Tuesdays Gone Away

Another day, another rain out for both tennis and golf.  This weather has been so incredibly frustrating.  It's tough to get anything done outside, the golf course has been closed more days than ever before, and now it has greatly affected the spring sports season, especially tennis.  Since the season is close to the end, we really aren't even sure if they will be able to make up the matches.  With all of the delays and cancellations, we also found out that Tippy Valley dropped us to make up a conference match and the contest with Westview scheduled for Friday has been moved to Tuesday of next week.  This means that Meg will not have any matches this week.  She is extremely disappointed about that as she loves playing tennis.  Unfortunately, there just isn't much that can be done about it.

Cam and Meg went to Grandma's for dinner after finding out that they would not have any activities tonight.  Doug and I went to the Frog for half price pizza night.  The predicted rain came down in buckets while we were eating.  Cam was positive that we would have a flood delay tomorrow.  That would be ok with me, but Cam has a tennis match scheduled after school.  I was hoping that this weather would subside at least long enough for him to get in one tennis match this week.

Rainy Days and Mondays . . .

Since Spring began we have only had a handful of nice days.  Easter was absolutely beautiful and although yesterday wasn't quite as nice, it was definitely an improvement on the past week.  Today it was back to the new normal, 45 degrees and rain.  I tried not to let the weather ruin my day, but I did make sure to complain loudly to Brett when he called upon his return to Bloomington where it was twenty degrees warmer and sunny.  Looking at the forecast for the rest of the week in Southern Indiana only made me complain louder.  He and Cal will be enjoying seventies and sun while we will be stuck with the dreary days of a long winter.  Hopefully, the weekend will bring some sun here as Meg would like to take pictures outside for Prom.

The rain did not change my plans for the morning.  Cam had an orthodontist appointment to fix a bracket.  It took longer than normal, so he didn't make it back to school until close to 2 p.m.   I ran to Walmart after I dropped him off to get frames for Meg's graduation open house and birdseed.  While I was there we got a text letting us know that Meg's match was cancelled as well as Cam's golf and tennis practices due to the rain.  Cam was bummed as he felt that he had been inside enough these past couple of days.  Meg came home from practice thankful for the time to complete some of her homework.  After dinner Doug and I found another movie on Amazon Prime to watch - Out of Time with Denzel Washington.  We were surprised with how good it was for a free rental.  Tomorrow looks like another dismal weather day.   Some day we'll be able to sing "Here Comes the Sun", just not yet.

A Weekend of Movies

Brett and I started our weekend of movies with a showing of Dumbo at the Linway Cinema theater in Goshen Friday night.  He had already seen it with my parents, but agreed to go with me again since Doug, Cam and Meg weren't that interested in it.  Cal had also went to it with Hannah-Marie and concurred that it was well worth seeing.  We arrived early and I was glad that we did.  The parking lot was absolutely packed.  This weekend the new Avengers movie opened and the hype was huge.  Most shows were already sold out and there were lines filled with ticket holders waiting over an hour just to get a seat.  Brett and I did not have to fight any of the crowds for Dumbo, but did park quite a bit away from the theater.  The movie was the perfect family film complete with a happy ending.  I was surprised how much different it was from the original animated version and was glad that Brett and I were able to make time to see it.

Later Friday night Brett, Doug and I watched Shakespeare in Love.  This was Brett's first viewing of the movie, but he had been talking about watching it for years.  He remembered seeing scenes of it in high school English class and was glad to have finally completed Mrs. Thornburg's favorite movie.  After game night was over last evening, Doug and I decided to watch yet another movie.  We had found several on Amazon Prime that we were interested in giving a chance.  Brett reviewed our watchlist and highly recommended that we give Congo a try.  I had never heard of it, but Doug had.  It was based on a Michael Creighton book and came out around the same time as Jurassic Park.  The three of us enjoyed it, although not quite as much as the dinosaur movie.  The gorilla animatronics just weren't the best, but the plot was a good one.

Brett and I ended our movie watching weekend back at the Linway Cinema this afternoon.  We had seen previews of Shazam several months ago and really wanted to attend it opening weekend.  We didn't quite make it then, but were happy that we got a chance to watch it today.  The theater was still packed with sold out shows of The Avengers, but thankfully we did not have to fight the crowds in our auditorium.  Brett and I loved the movie from start to finish.  It followed much of the same storyline as the comic book adding in more humor than what was on the pages.  We definitely gave it a two thumbs up in our review to Doug and Cameron.  I do not get to the movie theater as much as I used to, but was glad to have had the opportunity this weekend.  Brett's always up for giving a film a try and I was happy that he and I could spend that time together.

