Oktoberfest

Several weeks ago, I saw a post on social media that The World Equestrian Center was going to host an Oktoberfest this Saturday.  I told Doug right away as it sounded like something that he would really enjoy.  I then suggested that we invite Phil and pay for his entrance ticket as a thank you for all of his help this past year with our move.

None of us were quite sure what to expect when we arrived shortly before noon today, but we were definitely surprised at how many people were already there.  The event started at 11 a.m. and every table with chairs was already filled by the time we walked in the door.  I was thankful to secure a high top for us while the guys checked out the beer tents.  Once they returned with their favorites, I walked the indoor arena looking at the food offerings.  As the small plates were included in the cost of the tickets, I picked up several for the three of us to sample.  My favorites were the brats and the chocolate cake.  

Doug, Phil and I spent several hours at Oktoberfest enjoying the atmosphere, the polka band and the German outfits worn by many of the party goers.  We weren't there until the very end, but we stayed long enough to watch the stein holding contest.  I was amazed that anyone could hold a full stein of beer in their outstretched arm for more than a minute, let alone three or four.  Oktoberfest made for a wonderful afternoon and I was glad that I had suggested it.

  

SAB Rewards

Cameron has spent the last six weeks attending as many IU home athletic events as his schedule would allow.  Volleyball, men's & women's soccer and field hockey have been at the forefront and he has enjoyed attending them with friends from his floor, his classes and those that he met at orientation.  He has not only had a lot of fun, but has earned points towards Student Athletic Board rewards as well.

This week, Cameron called to let me know that he was in the top ten in SAB for points.  He was proud of that and planned to use some of those points to take a behind the scenes tour of both Memorial Stadium and Assembly Hall.  His friend Tyler was going to join him.  He texted me afterward to let me know how much he had enjoyed it.  

The other added benefit to going to so many games this fall is that Cameron has become a regular at the Bloomington Bagel Company.  After every IU men's soccer shut out win, attendees receive a coupon for a free bagel.  Cameron has used those for several breakfast meals before his Friday morning finite class.  With the money that he has saved on the bagel, he has been able to try a few of their flavored cream cheese spreads.  This week he sent Doug a picture of the newest flavor - scallion and horseradish.  The Oreo sounded better to me, but Cameron said that his pick was delicious.  Either way, Doug and I were both glad to hear that he was able to support his favorite Hoosier teams and have fun as well.  

Painting the House

When we bought our home in January of 2022, the inspector told us that we would have to paint its exterior sometime within the year or two.  It wasn't the color that was the problem.  We loved that.  It was the small cracks in the stucco that needed help.  It wasn't a big deal, but if we ignored it long term, it would cause a problem.

Doug and I met with a painter last spring who walked the home with us, told us what he could do to repair the cracks and make the house look nice and clean.  Although we didn't have to paint the interior of the garage, we asked him for a quote for that as well the lanai.  He came back with a great price and even offered to stain the concrete garage floor.  I was happy to have a plan for the paint and we set a date for October 1st.

This week the painting started and it already looked better.  It was going to be a slower process than I originally had planned, but it was going to be done well.  Our painter kept telling us that we had a wonderful home, the new paint would just clean it up.  He was 100% correct.

Unpacking Cameron's Room

When we left for Indiana on September 22nd, I had every room in the house unpacked except for Cameron's.  I had purposely left it until I got back as I knew that it would take quite a bit of time to get through all of the tubs and boxes that were sitting on his beds.  I started on Monday and thankfully found it to be a lot easier than I thought it would be.

Cameron had two bedrooms in our home in Syracuse filled with memorabilia, pictures, clothes and so much more.  I wasn't quite sure where I was going to put everything.  Therefore, I was glad that he had agreed to get rid of almost half of it at the garage sale this summer.  It not only gave him a little bit of spending money, but also gave me a chance of fitting everything into his bedroom in Florida.  

I decided that the best way to tackle the project was to unpack everything and sort it by item - clothes in one pile, books in another.  I continued this way until everything was out of the boxes and tubs and soon had Cameron's clothes hanging in his closet and his hat collection on the shelf.  The dresser and the bookcases were next.  I was impressed with how much they held.  I wasn't sure what to do with Cameron's Nerf gun collection and light sabers, but fortunately, the small nightstand that I got for him when we originally bought the house had three empty drawers.  After unpacking those collections, I told Cameron that I was ready for a duel with Darth Vader if he happened to stop by or a Nerf gun fight if Cade, Evan and Chance visited.  He suggested shooting bullets into corners of the house so that it reminded me of our home in Syracuse.  Doug had always said that if someone moved in 100 years from now, they'd still be finding Nerf bullets in the basement. 

