What??

Meg called me at 3:35 to let us know that her tennis match with Westview had been cancelled.  I was completely shocked.  It had sprinkled at 2 p.m. but since that time there had been absolutely no precipitation.  The forecast was clear with even some sunshine predicted.  It was extremely disappointing to Meg as it was her senior night.  We had already made the lasagna and salad plus bought the cake.  I was frustrated that none of that was taken into consideration when the match was cancelled.  It would have been a little chilly, but overall it would have been the perfect night for a tennis match.  With this cancellation and doubt of rescheduling, the tennis team would miss two weeks of their season.

Meg made the best of the evening by going to Buffalo Wild Wings with Nick.  Doug and I took advantage of the extra time to stop by the Wawasee art show to see Gabby's art work.  The concentration for her drawings was her father's tour of duty in Afghanistan.  They were very well done and meant a lot to Paula.  Gabby even won Best of Show for one of them.  We were impressed and happy for the Fiscus family.  After the show Doug and I went to the Frog for half price pizza night.  Cal and Cam were grateful for the meat pizza that we brought back for them.  Although still frustrated with the tennis cancellation, we all did make the best of it.

A Nice Day, At Least for a Little While

The first half of today was absolutely beautiful.  Both Cal and I took advantage of it in different ways.  He headed to Wawasee Golf Course to play a round with his friends.  He left his clubs in the Civic in Bloomington, so he borrowed Doug's.  He said they held up pretty well until he had to use his Dad's sand wedge.  It was old and tough to play with causing some challenging shots.  Doug thought that maybe that was the problem with his game all along =).   After golf Cal spent some time cleaning out the truck.  It wasn't his favorite job, but the weather was nice which made it a little better.  The rest of his day was spent playing basketball at the LYC with his high school friends.  He had a lot of fun, but was completely wiped out in the end.

I had been waiting for quite some time to paint the doors in our garage.  I had wanted to do it in March when I painted the inside doors in our home, but the weather just never cooperated.  As soon as I got back from taking Cam to school, I started on my project.  It took me most of the morning and part of the afternoon, but by the time Mom and I left for Meg's match in Bremen I had finished the trim, the inside garage doors and put three coats on the screen door.  It will still need some work tomorrow, but overall I was happy with the progress that I made on such a gorgeous day.

Unfortunately, the evening did not mirror the morning and afternoon.  Meg was four games into the first set of her match at Bremen when their coach called them off the courts for rain.  Meg was completely disappointed as she felt that she had an advantage in the match.  Even more disappointing was the fact that the match could not be made up as next week was sectionals week.  Cam faired better than Meg in his tennis match this evening.  They started earlier and he was able to finish his opponent off 6-4 before the contest was called for rain.  Doug and my Dad were able to attend his event and enjoyed watching him play.  Cam called me on the way home to let me know how happy he was with his strategy tonight.  He and Mr. Miller had talked earlier in the day and went over several scenarios for tonight's match that he could call upon while playing.  He felt that their plans worked well and was very proud of his victory.

First Communion

This morning Doug and I went to Anna's First Communion.  With the craziness of the weekend I was so incredibly happy that we could celebrate this milestone with her.  Their church was a lot different then ours and I enjoyed the statues and stain glassed windows very much.  The ceremony included Evan and Bryce as well as at least six more altar servers.  The only downside to the mass was the amount of crying babies, but we all adjusted well.

After mass we went to the recreation center near Jackie's home for a luncheon.  The food was delicious and Doug and I enjoyed visiting with the Barnhart family.  As we drove home I was overwhelmed thinking about all that we had accomplished in the last three days.  This may have been the busiest Heinisch weekend ever.  It started when we left for Bloomington Thursday night.  From that point on we fixed the Silverado, found Brett an apartment, attended the IU graduate ceremony, took Brett out for a celebration dinner, viewed his hooding ceremony, ate brunch at SPEA, packed Cal up and brought him home, took pictures for Prom, attended First Communion, and watched Cam play in his tennis match.  Thankfully, Mom and Dad were able to help so that Cam and Meg had a place to stay while we were gone and to support Cam at his golf match at Bent Oak yesterday.  It was definitely a weekend to remember.  

From Bloomington to Prom

We started our morning early at the IU auditorium for Brett's hooding ceremony.  It was a wonderful event that we truly enjoyed.  Two of the students who spoke were fantastic and we appreciated listening to the words of their distinguished alumni recipient.  The hooding process was definitely an awesome celebration of the masters students hard word and we took many pictures of Brett earning this honor.  The best part was that it was steamed live on Twitter so my parents could watch it as well.  SPEA held a brunch reception afterward which was a nice way to celebrate the graduates.

