November 2024

            The month of November had us transitioning from volleyball into basketball for both girls and starting the holiday season off with the celebration of Thanksgiving. 

 

            We celebrated Thanksgiving this year in Ohio with the Vandervaarts, Dodsons and Grandma. We arrived in the afternoon on the Wednesday before the holiday.  We enjoyed some appetizers and then opened some gifts from Grnadma.  Afterwards, we let the cousins hangout in the basement while we caught up in the living room and watched some home videos from when we were kids. Thanksgiving morning, Pete and Laura worked on getting food prepared while the remainder of us went to go see Moana 2.  When we got back, Pete and Laura had things in good shape so we watched some football and basketball on TV.  We were able to situate the table and chairs so everyone could be at the same table and we enjoyed dinner.  Afterwards, the adults had set up a game where the kids would each get a chance to punch 5 “cups” with a prize inside.  We had several individual games where each group would win and get an opportunity to get their prize and then trade with others if they wanted.  The next day, we left around 2PM to head home and ran into some winter weather along the way which slowed us down a little bit.  The holiday weekend was rounded out with Sarah having 2 basketball games on Saturday and Allison having a game on Sunday.  We went to church on Saturday evening and had Randy and Anna over for dinner, to watch some college football and decorate for Christmas. 

 

Sarah’s Things of the Month

            Sarah’s fall volleyball team lost their tournament game in early November.  Sarah got a lot better over the season and she really improved her serve.  As mentioned last month, she is playing some basketball with some of her classmates and enjoying being back on the court.  She is also participating in a Sunday evening basketball clinic at Chatard that started in November. 

 

Allison’s Thing of the Month

             Allison’s volleyball season ended earlier than expected in their tournament, but she enjoyed the season so much she has continued to go to a few open gyms at Chatard so she can gauge her interest and see how she matches up against other girls.  Her IGB team has played some games and we are hoping that having this time together will help them in the spring season when they start playing in more tournaments.  Allison has been participating as a “ball girl” for the Bishop Chatard girls basketball team during a few games and is enjoying spending more time around the team.  She also took her placement exam for high school this month. 

 

A few more items from this month:

• Debbie and I went out to dinner with Tony & Amy Bultinck at Capri’s on a Saturday evening
• Kyle (Julie’s husband) was in town for work, so he and I went to the Colts game vs. the Bills.  He and I enjoyed hitting up a few spots before the game and having the great seats from Deb’s work. 
• For the first time in several years, we were able to make it to the Watkins’ house for Friends Thanksgiving.  Watkins, Foulke, Anderson, Bleill, Geddes, Wyss and myself were guys from college that were able to make it.
• We also went to the Steffey’s Friends Thanksgiving and enjoyed seeing everyone.  

October 2024

The month of October was highlighted by our fall break.  We flew out on an early Saturday morning flight and arrived in Vegas around 8AM. After getting our rental car, we went to Valley of the Fire.  We went to the beehive area, hiked the white dome trail, hiked the fire wave trail along with the seven wonders trail.  Those 3 miles felt like they were all being hiked on a beach because there was so much sand.  We then piled into the car and drove to Zion and checked into the Driftwood Lodge. 

 

            After checking in, we went to dinner the Zion Brew Pub and fell asleep pretty quickly due to the time change.  We got up the next morning and rented some e-bikes to ride thru the canyon without dealing with shuttles.  The e-bikes were a hit and the girls probably thought it was the best part of the trip.  While exploring the canyon, we hiked the riverside trail, scout’s lookout and the court of the patriarch.  We got some ice cream for the girls and coffee for the us and then did a little souvenir shopping.  We had dinner at Zion pizza and noodle and woke up the next morning ready for the next adventure. 

