A Magical Day

It was a late night for the four of us, so we all appreciated the chance to sleep in a little bit.  Cal was up first and used the time to check out the resort.  He bought a Star Wars refillable coffee cup which we all really liked.  He said that it would help him from "bitting our heads off in the mornings."  The rest of us got ready and packed fairly quickly for our trip to the Boardwalk in a Minnie Van.

Our room wasn't ready when we arrived so we left our luggage with bell services and headed to Magic Kingdom.  Instead of taking the bus, we decided to walk through EPCOT and ride the monorail to our destination.  Magic Kingdom was a lot more crowded than we expected, but we had time to ride several attractions and reacquaint ourselves with the park.  We stayed for a few hours and then rode back to EPCOT.  Everyone was hungry so we headed straight to Germany for pretzels and beer for the boys.  We had fast passes for Soarin', Spaceship Earth and Figment.  We even talked Cal into taking a trip on Finding Nemo "going two miles an hour in a clam shell watching tv."  We received a text when we finished riding that our room was ready, so we headed back to the Boardwalk for a break from the action.  

 

Our room was just as nice as we remembered with plenty of space for everyone.  The balcony had a wonderful view of the Boardwalk and we were thankful for a chance to rest.  Dinner in the club lounge was wonderful complete with shrimp scampi and chicken Alfredo.  The boys enjoyed the beer and wine as well.  We enjoyed desserts before walking back to EPCOT for late night magic hours and to catch their new fireworks show.  We absolutely loved it and were glad that we also had time to ride Frozen and Gran Fiesta Tour before calling it a night happy with our magical day.

Disney World or Bust

It was back to school time for Cameron.  He had a hard time getting up, but once he got going he was fine.  We picked up Jacob as usual for a Monday morning and then realized that we forgot Cam's oboe.  A quick trip back home and we were still at Bethany at 8:30.  Meg was up when I got back.  Nick wanted to stop by before she left for the dentist.  I spent the morning picking up, doing one last load of laundry and packing.  Meg's appointment went well and we were on the road by noon.  We stopped for lunch at Culver's and then again at Target to buy a few more items for the trip.  Cal drove back to Bloomington last night and was able to pick Brett up and meet us at the airport parking lot at 3.  We had five bags and are carry-ons to bring with us, so we appreciated their help.

It took a little while to check-in and get through security.  Once we got to our gate, we had a little over an hour to wait before our plane boarded.  We used that time to catch up with one another, walk around, and get something to drink.  Our flight was the best one that I could remember.  It was less than two hours, only had forty-eight passengers and was turbulence free.  When we landed we found out that Lou Holtz was flying with us.  It was his 83rd birthday and we all were asked to sing to him.  Brett was impressed as he had met Holtz at Boys State in 2012.  Cal was unimpressed as he hated all things Notre Dame.

We got our own luggage and headed to the Magical Express.  It took a little while to get going.      Thankfully, we were the first stop, so we didn't have to wait to long to get to our hotel.  There was a mix up with the room at the All Star Sports, but in the end it worked out well for us as we got two rooms instead of one.  We caught a Lyft ride to Disney Springs for dinner and chose Rainforest Cafe for our meal.  It was a nice meal filled with a lot of talk of previous trips and our expectations of this one.  The shops were all closed by the time we finished.  We were a little disappointed in that, but realized that we could come back later in the week.  We waited about fifteen minutes for the bus and were all in bed by 1 a.m. happy that we didn't need to get up early tomorrow morning.

 

Getting Ready

It was a day filled with packing for all of us.  We did make it to mass to start our morning, but after that almost everything that we did had to do with getting ready for our trip.  Cal had already packed before he left for Tennessee, but the rest of us needed the afternoon to get ready.  Meg had double duty as she also had to pack for her return to Bloomington.  Brett called several times to make sure that he had everything that he needed.  He said that he was glad that I reminded him to pack a swimsuit because he realized at that time that he had forgotten to pack all of his shorts.  We all thought that would have been funny.  

Doug decided to clean out the refrigerator for dinner and made two different kinds of macaroni and cheese that we all enjoyed.  We did finish packing in time to relax a little before calling it a night.  I wasn’t sure that Cameron would be able to sleep, but after getting up early two mornings in a row, he had no problem.  

Chess Regional & Shopping

Today was a tough one for Cameron.  He had signed up to play at the chess regional in Hammond since he would be in Florida for next week’s tournament in Goshen.  There were five players in his division and he was ranked third overall.  He played the highest ranked player first winning that match.  He lost the second and then tied the third giving him 1.5 points.  Normally they would have played a round robin tournament.  They didn’t this time, however, and instead gave some players byes.  That wouldn’t have mattered on the scoring if they would have awarded them a half point for a bye as usual, but instead they gave them a full point.  Thus, players who only played two matches scored higher than Cameron.  That was frustrating for Doug as only two players qualified for state out of regional.  According to the typical scoring patterns in chess, Cameron should have been awarded the second place spot.  He wasn’t and thus missed out on going to state.  Cam wasn’t too disappointed, but was a little frustrated.  

