November2019

            November was our time to get things back to as normal as possible before the holidays.  We had several weekends home without too many activities so we spent that time settling into the new kitchen and cleaning up all the leaves that had fallen. 

 

            Thanksgiving weekend had a lot of things going on this year.  It started off by the girls and I enjoying the Wednesday before the holiday by going out to lunch and seeing Frozen 2.  Deb and I then went to the Watkins’ house for their annual Friends Thanksgiving where it was good to see so many friends we don’t get to see often enough.  We all woke up early to go run the Drumstick Dash in Broad Ripple.  Deb and Sarah kept up a good pace while Allison and I ran the entire 2.75-mile course.  We rushed home to continue preparing food as we were hosting Thanksgiving dinner later that evening for close to 20 people from my side of the family.  Deb did a great job preparing the entire meal and planning everything out.  I tried to do what I was told and stay out of the way all other times.  As it was our first time preparing a meal for Thanksgiving, we asked Tom and Tracy to come over and help us.  They came over (along with Lawton) on Wednesday to help prep the dishes and the turkey and Tracy came back on Thanksgiving to help put the turkey in the oven.  They were a tremendous help and made the day about as stress-free as possible. Everyone arrived around 2PM on Thanksgiving and we watched football and enjoyed talking and catching up while the kids played in the basement.  We enjoyed having everyone over and look forward to hosting more events in the future! 

 

            We continued the holiday weekend on Friday by going to Lucas Oil Stadium to watch Bishop Chatard win their 14^th state championship.  The girls enjoyed cheering on the team and saw many of their friends at the game.  On Saturday, my mom came over to watch the IU vs. Purdue football game and then we went over to the Dodson’s to have dinner and play cards.  That was our plan until Sarah had a little injury in the basement, where she twisted her ankle playing in the basement.  Deb and I both went home in case she was in too much pain and needed to get it checked out immediately.  Luckily, she was pretty tough and we were able to wait until Monday so Deb could simply take her to work to get it evaluated.  It was hard to tell if she broke a bone or has a severe sprain, but the treatment of wearing a boot for 3 to 4 weeks would be required either way. 

                         

Sarah’s Things of the Month

Earlier in the month, she went to a birthday party for Maura.  She is also enjoying taking part in girls scouts and all the activities it offers.  She went to a movie night at CKS to see “The Grinch.” 

 

Allison’s Thing of the Month

            Allison participated in the All Saints mass at school by dressing up as St. Margaret Mary.  We also went to an early Sunday brunch to celebrate the cross-country season.  She has also played some good basketball with her classmates in the a pre-CYO league sponsored by Cathedral.

 

A few more items from this month:

• Deb had another work trip to Tennessee this month.  She went to Nashville for a leadership retreat.
• While she was in Nashville, Beth came over to hangout, have a few beers and catch up. 
• We went to a community night at CKS.  There was dinner served along with activities in each classroom for the kids to participate in. 
• I met up with Bleill, Watkins, Lawton and Anderson for some beers at Daredevil brewery.  It was good to see everyone and hear how everyone is doing. 
• Deb went over to a brunch at Nikki’s during the month with some other mom’s from CKS. 
• We got some Purdue basketball tickets from my Aunt Linda.  We drove around the campus and then went into the game a little early.  The girls enjoyed the game and loved watching the student section and trying to mimic what they were doing. 
• We went to the Steffey’s house for their annual Friends Thanksgiving dinner.  We enjoyed the ping-pong tournament afterwards and playing some games afterwards. 
• Deb went to Shannon’s for a sign-making class.  All the girls made some simple signs they could put in their kitchen and enjoyed hanging out. 
• We went to the Knights of Columbus for Jan McHugh’s 40^th birthday party.  We enjoyed seeing all of the usual CKS crowd, but I also enjoying running into an old co-worker (Chad) and his wife. 
  

October 2019

October 2019

            At the end of October, we had our renovation done!  We have taken a few weeks to pull things out of our attic and basement and put our main floor back together.  Debbie did a great job picking everything out and couldn’t have done it without the design help from Jessie nor assistance from our contractor Shawn. Everything looks great and as you could expect, I didn’t have much to do with any of that! 

            I’d be lying if I said the renovation was completely smooth, but there were things that we couldn’t control.  During demo, we realized that most of our first floor had paint over wallpaper, so that required additional drywall work.  We found aluminum wiring throughout and had to replace all of that.  We had some delays for the flooring sub-contractor to work us into his schedule.  The countertops were delayed due to lost emails and contracts.  We were told that items like these were to be expected and would likely increase the cost.  Both things happened but the finished product looks great and we are looking forward too many years to come with this improved layout! 

            For fall break this year, we went to Davis to hang out with Randy and Anna and enjoy the fall season in WV.  We did some hiking, fishing, rock-climbing and rode a scenic ski lift.  We enjoyed seeing some neighbor friends (Kathy, Bev and John).  We went to dinner at Sirianni’s and had some beers at Stump Town Ales.  On Saturday, we caught a WVU football game on the way home and stayed a hotel that evening.  Deb hadn’t been to a game in nearly 20 years, so it was exciting for her and the girls enjoyed the environment and tailgating, even though it was a little chilly! 

                         

Sarah’s Things of the Month

Sarah had a busy month.  She enjoyed one field trip with her class and another with her daisy troop (Deb went along for both of these).  She went to Zoe Campbell’s birthday party and has Reagan Seachrist over to play after school one day.  She enjoyed her soccer season and that ended the last weekend of October.  We had her parent-teacher conference and she is doing very well with grades and behavior.   