 

            We woke up and drove to the east side of the Zion Canyon, which was quite possibly the most scenic drive I’ve ever done.  We arrived at the Ponderosa ranch and did the observation point hike and then drove to Bryce.  We checked into the Ruby Inn and had dinner at the Bryce Canyon Cowboy club and relaxed in the hot tub afterwards.  The following morning, we went and hiked the Navajo loop and queens garden trail.  After having lunch at the trail head, we checked out 2 viewpoints (Inspiration point and Bryce point).  We then decided to go for an ATV guided tour and that evening, we looked at the stars with the Dark Ranger Telescopes. The next morning, we did the scenic 18-mile drive through Bryce canyon and did the Bristlecone and tower bridge trails.  We then spent the afternoon driving to Page, Arizona. 

 

            After checking into our hotel, we went for a swim and had dinner at the Dam grill.  The next morning, we went on a tour of a secluded slot canyon and horseshoe bend.  This tour was given on land owned by the Navajo tribe, so our tour was a chief and we learned a lot about the culture.  After the tour, we did a short hike and hung out by the pool before going to dinner at State 48 tavern.  We woke up the next morning and drove to Vegas and arrived at Mandalay Bay around 2PM. We walked down to the Bellagio for the water show and we enjoyed the people watching and seeing the sights.  After dinner at the hotel, we went to bed as our flight home was at 7AM the following morning. 

 

Sarah’s Things of the Month

            Sarah’s fall softball team ended their season in early October, but she has decided to continue with the year-long “Bluehawks” program which will allow for her to keep playing thru the winter.  Her volleyball team won a few games and Sarah is a very consistent server, along with being aware of situations and diving when necessary.  She is also playing basketball with several of her classmates as they get ready for their CYO season. 

 

Allison’s Thing of the Month

             Allison’s volleyball team has been competitive in every game and she looks like she is really having fun when she is on the court.  Her Jr. Trojan season ended while we were on fall break, but she enjoyed meeting several girls she hopes to play with in high school next year.  She also kicked off our IGB season by joining her team for a fall session to better prepare them for the spring travel season. 

 

A few more items from this month:

• Frank and Jan organized a group dinner, where Mark, Chris, and the Dodsons joined us for a nice dinner and a chance to catch up before they started traveling south for the winter. 
• Frank and Mark have had an annual guy weekend that revolved around euchre since the late 80’s / early 90’s and I was invited to participate this year.  I had a great time, got a little sleep and probably had too many beers. 
• Deb took the girls to “trunk or treat” at CKS this year and they enjoyed getting some candy and seeing their friends. 
• Halloween has changed for us, as Allison is off with friends in other neighborhoods and Sarah is running around our neighborhood but we don’t really know where she is.  I ended the night watching some NFL football and hanging out around the fire. 
• 

September 2024

            The month of September was packed with kickball, volleyball, softball and basketball.   While the girls have fun playing sports and being with friends, it can be challenging to find time to catch up or even eat dinner during a month like this.  We know it won’t last forever…but a few quiet evenings are welcome when we can catch them. 

 

            The month started off with Labor Day weekend. We spent a majority of Saturday unboxing items and helping unpack.  We went to church that evening and then came back to our house for a cookout.  Julie & Kyle got a boat over the summer and we took that out on Morse Lake on Sunday and enjoyed some tubing and swimming.  After that, we had dinner at the Cyphers house.  They have settled in for the most part and have ordered some furniture, along with continuing to unpack. 

 

            During the month, we traveled to Lexington for a wedding in the Grubb family.  The Grubb family has been close friends with the Cyphers forever.  I actually first met Julie, Randy and Anna at their house for a 60th birthday party for Randy many years ago.  The wedding was outdoors and the kids enjoyed dancing while the adults enjoyed the nice selection of bourbons.  Julie’s family was able to make it, so all 10 of us were together.

           

            The last weekend of the month, the remnants of a hurricane came through Indianapolis and took out our power.  We lost power 3 separate times and borrowed a friend’s generator to keep our fridge items cold, Wi-Fi working and TV on!  It was a lot easier to use than we thought, so we have looked into getting one to help us out the next time we face an extended outage. We did play a fun game of Uno with the Sniadeckis with headlamps on. Pretty memorable!