That wasn’t the only frustration in Cam’s day.  While he was in Hammond he watched IU get blown out by Maryland.  I didn’t watch the game, but from the posts on Twitter it sure sounded ugly. Cal texted me as soon as it was over “FIRE ARCHIE!”  He wasn’t the only one that felt that way.  Cam tried to defend him, but in the end was just too disappointed with the loss to say much about it.

While the guys were gone, Meg and I went shopping.  It had been quite some time since we had spent the day together like that and I really enjoyed it.  We first had lunch at Portillo’s and then stopped at the mall and Target.  On our way home we also ran into Michaels and Walmart to get supplies for our upcoming trip to Disney.  I dropped her off at Nick’s before leaving Goshen as they wanted to eat dinner at Outback tonight.  

I made it home about an hour before Doug and Cam.  That gave me enough time to unpack the van and pick up before they arrived.  Doug made spaghetti and lasagna for dinner tonight.  Afterward we played cards and then watched the Patriots gave.  That brought another disappointment for Doug as they lost a close one.  With all of the talk about Tom Brady retiring it may  well have been his last game.  Cal was excited, however, as he had picked the Titans to win all along.  We received several texts about it from him as he was watching the game in Tennessee with Cameron Adams.

Snow Club

Cal left for Indy early this morning to work for Miso.  Doug got him up before he left for basketball.  Cameron had his first snow club of the season.  I dropped him off at Bethany at 1 p.m.  Joey, Justin and Sam went as well.  I was worried that it would get cancelled due to warm weather, but Swiss Valley had two hills open for them. He had a lot of fun and did not fall once.

Meg was home until 5 or so.  She and Nick had tickets for a Notre Dame hockey game.  She kept me company while I cleaned.  It was a relatively quiet afternoon compared to most over break.  Doug picked up Cameron in Elkhart.  He was ready to go out to dinner to celebrate a successful week at work.  I was glad that it went well for him.  Afterward we played Oh Hell with Grandma and Grandpa.  Doug was the big winner on the evening which he let me know several times.  Cam decided not to play as he was tired from all of the activity of the day.  

The Gator Bowl

Today was the day that Cameron had been waiting for all of break - IU vs. Tennessee in the Gatorbowl.  He spent the afternoon reading Twitter and Blog posts about the game and giving me updates regularly.  He kept everyone on Instagram informed as well with a countdown to kickoff.

I did leave the house for a little while.  Meg had an orthodontist appointment.  She was happy to finally be rid of her bite plate.  Most patients only have to wear them for two to six months.  Her overbite was so severe that she had to wear hers for almost a year.  She will still have to wear rubber bands but she didn’t mind hearing that.  While we were there they also tightened her wires and talked about the next phase of treatment for her.  Everything was progressing well, which I was very glad to hear.  We had enough time after appointment to stop at Kohls and Walmart before heading home.

Cam was more than ready for the game to start when we got home.  Cal had just returned from his dentist appointment and Doug arrived shortly afterward.  Meg and Jackie decided to go ice skating instead of watching the game, but Grandma and Grandpa were able to join us.  We ordered pizza before kick off.

IU’s offense was a little sluggish, but Peyton Ramsey looked good.  The defense made several key stops in the first half and we found ourselves up 6-3 even with an unfortunate missed extra point.  The second half started off well and soon IU was up by ten points.  Someone even remarked about the game actually being a little boring.  All of that changed, however, during the last ten minutes.  Tennessee came roaring back and soon had the lead 23-22.  The Hoosiers tried, but just couldn’t find the end zone.  They did have a 52 yard field goal attempt, but it sailed right missing the uprights.  It was a disappointing way to end the game, but none of it could take back the awesome season that IU football had had.

Twilight Zone Marathon

Cal got home this morning from Indy.  He and Jayce had a lot of fun with Evan, although New Year’s Eve at the bars was more expensive than his normal night out.  Brett had to work today, but checked in while he was on break.  He had really enjoyed his New Years Eve as well.

We spent most of the day in the Heinisch home switching between football bowl games and the Twilight Zone. Last year we were all really disappointed that the SyFy channel did not air a Twilight Zone marathon on New Years.  Thankfully, they resumed it this year and we watched many of our favorites (and not so favorites).  I sent Cal a picture last night of the gremlin on Nightmare at 20,000 feet that scared him as a second grader.  Not sure that he ever slept with a curtain open again after that one.

Overall, today was a very relaxing way to start the new year.  We had been very busy over break and I was thankful for a day to play games, watch television and enjoy the Heinisch family.  If all days in 2020 were like today, I would be absolutely thrilled.