Hoo, Hoo, Hoo, Hoosiers!

The hype around IU basketball has been huge this year.  Their best player from last year's team decided to return and in all honesty has a legitimate chance at being named Big Ten Player of the year this season.  Trayce Jackson Davis, along with two new freshmen and several other returning seniors makes this the best team that we have had since Cal started college in 2016.  Mike Woodson has done a great job promoting the team and enhancing the enthusiasm for the Hoosiers.  This week he had Bobby Knight at one of the practices as well as several former players.  

Tonight's game against North Carolina was played at Assembly Hall.  It was great to watch the crowd back the team and to see Cody Zeller, Christian Watford and many more recent IU grads in attendance.  The fans were loud and slightly obnoxious, but still fun.  The team asked for it to be a white out and it definitely was as every person in Assembly Hall wore white including one person dressed as a panda bear.  I thought that had to be intimidating to the few dressed in Carolina Blue.

Doug, Cameron and I watched the game together.  IU was dominate throughout.  When Doug went to bed at halftime the Hoosiers were up by 6, but it felt like more than that.  The home team came out on fire in the second half and led until the end.  TJD outplayed all of North Carolina's big men and the guards lit it up from outside.  Although we won by 12, the best part of the game was knowing that we actually had a team to get behind this year.  That will make our last winter in Indiana a lot more exciting.  

The Frog

I checked a lot off of my Christmas to-do list these past few days.  All of our decorations were hung, Christmas cards had been ordered, wrapping paper had been bought and the majority of the gifts had been purchased.  Doug planned on having a very busy week, working most nights at home.  Therefore, I was absolutely surprised when he came home the past two nights without anything to do on his computer.  Last night we used the time to prep the stairwell for painting next weekend.  Tonight, we didn't really have a home project.  With Cameron at a girls' game, we knew that he wouldn't be home in time to play cards either.  

While we were debating what to do with our free time, I jokingly reminded Doug that Tuesday was half price pizza night at The Frog.  We hadn't been there since September, so he instantly jumped on the suggestion and soon we were on our way to the restaurant.  We rarely go out to eat anymore, mostly because of the expense, but also because Doug enjoys cooking and we like what he makes.  The Frog does seem to be one place that we go to in Syracuse more than any other.  The pizza is really not that great, but a half price, it's edible.  Doug likes the beers that they have on draft which makes it a lot better choice than Sleepy Owl.  They also let us buy a pizza for half price to take home for Cameron.  Tonight's pizza was super thin and the guys at the bar were a little too loud, but overall Doug and I had a fun night out together.  Maybe we won't wait three months before we go again. 

Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying

I have been to more funerals over this past year than I had been in the last five.  Driving home from the most recent one in DeKalb, Illinois on Monday gave me a lot of time to think.  Aunt Marg told us after Dewey's burial service that "losing a loved one is very sad, but unfortunately a part of life."  I respected her thoughts as I know that she was still missing Uncle Jim.  Dan's family was definitely sad after losing their father/grandfather.  My cousins had had some difficult days after losing both of their parents this fall as well.  

Although I felt bad that these two families were hurting,  I decided that I could no longer worry about death, mine or those I loved.  Life had to be the priority as none of us knew when we would be called home.  It was my job to appreciate every day, even those that were sad.  Pining away for the good old days, wishing that time had not passed so quickly and complaining about my aches and pains could never be the main focus of my life.  I had to honor the memories of those who had gone before me by living my life to the fullest.  If I didn't, I would become bitter in my old age and that would be a burden to my children and grandchildren (if we are so blessed). I had to remember that God has a plan for me no matter my age and that I would need to make the most of it until the very end.  "Get Busy Living, Or Get Busy Dying" is not only my favorite quote from the movie Shawshank Redemption, but has officially become my motto.  I am incredibly thankful that I have a husband that adopted that attitude a long time ago.

What a Week!

We celebrated the end of a wonderful week by taking Meg, Nick and Cameron out to dinner at Mad Anthony's last night.  We had hoped to see the lights at Center Lake while we were in Warsaw as they were all set up around the park, but they won't be turned on until next Friday.  None of us minded as everyone had other plans.  Cameron drove from Warsaw to Bethany to watch the boys game.  On his way, he dropped Meg and Nick in Milford to pick up Nick's car.  They stopped by Grandma Jane's for awhile.  Doug and I used our night out of town to pick up groceries.  We all met up later at home with plenty of time to play Chameleon before turning in for the evening.