Cameron's games and a few of his miscellaneous items fit into a small cabinet that Meg had been using in Syracuse.  I was glad that we had decided to bring it since she no longer needed it and it was a big storage help.  The last item that I had to find a place for was Cameron's blue lamp.  He had had it in his room for as long as I could remember.  I not only found a useful spot, but also a colorful lamp shade for it.  The orange and blue were a wonderful homage to his old room and the perfect way to finish unpacking the last room in our new home.

Halloween Specials & Scary Movies

October has always been scary movie month to me.  I looked forward to watching Scream, The Blair Witch project and so many more horror films with Cal, Cameron and Brett.  Doug didn't quite share my love of that movie genre, but there were definitely films that he would join in with us.  Psycho was always at the top of his list along with the holiday namesake, Halloween.

This year, I just don't think that I can continue the tradition.  The "scary" movies have just become too scary for me.  Not wanting to let the tradition completely die, I decided that I would take more of the Meg approach and watch Halloween specials instead.  So far this month I have already turned on the Disney channel and watched Halloweentown.  I plan to follow Grandma Heinisch's favorite Halloween movie with Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the cartoon version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow with Bing Crosby as narrator.  I know that Doug wouldn't be interest in those, but thought that he and I could stick to Hitchcock and everyone's favorite Halloween special, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"

Once I decided to change the theme of October to "Not So Scary Halloween Movie Month" I realized that I had to tell the boys.  Cameron said that he understood as Alina and Meg had never liked scary movies.  Brett suggested some old classics that would still work for scary movie month that I might add to my viewing list.  Cal flat out called me a "wimp!"  I didn't mind.  It was better to be a wimp than be scared all month long.  All three boys were glad to hear that I was at least going to watch an October family staple - "Something Wicked This Way Comes!"  Hopefully, I won't be too much of a wimp to handle that one.

Food Tasting

While we were enjoying lunch in Epcot yesterday, Meg, Nick, Gabrielle and Alex were in Lebanon having their own feast.  The foursome met to try different dishes from a Bloomington caterer.  They hoped to find a meal that they liked for Meg and Nick's wedding reception.  

Meg called later in the evening with a menu that they thought would be perfect.  I was very glad to hear that as choosing a cater can be very challenging.  There are a lot of different menus to pick from and many have hidden costs.  It can also get stressful trying to please everyone.  Thankfully, they felt that they had succeeded in satisfying everyone's nutritional needs with a buffet that would taste delicious as well.  It was awesome to know that they had one more item checked off of their to do list well ahead of their wedding date.  I also enjoyed the pictures of their adventures on the miniature golf course today after their tasting.  What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  

Journey of Water & Oswald

It was a challenge to get up this morning after such a late night, but that didn't stop us from going to the passholder preview of Journey of Water at Epcot first thing this morning.  It was a Moana themed water attraction that Disney had been building since 2020 and I was excited to finally see it.  I also wanted to pick up our Oswald passholder magnets.  As an added bonus by going today, we would be able to eat lunch and possibly ride Soarin' over California.

Doug and I arrived just as the park opened for the day.  We walked straight to Soarin' as I had told Doug that was the highest priority for me.  We hadn't seen the original Soarin' over California since 2016 and I couldn't wait to ride it.  We were one of the first ones on the ride and I absolutely loved it.  We "flew" over the Golden Gate Bridge, smelled the pines while white water rafting, soared in air balloons, hand glided over the mountains, and so much more.  As we exited the ride, I noticed that the wait for it was still only fifteen minutes.  I wasn't sure what Doug would say about riding it again, but he was more than willing.  We loved it even more and noticed this time that we could actually see Alcatraz while in San Francisco.

Our next stop was the Journey of Water.  It started to rain as we got in line, but we didn't mind.  I had my umbrella and the queue was short.  We didn't know what to expect.  It started off slow with some water falls, but soon each exhibit became interactive and we were totally impressed.  We could "move" water with our hands and arms, and we could stop a waterfall by walking fast.  I absolutely loved it and couldn't wait for my kids to try it.  

After the tribute to Moana, Doug and I walked through the countries and tried several new dishes at the Food & Wine Festival.  We didn't leave until I had a Welsh Dragon from England and picked up my Oswald the Rabbit passholder magnet.  I was a thoroughly exhausted when we got the car, but it was worth the trip.  It was a great way to celebrate our first full year of being Disney annual passholders.