disappointed with the loss. Doug made macaroni & cheese and chicken curry for dinner tonight.  Grandma and Grandpa joined us and brought delicious desserts along with everyone's favorite - sweet gherkins.  Cal headed to Cameron Adams' house afterward and Meg studied for the SAT while everyone else played "Oh Hell!" ending a great day in the Heinisch home.

Fall Break

Cal and Brett arrived home this afternoon thankful for fall break.  Although they always have Fridays off, Cal had just finished all of his midterms for I-Core and was ready for a break.  Brett had a lot of studying still to do, but he decided he'd much rather do that at home.  I was very happy to see them both when they pulled in the driveway.  Cal had plans to hang out on the couch most of the afternoon, watching television and visiting with Grandma and Grandpa.  Brett said that he was starving.  As I hadn't eaten lunch either, he and I headed straight to Peterson's once he brought in his laundry.

It was an early release day for Meg and Cam.  I picked up Cam at 2:30 so he could come straight home and challenge Cal to a game of IU checkers.  Meg used her extra time to catch up with Aaron at Starbucks.  Later in the evening she and Preston went to dinner in Warsaw and to a haunted house on the fair grounds.  They were glad to spend some time together as they hadn't seen each other since he left in August.

Doug arrived home at 5 this evening from his three day business trip to Indy.  He met the new CEO, sat in our sales meetings, gave several presentations and enjoyed a night of go-kart racing.  I had missed him quite a bit this week and was glad that he made it back safe and sound.  Cam had to be back at Bethany at 5:30 to set up for the chess tournament tomorrow.  After that he had a band concert which Brett, Cal, Doug, Mom, Dad and I were able to attend.  The band sounded great and afterward we celebrated the end of the week with dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings.

A Disappointing End to a Great Career

Meg's soccer career officially ended tonight at the sectional semi-finals at Westview.  In saying that it truly ended for her about a month ago when her coach told her that he "wanted to give more playing time to those who didn't come in the summer so that they could catch up."  We realized then that her hard work in the offseason and her performance on the field didn't really matter.  Thus, last night her skill at passing, nine goals and five assists sat on the bench with her as she watched her high school career come to an end when Westview scored with three minutes to go in double overtime.

It would be easy to dwell on the disappointments that she had endured these past two years - the lack of support when she transferred, being completely ignored on the bench and the dwindling playing time in a sport inwhich she had preformed well.  It would also be easy to argue with those who said "she scored those nine goals in easy games" by reminding them that  "she scored two goals against LCA who was one of the best teams that we played" or that "only one other player scored more than her with no one else even close."  Those comments would fall on deaf ears, however, and in the end would not make anyone feel better.

Therefore, I have quickly turned to the positives of Meg playing soccer for the past fourteen seasons. From the time she got stung by a bee after eating an snow cone at halftime and wore a bandaid on her lip so she could keep playing to the two LYC championships she was instrumental in helping to win.  She scored the very first Wawasee middle school girls goal and left Wawasee as their second leading scorer.  This year she was voted captain, finished as the second leading scorer and made a multitude of friends along the way.  The best part of Meg playing soccer, however, was the bond that she created with her Dad.  They created so many positive memories across the years and I will be forever thankful that he could be her coach for as long as he was.  I thoroughly loved seeing them on the field together.  No one can take that away.

One Last Project

The last year that I taught I spent quite a bit of time making a mental list of all of the projects that I wanted to complete after I resigned my position.  From eating healthy to cleaning out the bedrooms, the list was long, but it kept me motivated on my most frustrating days at school.  As soon as June hit and my summer began I started on my list.  Since June 3rd I have accomplished much - 10,000+ steps a day, eating healthy, the 2016 photo album complete, the basement picked up, the mudroom organized, Meg and Cam's rooms cleaned out, school binders done, and so much more.  Yesterday I finished one more project - cleaning out the spare bedroom upstairs.  I had originally planned on making it into Cal's room.  Since Brett hasn't been home much and Cal prefers the basement bedroom, I changed it into a guest room.  With the guest room now cleaned I realized that I was down to my last project from my mental list of last year and I started on that tonight - the 2017 photo album.

Once I realized that I was close to completing this list, true to my personality, I started another one.  In fact I already have several projects in mind for the winter and even next fall including painting, deep cleaning, job searching with Brett and getting ready for Meg's graduation.  The best part of finishing my current list was not that I could move on to another, but the fact that I felt as thought I was finally finished with my teaching days.  With the list I created last year to help me get through the long days of school complete, I will no longer think to myself "when I quite teaching I want to finish . . ."  Instead I will just be content with my daily to-do list as a mom and wife.

Sad News

I found out today that one of my former student's committed suicide last night by stepping in front of a train.  That was tough to hear.  I thought a lot of my time with him as a teacher in middle school while I was out walking this afternoon.  He was in my room multiple times a day working on FACS projects, meeting with his academic advisor and just hanging out.  He also spent quite a bit of time in the room next to mine where he ate lunch everyday and got support when needed.  I knew that he had struggles inside and outside of school.  Thus, I wasn't too surprised when they finally released his name,  I still felt bad that we couldn't have done more for him.  

As sad as I was to hear of his death, what surprised me most was how relieved I was that I was no longer teaching.  While I was at school I worked hard to mentor students that were most in need of it. I knew from the aftermath of my brother's death that a teacher could really make a difference when life got tough for a child.  Until I quit teaching, however, I didn't realize how emotionally draining that part of my job really was.  I worried about my students continually.  I hoped through my work that I could make a long term difference, but the chance of that was not high.   I knew that many of these students would have lifelong struggles and I was really only helping them through the day.  One time when I was working with an extremely challenging situation, Mr. Voirol told me that sometimes that helping someone through the day was the best we could do.  He was right.  Therefore, I will chose to think about the good days that this student had in middle school instead of his tragic end.

Out of the Normal

I did not feel well at all today.  That has been a rarity since I quit school.  In the past few years, I actually spent the majority of my days feeling terrible, so the fact that this has been the first time since June I will take it.  I was proud of how well I made it through the day.  Meg woke up with a migraine, so I had to take Cam.  Once I got back, I unloaded the dishwasher and then headed out the door for a walk.  When I got back, Meg was up and getting ready to go to school.  She ate an early lunch here before she left.  Once I talked to Doug I decided to take a nap and see if I felt better.  It did help and I was able to work in the yard with him this evening.  I am hoping tomorrow's a better day overall, but if not, I won't complain.  These days are few and far between now.