As soon as Meg left after lunch today, Cameron took off for Goshen.  He had made plans with Alina this afternoon.  Doug and I then spent our afternoon setting up the rest of the Christmas and cleaning the house from all of the traffic this week.  We were absolutely exhausted by the end of the night, but extremely happy for all of the family time over the past ten days.  Tomorrow will definitely be a let down, but knowing that we will all be together again soon, has helped alleviate some of the holiday blues this evening.  

Happy Birthday Grandma Jane

Today was Grandma Jane's 79th Birthday.  I don't know if she was excited about getting a year older, but I do believe that she was happy to have spent a lot of time with her grandchildren this past week including today.  During the past seven days, they have all stopped by for multiple visits, ate lunch at her home, played games with her and spent Thanksgiving day with her.  I am sure that she also enjoyed the candy, jewelry and poinsettia that she received to honor the day.  Grandma Jane has been an important part of their lives and the Heinisch children were definitely glad to take time to show her that this week.  They may not be little anymore, but they still have fun telling her about their lives at school, work and with their friends.  Being a good listener is the best thing that a Grandma can give her adult grandchildren - that and a little bit of gas money every once in awhile.

Black Friday

Meg and Cameron were the only ones that were up and out the door early this morning for Black Friday shopping.  They headed to Fort Wayne at 9 a.m. and made good use of their time there.  Glenbrook Mall was their first stop.  They found some great gifts at H & M, Francesca's, Barnes & Noble, and Hot Topic.  The lines were pretty manageable with H & M being the one exception as they only had one check out set up.  Before they started back home, they finished their shopping and had lunch at Portillo's making this Black Friday a successful one for them.  

While Meg and Cameron were out shopping, Nick, Doug and I were all at home.  We watched World Cup, picked up the Thanksgiving decorations, and set up the Christmas lights.  It was warm enough for Doug to also trim all of the bushes out front.  Rachel and Cal were in Syracuse until 2.  They visited Grandma and Grandpa, ate some lunch and watched some of the World Cup games with us.  They left early enough to miss traffic and to catch the new Knives Out 2 movie.  We had hoped to watch it here, but it was only out on limited release.  Thus, the nearest movie theater was more than an hour away from us, so Chicago made the most sense for them to see it.  Thankfully, the film will be streaming soon, so the rest of us can see it then.

Our night was pretty quiet with only Cameron, Doug and I at home.  We ordered Pizza Hut, played Catan, and invited Grandma and Grandpa up for a game of Oh Hell.  .  After they left, Cameron and I watched Amazing Race.  We were both disappointed that the last team that we liked was eliminated.  We were also bummed to see Florida lose on a last second play to Florida State.  Meg arrived just as the game was ending.  We watched a few episodes of We Bare Bears before turning in for the night. It was definitely a nice way to spend our evening given how busy the week had been

Incredibly Thankful

After spending a lot of yesterday in the kitchen preparing vegetarian chili, butternut squash casserole and macaroni and cheese for our pre-Thanksgiving meals, Doug was back at it this morning making Thanksgiving dinner for my parents, our family and their friends.  Just like Wednesdays meal, today's was absolutely delicious.  Brett and Cameron had requested turkey with Cal and Rachel looking forward to the oyster dressing.  Meg appreciated the mashed potatoes along with Grandma Jane's noodles.  I was most glad for the Caesar salad and Nick loved all of it.  

While I was cleaning the kitchen with Meg, Grandma and Cameron keeping me company, the rest of the house was playing pool downstairs.  A game of Hearts then started with Grandma defeating Rachel, Cal and Grandpa.  Brett retired to his "Harry Potter" room in the basement to finish a video game that he had been playing while home.  He also had to pack for his return trip to Bloomington tonight.  The rest of us watched the Lions loose a close game to the Bills.

Meg and Nick were the first to leave as they were meeting the Yoder family at the lake house in Michigan.  Brett was out by 5 p.m. and glad that he decided to leave that early.  Traffic was heavy on the way home with an accident blocking a lane on I-465.  Grandpa and Grandma left shortly afterward.  We spent the rest of our night playing games - first 31 and Tripoley with Doug, Cameron, Rachel, Cal and I, then Code Names and Five Second Rule once Meg and Nick returned.  Overall, it was a wonderful day.  Doug and I were very thankful that everyone was able to join us at our last Thanksgiving on Sunset Dr.