A "Beautiful" Day for Tennis

Meg had a tennis match against Goshen this morning.  The girls had to play at Goshen College since the Redhawks courts were ripped up in plans to add on to their middle school.  The match began earlier than its noon start time, but it still had to be delayed due to weather.  By the time Meg was pulled off of the court it was not only raining, but sleeting as well.  The coaches waited for a half hour or so, but the forecast included low temperatures, hard rain, sleet and possibly even snow.  Thus, the matched was called for the day.  The girls were asked if they wanted to finish their matches next Saturday morning, but as that was Prom day and Bethany had technically lost the match already as number three singles and both doubles courts had lost, Meg and Mariah said no.  They already had nail and hair appointments and weren't up for an early morning of tennis as well.  Meg had lost the first set in a heartbreaking 7-4 tiebreak that lasted over an hour.  The thought of finishing it on the same day and getting ready for Prom was too much for her.

While Meg was playing in miserable, cold weather outdoors, Cam enjoyed his match inside the racket club.  Although the courts were not heated, it was much more pleasant to watch.  Cam's outcome was the opposite of Meg's.  He won easily in two sets, although he said that he struggled to maintain his intensity due to lack of sleep last night with his friends over and a weak opponent.  He played well, however, and was happy with his victory.  With the win, his record stands at 3-3 in the league.  We were impressed with that as he was one of the youngest signed up.

This afternoon was a quiet one.  I was glad that I had walked early in the morning as the weather never improved.  Meg invited her tennis team over for some team bonding this evening.  There was a lot of laughter from the basement and everyone enjoyed the pizza and snacks.  While they were busy, Brett, Cam, Doug and I broke out the games.  Brett was the big winner in both The Donner Party Dinner Game and Ticket to Ride.  Cam was bitter about his loss, but overall we all had a great time.  It was the perfect way to enjoy a dreary day.

End of a Busy Week

This week was a busy one for all in the Heinisch home.  Cameron had the new iLearn tests three mornings.  He couldn't prepare for them, but they made for a draining start to the day.  The good news for him was that with the new state testing schedule he will not have to take ISTEP to graduate.  After this year he will be done with weeks like this one and will only have to worry about the SATs in high school.  Cam also had several days of tennis practice this week and one golf practice match.  It was at Christiana Creek and Cam played what he thought was his best round of the season, shooting a 41.  It was exciting to hear him talk about his success with golf this far, especially last night's shot by shot reporting.  Tonight Cam and his friends met at the spring fish fry.  He held his own eating twelve pieces which was no match for Conner's sixteen.  Avery, Samuel and Conner all came home with him afterward spending the rest of the evening hanging out and having some quality time outside.

Meg's week was an equally busy one with four tennis matches including another tough one at Northwood last night.  The nice part for her was that she did not have to be at school until 9:50 on the days that the underclassmen had testing.  Friday was also a 2:30 dismissal for the fish fry which she appreciated.  Without practice she took advantage of the time to stop by Milford and drop off open house invitations to Mr. Troyer, Mr. Larson and Mrs. Sweatland.  Tonight she and Nick went to Chick-Fil-A in South Bend and then did some shopping.  They ended the night at his house watching a movie.

Cal was thrilled to be done with classes on Thursday.  This had been the most challenging semester for him since he started at Kelley.  Tax and corporate accounting have not been his favorites, although  he did enjoy his online March Madness class.  He and Hannah-Marie also broke up during the semester which added to the stress.  Their plan to remain friends, however, has worked for now leaving them both free to enjoy their summer.

Brett arrived this afternoon thrilled to be done with his classes for grad school.  He had a paper to submit this afternoon and a group evaluation which was done well before the 5 p.m. deadline.  He still has a take home text next week and a paper to turn in, but wasn't stressed about either one.  The only frustration right now has been finalizing his plans for next year.  He has a job with IU in a supervisor position.  It would not be enough to live on, however, so if he stayed in Bloomington he would have to get a part time job as well.  That would not be hard to do and he even has a few interviews set up next week.  He would like one with the city of Bloomington as it could lead to something full-time.  He would be happy staying in B-Town, but would really like the copy-write position with Eberle in Virginia.  He interviewed for that two weeks ago and should have an answer soon.  Until then he cannot sign a lease anywhere.  It has been hard waiting, but hopefully, he'll know soon.

The Sopranos

Several months ago Cal had asked me to watch The Sopranos.  He had finished the series and thoroughly enjoyed it.  He thought that I would like it as well.  I decided a couple of weeks ago to try it and was instantly hooked.  It was very violent and had too much sex in it for my taste, but I overlooked that for the most part enjoying the storyline over the six seasons that the made it the number one drama series of all time.  I didn't know much about the subplots of the show when I started watching it, but I did remember that it had a controversial ending.  As it neared the final episode, the show became more intense than ever.  I completely expected a violent end to the show.  Thus, I was surprised when it finished quiet differently.  I texted Cal immediately and asked him if I missed something.  He concurred that what I had viewed was the end and gave me his opinion of the final scene.  Mine was completely different.  Either way I thought it was one of the best endings to a series that I had ever seen.

Finding Neverland

I left this morning for Bloomington after dropping Cam off early for his iLearn test and seeing Meg out the door afterward.  Brett and I had plans to take a trip to Nashville and found today to be the perfect time for it.  I made it to his house just as he arrived home from his last day of his Project Evaluations class.  It was the toughest class that he had ever taken and he was thrilled to be done.

