Amish Acres Part 2

This afternoon my parents, Meg, Cam and I went to Amish Acres to see Happy Days.  I don't remember ever going two days in a row before to the Round Barn, but with out schedule this fall that was the way it worked out.  I didn't mind at all as the musical was a lot better than I had thought it would be.  Meg and Cam really liked it.  They didn't remember a lot from the original television show, but they really didn't need to in order to enjoy it.  Fonzi and Ralph stole the show as I would have expected.  There was a interesting scene with James Dean and Elvis, but overall it was well worth seeing.

While we were there Doug ran in to work for the afternoon.  He spent his morning with his Dad and at church for mass and a confirmation meeting.  He has to travel this week so he wanted to get as caught up as possible.  He felt pretty good about the amount of work that he accomplished today.  Grandpa Cutes and Cam played golf after Amish Aces as the weather was beautiful.  I worked around the house.  Meg invited Liam over for awhile.  Doug grilled out again tonight and made Cam and Meg's favorite - chicken curry.  We were able to eat outside as it was a gorgeous night.  The leftover cakes from Friday were almost finished tonight.  The white was devoured first as that seemed to be the family favorite, but we still had a little bit of chocolate left.  After we cleaned up we played a tense game of "Oh Hell!"  Cam had quite the lead, but with three hands left I finally overtook him and won by a couple of points.

Plain & Fancy

Since Carl and Marina were coming out for Meg's senior night, we thought we'd take them to see Plain & Fancy today at Amish Acres.  They had never seen it and we had extra tickets since Cam, Meg and my parents opted out this year.  We had gone to it a lot over the years, so I could understand their decision.  I had hoped that Brett would be able to come home this weekend since he really enjoyed that musical, but he had too much to do in Bloomington.

Before we went to the matinee Doug and his Dad spent time running errands.  They dropped the CR-V off for an oil change.  They then picked up Cameron from Conner's birthday party/sleep over.  While in Goshen they also took down Meg's senior banner.  Last year all of the girls signed them and Meg didn't want that to happen to hers.  We had a nice lunch at home.  Doug grilled out and my parents stopped by as well before heading to the cemetery.

During the musical Meg stayed home and worked on a few items.  Cameron watched the IU vs. Rutgers football game before playing nine holes with my Dad.  He was pleased that the Hoosiers won, but it wasn't the blow out that he thought it would be.  Carl and Marina enjoyed the musical as did Doug.  I always like Plain & Fancy and this year I even enjoyed the cast more than previous ones.  Once we got home we took everyone to Oakwood for dinner.  Jackie had joined us as well and we all though the food was delicious.  Afterward we went back home so that Cam could play Carl in checkers and Doug could start a bonfire.  Jackie and Meg went to Columbia City to a haunted house.  They had a great time and screamed the entire time.  Our end to the evening was quieter than theirs, but equally fun.

Senior Night Success

This week was a stressful one in the Heinisch home.  We were in charge of the festivities for senior night and weren't quite sure what that all entailed.  The two that we saw last year seemed over the top complete with a Kona Ice truck.  Fortunately, we had help as Kassy's mom was a veteran of senior nights and did not have over the top plans in mind.  The other item causing anxiety in our family was Meg's concerns about senior night on the field.  She had not been starting and was fearful that her coach wouldn't start her on senior night.

Thankfully, everything went even better than we could have ever planned.  The after school dinner was a success.  We had it at Kassy's home and the girls appreciated the Lasagna and Chicken Alfredo.      Once I dropped the players back off at Bethany, I met up with Doug.  Carl and Marina drove out for the night so we visited with them before the game started.  My parents were there as well and we all sat up chairs along the sidelines.  With ten minutes to go before the game started Doug and I were called out on the field for senior recognition.  We appreciated all of the positive comments that were read about Meg and thoroughly enjoyed listening to her favorite memories of soccer season.  Once the starters lined up and I saw Meg running out on the field, I could finally relax and watch the game.

It was a cold night, but I made it through the first half and part of the second.  Once it started to drizzle I decided to watch from the van.  Meg played very well and was in the game more than she had been which pleased her immensely.  It was a touch game and the girls ended up losing to Argos 3-1.  I was impressed that the students stayed as long as they did.  They even made a tunnel for the girls to run through at the end.  Meg was thrilled to be the lead player.