Game Time

 The last twenty-four hours have been filled with more games then I can count.  We started last night with Qwirkle and Sequence when it was just Doug, Brett, Cal and I and then moved on to Sequence.  As soon as Rachel arrived we learned a new game that she had brought called "Code Names."  Doug and I struggled with it at first, but in the end really enjoyed it.  The next game on the list was Hearts.  I sat out so that Rachel, Cal, Brett and Doug could play.  Cameron took Doug's place once he got home from the Bethany girls' basketball game leading their "team" to a victory.  

There were more games to be played today as Alina arrived to visit Cameron.  Ticket to Ride Europe was first on the agenda with a new round of girls vs. guys at Code Names once Meg and Nik arrived home.  After Doug's dinner of macaroni and cheese with Eckrich  Smoked Sausage, the Heinisch children with their guests had fun with Chameleon while Doug and I played Ticket to Ride Africa and Indian.  We ended the night with a few rounds of Psych!, a fun Ellen game on the iPhone.  Rachel was the big winner, but it was a lot of fun guessing everyone's answer to a unique question. Overall, it was a wonderful twenty-four hours in the Heinisch home filled with a lot of family time.  

A Busy Day, Followed by a Fantastic Evening

After going to bed late last night in order to see Brett arrive home and then getting up early to make sure that Cameron made it to jazz band on time, I decided to go back to bed once he got to Bethany.  I got back up in time to see Meg before she left for the dentist and to cut both Brett and Cal's hair before lunchtime.  At 1:15, Meg and I left for Goshen.  We had a few groceries to buy before going to her appointment at the breast oncologist.  The appointment went well and we gathered even more information about the BRCA1 gene and our family's journey with Doug's diagnosis. 

While we were gone, Brett and Cal hung out with Grandma and Grandpa.  They ate lunch together, watched Jeopardy and played Racko.  It was a beautiful afternoon and they walked there and back arriving just after Meg left for Michigan with Nick.  He had an early morning interview with a regional airport in Grand Rapids.  They made the most of their trip by having dinner at New Holland Brewing Company this evening. 

Cameron had a good day at school followed by a girls' basketball game at Westview tonight.  Brett, Doug, Cal and I picked Goshen Brewing Company for dinner this evening.  It was Pad Thai Noodle night, so the restaurant was packed.  We got a seat fairly quickly and enjoyed trying a few beers and the plates of noodles.  Cal and Brett were surprised with how spicy the meal was since it was the only option on the menu tonight.  While we were in Goshen, we found out that Rachel was arriving this evening instead of tomorrow morning.  We got her room ready and had just enough time to play Quirkle and Sequence before she arrived.  It was really great to see her again.  Doug and I appreciated the wine, chocolates and flowers that she brought.  The rest of the night was spent playing multiple games.  Cameron arrived home just in time to finish Doug's hand in Hearts.  Overall, it was a fantastic evening ending way later than our normal 10:30 bedtime.  

Everyone Under One Roof

It was definitely a long day, but it ended well so I could not complain.  Before midnight tonight all four Heinisch children were home and for the first time in a long time the six of us were under one roof.  Doug and my day started early as we left for DeKalb at 7 a.m. this morning.  Aunt Kim's dad died last week and we wanted to go to the funeral.  By leaving early we were able to stop at Inboden's and stocked up on  Southwest chicken, stuffed clams, baked potato salad and sesame sticks.  The store brought back so many memories and I was glad that we had time to stop before going to the funeral.  Dewey's service was at the United Methodist church and the service was very nice.  Afterward we went to St. Mary's cemetery for the burial service.  We appreciated that the length of that ceremony was short as it was still a little bit cool outside.  We had dinner at Farandas and enjoyed sitting with Stephanie and Aunt Marg.  They were both doing well and caught us up on all that happening in their lives since Uncle Jim's funeral.  Stephanie was going to go to Florida with Aunt Marg on Friday for a week as she settled back into the Bridge home in Lake Placid.  Before we left, we talked with Dan and Kim sharing our sympathies with their family.  Dewey was an extremely important part of their lives and would be a hard void to fill.  