 

Sarah’s Things of the Month

            Sarah’s kickball team ended their season and she had a good time playing with some of the 7th graders.  Her softball team continued in the month of September and got better each week.  Sarah got a chance to play a few different positions, such as outfield and 2nd base.  Her volleyball team has played competitively and she seems to be one of the stronger players. 

 

Allison’s Thing of the Month

             Allison’s final kickball season ended for CKS and they won their last game with her entire team playing in tutus.  Her Jr. Trojans basketball team continued to play well and she made friends that she hopes to play with next year at Chatard.  Her volleyball team is fun to watch and she has some natural talent for the sport, so we will see if she wishes to pursue that as she goes to high school next year.  As 8th graders, they get to start off the year with a 1-day retreat at CYO camp and she enjoyed spending time with her class. 

 

A few more items from this month:

• A neighbor of ours invited Sarah and I to a fever game in early September.  We had a good time and enjoyed all of the snacks and food in the club seats. 
• Some portion of us all went to a few Chatard home football games this year as the weather was nice and the kids ran around with their friends. 
• Beth and I got together for a few beers in September at our house.  We hadn’t got a chance to do that in a few months with our busy schedules. 
• Deb volunteered and helped put on Grandparents Day at the school.  It was for KG, 4th and 8th grade parents. 
• Grandma came to town for Grandparents Day and we tried to hang out at our house, but we were out of power Friday evening thru early Sunday morning.   We went to church and the girls enjoyed hanging out at her hotel for a few hours on Saturday since she had power.
  

August 2024

            The girls went back to school in mid-August and appear to be enjoying the start of the year.  Allison is in 8th grade, which means they are the oldest kids in the school and being leaders.  Sarah is in 6th grade, which is the first year of middle school, which includes getting a locker and switching classes for the first time. 

 

            During the month of August, Allison and I were in a car accident at 71st and Keystone.  The accident was bad enough for the airbags to deploy, but we were both fine.  After talking to the police and getting my car home, we settled in to having 1 car for a day until we got a rental, filed our insurance claim and started that process.  Overall, everything went very smoothly and I had bought another car by the end of the week.  When I was selecting my rental car, I was given some options and chose the sensible one…but then as I went out to look at it, an orange Dodge Challenger caught my eye and I knew I was going to have to get that to drive around for a few days.  I brought it home and the girls loved it and were upset when I had to turn it back in. 

 

            Randy and Anna moved to Nobleville in late August.  Debbie went to WV for the weekend to help finish up packing their items and go to a “going away” party.  Everything seemed to go smoothly as they did a great job packing up their house, organizing with the moving company and then arriving in Indy to unpack.  They have already started to meet some neighbors and are still in the process of unpacking and selecting furniture.

 

Sarah’s Things of the Month

            Sarah’s kickball team has continued in August with practices and games.  She has enjoyed playing with some 7th graders and having fun.  She also had volleyball evaluations and is in the 56B team with the girls from her grade.  She has also started fall softball, with games starting in September.  

 

Allison’s Thing of the Month

             Allison’s kickball team has continued in August with practices and games.  She is enjoying her final year of that sport and having fun with her friends.  For volleyball, she is on the Cadet A team.  Also, she has continued her Jr. Trojans practices and her team is much better than previous years.  She and I went to an “end of the season” pool party for her IGB Basketball team in early August. 

 

A few more items from this month:

• I participated in the CTK golf outing with Chris, Tony and Matt.  The weather was great and a group of us went to Ale Emporium afterwards for dinner. 
• I took the girls to the state fair, where we enjoyed walking around and checking out the exhibits, eating some food and riding some rides.
• We went to the annual party at the Steffey’s house, called “Smokefest.”  We enjoyed lots of good food and hanging out with friends we don’t get to see as often as we like. 
• Sarah and Debbie went to see a Taylor Swift cover band at Symphony on the Prairie with several friends and moms from school. 
• While Deb was in WV, Sarah had a cold she couldn’t get rid of and Allison hurt her elbow playing basketball.  Needless to say, I probably didn’t take as good of care on those things as Deb usually does, so we were glad when she got home on Sunday. 
• My mom came to town to visit in late August and went to dinner with her and the Dodsons on Friday evening and spend most of the day Saturday with her, going to Allison’s basketball game and then Erin’s soccer game. 
• Debbie and I went to the Annual Bishop Chatard Fund dinner, which is exactly as it sounds.  A big celebration and dinner to get donations.  It is an impressive night and helps us get acquainted with where the girls will be going to high school. 
  