After the game everyone met in the school lobby.  Doug and I had two cakes ready for the festivities. I had ordered them from Lance's and they looked fantastic.  Before we ate, the seniors were honored once again.  First their teammates had speeches and gifts for the girls.  That was the only hitch in the evening as Jackie drew a complete blank while giving Meg's speech.  It turned into a laugh fest instead.  We didn't mind as we all enjoy their relationship and somehow it seemed like the most appropriate way for Jackie to memorialize Meg's time with her on the soccer team.  Meg gave a beautiful speech herself and then both coaches had words of praise for the girls.  Once the speeches concluded we started serving the cake.  Both were big hits and we were happy to see the majority of them devoured before the cleanup process began.

A Fun Way to End the Season

Cameron's game tonight will not be one long to remember.  In fact it was quickly forgotten within a couple minutes of its end.  They had played Concord earlier in the season and the outcome was pretty much the same.  Instead of losing 8-0, the score tonight was 7-0.  In saying that the boys played well and tried their best, they just couldn't keep up with Concord's offense.  Cameron sat out the last ten minutes or so.  He had taken a hard shot at point blank to his stomach.  He went down immediately with the air knocked out of him.  It was still sore when we got home, but thankfully it was not his head as we originally thought.

The game almost felt secondary to the festivities that occurred later in the evening.  As soon as the game was over the boys, parents, coaches and fans met in the pavilion to celebrate a fantastic season - one in which they finished a lot better than we would have ever dreamed considering who graduated from last year's team.  The food was quickly devoured, followed by the coaches awards.  Cam was pleased that Joey won MVP.  

After the party everyone headed back out to the field to watch Bethany's girls play Concord.  It was 0-0 late in the second half when we arrived.  With less than seven minutes left Bethany scored and soon thereafter Concord followed suit.  It looked as it would go to PK's, but Bethany got a shot off with less than a minute left ending the night with a victory and the right to play on Saturday morning in the semi-finals of the conference tournament.  Once the buzzer blew Cam and his friends were first on the field, screaming, jumping up and down and chest bumping.  We weren't surprised as we had heard them earlier in the evening cheering loudly from the bleachers.  

The highlight of the evening for me was what occurred next - the parent/player game.  Cameron and Doug were both excited to be a part of it and I had so much fun watching them.  Doug hadn't played since he quit coach the Wawasee girls two years ago.  He said that he was rusty, but he didn't look like it to me.  I definitely was impressed when he put a left-footed shot in the back of the net.  The "old people" did end up winning 3-0, but the boys didn't seem to mind too much.  For our family it was the perfect way to end a decade of soccer for Cameron.  He has grown in skill, met a lot of friends, found success on the field and had fun along the way.  Couldn't ask for anything more than that.

"It's Gotta End Sometime."

When Cal quit basketball his junior year it was a tough on all of us.  We didn't blame him for ending his high school career early, we were just so disappointed in his coach and his treatment of Cal that forced that decision.  When I went to school the next day, Mr. Voirol came to find me.  He was supportive of Cal and said to me, "It's gotta end sometime, and very few athletes have it end on a positive note."  I thought about his words many times over the years.  He was correct, very few athletes even professional ones end under the perfect circumstances.  Peyton Manning exiting football winning the Super Bowl was not the norm.  A career ending injury, a loss in the first round of sectionals, a missed putt or an unsupportive coach was what most athletes faced at the end of their time on field.

Thus, Cal's last game was not the one that I chose to remember him playing.  It was instead the last game of his freshmen year when he played considerable minutes in the junior varsity game against Tippy Valley.  They were running plays for him and he was an important member of the team.  His one shining moment happened that day and I wished for him that it could have been his last memory of a beloved sport.

Brett did no participate in sports after his fifth grade year, but he was part of the Academic Super Bowl team and drama club in middle and high school.  When I try to think back on his last role in a high school production I really don't remember much about it.  Instead I tend to focus on his earlier role as Joe Scales in "Cheaper by The Dozen." The part seemed to be written for him and he completely stole the show that night.  It would have been the perfect way to end his drama career just as winning state his sophomore year on the social studies team would have been as well.

Meg and Cam will soon end their time as soccer players.  In the past couple of weeks I realized that I wished that Meg's season would have ended earlier this month at the South Bend Riley game.  Meg played very well scoring the first goal of that game on a beautiful fifteen yard shot.  She had been part of a celebration before the game honoring her favorite teacher at Bethany.  There was such a positivity about that night that it would have made for the perfect ending to a fourteen year career.  I felt the same on Tuesday night at Goshen.  During that game Cam contained their best player well and even got a turn in goal.  I could hear his coach yelling from the sidelines, "Cameron Heinisch that was awesome!"  Even though it was a loss, it felt like a win and would have been an fantastic way to end his career on the field.  Regardless of how it does happen, however, both will finish their time as soccer players soon.  I hope that it will be the ending that they have dreamed of and not just something to endure the way that Cal had to in his.  Either way, I know that "it's gotta end sometime."