While we were gone, Cal and Meg enjoyed lunch with Grandma and Grandpa.  They spent time watching their favorite television shows as well.  Meg left at 2 for her haircut appointment with Amanda while Cal played Rummikub with Grandma and Grandpa.  We arrived home at 5:45 p.m. which was about an hour earlier than I expected.  I was absolutely exhausted, but glad that we were able to support Dan's family.  Doug was tired as well, but had enough energy to make everyone fried potatoes and stuffed clams for dinner.  Cameron wasn't home tonight as he went to Samuel's to watch the movie "Saw."  Meg and Cal invited Grandma and Grandpa up to play cards after dinner tonight and they each won a game of "Up Your Yinny" and "31."  Cameron arrived home at 10 p.m tonight.  He headed to bed shortly afterward as he had Jazz Band early in the morning.  That left Meg and I to wait up for Brett.  He arrived just after 11:30 p.m.  He visited with Meg for a little bit and then I helped him set up his air bed in the basement.  It wasn't his usual room, but he didn't care as it had the PS2 and the XBOX 360 ready for him to play.  It was a late night after such an early start, but I went to bed happy that all of the Heinisch family were together again.  What a wonderful start to the holiday week.  

Another Day, Another Heinisch Home

Cal arrived late this afternoon just in time to watch some football and the IU basketball game.  Doug appreciated the company as Cameron had ditched him to attend the play at Bethany.  Meg and I were also busy as we wanted to watch Disenchanted, the long awaited sequel to Disney's Enchanted.  We enjoyed it very much and finished just before Cameron got home from the play.  He didn't really like the topic, but thought that his friends performed very well.  Doug and Cal had some good games to watch as while we were busy, so it was a fun afternoon for all.

Meg and Cameron wanted to celebrate my birthday tonight.  They each had gotten me a gift that they were sure that I would like the best and couldn't wait to give it to me.  We had talked about going out to dinner, but decided on ordering Chinese instead.  It was a good choice as the food was delicious.  My gifts were fantastic.  Cal gave me a new vodka to try.  Meg bought me a Charlie Brown "Happy Birthday" book and colorful bird earrings.  Cameron found a vintage Janis Joplin vinyl for me.  I appreciated all of the presents and honestly did not have a favorite.  It was just nice to celebrate together.  

We spent the rest of the night playing a trivia game and watching a movie.  Cameron trashed talked Meg throughout most of the game and then ended up losing to her by one point.  We all got a kick out of that.  Cal chose a Russell Crowe movie for us afterward that we had never seen - The Nice Guys.  Both the game and movie were great and we all enjoyed our evening.

Holiday Menu Planning

Meg spent the day in Goshen with Nick and Nancy.  They did some shopping and got lunch at Panera.  Cameron was gone for most of the day as well.  He first kept stats for the girls basketball team against South Bend Clay and then hung out at Alina's playing card games.  Doug and I were also in Goshen today.  Since no one was home, we decided that it would be the perfect time to go grocery shopping for the week.  It took some time to plan out the meals, but by the time we left we had ideas for every day up through Thanksgiving.  The stores were packed, but we were able to get in and out fairly quickly.  We also found time to stop at Lowe's to buy a pole and edger for our next project - painting the stairwell.  Since it was still early in the afternoon, we decided to stop at Goshen Brewing Company as well.  We ran into one of the women who works for Doug.  It was nice to see her and her husband again.

Thankfully, all of us were home well before dark.  The roads were terrible today with all of the blowing and drifting snow this week.  Doug made mostaccioli tonight for dinner.  It was really good.  Nick left after dinner as he had to fly with his students tomorrow morning.  The four of us then spent the rest of the evening playing games - Swap Meet, Five Second Rule and Mario Kart.  It was a lot of fun and both Doug and I enjoyed hanging out with Cameron and Meg for the evening.  

A Wonderful Start to the Weekend

Doug arrived home at 12:30 this afternoon.  I was very happy that he made it with no delays and very little traffic issues.  There's still quite a bit of snow blowing and drifting on the roads.  Thankfully it didn't impeded his drive.  Shortly after he arrived home, Meg left to go shopping with Nancy.  I then met Nick in Nappanee to check out E. Newcomer and Son Jewelry.  We had a lot of fun looking through their jewelry pieces.  Afterward I treated Nick to lunch at Hunter's Hideaway.  He had never been there and really liked their Smash burger.  

