Tennis Season

It has been a cold start to the tennis season.  So far the girls have only been able to practice indoors.  Meg was a little shaky at first, but was starting to feel more comfortable.  She comes to Bethany tennis with a great resume playing number one last year for Wawasee and having the highest win percentage her freshmen year.  At the beginning of the week she was feeling a lot of pressure to showcase her talent early.  After we talked she was able to calm down and feel more confident about her ability.  Her coach was supportive of her play and was happy to have her on the team.  Once the matches start Meg will be more than ready to help lead her team.

This week has been stressful for Meg in general.  Not only did tennis season start, but she also had to take the SAT.  These two items combined with it being the last week of the quarter has made her week a challenging one.  She has a list of retests that she needs to take and papers that are due by Friday.  She does have a lot of fun activities planned this weekend to look forward to such as celebrating her birthday with the family and trying out Jackie's new hot tub.  She just needs to get through these next two days.

What a Day for Cam!

Cam's day started early this morning as it was his first rehearsal for bell ringers since November.  It was hard to get up, but he was happy to have it begin again.  During the school day he had the middle school science fair.    His question was "Does garlic affect the taste of food?"  He had participants smell garlic powder while eating a granola bar.  They then had to guess the flavor without looking at the granola bar.  About half could do so.  I ran over during prep time to see his project.  I thought his looked very nice. He was proud to announce when I picked him up from chess club that he had won a blue ribbon this year.

Since Cam had to be back at Bethany for a 6:15 call time for his band concert, we decided to stay in Goshen after chess club.  He had earned a coupon for Shirley's Popcorn as he had read six hours during the month of March.  We had never been there before and we both tried a bag.  Mine was chocolate almond and his was mint chocolate chip.  They were delicious.  We had time to run to Walmart for groceries before his concert as well.  I then graded papers while Cam rehearsed.  Doug and my parents met me at Bethany.  We were completely impressed with the band.  They played three challenging songs and sounded fantastic.  It had been a long day for Cam.  He was wiped out in the end, but happy with all that he had accomplished.

SAT

Meg took the SAT at Bethany today.  Because of her issues with her eyes Meg is allowed extended time to take the test.  Thus, it has to be administered by her test coordinator at Bethany.  Fortunately for Meg, that is Mr. Bueller.  She likes Jim and he made her feel comfortable while taking it.  She said that it was challenging, especially the English portion.  She was thankful for the extended time as it took her until 2:30 to finish.  It also postponed a History test for her, which she was ok with.

I drove Meg to school today and then came back to take Cam to the dentist.  He needed his teeth cleaned and wanted to talk to them about seeing an orthodontist.  He had noticed that his teeth were starting to turn on the bottom and he had also been having pain.  They agreed that his mouth was becoming too crowded which caused the teeth to move.  The pain was from his new molars coming in.  They gave us a referral to see an orthodontist in Warsaw.  We'll start there.

I took Cam back to school and then stopped back at home to see Cal and eat lunch before I headed into school for the afternoon.  I picked up Cam afterward and we hung out here for the rest of the evening.  Meg had her first tennis practice with Bethany tonight.  It was too cold to play outside, so they went to the Warsaw Racquet Club.   Doug went to the tennis meeting this evening.  He was happy to hear how pleased the coach was with Meg's tennis ability.  She knows everyone on the team, so it should be a fun season.

A Relaxing Day for All

Doug, Cam, Meg and I all attended 11 a.m. mass together.  Normally, Doug doesn't like going that late, but as last night was spring forward for Daylight Savings he didn't mind sleeping in a bit.  The rest of the afternoon was spent at home.  I had substitute plans to write while Doug worked outside.  It has been a cold March so far, but it was warm enough to do some yard work.  Meg had a friend over for awhile and HM stopped by after she and Cal walked Winston.  Cam finished his Science Fair project and read his book.

My parents stopped by in the late afternoon.  We all watched Tiger's return with a second place finish in this weekend's tourney.  That should make for an exciting Masters in April.  After the golf tournament we all watched the NCAA selection show.  IU had no chance of making it, but the guys were all interested in the other teams chosen.  Only four of the Big Ten teams made the tourney so I have no idea who I will be rooting for.