July 2024

          During the month of July, we typically see some of our schedule open up a little bit as we have fewer sports and the girls get a week at CYO camp so Deb and I get a week to catch up with each other and things around the house. 

 

            Over July 4th weekend, we had some rainy weather so we tried to do some things around town.  I took Sarah and a friend bowling on July 4th and they had fun making sure their combined score beat mine.  The following day, the 4 of us went to Top Golf.  I thought maybe everyone could get frustrated by not hitting the ball well, but the games they have for people who aren’t good at golf keep everyone having fun for the entire time.  Finally, we surprised the girls with tickets to the Fever game that weekend, which was their first time seeing Catilin Clark.  She ended up with a triple double and they defeated the best team in the league.  We ended the weekend by going to see fireworks at the Bailey’s, which has easily become the best firework show we have ever seen.       

 

Toward the end of the month, we went to St. Joseph, MI for our annual “Beachmo” weekend.  The girls and I We left on Thursday and went to a local beach.  Deb met us at the beach a few hours later, and then we checked into our hotel.   We then went out to dinner at Buck Burger & Brew and then played cards.  On Friday, we went to the beach again and spent most of the day.  That evening, Deb and Allison drove home for a basketball tournament to be played that weekend and Sarah and I stayed 

until Saturday where we enjoyed the beach and climbed the dune.  On Sunday, we drove the girls to CYO camp where they met up with many of their friends for a week of fun.  Deb and I came home and had a quiet dinner at home.  On Wednesday of that week, we celebrated Deb’s birthday by going out to dinner at Harry & Izzy’s.  Debbie also got some new earrings for her birthday.  Deb went to pick up the girls on Friday and they were exhausted from the fun week. 

                                   

Sarah’s Things of the Month

            Sarah has continued practicing some softball, either hitting the ball at Tedford’s house or meeting up with Megan Todd for a few hours.  She also went to some softball practices put on by CKS and Haverford.  Her kickball season has started and she is playing on the Cadet B team with some 7th graders. 

 

Allison’s Thing of the Month

             Allison’s basketball season with IGB ended in July with a few tournaments.  She improved a lot over this year and made some new friends.  She also participated in some basketball workouts at Bishop Chatard throughout the summer.   Her final kickball season has started and she is playing with several of her friends on the Cadet A team.

 

A few more items from this month:

• We had the Dodson’s over for dinner on a Sunday after the pool. 
• We went to 2 Indians game this month.  One was with some neighbors and it ended up being rained out.  The other was with the Cyphers when they came to town to start the moving process. 
• I was able to catch up with some high school friends over at John’s house toward the end of the month.  It was great to see him along with Brian and Gareth.
• Deb did her usual great job of organizing the used uniform sale at the school, helping the school raise a good amount of money.
• 

June 2024

      We have had a fun June, highlighted by the girls enjoying hanging out with Brooklyn who is driving them to and from their camps and hanging out with them during the day.  Both girls went to several camps at Bishop Chatard, starting with basketball and then volleyball / softball. They have also spent a lot of time at the pool, playing board games, doing puzzles and playing in the backyard.  

      During the 3rd week of June, our family spent a majority of our time at the church helping setup, participate and tear down the annual Summer Social event.  Everything went well and even though it was very hot, that is better than rain!  Allison has graduated from Tiger Town and now just walks around with her friends talking to kids from other school while Sarah and her friends “help” run the prize booth.  Debbie was in-charge of the Ticket booth and I was helping out with anything and everything that needed to be moved or fixed throughout the week.  