Since Nick had some extra time before Meg got back to the Jimtown house, I took him on a tour of my favorite childhood places from when I was growing up in Nappanee.  We drove by the old middle school and Andy Stump's house first.  We then went to the Jackson Street house.  I "impressed" him with my story of hitting Bunk with a crab apple from across the backyard.  We drove to the Marion house next.  I was a little sad to see that it was really the only one in the neighborhood that needed some TLC.  I showed Nick my bike route from the Marion house to Granny and PawPaw's complete with the back alley entrance to their home.  My old elementary was nearby, although it had been turned into senior living apartments.  The final part of our tour was downtown Nappanee where Nick learned which building was the 5 & Dime and which one was Uncle Dean's grocery store.  I couldn't believe that the vet's office where my Grandma worked was still there.  I don't know about Nick, but I enjoyed the afternoon very much.

Doug was still working when I arrived home.  Cameron called to say that he was on his way as well.  We were glad that he decided to stay in tonight.  He told us about his day at school.  He was thankful for the two hour delays the past two mornings.  Today he was in charge of breakfast for the senior class.  He said that everyone appreciated the donuts and breads that we provided.  He even talked Josh into trying watermelon juice and was glad to hear him say that it wasn't that bad.  Cameron's night got even better as we watched Indiana beat Xavier in a close game.  Grandma and Grandpa came up afterward for a game of Oh Hell.  Grandma just nudged Cameron out for first place.  Today was a wonderful start to the weekend and I am looking forward to many more fun days ahead.  

Happy for a Break from College

This first of our Thanksgiving visitors arrived tonight when Meg pulled in the driveway close to 9 p.m.  It was a little later than she had planned due to traffic delays, but she was happy none the less.  She would have ten days off from studying with only a fun podcast to produce about the Beatles while she was home.  Meg was also happy to announce that she had done very well on her accounting test this afternoon, scoring an 87 which was higher than the class average.  

Cameron, Meg and I spent several hours catching up on everything that had happened since we were last together.  Cameron told Meg about his trip to Florida and she talked about the fun that she had been having with her friends.  They talked about their shared friends at Bethany and what had been going on at the high school this semester.  We also found out that Meg's favorite part of the Festivus celebration would have been the "airing of grievances."  Meg and Cameron went over their individual and shared plans for the week ahead with both looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday.  It was a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season.

The Winter Blues

Well, it's only mid-November and everyone is already singing the winter blues.  We went from 70 degree weather last week to snow and cold this week.  From what I've read, this will be a cold, snowy weather.  No one is happy about that, but it's part of living in the Midwest and a huge reason why Doug and I want to move South.  

Cameron told me the other day that he really doesn't enjoy cold weather and driving in the snow isn't that much fun.  He also said that if one day all I ever talk to him about is the weather, then he's done contacting me.  We both laughed at that.  I assured him that that wouldn't happen as I didn't really like talking about the weather either.

Thankfully, I've been able to keep up with most of what the Heinisch children are interested in talking about.  Thus, our topics range from the latest music release to the biggest football game of the weekend.  I've also had great conversations with them about historical figures, movies and our favorite Tik Toks.  I may mispronounce a name or two, but I hope that I never grow too old to learn about what interests them.  That will always keep the conversation flowing.  

A Birthday on the Road

 We were up early this morning and on the road by 4:45 a.m.  Our flight didn't leave until 7:55, but after seeing the line at the TSA check-in on Saturday, we wanted to be there in plenty of time for our departure.  Even though it was 6 a.m. when we arrived, there was already a long line.  Somehow, we got moved to the online reservation area and made it through in only a half hour.  I was very glad as I know that it could have been double that time had we not gotten the advantage.  

Our plane was at the gate when we got to the terminal.  I was happy that we were all boarded and ready to go well ahead of time.  Unfortunately after a couple of minutes of sitting, the captain came on to let us know that the air conditioning in the back of the plane was not working correctly.  As a passenger I could have cared less about that, especially since we were flying back to the frigid north.  It must have been a big deal to him, however, as we had to disembark and wait for another plane.  It was well over an hour before we were seated again, but we did finally take off at 9:20.  The flight was relatively easy and by 11:35 a.m. we had touched down at the Indianapolis Airport.  

