Notre Dame Beats Purdue

Late Friday afternoon Bruce received a call from WRBR letting him know he had won entry into their Notre Dame tent party, along with two friends. Kelly and I were happy to join him.


We ate tons of free food from Taco Bell, played the corn hole game and ran into several friends and neighbors.


One of the WRBR staffers was passing out t-shirts using a shirt cannon. Rather than pointing the cannon in the air, he aimed it right at my stomach. I sure wasn't expecting that. It didn't hurt, but really surprised me. Not being a big fan of either t-shirts or Miller Lite beer, I happily gave the t-shirt to Kelly.


Bruce visits with neighbor Bonnie and her daughter, Tamera.
After the party we headed over to Between the Buns to watch the game.

Sunny Day at Fish Lake

It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend. Here, Bruce gazes out over Fish Lake, at Mike and Cheryl's Labor Day cookout.

Cheryl made some awesome and super hot salsa with tomatoes from her garden.

Her neighbor brought pickles that he made with cucumbers from his garden.

We brought brownies made with chocolate from Betty Crocker's garden.

Sunday on the St. Joe

I got up early this morning to make brownies and baked beans for a cookout to celebrate Dar's birthday.

Then, I uploaded some photos to Snapfish and had them printed at the OC Mall (Wal-Mart), drove out to pick them up, bought a card and picture frame, wrapped the gift, came home, packed up the food and Bruce and picked up Grandma for a bit of shopping and lunch.

In all of my rushing around, I forgot my camera and the veggies I was going to give Grandma. And, I forgot to get gas. So, a few back and forth trips across Osceola later, it was finally time to relax.

By that time, the clouds had all blown away and the humidity was gone and all that was left was enjoying the afternoon.

Happy Birthday Fria

Don't you just love it when your friends take you to Hacienda for lunch on your birthday and make you wear the birthday sombrero.

Sure it would have been better if it was after work when we could have enjoyed a birthday margarita, but lunch with soggy chips (it was really humid Friday), Diet Coke and good friends comes in a close second.

I think I got rid of six Hacienda sombreros at my last garage sale. I bet there are a ton of them donated to Good Will. They're fun for about an hour, but then what do you do with them???

RIP Misty Sue

Our friend, Darla, has the cutest little Pomeranian named Misty Sue. A couple of weeks ago, Misty took a big jump and broke her front leg. The vet said since the bones were so small, there was a chance that it would never heal properly and advised amputation.

We saw Misty Monday and she was getting along fine with three legs. She was happy and healthy and running around like a little puppy.

Tuesday Misty got her stitches out and as she arrived home, Darla reached around to grab her to get her out of the car. Instead, Misty jumped out of the car and broke her other front leg. Dar immediately returned to the vet and was told there wasn't anything that could be done for Misty so she was put to sleep.

We're so sorry for your loss, Darla. Misty was such a sweet little dog.

Touristy Tuesday

We started our Touristy Tuesday with lunch at Matuba's in South Bend. Owner, Robert, came out to greet all six of us and then got to work creating his masterpieces.

Monday on the River

I took a couple of days off work while sis-in-law Gretchen was in town. The weather Monday was perfect for a day on the river. Rick and Dar were our guides for a three-hour tour down the St. Joe.

A very unique totem pole is being carved along the river.

This blue heron and several turtles are enjoying the sunshine.

Darla brought along bread to feed the swans. As we pulled away, they lined up behind the boat and followed us until they realized the free handouts were finished.

Another Hog Roast

The second party of the day was a hog roast at Tim and Joanie's place. Here, Kim demonstrates what his neck bone looked like a year ago, after a fall down his basement steps.

Happy Birthday Mike

Today's first of four parties was a birthday celebration for Mike. After I downloaded my photos I realized I didn't have any pictures of the birthday boy. But, I do have this photo of Bob Olando (left), home from his third tour of duty in Iraq. Bob gets a bit embarrassed when people give him praises for his service to America, but he certainly deserves our thank yous.

