The Caston Invite

Cameron played in the Caston Invite today.  It was a chilly one, but the sun was out and it was a little bit warmer than last year.  The course that the event was held on was called Pond View Golf Club in the town of Star City, Indiana.  We attend the tourney last year and knew that it was an hour and a half drive into the middle of nowhere, but we didn’t care.  We were just glad to be able to watch Cameron play.  He doesn’t have a lot of eighteen hole tournaments scheduled and we were afraid that this one would be cancelled due to cold weather.  The other advantage to playing today was that it would put us at least an hour closer to Bloomington, our destination this holiday weekend.

The tournament start time did change from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. due to the cold temperatures.  Doug and I arrived just as Cameron teed off on his first hole, the par five number eight.  It was a tough one for Cameron and he finished it with a triple bogey.  Number nine wasn’t much easier as he lost a ball on his approach shot to the green which resulted in another triple.  I was worried that his scores on the first two holes would predict the outcome of his round.   Thankfully, Cameron rebounded well.  He challenged himself to play better and soon found himself with a nice score 43 on the challenging back nine.  

Cameron did have one more triple with a lost ball and the winds did pick up quite a bit on the front side.  Even so, he played extremely well and ended up with a score of 87.  We were extremely happy for him and pleased that to hear that he had finished fifth as an individual.  Several of the other Bruins players had career best rounds.  Those combined with Cameron’s score gave the team a second place finish in the tournament.  They were all happy with that and it made for a lot of fun conversations between Doug, Cameron and I on the way down to Bloomington.  

A Nice Good Friday

Cameron had today off from school due to the Good Friday holiday.  He had given up fast food for Lent and was extremely happy to be able to join his friends at King Gyro today.  They went shopping afterward.  Cameron was happy to find two vinyls that he had been looking for at Ignition music.  He had golf practice afterward and felt good about how he played.  

While Cameron was busy, Doug and I headed to Goshen and Middlebury for the afternoon.  I was thankful that Doug only had to work this morning and did that from home.  Our first stop was Snider's Jewelry in Goshen.  We had some silver and gold that we wanted to sell.  While they were evaluating the pieces, we used Doug's gift certificate for Wedgewood Brewery in Middlebury.  One of his coworkers had given it for Christmas and we hadn't been able to use it yet.  We really liked it and were surprised that she showed up while we were enjoying our food and drinks.  While we were at the brewery we were also pleased to find out that our jewelry selling was a success as it brought in close to $400 for us.  We decided to use it on some of our Florida expenses.  

After our day out, we had an enjoyable evening at home.  Cameron arrived shortly after we did and we decided to play Oh Hell with Grandma and Grandpa.  We were glad to hear that they had their power restored finally after almost twenty-four hours of being without it.  It was a fun night for cards and I enjoyed listening to Cameron's new Juice Wrld double album afterward.  It was a great way to end a relaxing evening.  

Happy "Windsday!"

So today was a Thursday, but it actually could have been called "Windsday."  We had received a wind alert from our weather app this morning, but didn't really think much about it.  We get those a lot and in general they really don't amount too much.  This time, however, the warning was well worth it.  The winds today were terrible and caused more damage than I would have predicted.

My first realization that the wind could cause some real damage was when Doug got home.  I had picked him up at Monteith after he dropped off the Pilot for an oil change.  On our way home we were stopped by a police car in the middle of the high school road.  We had to turn around and take Kern road to the high school to get to our subdivision.  By the time we had arrived to our road, there was a fire chief truck in the road as well.

I called my Dad to see if he had heard anything.  I was positive that it was a shooting.  Doug was sure that it was a tree.  In the end, he was right as my Dad called later to let us know that a tree had fallen against a power line in Woodland Acres and they were waiting for Kosciusko REMC to turn off the power so that they could remove it.  

We did end up losing power for about 30 minutes tonight while they dealt with the tree issue.  I absolutely hate being without electricity and complained loudly while it was out.  I should't have complained, however, especially when I found out that my parents lost their power at 3 p.m. and still didn't have it when they went to bed.  

Thankfully, we didn't have any other issues for the rest of the night.  Cameron still had golf practice and was proud to say that he was only four over after eight holes.  He was impressed with that as the wind was wreaking havoc on their game.  I was glad that he had fun at practice and at the track meet afterward, and that he made it home safely.  Watching the tree fall last night in the road on our way to Hot Head Burritos and seeing the one uprooted down the street from us today made me a little nervous.  

Hot Head Burritos

A little over a year ago Doug discovered Chipotle on a weekend trip to Bloomington.  Meg had eaten there several times and thought that her Dad would like it.  She was right.  Since then he's also been introduced to several other restaurants, Qdoba and Moe's, with the same type of menu - burritos, bowls, quesadillas and tacos.  Ocala had another version, Tijuana Flats, that instantly became a fan favorite of the Heinisch family as well.  