Cameron and I said goodbye to Brett on the economy parking lot bus.  He was glad to only have an hour drive back to Bloomington and not much on the schedule for the afternoon.  I was happy to see that the weather was clear for the rest of the day.  Cameron decided that he would drive home.  He did a nice job navigating the interstate and construction on US 31.  We stopped in Kokomo for lunch at Five Guys Burgers and Fries - Cameron's choice.  It was very good.  After that, Cameron thought it would be best if he drove straight to Bethany.  Because of the plane delay he wouldn't be able to make it to Michael's class, but he could still catch the bus to the girls' game against Central Noble.  Thankfully, Grandma Jane could pick me up in Milford, so he didn't have to stop in Syracuse first.

While Cameron was keeping stats at the ball game, I spent my evening unpacking and relaxing.  I also talked to Meg, Brett and Doug.  I then read all of the birthday posts on Facebook and answered all of the birthday texts that I had gotten from my friends and family.  I especially appreciated the ones that I gotten from Meg and Cal.  Doug had given me a card before I left which was very nice, and Brett and Cameron both wished me a Happy Birthday in person.  My mom had left a gift for me on the table to open.  It was an adorable Peanuts nativity scene.  It was definitely an exhausting 54th birthday, but a special one indeed.  

Birthday Celebration in EPCOT

Although tomorrow is my 54th birthday, the celebration was a day early as Brett, Cameron, Doug and I headed to EPCOT early this morning.  It was the last week of the Food & Wine Festival and the perfect place to celebrate.  Traffic was a little heavy on the way to Orlando, but we still made it just as the park opened.  We started our day with a ride on Remy.  It was fun as usual.  We then walked right on Test Track through the single rider line.  Somehow we all ended up in the same car anyway and only had to wait ten minutes instead of seventy.  That was fantastic.  We tried Soarin' after that, but it had broken down and the wait time was well over an hour.  Cameron and I instead went to Figment while Brett and Doug waited for Margaritas.  We all met up afterward to start our tour around the countries.

The first food on our list was the impossible meatballs at Earth Eats.  They were very good.  We next went to Mexico to try out their food before walking through Norway and China.  Doug and Cameron found food at Kenya while Brett and I tried several dishes at India.  Brett found a pretzel at Germany while I tried a pineapple beer.  Cameron talked about getting Sushi in Japan, but decided on the octopus instead as he had never had it.  After that Doug and I had just enough room left to get a Welsh Dragon and Bumblebee from England.  The boys spent their time walking through the rest of the countries finishing their Remy hunt.  They found each and every one of them earning a souvenir cup from the gift shop.  Although the prize was fun, the hunt was the best part.  

At 1:30 we headed to the monorail to park hop to Magic Kingdom.  We only had a couple of hours before Brett and Cameron had to be back at EPCOT for their spot in the virtual queue at Guardians of the Galaxy.  Cameron had never ridden it and Brett really wanted him to try it.  While at Magic Kingdom the four of us had time to ride Pirates of the Caribbean and Big Thunder Mountain.  We then split off so that Brett and Cameron could ride Splash Mountain while Doug and I enjoyed the new Mickey's Philharmagic.  

We returned to EPCOT just as it was getting dark.  We had time to try a few more food booths including Mac & Cheese, Fire Eats and Mexico.  While the boys were riding Guardians, Doug and I listened to the Sugar Ray concert in the American Pavillon.  We were surprised by how many people were there as we didn't really know the 90s singer.  Once he started, however, we did recognize three of his songs.  

The boys met us back in Belgium where Brett got a Belgium Waffle while Doug picked out cheese bread from Brazil.  Cameron wanted to get Escargot, but they were out of it in France, so he tried their beef instead.  We toured the store in England looking at the Monty Python and Beatles merchandise before getting our last food of the night - chocolate pudding cake from Ireland.  It was fantastic as always.  We left right at 8:30.  I was absolutely exhausted, but extremely happy with my 54th birthday celebration a day early.