We had a wonderful time in Brown County and were thankful that the rain subsided long enough for us to walk to lunch at Big Woods Brewery and do some shopping.  I actually did not buy anything, although there were so many wind chimes, bird houses and garden stakes that I definitely would have enjoyed purchasing.  Brett found the mermaid statue that he had wanted to adorn his bathroom.  It was cute and I'm glad that they still had it.  On the way back to Bloomington, we stopped at the College Mall.  I had saved my shopping money to purchase several of my favorite Yankee Candles.  I was also able to get in the rest of my steps during this stop.  We ended our afternoon with Jiffy Treat for dessert.

Brett ushered last night for Finding Neverland, but did not stay to watch it as he had senior night at RUF.  Tonight he ushered again, but took the chance to see the play afterward.  I had bought a ticket for this evening's performance as well.  Although, we did not sit together, we texted several times during the intermission, both very happy with the first act.  It only got better during the second, and we both walked out of the auditorium thrilled that we were able to attend tonight's show.

The play got out later than we had expected, but Cal said that he was still up for getting dinner with us at Buffalouies.  Thankfully, I was able to park close to the theater with Brett's parking permit so we picked him up by 10:15.  Dinner was delicious and the conversation was lively, revolving around The Sopranos, Games of Thrones and Pete Buttigieg running for president.  It was the perfect way to end my day in Bloomington.

Not Much Fun

Meg had another match tonight, this time at Mishawaka Marian.  We knew that it would be a tough one for her as the girl at number one singles was a formidable opponent with a hard hitting serve and extremely accurate shots.  What we didn't expect was the rudeness and inconsideration that her challenger would bring with her to the court.  She actually cried when Meg won the third game of the first set.  She pouted, hit the ball back to Meg aggressively when it was Meg's turn to serve and scowled at every lost point.  Despite of the poor behavior on the opposite side of the court, Meg played her best and had some nice points.  She didn't let any of this ruin her evening.  When a ball well inside the backline was called out, Meg thought about challenging the call.  Being down 4-0 in the second set, she realized that the best approach was to just play out the game to the best of her ability and hold her head high.  We were just as proud of her tonight in a loss as we were last night in victory.  Meg demonstrated true sportsmanship.  We couldn't have asked for much more.

A Great Start to the Week

Tonight was the first of six matches out of nine days for Meg.  It was the same for her last year, but in the middle of it was Prom.  Thankfully, it was moved this year due to the Fish Fry.  Thus, Meg only had to focus on tennis.  Tonight's match was a tough one especially with the wind.  Meg played very well, wearing her opponent down with her shot selection.  The first set was close, but in the end Meg won in two sets, the second at 6-0.  We enjoyed her match very much and were happy to see her get a win to start a touch week.  Her matches do not get much easier from here with Mishawaka Marian, Northwood and Goshen next on the agenda.  For now we will be happy that she was proud of her play this evening.

Easter Sunday

Doug and Cal asked us last night if we would all be up for 8 a.m. mass today.  Meg wasn't excited about getting up so early, but we all thought it would be a great way to start Easter Sunday.  It would also give us plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the day.  Mass was crowded for 8 a.m., but we had no problem getting a pew up front.

After mass we went straight home for our annual Heinisch family Eater egg hunt.  In usual tradition Cal was the first to find his eggs, but Meg was only ten seconds behind in locating her dozen.  Cameron did not fair as well.  When the two of them had finished, Cam had only found five.  He did finally get all of his and even found his basket after a few hints.  Everyone enjoyed their Easter goodies and Cal broke out the singing rabbit to torture those who couldn't stand "Down the trail I'm coming with a basket full of fun and everyone is doing the Easter hop, hop, hop!"  We ended the celebration by watching It's the Easter beagle, Charlie Brown.

The rest of the afternoon was a quiet one.  Doug and I changed the fabric on the dining room chairs.  The color stayed the same, but the chairs looked ten times better.  It was fun checking out all of the patterns underneath.  The final one was a red and gold paisley print from the 1970s.  Doug remembered it well from his home on Annie Glidden.  He said that it was like walking back in time.  Doug was a big help and we finished the chair project a lot quicker than I would have thought.  Thus, we had plenty of time to spend outside.  The weather today was absolutely beautiful.  Cam and Cal were able to get some golf in with Grandpa before Cal left for Bloomington.  Meg and Nick took advantage of the nice day to take a long walk around Oakwood.  We ended the day with a bonfire wishing for more days like today.

Easter Dinner

I spent some time with Meg this afternoon working on items for graduation.  I was happy that were able to get several of our projects done.  Cal had brought home a lot more laundry than usual and I was able to get that washed, dried and folded while we were working.  Cal went with Cameron Adams to Chubbie's for twenty-five cent wings.  His leaving caused big controversy as he wasn't available to color Easter eggs.  Meg felt that only those who helped with the coloring should be able to find them in the morning.  Cameron didn't really care too much, but did join in with Meg on making fun of my enthusiasm for coloring eggs.  Brett called in the middle of  the debate and enjoyed listening to Meg's complaint, especially since he agreed with Cal.  In the end none of it matter as Cal made it back in time to color a couple of eggs and the debate was quickly tossed aside.