      We finally got our landscaping project started in June.  We now have about 80% of our yard done and paused by our sunroom so we can decide what we want for our backyard.  Deb did a great job working with Allisonville Nursery and the landscape designer.  We have been doing our best to keep things watered during the heat, so hopefully everything will last for a long time.  

            

Sarah’s Things of the Month

      Sarah’s softball team got runner-up in the tournament and the last game they lost 4-2.  It was probably the best AAA game I’ve seen at that league with both teams making very few mistakes.  Sarah also went to our first concert (Cole Swindell) with the Sechrists.

Allison’s Thing of the Month

       Allison went to a 3-day basketball camp with IGB in early June.  She also was asked to help out another IGB team that was missing a few players in late June. This was a team she had practiced with all season, so she already knew them and enjoyed playing a few extra games.  She has also participated in a few summer workout sessions with Bishop Chatard, where they invited some of the 8th graders at nearby schools.  

A few more items from this month:

•     Mom visited in early June and was able to see a few softball games for Sarah and Beth’s daughters.  

•     Randy and Anna put an offer on a house in Noblesville and it was accepted.  They had their inspection and everything is moving along with a closing later in the summer.  They came for a short visit during the month to see their realtor and inspection.  

•     Sarah marked off our annual summer checklist item of going to the Broad Ripple Farmers Market.  She enjoyed the breakfast sandwich and buying some vegetables and a treat for Timber.  

•     Allison and I went and played around of frisbee golf at Sahm park.  She played pretty well after she figured it out.  

•     I took the girls to work for our annual meal packing event.  They had fun participating and the company packed up over 21,000 meals.  

May 2024

            May was a filled with a visit from Aunt Barbs & the Cyphers, lots of track, softball and basketball and the end of the school year with both of our girls being in middle school next year. 

 

            Aunt Barbs and the Cyphers came to visit in early May before they traveled up to Michigan for Ava’s first communion.  We realized that Aunt Barbs hadn’t been here to visit in awhile when she commented on our house renovation, which we did in 2019.  She enjoyed hanging out with the girls and Timber.  We ran out of bedrooms so she slept in the office on an air mattress and Timber snuggled next to her each night.  Debbie and Sarah drove up to Michigan with Barbs on Friday before the first communion while Allison and I stayed in Indy for her basketball games that weekend.    

 

            The last month of school is usually a blur with the sports award night, field day celebration, Tiger Trot and several other school year events.  This year we got to celebrate Allison getting added to the National Honor Society which was presented at mass toward the end of the school year.  We were proud of her achieving this honor. 

                       

Sarah’s Things of the Month

            Sarah enjoyed a month of softball with a touch of baseball.  She had continued to play for the Reds at Haverford and enjoys playing for her coaches.  She has also spent a few hours on the weekends getting some extra work with one of Chatard’s varsity players.  She also attended a Butler vs. Xavier baseball game with some girls from her team and Matt Tedford.  She usually ends most days by watching some SEC, PAC 12 or Big 12 college softball games on TV.   

 

Allison’s Thing of the Month

             Allison’s basketball team had a few tournaments in May and they started playing more competitively.  She led the team to a victory in Franklin, IN where she had a great 2nd half.  She competed in the city track meet in long jump and 2 relays where her teams finished in the top 5. 

 

A few more items from this month:

• Debbie had fun with the normal group of girls at the Bassett’s lake house for a Saturday evening in early May. 
• While Debbie was in Michigan, I got a chance to make it to Tracy’s 50th birthday party in Broad Ripple. 
• We had a good time celebrating Molly’s birthday party at the Dodson house on a Sunday afternoon in mid-May. 
• Debbie and Allison helped out with the 8th grade graduation celebration at the school. 
• Allison and I went mountain biking at Town Run, which is a 7.5 mile trail a few miles from our house. 
• We enjoyed the annual tradition of watching the Indy 500 at the Sipes house.  Even though it was delayed due to rain, it was a good day with friends.