Day 2 in Ocala

Brett, Cameron, Doug and I started our day with mass at the Queen of Peace church in Ocala.  Brett was extremely impressed with the beauty of the church and wanted to know more about the history of it.  Cameron liked how traditional the mass was.  I thought that the homily was long and repetitive, but otherwise the service was very nice.  Doug was very thankful that everyone agreed to try it.  There's one more Catholic Church in Ocala that we might check out the next time, but overall it was a wonderful way to start the day.

After church the guys wanted to go kayaking at Silver Springs State park.  Brett had seen the pictures of Cameron and his friends doing it this summer and thought that it would be fun to try.  Doug was definitely interested.  I watched them launch and then took a walk around the park.  It was a little cooler than yesterday, but still very nice.  As they were nearing their final hour of the trip, I finally saw them on the river.  They told me right away that they had seen an eight foot alligator.  I couldn't believe the picture when I saw it.  They said that it was a little scary, but not too bad.  Brett and Doug said that it was definitely a good arm workout.  

We spent the afternoon watching football while Cameron caught up on some homework.  The first game of the afternoon was the Lions vs the Bears.  It was a close game throughout with the Lions finally pulling out the victory by 3.  Once the game was over, Uncle Phil joined us for a game of Ticket to Ride.  It was pretty intense trying to find routes with five people playing.  I did end up winning, but that didn't really matter to me.  I was just happy that we all had fun.

The boys picked the Brick City Southern Kitchen tonight for dinner in downtown Ocala.  It has definitely become a family favorite.  They both really liked their sandwiches and Doug and I enjoyed a shared plate of nachos.  We made a stop at Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop also.  I picked out some gummy cinnamon bears for everyone.  Cameron found some candy as well.  Brett right away picked up a bottle of "Ketchup" soda to try.  He definitely regretted it as soon as he tried the first sip.  Just the smell of it made me want to vomit.  Cameron made the better choice with marshmallow soda.  Neither one were keepers, but fun to try none the less.  

Birthday Celebration Day 1

When Doug asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I said a trip to Florida.  When I first said it, I didn't even think that it was possible.  Cameron hadn't had much interest in going since we were there in July and our schedules never seemed to coordinate.  Meg really wanted to go with me, but she had an accounting test on Monday the 14th.  Brett were more than interested, but would need to rearrange his work schedule and get someone to cover for him on a weekend to be able to go.  Cal was out immediately as he had taken the week of Thanksgiving off and couldn't be gone the week before as well.  

It definitely took some work, but in the end, Cameron, Doug, Brett and I were able to come up with a few days to spend in Florida this weekend.  It was a scary start to our trip as the road conditions on the drive to the Indianapolis airport were slippery due to heavy, wet snow.  Thankfully, we left early and we all arrived safely, well before our noon departure time.  There was a delay to take off so that our plane could be deiced, but by 3 p.m. we had landed in sunny Florida and were all on the road to Disney Springs.  It was so nice to be out of the winter weather and back in shorts.

Once we arrived at Disney Springs, we first put our name in the virtual queue for Gideon's Bakehouse and then headed to the Coke and M & M store to do some shopping.  We had dinner reservation at the Raglan Road Irish Pub at 4:45 next.  We had walked by it a hundred times this past year and I really wanted to try it.  The four of us absolutely loved it.  The food and drinks were excellent.  Doug and I had Bangers and Mash while Brett and Cameron tried the Shepherd's Pie.  Our server was from Ireland and gave us the history of the pub.  There were Irish step dancers and music for our entertainment.  Overall, it was a great experience.  

We headed to a few stores afterward including The Goofy Candy Company and the World of Disney.  We ended our night at Disney Springs with a stop at the Coke Store Rooftop Bar.  We waited in line for thirty minutes to find out that they had given up their liquor license and only had "mocktails" available.  That was definitely disappointing, but we did find fun drinks to try anyway.  Cameron's was even topped with Twix cereal while Brett got an Orange Dreamsicle in his Coke Float.

Our last activity of the night was mini golf at the Winter Summerland Course at Blizzard Beach.  We tried the winter side this time and everyone had a lot of fun.  There were a lot of hole in ones and several miscues as well.  It was a great way to end a wonderful day in Central Florida.

Veteran's Day

Today was Veteran’s Day and Meg and I had a lot of fun remembering all of the programs that we had attended on this day.  We agreed that most were really pretty good at Syracuse Elementary, minus the one where a veteran passed out in the middle of the ceremony.  Meg laughed when she recalled that the students were asked to just keep singing while the ambulance wheeled in a stretcher.  One of her classmates later told them that it was her grandfather (not quite accurate) and the entire second grade was distraught for the rest of the day.