                            

Since Meg was invited to Nick's for Easter tomorrow, we decided to have our family dinner this evening.  It was a great day for it as we were inside most of the day and Doug had plenty of time to prepare the ham.  He also made macaroni and cheese (thankfully two types as only he and Cal would eat the one prepared with sardines) as well Caesar salad and carrot cake.  My parents joined us for the evening bringing deviled eggs and peanut butter pie for the event.  Everything was delicious and the guys all enjoyed several games of pool and a round of Hearts before the night was over.  We finished the evening watching Meg's slide show for graduation.  It was fantastic and we all enjoyed it very much.

Good Friday

For the first time in almost a dozen years, Doug had Good Friday off from work.  He celebrated by sleeping in until 9 a.m. which was completely unexpected.  During the afternoon he and I went grocery shopping while Cam was at golf practice.  We decided to try and make wings this weekend as a dry run for graduation open house.  Doug also picked up food for Easter dinner.  We also stopped at Staples while we were out shopping.  I wanted to print Brett's graduation announcement and our card stock wasn't thick enough.  I was relieved that they had exactly what I needed.  We then had time to check out Goshen Brewing Company before picking up Cameron at Black Squirrel.  He was very happy with his 44.

We spent the evening at home.  Nick visited and watched movies with Meg.  Cal finally made it home at 9:15 p.m.  He had gotten stuck in traffic on the way.  Thankfully, he was able to drop Brett off at an interview at Oliver Winery before he left town.  With all that Brett had going on this weekend he opted out of a trip north.  He did text us later to let us know that his interview went well.  One of his friends picked him up afterward and they went to Joella's for dinner.  Doug made dinner for the rest of us here, firing up the grill for brats.  We were happy that everyone had an enjoyable evening.

Rain Out

It was a miserable afternoon here which cancelled Cam's golf match at Christiana Creek.  I was sad that he wouldn't be able to play, but glad that I didn't have to walk along in forty degree, rainy weather.  Instead of practice for Meg, they all went to the assistant coach's house for team bonding which included pints of ice cream from The Chief.  Meg said that she loved tennis practice the best of the three sports that she played in high school.  I could definitely see why.

Without a golf match to attend we had a quiet night here at home.  Cam, Doug and I watched Escape From Alcatraz.  The movie was filmed in 1979 and it was amazing to see how much the prison looked exactly as it does now.  Our next goal was to get Birdman From Alcatraz, a Burt Lancaster movie set in the 1950s.  Cameron was reading a book about Robert Stroud and the movie outlined his life.  Meg got home around ten.  She went to JoJo's with a group from tennis after "practice."  They had a lot of fun and hoped to get together again soon.

Freshmen Orientation

Tonight was Freshmen Orientation for Cameron.  It was definitely different than I had experienced with the older three Heinisch children.  First of all it was smaller.  Secondly, it was quicker and finally we did not tour the school as we already knew where everything was.  Cameron picked the traditional classes for his freshmen schedule and I was alright his choices.  I probably would have suggested a few changes, but overall felt he was prepared for the next four years.  The state of Indiana had drastically changed it's graduation requirements and for the first time in a long time graduates will no longer have to take the ISPTEP or an end of class assessment to graduate.  It won't really change much for Cameron as he will still follow the college prep route, but for some students it will allow them graduate instead of receiving a certificate stating that they had attended high school.  It was definitely easier to be laid back about this orientation as we trust those in charge of his education. The only challenging part of the evening was thinking of Cameron as a freshmen.  All of us at times over this past school year have still thought of him as that fifth grader that started Bethany four years ago.  I know that with him as the only Heinisch child left at home next year, that will really start to change.  We are looking forward to enjoying his high school years.

JA Interviews

I volunteered to help with JA interviews this morning at Milford.  I had noticed that on days that I have scheduled to go into school that I do not sleep very well.  Last night was no exception.  I did make it to Milford, however, and enjoyed visiting with some of my Warrior Time students from last year.  I hadn't seen them in two months.  After Warrior Time I headed to the cafeteria to get ready for the interviews.  I had always enjoyed the JA experience and it was fun to meet with the 6th graders.  I hadn't been on this side of the process in several years and was glad to help out.

While I was at school, Cameron called to let me know that his stomach was bothering him again.  This had been an issue since Friday.  He took something for it at school and then laid down for awhile.  He said that helped.  We're going to try and cut out dairy, eat several small meals a day and take medication when needed.  I'm hoping that helps.

I had a haircut scheduled this afternoon.  Amanda called and I was worried that she'd have to cancel, but thankfully she just need to push it back to 1:30.  I really liked the haircut.  I've been trying to go in every three to four weeks so that it stays manageable.  I enjoy catching up with her as well and the older women that come in after me have always been extremely nice.  Doug and I went out for half price pizza tonight at The Frog after Meg and Cam ate dinner.  It seems to be our new tradition.  The food is good and the price is right, can't beat that.