After we ate Doug and I met Cal at Brett's apartment.  Brett stayed at the reception a little while longer visiting with his friends, so we said goodbye there.  He also had to return his cap and gown and pick up the Herman B. Wells book that we got him as a graduation gift.  Cal rode back to Syracuse in the Pilot with me while Doug drove the Silverado.  Our trip was an easy one.  By leaving at 11 a.m. we missed the undergrad ceremony traffic which we were very thankful to have avoided.  We were also glad that Brett's event was inside today.  It was fifty degrees and rainy.  I felt bad for those watching graduation in Memorial Stadium.  At least they did give everyone ponchos.

Cal and I made it home before 3 p.m. which gave me plenty of time to unpack and put the house back together from having the carpets cleaned on Friday.  We were surprised that Doug was only twenty minutes behind us.  Neither Cal nor I thought the Silverado would make the trip home.  Meg spent the day getting ready for Prom.  Grandma painted her nails, Amanda did her hair and Jess met her here to put on her makeup.  Meg looked absolutely beautiful by the time she got dressed.  Nick's flowers and bowtie matched her dress perfectly.  His mother, Nancy, followed him to our house so that she could take pictures as well.  It was a lot of fun and we got some great photos inside and outside the house.  When we were done here we all went to Oakwood to take pictures with Nick and Meg's friends.  It was the perfect weather day for it.  We finally said goodbye to them at 6:30 so that they could head to Coppes Commons as Prom started at 7.  I was thrilled that Doug and I made it home from Bloomington in time to get pictures and enjoy their evening.  It sure was a special day.

Our Masters Graduate

Today Brett graduated from Indiana University with a Masters in Public Affairs.  Doug and I were extremely proud to spend the day with him and watch the ceremony celebrating his accomplishment. Brett was so incredibly happy to have completed this program.  It was a challenging two year program in which he grew quite a bit.  He not only gained knowledge, but made countless friends and gained a lot of experience along the way.  It was wonderful to share this moment with him.  As we left Assembly Hall we all agreed that the last half of the ceremony was not quite as good as the first half, but that didn't dampen our mood.  The words of the CEO of Cummings, this afternoon's key note speaker, still rang in our ears.  He gave sound life advice that not only benefited the graduates, but anyone in attendance.  He charged all of us to be the best that we could be and we were ready to take on the challenge.

The three of us walked around campus feeling positive about Brett's future.  It reflected in the wonderful cap and gown pictures that we took throughout our journey from the Wells Library to Showalter Fountain to Sample Gates.  We ended our celebration with dinner at Crazy Horse where we could talk of nothing else but the past two years and all that Brett had learned.  Not only were we able to toast his graduation, but also the fact that Brett secured an apartment this morning that he will be able to move into at the end of the month.  It definitely was a fantastic day!

What a Disappointment

Brett found out last night that he did not get the job with Eberle that he interviewed with two and a half weeks ago.  He had passed several stages of the hiring process and was even flown out to Virginia to speak with them directly.  I had read the emails that were sent back to him after his meeting.  They were not only positive, but pretty much guaranteed Brett the job.  In the end they didn't even give him the courtesy of contacting him to let him know that they had chosen another candidate.  He had to email them to find out the news.

I was very disappointed for Brett and spent quite a bit of time last night thinking about his journey.  Brett was also disappointed, but had a great attitude about it all.  Thankfully, he and I had come up with a backup plan incase this would happen.  Brett has already secured a position with IU that will begin on May 13th.  Today we spent several hours and many phone calls looking for a place for him to move into when his lease expires on May 31st.  We got some great leads on apartments and have several set up to look at tomorrow morning.  Brett will also look for an additional part time position as well so that he can put some money away for the future.  One nice part of staying in Bloomington will be the lower cost of living as compared to Virginia.  The best part will be that he, Cal and Meg will all be in one place next year.  Everyone was happy about that and Cam had already started making plans to visit him everyone home IU football game in the fall.

Finally, Some Tennis

Tonight Cameron finally got to play in a middle school tennis match.  It was against Goshen Middle School, but was played at Goshen College as their courts were ripped up.  Cam started off slow and found himself quickly down 4-1.  I was surprised as he had been playing very well in his league at Warsaw.  Thus, I didn't think he'd have much of a problem tonight.  His coach talked to him about strategy during the break and it helped a lot.  Cam was able to turn his game around and although he didn't win, he played a lot better and made it a much closer match.  Ultimately, middle school tennis is a learning experience for high school.  Cam will definitely be prepared for his freshmen season.  We are looking forward to watching him play.