Big Time Rush

When Meg found out that she would be living in Chicago this summer she talked about all of the activities that she would be able to take advantage of while there.  The Lincoln Park Zoo, Field Museum and Michigan Avenue were just a few places on her list.  Her excitement only grew when she realized that Big Time Rush would be touring again and hosting a concert close to her apartment.  She bought two tickets right away and asked a few of her friends if they would like to go.  Angelica instantly accepted and they started making plans for her trip to the Windy City.

I was very happy for Meg that she'd be able to see one of her childhood favorites, but was a little nervous about how she and Angelica would be able to coordinate their time together.  Angelica had to take the bus up from Bloomington. Meg would need to meet her after work, get dinner for both of them and find a way to the concert.  They only had an hour and a half after Angelica's bus arrived to do so.  I was a little worried about the timing of it all.  I decided not to tell Meg my fears as there was a good chance that everything would work about perfectly.

In the end, that was exactly what happened.  They made it to the concert without any issues and had a lot of fun.  It was located by the Planetarium just off of Lake Michigan, so the venue was very nice.  Meg texted that they were the best music group that she had seen and absolutely loved the concert.  They left during the encore with the hope of finding an Uber home.  The bad news was that two different Ubers cancelled as they couldn't navigate the traffic.  The good news was that the girls found one at Grant Park which was only a half mile walk from the concert.  They could even listen to the encore while they were walking.  It was definitely a fun night and I was glad that Meg has gotten a chance to take advantage of all that Chicago had to offer her this summer. 

Corn Hole Tournament

Cameron had talked all summer about having a corn hole tournament with his friends.  They had played enough at open houses to have improved their skills and wanted a chance to crown a champion.  After a lot of planning, the boys finally invited sixteen of their friends to gather tonight at Avery's.  Cameron loaded our IU boards and headed over early so they could get snacks for the event and find alternative activities for those who were waiting to play.  

Cameron had talked a lot about the possibility of winning this evening, but knew it would be a challenge.  Evan had accumulated an impressive 22-2 record during the summer.  Cameron wasn't sure how easy it would be to beat him.  When he left he told me that he didn't even know who his partner would be.  Cameron arrived home close to 11 p.m. happy to announce that he and Avery went undefeated on the night finishing in first place.  They had even beaten Evan twice.  Overall, no one really cared who won, it was just a night of fun for all. 

AP Scores

All of the Heinisch children have taken AP and dual credit classes in high school.  This year was Cameron's first as he took AP English literature and composition.  It was definitely the most challenging class that he had taken in his educational career.  He had put a lot of effort into it and was pleased with the two As that he had received both this semester and in the fall.

Today Cameron came home from working out and asked me if I had checked the AP scores as they had come out today.  I thought that they were due later in July, so I hadn't even thought about it.  I knew that the test had been challenging, and in all honesty was hoping for a 3 for Cameron.  Thus, I was completely surprised when I saw a 5 on his report sheet.  I was equally impressed as Paula had told me that it was incredibly difficult to receive the top score.

Cameron was obviously pleased with his AP English score.  I was glad that he was proud of his effort in the class and on the test.  The best part was that he would receive college credit for that score no matter where he chose to go to college.  All of his siblings had started their freshmen year with at least a semester of college credit.  It not only made life in college easier, but also helped them graduate on time or even earlier than their peers.  That in turn helped with the cost of tuition as well.  Overall, we have been extremely proud of the Heinisch children's success in and out of high school.  Thankful, that Cameron has chosen that path as well.  

A Quiet 4th of July

It was a quiet day in the Heinisch Home this fourth of July.  Doug worked from home this morning.  Cameron and Meg went to McAllister's for lunch while I picked up from a busy weekend.  This afternoon Cameron and I watched the final episode of Stranger Things.  Meg joined us when she wasn't packing for her return trip to Chicago.  There were some really sad scenes this season and some confusing parts.  Overall, we liked the season, just wished for a different ending. 

Cameron went to Samuel's for a get together later in the day while we took Meg to the South Shore train.  It arrived right on time and soon she was heading back to the Windy City.  She said that she had really enjoyed her time at home, but was ready to return to the working world.  I was glad to hear that.  She's really enjoyed her internship so far.  The train ride was pretty quiet and she only had to walk a block and a half to her apartment from the train station.