Another Day, Another Win

Tonight we all went to Meg's home match against Mishawaka.  It was a little cool, but nothing like Friday night.  Meg played a more consistent opponent tonight, but the result was the same with Meg winning easily 6-1, 6-0.  It was fun to watch her play and to enjoy some success.  The team also won putting both her and the team's record at 3-1.  Meg was very happy after the match, but I think she was most proud, however, that she tried chipotle ranch on her haystack dinner.  Her Lenten resolution was to try a wider variety of foods and she has done a nice job of keeping it.

After the match Doug and I decided to watch Play Misty for Me.  We had talked about doing so since we visited Carmel-by-the-Sea as the movie was set in the town and surrounding areas.  Although it revolved around a dark topic, the scenery was beautiful.  Doug said that he didn't remember how much of Carmel that they actually showed, but it was a lot.  We recognized several of the places in town and around the beach, making me ready for a return trip.

Palm Sunday

We all went to 11 a.m. mass for the traditional Palm Sunday service.  It was a nice way to start the day with Meg as narrator and Cam an altar server.  Doug ushered as well, so the majority of the mass it was just Nick and I in the pew.  Mass ran later than normal, so we were pushing it to get to Cam's tennis match.  Doug and I were impressed with how well Cam handled his opponent's serve.  It was one of the hardest we had seen in someone that age.  Cam did lose, but he was able to win several games and gained a lot of experience along the way.

While we were in Warsaw, Meg and Nick hung out with with Grandma and Grandpa at our house.  Grandma made everyone chicken and noodles.  They left for Nick's after we got back.  They had a spaghetti dinner to go to and Nick's graduation invitation to complete.  Doug and I spent the rest of the afternoon watching the Masters.   We had taped it and didn't finish it until well after dark.  Cal kept texting us towards the end as he was pretty excited that Tiger won his fifteenth major, especially after all of his health issues.  It had been almost a dozen years since his last one.  I talked to Cal later in the evening.  He was extremely happy with his weekend - Little 5, the Masters, and the new season of Game of Thrones made it a success. Brett also had a wonderful weekend after resting from his interview on Friday.  He celebrated with lunch at Cafe Pizzeria, went to the comic book store, worked on some school projects, caught up on job applications and went to Sean's for a Game of Thrones feast.  

Quite the Day!

Cameron made it home at 8:30 and headed straight to bed.  He had only slept three hours last night and wanted to get some more time in before his tennis match at noon.  Doug woke he and Meg up at 10:30 so they could officially start their day.  Doug went with Cameron to the racquet club while I worked with Meg on her graduation announcements and pictures for her open house.  Both had a successful afternoon.  Cam won his match 6-1 and 7-5 while Meg ordered her invitations and sorted through all of the pictures that I had ready for her.  She and I even had time to take a walk before I had to leave for Paula's 50th birthday party.

Doug worked for quite some time on the front light.  The box had broken over the years and it was no longer able to hold the light fixture in place.  We thought about replacing it, but would have to do all of them if we did.  Thus, we were both pleased when Doug came up with a plan to secure it.  Paula's birthday party was a lot of fun.  It was at the Boathouse and even Debbi drove up to meet us.  I had a great time catching up with everyone and Paula really enjoyed her evening.

The dinner broke up early and I was home in time to watch a movie with Doug.  He was pleased with the black beans, rice and fish that he had made for his own meal plus the shrimp and asparagus that I brought him from mine.  Cam was asleep already when I got back.  That didn't surprise any of us.  Meg and Nick were here.  They had gone to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and stopped back here to watch the Little Mermaid.  Doug and I ended the night with To Catch a Thief.  It was one of our favorite Hitchcock movies.

Happy Windsday!!

I felt like I was in a Winnie the Pooh story these past two days as it was extremely windy.  I could almost hear Piglet saying "Happy Windsday" to me when I left for Cam and Meg's sporting events.  As tough as it was to play golf in it last night, it was even more challenging for those involved in the tennis match today.  Yesterday, I braved the wind and the cold to walk along with Cameron.  Tonight, I was extremely thankful that I could park next to the tennis courts and watch Meg play.  Valerie Leininger and her son, Jacob, rode along with me which I appreciated as the match was in Prairie Heights.  They weren't as lucky in avoiding the elements.  Rachel was on a court on the backside, so they had to actually sit in the wind.

Overall, the weather did not effect Meg's play very much.  She adjusted well to the gusts and quickly found herself winning the first set 6-1.  The second set was a little closer.  Meg's hip was bothering her and she couldn't move quite as well.  She still played very well winning the match at 6-1, 6-2.  I talked to her after she was finished.  She was happy with how she finished and was ready to hang out with her teammates and cheer on the Bruins that were still on the court.  We found out later in the evening that the girls won 5-0 putting their record and Meg's at 2-1 on the season.