Last night Doug decided that he wanted to try another fresh Mexican food restaurant, Hot Heads Burrito in North Webster.  It had opened awhile ago, but we hadn't made time to eat there.  Cameron and I rode along with him, happy to get out of the house for awhile.  The restaurant was like many of the others that we had tried with a specialty menu and build your own meals with fresh toppings.  Doug tried a spicy burrito and Cameron chose a pork one.  I stuck with my usual chicken quesadilla.  We all liked our choices, especially Doug.  Next on our list is the new Mexican restaurant in town.  They just added an outside patio, so we'll probably wait until the weather warms up for that one.  

Checking In

Today we got a phone call from all of the Heinisch children.  Nothing was wrong, they just wanted to check in and let us know what they were up to this week.  We heard first from Brett.  He had a busy day scheduled which included helping set up for Easter mass at church, going for a swim, and attending the Knights of Columbus meeting.  He also hoped to do some writing and watch Love Boat.  He found some fun episodes yesterday and wanted to finish them today.

Meg called on her way to studying at the Union.  She had a group project that she was working on as well as a test to prepare for today.  Her favorite moment in class today was watching Mike Love of the Beach Boys dance.  She compared it to her own dad dancing and we got a good laugh out of that.  She also went over her plans with us for the weekend, since we'll be in Bloomington for Easter.

Cal was next on the list to call.  It was nice to talk with him.  We receive texts from him daily, but only talk with him once a week.  He was thankful to be done with work for the day and was enjoying a long walk along the lake.  He filled us in on the movies that he had watched recently, including Rosemary's Baby, Wait Until Dark and Panic Room.  He also told us about his new apartment in Old Town.  He, Jayce and Nolan will be moving in next month.

The last of the Heinisch family to call and check in was Cameron.  Although we normally talk with him in person, Cameron had gone straight from school to golf practice to the track meet at Westview.  He had a lot to tell us about his day including what he worked on at the driving range, the project he had to complete at school and Avery's Promposal to his girlfriend at the track meet.  It was nice to catch up with him before he walked in the door and wonderful to hear from all of the Heinisch children today.  

Golf Season Begins

Today was the first golf match of the season for Bethany Christian.  I was worried that it would rain, but thankfully it held off and the boys were able to play.  It was a little chilly, but not enough to bother anyone.  We didn't even need stocking caps.  The match was at Black Squirrel and the Bruins were up against Northridge and Fairfield.  It was a tough draw for Bethany as Northridge won the sectional last year and Fairfield had an up and coming talent playing for the first time.  Bethany also was down a man as their fourth player was out sick for today's match.

Overall, Cameron and his team did pretty well tonight.  Cameron was definitely a little nervous which affected several of his shots.  He rebounded, however, and finished the last two holes par - par.  He wasn't thrilled with his score of 45, but he wasn't disappointed either.  He knew from his recent rounds in Florida that he could play better and already came up with a few things to work on this week.  The team played alright, finishing with a 203.  Both of the opposing teams beat them, but they were happy with how they competed.

I enjoyed going tonight.  I was pleased to see that Cameron's swing had greatly improved since last year.  I was also glad that he didn't let a few errant shots ruin his round.  Most of all tonight, I was impressed with the amount of fans that he had following him.  Besides my parents, Doug and I, Cameron had a group of four riding along and quietly cheering for him on the last five holes.  It was fun to watch them all interact and I was happy that Cameron's gallery were there to be a part of his first found of the season.  

Some Nice Payouts

Brett has found himself the recipient of quite a bit of extra cash this month.  First, he won our family NCAA basketball pool when he had the only team to make it to the final game out of the eight of us.  None of us were shocked that he had picked Kansas to play in the championship as Brett had always chosen the tops seeds to do well.  What surprised us all was the fact that Meg had lost.  She had lead the pool for the past several weeks and we thought that she had a lock on the money.  She handled the loss well and was just thankful that she at least had beaten the "sports nerds" in our family.  Brett was  happy to have won the money as he had had some additional expenses this week, so the extra cash came in at the right time.

As soon as the NCAA pool ended, we started the family Masters pool.  Each one of us took a player with Meg and Brett getting some suggestions from their siblings.  No one was surprised when Louis Oosthuizen pulled out after the first day with an injury.  Cameron was notorious for having the worst luck with picks and this tournament was no different.  My player, Brooks Koepka, also did not make the cut, but it really didn't matter.  By Saturday morning, Scott Scheffler, had a massive lead on the field and we realized that Brett would be pocketing another $24 by the end of the weekend.

Today Brett found himself the recipient of even more extra cash.  He had listed two large sets of Legos last Sunday both of which had gained quite a bit of interest this past week.  Today he was pleased to find out that they each had sold for close to $100 a piece.  Even with all of the fees from Ebay and the shipping costs, he had cleared a total of $170.  He instantly put that money towards his car insurance bill due at the end of the April.  Unexpected expenses seem to be the norm, so it was nice to see someone in our family benefit from the exact opposite.