Allison’s Thing of the Month

            Allison was also busy with her soccer season ending and then she went right into a basketball league at Cathedral with her classmates.  She also had a field trip to downtown Indy (Deb went along).  I was the mystery reader for her class for one Friday in October and Deb also volunteered to read in the room.  At Allison’s parent-teacher conference, her teacher was complimentary and she is getting all A’s.

A few more items from this month:

• We gathered with several CKS families one Friday in the parking lot of the school and then walked over to the Chatard football game. 
• Deb went to Knoxville for a work conference.  While there, she was able to head to a Tennessee women’s soccer game and enjoyed exploring the city. 
• We were able to attend Lobsterfest at the Bassett’s this fall.  We enjoyed seeing everyone and enjoying our annual fill of lobster! 
• I was with the girls for the first time ever without Debbie for flu shots.  They seemed really brave until the time came for the shots. I found myself bear-hugging each of them when their turn came.  I hate needles and I’m sure my parents had to do much more when I was a kid. 
• My mom has moved to Ohio to live with Laura.  To help her get ready for the move, Lawton and I helped pack up her house into 2 PODS with the help of some high school kids. 
• We enjoyed an evening at Bongees in Perkinsville, IN.  It is usually fun to tailgate and have a few beers beforehand, but it was raining the entire day so we decided to meet at the Pigman’s instead! 
• I enjoyed networking with John Oblazney over coffee and Jenny Quinnette over breakfast in October. 
• I was able to meet up with some of my co-workers from Hurco for lunch.  It was great to see Becky, Jane and Mamata to catch up. 
• We hosted the neighborhood Halloween party again and it had most of our neighborhood in our garage trying to stay warm due to the crazy winds and cold temperatures.  The girls had fun running with their friends and didn’t seem to get cold until the sun went down. 

 

September 2019

             As we come to the end of September, things are starting to come together with our renovation and we can see some sort of normalcy in our lives.  Some of the kid’s activities have ended and as we start to get our house back together, we are excited to have our new kitchen and fewer things on the calendar. 

            Our goal was to complete the kitchen by the end of September, but a few setbacks along the way have this project likely coming to an end in early October.  Nothing too major, just timing of some of the contractors have had us adjusting the schedule.  As of now, the floors and drywall are done and the cabinets are installed.  We are hoping the trim work, paint and counter tops can get done in early October.  After we take a deep breath from that, we will unpack and invite anyone that wants to come over to see the great work of our contractor, designer and Debbie!  We have a had a lot of dinners made for us and people who have invited us over for meals, so I don’t want to try to list everyone off.  However, we do owe a big thanks to Brandon and Diane who opened up their house to us for 2 nights while our flooring was being finished and stained.  Their hospitality was very much appreciated and we enjoyed a few nights on their back porch and catching up. 

            Randy and Anna came for a visit in mid-September.  They came to town for a doctor appointment for Randy’s knee and they did a “Metal Walk” with Debbie’s clinic where they celebrate artificial knees and hips.  We also utilized the free babysitting to go to Kent Campbell’s surprise party at the Red Room on Friday and we went to our neighborhood’s progressive dinner on Saturday.  Anna also took the opportunity to get some more information and measurements for the Halloween costumes she is making for the girls. 

                         

Sarah’s Things of the Month

Sarah enjoyed a hike with her Daisy troop at Cool Creek Park in Carmel.  She enjoyed exploring and seeing he friends on the weekend.  She completed the basketball clinic at school and enjoyed singing at church in the choir.  We were concerned that she was on a soccer team where she doesn’t know anyone, but she is having fun and even playing a little bit of soccer. 

Allison’s Thing of the Month

            Allison completed the basketball clinic at school and her kickball season came to an end.  She also sang during mass this month in the children’s choir.  She has continued playing soccer for Coach Mo and is enjoying playing on the larger field and being able to play goalie.  She is still running cross-country but struggling to get a better time than what she was able to do in 2^nd grade. 

A few more items from this month:

•            We went to a cookout at the O’Rourkes over Labor Day weekend.  The highlight of the evening was that our girls both rode bikes off a home-made ramp at their house!  We enjoyed seeing several families from school.  
• ·         The girls had their school pictures taken this month. 
• ·         We were able to see my cousin, Chelsea, for the first time in over a year.  It was great to catch up with her and her fiancé while they were in town before heading off to their next adventure. 
• ·         Kent Campbell came over and helped me cut down a dying tree in our yard.  To be honest, I moved around limbs while he utilized his chain saw as I don’t think I’m coordinated enough to use one! 
• ·         We went to the annual Smokefest party at Brandon & Diane’s.  The kids were off playing most of the time while we got a chance to catch up with friends. 
• ·         Mom and I went to lunch in late September.  She has sold her condo and is moving to Ohio, so it is nice to see her a few extra times. 
• ·         Beth and I had a few beers and caught up on at her house one evening. 
• ·         I went to a Financial Executive Institute event at Ruth’s Chris.  I was invited by a college friend of mine and it was great to see her and enjoy an evening learning and networking. 
• ·         I met up with Sonja for lunch.  Always good to see her to get some career advice and share some laughs! 
• ·         Christ the King had church in Broad Ripple park.  It was a great event that allows for the parish to gather for mass and a picnic.  We had to leave the picnic early to make it to Sarah’s soccer game. 
• ·         The girls went to a movie night put on by the PTO in the gym.  Deb and I utilized that time to have a quiet dinner at home and clean up the house from the renovation progress from the week. 
• ·         Deb completed her first 5K as part of the Women’s 5K and Mini-marathon.  She ran the entire time and the girls and I were there to cheer for her! 
• ·         Deb and Monica also volunteered for the 2^nd year in a row to organize Grandparent’s Day at school. 

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