I made it home in time to ride with Doug to Bethany.  It was the last middle school lock-in for Cam and I was glad to see him off before his night of fun.  We had dinner at Hacienda while checking in with Brett several times during the evening.  He had flown to Virginia for an interview and felt that it went very well.  He had had a challenging week with school, so it was nice to have success today.  He does have a summer position lined up in Bloomington in case this doesn't work out and was happy about that as well.  On the way back he had to make a connecting flight through Atlanta.  There were a lot of delays today because of the storms, so we weren't sure how that would effect him.  By the time we got home from dinner we were thankful to hear that he had boarded the second flight and was on his way to Indianapolis.  Now we just have to wait and see what he hears back from Eberly.

Years and Years of Pictures

I started today looking through all of the pictures albums that we had accumulated over the years.  It was a daunting task at first, until I really got into it.  There were hundreds and hundreds of photos to sift through as well as so many wonderful memories to relive.  There were trips to DC, Cincinnati, Bloomington, Walt Disney World and so much more.  It was fun to watch our family grow from one to two to three to four.  I found some awesome pictures of Meg which I sent to her by phone.  She enjoyed going through them.  I also sent her one of Doug with a shaved head which I still can't believe he did.  I was impressed, however, with the fact that he remembered the Heinisch children celebrating William Howard Taft's 147th birthday when I sent it out in the group message.  Brett appreciated his first photo in Washington DC, and it was fun seeing how animated Cal and Cameron used to be when the camera was brought out. As it was National Siblings Day, Cal had asked me what my favorite picture of the four of them was.  There were so many, but I was happy to send him one that I really liked.  Overall, it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be and I am looking forward to getting it all arranged for Meg's open house.

A Different Year

Tonight Meg had her first home match of the season.  The girls played Central Noble and it was a lot different than last year.  In that match Meg was the last one off the court winning in an intense three setter.  This evening was the complete opposite.  Meg was the second one off of the court and only lost one game in the two set match.  It was a lot of fun to watch.  After the first four games, Meg started moving the ball well.  She had her opponent on the run and had several nice put aways.   Meg had told us beforehand that several of the Cougar standouts from last years team had graduated.  It was obvious that this wasn't the same group that Bethany played last year as the team won easily at 5-0 in this lopsided match.  No matter the reason it was great to get a win and nice to be done early.

Back in the "Swing" of Things

Everyone was up and out the door a lot easier than I expected today.  I wasn't sure how the time change from our vacation would effect our Monday morning, but it didn't seem to bother any of us.  I spent my day catching up around the house.  I had to call both the orthodontist and the oral surgeon to rectify billing errors.  Those calls went well and I spent the rest of the morning packaging up all of the Directv supplies to ship back to the company.  Cal had suggested a month ago that we try YouTubeTV and once we got it set up we were ready for a break from the satellite company that was constantly raising our monthly fees.  By switching we will save over $100 a month.

My afternoon went by quickly.  I walked down to get Meg's CR-V.  There was a screw in the tire that created a slow leak which they were able to fix.  I then dropped off our packages at the post office before heading to Goshen to clean out Doug's car and buy pop at Martin's.  Cam had a practice round tonight at Black Squirrel while the high school was playing against Fairfield and Northridge.  I was able to follow along as he played and was thoroughly impressed with his game.  He hit the ball well and did even better chipping and putting.  I had told him that I never focused on the length of my drive, but more on the accuracy of my approach shot.  He proved that theory tonight scoring a 42 for the round.  It will definitely be interesting to see how he does next year on Bethany's high school team.  My parents and Doug joined us after the first couple of holes and enjoyed watching him as well.

While Cam was at golf, Meg had tennis practice.  She ran to Walmart afterward, but still made it home before we did.  We caught up with her day, happy to find out that it went well.  She only has 33 days of high school left.  It will go fast.

What a Gorgeous Day!

It was another beautiful day here which we appreciated very much.  It had been such a crummy winter, so we were all ready for a break from the cold.  California had given us a taste of that, so it was awesome to come back and experience more.  We all took advantage of the nice day.  Cam played golf with Grandpa, shot baskets, and took a walk.  Meg and Nick took a couple of walks as well.  Doug burned more leaves and I got in some time outdoors in between loads of laundry.  It was fun watching our bird feeders today.  The blue jays were enjoying the peanuts and we finally saw goldfinches arrive.  It had been years since they visited us and Doug and I both were happy to hav them back.  I found a Ferris wheel squirrel feeder that I would like to put up in our trees.  Until then I will just have to keep chasing the squirrels out of our woodpecker feeder.  With the gorgeous weather today, I didn't even mind scaring them away.  It gave me several more chances to get out in the sunshine.

Let the Unpacking Begin

It was hard to get out of bed this morning, but by lunchtime I was up and ready to get started on the day.  Adjusting to Eastern time will be a challenge, but at least we have two days to do so before school and work resume on Monday.  I had planned to spend the majority of the day unpacking, but the weather was beautiful.  Therefore, Doug and I ran to Menards to get mulch for the backyard.  We also picked up groceries at Walmart as we had very little to eat in the house.