Decorating for Fall

As much as I enjoy the summer sun, I was ready for the fall temperatures that arrived this weekend with the actual start date of the season.  With the change I decided to start my fall decorating a little earlier than normal.  Fall has always been my favorite time of the year with Halloween at the top of my holiday list.  I began my decorating on Monday morning and finally finished up this afternoon.  I have accumulated quite a bit of decorations over the year and had fun sorting through a lot of memories in those tubs.  I couldn't believe how much I had considering all that I sold at the garage sale a year and a half ago.  Generally, I hate dusting, but it wasn't such a chore as I could put out my witches, skeletons and jack o'lanterns at the same time.  

It wasn't only the cooler weather, pumpkin spice candles or the decorations that I had been looking forward to, but lately I had been interested in watching scary movies.  Thus, I appreciated the boys viewing Halloween with me over the weekend.  I told Doug that he can have a pass until James Bond month was over, then I will be renting some good ones for us.  Freeform even has a month of children's Halloween movies starting October 1st that I might catch.  In the end those will probably be more my speed.  

I was able to enjoy some more of the fall weather tonight at Cameron's game.  Originally, he wasn't looking forward to it as Goshen was rumored to be very good.  The gossip was correct, but the game was so much more fun than Cam expected as both he and Breece got to spend some time in goal in the A game.  It definitely brought me back to his LYC days.  He was proud of his three saves.  He did let in one goal, but in an 8-1 loss, that wasn't too bad.  Cam decided to play in the B game as well tonight.  The coach put him in at sweeper.  He liked the position a lot and it gave him a chance to chat with Breece who was in goal once again.  Just like Cameron, I was sort of dreading the game.  In the end I was incredibly happy to watch him play.  He has really enjoyed soccer season this year which has been awesome to see.

Pretty Intense

Tonight was the game that Cam had been waiting for since it was cancelled in early September, Wawasee vs. Bethany.  When Mom and I arrived we were pleased to see that Cade Beer was on the Warrior team.  He hadn't played the past two years and I hadn't seen him since last May.  He and Cam were just the best of friends and the last time they played together they were actually on the same team during their LYC days.  There were other Milford 8th graders that Cam knew as well which added to his excitement in playing in the game.

Last year Bethany beat Wawasee 8-1.  Cam was hopeful that they could produce another win.  Unfortunately, Wawasee had improved greatly and Bethany lost 4-2.  As much as Cam was anxious to play in the game, his teammates and coach must have been as well.  It was definitely the most intense game of the season with one Bruin player being pulled after earning a yellow card for saying "What the . . ." (He later told my Dad that he did not finish the question.)  Then after watching a Warrior playing continually pull on the Bethany strikers' jerseys, Cam's coach had had enough and yelled at the ref, prompting a red card and an ejection from the game.  The players on the bench let everyone know that the coach said "Gees, oh peeps!"  My guess was that it was the intensity of how it was said and not the actual words that got him the card.  It definitely was the highlight of the game, especially since the assistant coach was not there tonight.  For awhile it looked like Cam or Beck were going to have to finish out the game, but in the end Hank came over to coach the boys and the team calmed down.

I enjoyed tonight's game as I got a chance to catch up with Pam Beer.  I really haven't talked to anyone from Milford since I quit last June.  I also got a chance to talk with Wawasee's coach who was a former Milford student and star soccer player from the time that Doug coached the high school boys.  Fernando was such a good kid.  I was glad to hear that he had graduated from college and was going to grad school to be a social worker.  He had a message of thanks for me to give to Mrs. Fiscus that made her day.

While we were at Bethany, Doug was at Meg's game at Lakeland.  She had a great game earning the only assist on the night in a 3-1 loss.  She also had several shots on goal that the goalie made great stops on, preventing her tenth goal of the season.  Lakeland's third goal of the night brought out the intensity on their field.  While the girl drove in to shoot, Jackie went down.  Kassy and Jackie instantly let the ref know that the girl pulled her down, but he would not call the foul.  This brought loud protests from the Bethany parents.  In the end it did not change the outcome.  Regardless, Meg was happy with her play tonight and she and Doug arrived home just after Cam and I.  He decided to stay for the girls middle school games.  I used the extra time to get more reading done in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.