I ordered pizza for Doug's birthday dinner.  We thought that it was going to rain, but thankfully it held off long enough to have a bonfire.  We also enjoyed some time on the front porch before finishing the evening with a movie.  We picked Rocky 4 as it was Rocky weekend on AMC.  Doug headed to bed before it was over.  I not only watched the ending, but had also started Balboa before Cameron got home.  We talked for quite awhile and ended up finishing that movie as well.  It was definitely one of the quietest fourths that we had ever had, but enjoyable none the same.  

Happy Early Birthday Doug!

Since Meg had to leave tomorrow for Chicago and Doug had to work, we decided to celebrate his 52nd birthday today.  We couldn't start until late in the afternoon as he wanted to finish cutting up the logs form the storm two weeks ago and move them into the lot.  He also had some yard work to finish as well.  That was ok with Meg and Cameron as Meg went to Hacienda with Nick and Cameron went to Planet Fitness with Samuel.  

We decided that the best way to celebrate with Doug was to play games, cookout and have a bonfire.  Doug did all of the cooking which was the way he preferred it.  He even made a carrot cake for dessert.  It was delicious.  Nick was the big loser on the night as earned the "L" in Chameleon, corn hole and Hearts.  My parents joined us for the gift giving.  Doug received some fantastic presents this year - PBR from Brett, his favorite snacks from Cameron, a Bulls shirt from Meg, and the Toys in the Attic vinyl from me.  My parents brought up a propane fire pit for him which he absolutely loved.  We ended the night by the bonfire.  Overall, it was a wonderful celebration and we all enjoyed the family time.  

Jaws

Our neighbor told us several weeks ago that he and his live-in girlfriend of thirteen years were going to get married today at their home in an outside wedding.  They were then going to have a reception at our other neighbor's house outside under a tent.  They wanted us to know as they thought that it would be really loud.  They had suggested that we might not want to be at home, but Doug and I both thought that it would be better if we were here.  We did tell the Heinisch children about it.  Cal decided to stay in Chicago and have friends up for the weekend.  Brett had to work, so it didn't really affect him.  Meg went to Nick's and Cameron headed to Samuel's.

In the end, the wedding wasn't too much louder than a normal Friday or Saturday night here.  The music wasn't quite our taste, but it didn't ruin the weekend.  We were able to pull out the projector and put Jaws on the big screen.  With our new speakers, we could barely hear their music.  We even called Cameron and let him know that it was ok to return home.  He made it back before we finished the movie.

Jaws has been our go to July 4th big screen movie for the past three years.  In fact, we had watched it on this night every night since 2020.  We didn't plan it that way.  It just seemed like the best way to spend July 2nd - a bonfire and Jaws.  The movie was just as good as it had been the past.  As many times as I have seen the movie, I'm always amazed at a new scene or something that I have forgotten from our past screenings.  

I didn't always love the movie, Jaws.  My parents took me to see it the summer it came out.  I was six years old and it absolutely terrified me.  I remember being scared not only of the ocean, but also the lake, the pool and even the bathtub.  I was positive that a shark was lurking in any body of water that I was near and I did everything possible to stay away from being submerged for any length of time.  Thankfully, I have outgrown my fear and now enjoy the movie for the pure entertainment of it.  It's the perfect July 4th movie and I hope it stays on our big screen watching agenda for years to come.   

A Full House

Doug was up earlier than he planned as he had a work call first thing in the morning.  He then worked from home today, thankfully finding time for a short nap in the late afternoon.  Cameron was home off and on today.  He met Keegan for golf in the afternoon at Black Squirrel, hung out at Samuel's and then stopped by home to change before meeting some of his friends at Linway to watch the Minion movie.  

Nick picked Meg up after work this afternoon.  They were here by 8 p.m.  We spent the rest of the evening catching up with them and then listening to all of Meg's music from her middle school days.  It was a lot of fun and I was thankful to have so much of our family in and out of the house today.  It was a great start to the holiday weekend.