The rest of the afternoon was spent unpacking some of our belongings, talking a walk, spreading mulch and burning leaves.  Meg had hoped that Nick would be home tonight, but his family got stuck in traffic in Tennessee and only made it to Louisville before stoping for the night.  While everyone was busy, Cam played golf with Grandpa and was proud of his 88 especially since he two putted all eighteen greens.

Grandma made dinner for Cam and Meg while Doug and I went to Oakwood to eat.  It was nice to spend some time with him after our trip.  We both had such a wonderful vacation and would definitely visit San Diego, Disneyland and Carmel again.  We thought that we would add Yosemite and more wine tasting on the next trip.  Our hope would be to get Cal and Brett out there as well.  Although it won't be anytime soon, but still fun to talk about.

Home

On Monday I received a text informing us that our flight home scheduled for Saturday had been cancelled.  We had flown Southwest many times over the years and had never had a flight canceled, so we were definitely surprised to say the least.  I pulled up our reservation on their app and it indeed needed to be changed.  We never heard why it was canceled, but assumed it had to do with the grounding of the 737s that were involved in two recent crashes.  Our flight out had already been subject to change which benefitted us greatly as it allowed us to arrive in San Diego several hours earlier than originally planned.  In looking at the non-stop flights available for departure on Saturday and Friday, we decided to go and head and leave a day early.  We actually didn't have a lot planned that day.  We had talked about going to Napa Valley, but hadn't gotten the best reviews of the area.  Thus, giving that up was alright with all of us.  It also saved us close to $500 by returning a day early.

Our rescheduled flight left today at 3:20 California time from Oakland.  Doug wanted to get to the airport early so he had time to return the rental car.  Thus, we decided to sleep in and head over at 11 a.m.  Meg, Cam and I gave him a hard time about his obsession of arriving well before departure time, but no one really minded.  We had plenty of time to return the car, check in our luggage, and eat lunch well before we had to board.  In fact we had so much time that I was able to get in 9500 steps as well.  Meg and Cam used the time to relax and watch videos while Doug worked.

The flight was an easy one and except for the landing, it was relatively calm.  It was also about forty minutes quicker than our trip to San Diego which we all appreciated.  Meg passed her time by watching Coco, Doug finished his Napoleon book, Cam played games on the iPad and I almost completed season three of The Sopranos.  Our luggage took longer than usual to get through the baggage claim and Doug arrived with the Pilot just as we walked out of the airport.  We stopped at Arby's on the way home and by 1:45 a.m. we were all glad to be home with a week of memories of a fantastic senior Spring Break trip for Meg.

Save Me, San Francisco

Once we thanked the Sulavers for their hospitality we left for San Francisco.  We timed it so that the traffic wasn’t too bad and by 10 a.m. we were passing by the home that was featured on the Full House sitcom.  It had been a dream of Meg’s to see it and we were glad to have checked that off of her bucket list.  

Our next stop was the Golden Gate Bridge.  We drove across it listening to the Full House theme song courtesy of Meg.  It was very beautiful.  Not only did we have gorgeous views of the bridge, but also the city of San Francisco and the island of Alcatraz.  It was well worth the trip into the city.

We decided to tour the Disney Family Museum after taking pictures at the Golden Gate State Park.  We had visited the One Man, One Dream at Hollywood Studios before and thought it would be much the same.  It started off that way, but soon we found ourselves learning more about Disney then we thought possible.  Our favorite part was the last room with the trains and the model replica of the original Disneyland.  

We drove to Fisherman’s Wharf after the museum.  It wasn’t quite what we thought it would be and in the end we all thought it was by far the dirtiest place that we had ever visit.  In saying that we were glad to have walked through this iconic area.  We also found a place to eat on the bay before walking to Pier 33 to check in for our Alcatraz Island tour.  I was happy that we had bought our tickets early as the ferry to get there was packed.  Once we got off of the boat we headed to the top of the Island to tour the cell tower.  It was an audio tour that we all found fascinating, especially the parts about the escape attempts and isolation cells.  Meg, however, might have found it more frightening than the rest of us, especially once Nick texted her the ghost stories of Alcatraz.  Cam bought a book about the “Birdman of Alcatraz” that he can’t wait to read.

After our tour we walked to Pier 39 which we liked a lot more than Fisherman’s Wharf.  We ate dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.  Doug and Meg liked the cauliflower wings as much as the boys and I did when we tried the appetizer in Florida.  After we ate we walked up and down the pier looking at the shops.  I found a shell wind chime that will look great on our front porch.  By the time we made it back to our car we were wiped out, but glad to have visited San Francisco.  

Carmel by the Sea

We spent the morning walking around the Mission Ranch.  The sheep were out and just as promised there was one black sheep mingling with all of the white ones.  We had breakfast at the tennis club and then walked up to the Mission that was founded by a Catholic Priest over two hundred years ago.  It was neat to see.  