Doug made dinner for all of us.  He was glad to be able to grill out.  Mom brought up fruit for all.  That along with the potatoes and avocado salad that Doug had prepared made for a delicious dinner.  The guys played pool after dinner.  When they were finished games of Buck Euchre and Hearts broke out.  While we were playing cards Meg worked on her room and Cal ran HM home.  As soon as he got back we started "The Shining."  Cal had read the book and really wanted to watch the movie.  Mom and Dad passed on the movie, but Cam joined us.  We made it through the first half.  It was as disturbing as I had remembered.  I think Cam handled it better than I did.

Saturday - A Nice Break from the Work Week

Today was a nice break from the drudgery of Monday to Friday.  Although not overly warm, it was sunny and looked gorgeous outside.  Meg and I spent the morning at Teresa's.  She agreed to alter Meg's Prom dress for us.  We were happy with her suggestions and walked out knowing that it will fit perfectly in the end.

We spent the afternoon hanging out at home.  Meg had homework to do.  Doug worked for awhile.  I caught up on laundry.  Cal had filled his backseat with his before he came home.  Between that and Meg and Cam's weekly loads the washing machine ran the entire day.  Cam used his day to read.  He needs to finish a book before next Friday to reach his reading goal and made good progress today on it.  HM was at a track meet, so Cal went over to her house to walk Winston.  He has been making sure that he gets in 10,000 steps a day for the past month and would like to keep that up over break as well.

After HM's track meet the six of us went to dinner at Chubby Trout in Elkhart.  Doug had been there several times as that is an RV favorite.  The menu was limited for non-fish eaters, but the food we tried was very good.  Cam got to eat sushi for the first time ever and really liked it.  Everyone went their separate ways when we got home.  Cal headed to HM's and then to Nick LeCount's for the evening.  Meg finished her homework and Cam read.  Doug and I started the movie "Get Out".  It was nominated for an Oscar and had gotten rave reviews.  We didn't make it through all of it.  So far it has reminded us a lot of The Stepford Wives.  We were interested in seeing how it will end.

Cal's Home

Cal arrived home late last night as IU has Spring Break next week.  His last class ended on Thursday at 6:30, so he was thrilled to start a ten day break at home.  Last year he went with his friends to Florida, but was happy to hang out with all of us and HM this year.  Brett will be going on a mission trip to Chicago this Spring Break.  They are going to help with an after school youth program and work in a soup kitchen, among other volunteer work.  He leaves on Sunday and will come home next weekend to enjoy a few days here before he leaves.

I was glad to have Cal here to go to Bob's visitation with Mom, Dad and I.  It was sad to have to do, but important for all of us to be there.  Rena was holding up a lot better than I would have expected.  After we talked with her we did find several other people to catch up with.  Cal was the youngest person there, but yet knew so many of the visitors from either Tippy Country Club or Maxwelton.  In the end we decided that my Dad would be the perfect funeral home greeter.  He knows everyone in our area and enjoys talking with others.

Doug made dinner tonight for Cal, Doug, Cam and I.  Preston was in town, so Meg went to see "A Wrinkle in Time" with him.  They stopped at Steak and Shake afterward.  Cam, Doug and I stayed home.  Cal decided to go over to Cameron's later in the evening.  Jayce hung out with them there as well.  Doug and I rented "In the Name of the Father", a Daniel Day Lewis movie from the early 1990s.  It was very interesting.

County Council

Doug had a county council meeting tonight.  He has been on the council for eight years and will be running for another term this fall.  He is the only name on the ballot for the Republican party so we know that he will definitely win the primary.  He has enjoyed being a part of local government and has brought financial experience to the council.  There have been times that the meetings have been heated, especially when the addition of the wheel tax was discussed and eventually passed.

Since Doug was at his meeting I decided to order out for Cam, Meg and I.  We wanted to try Pizza Hut's pasta dinners.  A student in my class had sold me a Pizza Hut card for his youth groups' mission trip fundraiser.  It allowed me to buy one pasta dinner and get one free.  Therefore, we tried the chicken alfredo and Italian marinara.  They were both delicious and a nice change from their pizza.  Doug was home later than usual as they had several presentations to listen to and items to discuss.  I used the time to watch Gotham with Cameron, grade papers, write sub plans and help Meg with her essay on Jane Austen.    Thus, it was a productive night for all of us.