A Fantastic Saturday!

Doug, Brett and Cam met Carl and Marina at the Knights of Columbus for breakfast this morning.  Cal had to work and Meg and I decided to sleep in.  They enjoyed their time together and brought back some pancakes, eggs and sausage to share.  I had started on the laundry yesterday and got back to it as soon as I got up.  I had told the boys to bring their clothes, towels and bedding home.  They did, but  it wasn't as much as I thought it would be.  Cal also brought home some items that he didn't need at his house, so I organized those as well.  Brett went with Doug to the grocery to pick up supplies for the next couple of weeks as well.

Cam, Doug, and I accompanied Brett to the winery this afternoon.  He really enjoyed it and Cam and I got in some corn hole time.  It was the perfect afternoon break from the homework and housework that we were all trying to catch up on.  Carl and Marina met us back at our home after the winery.  Meg played the piano for them which we all enjoyed.  Cam had to serve tonight and Doug was an usher, so we all went to mass before dinner.  Meg made it to mass, but left from there for senior night at the boys' soccer game.

Cal made it back from work by the time we got home and my parents were able to join us as well.  Cam challenged Brett and my parents to a game of croquet while Carl and Doug were grilling steaks and pork chops.  Dinner was delicious with a lot of desserts to sample.  Hannah-Marie arrived after her volleyball tournament and there were several rounds of cards played before the evening came to an end.  Meg was back to hang out with us before bedtime.  She had had a great time with the junior class at the game even though Argos once again got the better of Bethany's soccer program.

Fun For All

It was a great first day home for Cal and Brett.  Cal got up early to play basketball with Doug and the teacher's at the high school.  Both Doug and Cal said that it was the best that they had ever seen Cal play.  It was a good thing for Doug that he was on Cal's team.  Cal then went golfing with my Dad.  They had a lot of fun together and were home in time to eat lunch.  Brett joined them there.  He had spent a good portion of his morning working on homework.  

After school Brett rode with me to Bethany to pick up Meg's truck.  I treated him and Cam to a Ben's pretzel before we headed for home.  Cal was there when we got back, but left shortly afterward to hang out with Hannah-Marie.  He wanted to take her to dinner for her upcoming 18th birthday.  They went to Cerulean's for sushi and both really liked it.  Brett wanted to see Ninjago while he was here and luckily it was playing uptown.  Dad, Cam and I all went with him and were surprised by how much we enjoyed the movie.  It was a lego version of the 1970s karate movies complete with Jackie Chan as Master Wu.

While we were all busy here Doug went to Argos to watch Meg's soccer game.  His Dad and Marina went with him.  The game was a close one and was tied at 0-0 until 20 minutes to go in the game.  Reminiscent of Cam's game on Thursday Argos scored and then turned around and scored again within a minute.  That was all they needed to get the W as Bethany was held to a shutout.  I met Doug in Milford so that he did not have to come all the way to Syracuse before taking his Dad back.  On the way home Meg told me that the game was pretty heated.  I was sorry to hear that.  It was their last game of the season.  They will play against Elkhart Christian on Thursday in the first round of the sectional.  Hopefully, that will be a little less tense.

Homeward Bound

We had a fantastic surprise at Cameron's game tonight.  Cal and Brett arrived to join our spectator group.  We knew that they were coming home this weekend, but didn't realize that they would make it to Bethany.  It was awesome having them there to support Cam's team and to catch up on their adventures at IU this past month.  They were full of stories and filled us in on their classes.  Both have been working very hard this semester and were proud of the grades they had earned.  Even the loss that Cam's team suffered didn't put a damper on the evening.  It did end Bethany's tournament run, but by the time we got to Chubbie's for $2 hamburger night he had already moved on.  Meg didn't get to see much of Cam's game as she had practice, but she did join us for dinner.  Everyone enjoyed their food, but the best part was listening to the converstations and knowing that we were all together again.

Some Times It's Hard

Today was disappointing.  I received some news in the morning that was frustrating and it took me all day to wrap my head around it.  Thankfully, I had Cam and Meg here after practice to keep me busy.  I had also texted Cal and Brett several times to check in about their plans for coming home tomorrow which helped me focus on something positive.  Later in the night Doug and I went out to dinner and before the end of the evening I was finally able to talk about my feelings.  I knew he would say something to make me feel better, but I had to be in the right frame of mind to hear it.  I couldn't get through life without his support or my children's love.  I am thankful for the five of them everyday and none more than today.

Cam's Last Game of the Season

Tonight was Cameron's last B game of the season.  He played a lot as a substitute on the A team this year, but was a starter on the B one and took several turns as captain.  Tonight's game was against Goshen and it was a tough one.  Their B team was good and Bethany had very few subs due to injuries.  Cam played the entire game at right fullback.  He did an awesome job and we were impressed with how much he had improved this season.  He has gotten faster, his stamina has increased, and his skills have greatly improved.  We watched him take several headers this year with one of his best ones occurring this evening.  Doug was impressed as he didn't start taking headers until he was in high school.  Although it was sad to see the regular season come to an end with a shutout loss, it was a great watching him play.

Senior Night

Tonight was senior night for the girls soccer team and the last home game of the regular season.  The girls played Lakeland in a close match.  Doug and I remarked several times that this was not the same team that Wawasee beat 7-2 last year.  The ball was back and forth the entire game and Lakeland had a goalie that was one of the best we had seen this year.  Meg played quite a bit at wing and did very well.  Her ability to find the open person and pass the ball to them was outstanding.  She held her position well and was in the right spot to get a rebound shot that sailed beautifully into the goal just out of the reach of the keeper.  Meg's goal would prove to be the only one of the evening for the Bruins which earned them a 1-1 tie with the Lakers.

After the game there was a potluck dinner in the cafeteria for the girls and the families.  It was nice and the girls seemed to really enjoy it.  We don't know a lot of people, but those that we have met have been very nice.  The best part of the evening for me was watching Meg interact with her teammates.  They laughed and shared stories the entire dinner.  We have been thrilled that her transition has gone so smoothly.  Being a part of the soccer team has definitely helped with that.

A Good Night For Croquet

We spent the day getting caught up on laundry and outside work.  The tree beside our deck had left a residue on it that was sticky and hard to clean.  Doug spent quite a bit of the afternoon scrubbing it.  I appreciated his work.  I had cleaned it several times, but he was able to put more elbow grease into it and it looked fantastic in the end.  I know we were both worried that the tree had ruined the deck, but not after today.  We haven't decided what we are going to do with the tree.  We were hoping that this was a one time incident as it had never happened before.  We will see what next summer brings.

To celebrate all of our hard work around the house this weekend and to relax a little before Monday arrived we invited my parents up for dinner with the enticement of a game of croquet.  We hadn't played in awhile and everyone but Meg was ready for a game.  She had spent the day catching up on homework and still had some to finish.  We got started later than normal as Dad and Cam played golf in the afternoon.  Between the setting sun and the leaves on the croquet field it became pretty challenging to see.  Cam proved victorious in the end and everyone had a wonderful evening of fun.