Once we checked out, we drove a mile or two to the downtown area of Carmel where they had blocks and blocks of shops for us to browse through.  We found some shirts, jewelry, novelty items and candy that we all liked.  Doug picked our lunch stop, Hog’s Breath Inn.  It was formerly owned by Clint Eastwood until he sold it a couple of years ago to a friend of the family.  Doug’s parents had visited it several decades earlier and Jeanette had brought him back a shirt from the restaurant.  Doug had worn it to all four of the Heinisch children births.  Although he still has it, it was very well worn.  Thus, he decided to pick up another one to wear on a regular basis.  We all enjoyed our lunch.  Doug tried a Dirty Harry burger and I got a Love Potion - Play Misty for Me to drink.  There were both delicious.  

Once we left Carmel we drove to Pacific Grove to see the otters swim off of the rocks on the beach.  It wasn’t quite as easy to see them as it was the sea lions at La Jolla or the elephant seals at San Simeon, but we were glad that we visited the beach.  Our next stop was the Henry Cowell State Park where we walked a mile through the redwood trail.  The size of trees was impressive to say the least and the walk was absolutely gorgeous.  Cam enjoyed finding the banana slugs along the path and we were all glad that we visited the park.  

                         

We spent the evening with Doug’s Aunt Rose Mary and Uncle Mike. They live in San Jose.  We had a wonderful visit with them and enjoyed the dinner that they made for all of us.  Cam was impressed with their stock of ice cream in the freezer and Meg was glad for some downtime to FaceTime Nick as it was his nineteenth birthday.  

San Simeon

We were up early this morning for our journey to San Simeon.  With the time change, we haven't had any problems starting our day before 8 a.m.  Doug had wanted to travel up the Pacific Coast Highway.  It was challenging at first to find it on our GPS as the phone kept wanting to reroute us to an interstate.  We finally found our path, however, and enjoyed the scenery along the way.  

Our first stop in San Simeon was the Hearst Winery where Doug was able to try a few of their wines.  Housed in the same building was the Sebastian Cafe which served Hearst beef.  The wine and the hamburgers were delicious and we were soon on our way to the  elephant seal rookery.  Although we could not get close to the elephant seals like we could to the sea lions at La Jolla Cove, we really enjoyed it.  The elephant seals were huge.  We walked up and down the path watching them throw sand on themselves, move along the beach, wrestle one another and bark loudly.  

Our last attraction of the day was the Hearst Castle.  It was a vacation home of William Randolph Hearst placed on the mountain overlooking the ocean.  The size of the house was impressive and we loved the pools and tennis court.  The grand rooms were decorated in 18th century European artwork complete with full size tapestries and imported ceilings.  The story of Hearst's personal life was a turnoff, but seeing the home was definitely interesting.  Our docent relayed multiple stories of all of the celebrities that had visited during the 1920s and 1930s including Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Charlie Chaplin, President Coolidge, and many more.  

After our tour of the castle, we drove up the Pacific Coast Highway to Carmel.  We loved the views of the mountains and the Pacific Ocean, but the drive did make several of us nauseated with the hills and curves.  We were glad to have driven it, however, especially since the end of our trip made it all worthwhile.  Tonight we checked into the Mission Ranch at Carmel by the Sea.  It was situated on the oldest  sheep ranch in California.  Clint Eastwood had visited the piano bar on the property when he was in the army and when he found out that it was to be torn down, he bought it and had it turned into a bed and breakfast.  Our room was in the old barn which houses the original piano bar.  We ate dinner at the restaurant on property enjoying not only delicious food, but also piano music from the new bar.  Doug and I stayed longer than Meg and Cam as they were ready to relax in our room.  We were so glad that we found this place as it was definitely one of the highlights of our drive up the Pacific Coast Highway.  

Goodbye to Disneyland

Today was out last day at the Disneyland Resort.  Overall, we really enjoyed our visit very much.  We had been warned by several others that we might be disappointed by the size of Disneyland compared to Disney World.  We weren’t, however.  In fact we had a lot of fun contrasting the two parks and all they had to offer.  I truly felt like I had stepped back in time, reliving the Magic Kingdom of my youth. 

If we would return, I believe that we would plan on two days at the resort.  By staying the third, however, Meg and Cam were able to ride everything that they missed the previous two days and revisit favorite ones.  I was glad to have finally gotten on the Guardians of the Galaxy ride.  Cam and I were the only ones who tried it as it had a yo-yo effect that Doug and Meg thought would make them sick.  I wasn’t sure how it would make me feel, but it didn’t bother me at all.  It actually was a lot more fun than the Twilight Tower of Terror.  

The last ride of the night was Indiana Jones which Cam and Meg listed as one of their favorites.  While they were riding we got everyone Mickey pretzels for the ride to Oxnard where our hotel was for the night.  As we had to drive through LA to get there we had decided earlier in the day to leave after rush hour.  Our plan worked well and we made it there in less than two hours and just in time for dinner at Outback Steak House before heading to bed.