The programs at Milford School weren’t quite as good as those in the rest of the school system.  One year the band teacher let a student play the National Anthem on the electric guitar.  It definitely wasn’t appreciated as much by the Milford crowd as it was by the Jimmy Hendrix fans decades earlier.  There was always one bright spot in the Milford program that Syracuse could never match.  That was the white table ceremony put on by Mrs. Fiscus.  It added so much meaning knowing her family’s sacrifice, especially when the Fiscus’ girls participated.  Meg and I both felt honored when Paula invited Meg to be a part of the ceremony as well.  I was very glad to hear that Paula was going to continue the tradition at the high school this year.

No matter how good or bad the ceremony was, I was always impressed that the Wawasee school system honored the Veteran’s every year.  It made me even more proud of my Grandfather’s service during World War II.  Paw Paw served his country well in the Army Corp of Engineers.  He shared so many stories with us over the years.   From his disbelieve at being drafted due to his “busted” toe and poor vision to the shot of whiskey he earned on a New Year’s Eve far from home.  It didn’t matter how many times I heard him talk, I never grew tired of hearing those stories.  During the last week of his life, he actually shared a story with Brett and Cal that I had never heard.  It was about a minor league baseball player that joined his outfit and led them to victory in a baseball game against an opposing corp of engineers.  Although CrapPa is never far from my thoughts, today he is especially on my mind as I salute him and all that have served our country.  

Flash Back to the Past

Tonight was the annual fall Bethany music program.  Just like in past years, it had to be held off campus as the school's auditorium was already set up for the play to be performed later this month.  Last year we were in the chapel at Goshen College.  It was nice, but with the circular pew seating it was a little challenging to see the entire ensemble.  

This year I was pleased to hear that they were having the program at the newly opened Goshen Theater.  I hadn't been in the theater since I was in high school.  I had heard that they had spent quite a bit of time renovating it this past year and was very curious to see the inside.  I was not disappointed with the update.  The seats had been replaced, everything had been painted and the lobby had been completely redone.  It was very nice and the perfect place to watch the program.  The Bethany band and orchestra played very well and the jazz band performed one of my favorite songs - Jericho.  Cameron told us later that there were some hiccups in the choral portion of tonight's program, but other than that all went very well.  I definitely appreciated it being held at the Goshen Theater.  

2021 Photo Album

I always make the previous year's photo album during the current year.  That way I can sort through the pictures from the entire year before designing the book.  That has worked well for me in recent years as I switched from laying out the book by months and instead by themes such as a friends page, family page, vacation time, sporting event, etc.  Normally, I try to complete the previous year's book in the winter of the current year.  For various reasons I didn't do that for the 2021 book.  I really wanted to get it done before the holidays, therefore, I spent the past four days gathering pictures, organizing them on Shutterfly and finally completing last year's photo album today.  

In the end I was very happy with how the book turned out.  Our 2020 book was one of the smallest that I had ever ordered.  With the pandemic, we just didn't do that much that was picture worthy.  We had fun together and spent a lot of time outside that year, but school was cut short, music and sports programs were cancelled and we wore masks all of the time.  All of those situations caused us to take a lot less photos.  

While working on the book, I noticed that the winter of 2021 started off the same way with a lot less pictures than normal.  By April, however, we were in the full swing of things in the Heinisch home.  Meg started hanging out with her friends more.  Cameron was involved in after school activities again.  Brett visited more and Cal traveled multiple places.  In fact it turned out to be a very good year and even though it was time consuming, I was glad that I had so many pictures to sort through.  There were times that I teared up while working on the 2021 book.  At first it was from frustration with Shutterfly's new formatting for photo books.  I figured that out pretty quickly, but then the tears hit when I saw all of the pictures of Richard on our iCloud.  From specific events, such as the Elkhart County Fair to selfies with Cameron, in every picture he was smiling and having fun.  I was so glad to see that, but sad to think about what had happened in May.  One very nice part about working on the 2021 photo album was that it contained two of my favorite family pictures of all time.  Overall, it was a lot of work, but a fun project as well.  Hopefully, I will finish the 2022 one well before November of next year.