Congratulations Hootie and Buddy

Joelle (Hootie) and Buddy celebrate their wedding in Osceola tonight with just about everyone we know from Osceola in attendance. The actual wedding ceremony took place at the Japanese Garden in Mishawaka.

Many great photos from the weekend...

... are stuck on my camera. I dropped it last week -- it fell out of my purse on the driveway at work. It's been letting me take photos and I think there are over 100 on there now. But tonight it gives me a Memory Card Error message.

Hopefully I can work with Canon to get a repair or replacement fairly quickly.

Until then, the photos that you would see if I could get them off my camera include...

16 tons of dirt being delivered by a huge dump truck and now piled in the middle of my front yard.

New landscaping along the front of the house -- using some of the dirt and many plants from Vite's Greenhouse's $1 perennial sale.

Awesome hog roast party with live band, great food and a bonfire that got so big that the fire department came to put it out.

Lunch, Dinner and a Bonfire Shared With Friends

I seriously need to get out my camera's instruction manual and learn how to take photos in a dark setting with a bright background. The shadow people below are really Cheryl, Fria and I enjoying Friday lunch at our favorite spot -- Hacienda. Congratulations on your new job Fria, they are lucky to have you and I wish you much success.


It seemed like everyone else in Osceola was home grilling out while Michael, Kelly, Dave, Bonnie, Bruce and I had the patio at Between the Buns practically to ourselves.

We ended the evening with a bonfire at neighbor Judy's house. Kelly had planned to make s'mores for Michael as he'd never experienced this American treat, but he gets a bit overwhelmed in our huge American grocery stores so they decided not to go shopping today.

Frank's Joy Ride

Tonight was the annual Frank's Joy Ride concert. Just as promised on their website, it was a night of super charged roadhouse rock. Although all grown up now with responsible jobs and wonderful families, Doug (IT professional) and Tim (2nd grade teacher) and their band mates make the trek back to Lafayette once a year to cut loose and rock on.

Thanks so much for the entertainment guys, we had an absolute blast!

It's not very often that I'm out in public, listening to a great band and suddenly feel compelled to dance. But, once a year I just can't control my happy feet and it happens. I make a complete fool of myself while having the time of my life. Aren't I lucky that my loving husband was there with the camera to document the event. Dan, a professionally trained dancer (he took dance lessons right before he married Deanna so he wouldn't trip up during their first dance together), made me look like I half-way knew what I was doing on the dance floor.

Just shy of their second wedding anniversary, my Goddaughter, Tabitha, with her husband Eric, share a dance to one of the few slow Frank's Joy Ride songs.

Kelly thanks Tim for bringing food to 11 starving people. Bruce, and I, along with Tim, Wes, Jenna and Colt had dinner at Arni's Loading Dock in Market Square before the show. I grew up on Arni's pizza and, to this day, have not tasted a pizza that I like better. Not to mention their Junior Salad that somehow tastes fresher than any other restaurant salad.

Dave called my cell phone in a panic around 5:30pm asking if I knew that everyone else was planning to eat at the Tick Tock before the show. I actually did know that, but I had my taste buds set on Arni's so I just asked Dave to save us a few seats for the concert. About an hour later, Kelly called to tell me that the kitchen at the Tick Tock was closed for the evening. So, we ordered three large pizzas and a few Junior Salads for takeout. It was funny to see all of them in the Tick Tock restaurant waiting for us to deliver them food from Arni's.

Dave Stoike is now the lead singer of Big Willie and the Naked Bus Drivers. When we were in school, Dave recorded a few songs that appeared on the Bob & Tom show. We always knew he'd be famous.
Eric and his uncle-in-law, Marc, share a bonding moment.

Here's Heather rocking out at the kids' table while Mom and Dad watch over her. Most of the kids (Tab, Eric, Heather, Travis, Wes and Jenna) are over 21 now so it was nice that they were able to join us at the show. Colt, Jerry's youngest boy, is not yet of legal age to be in a club so he joined us for dinner at Arni's, but not for the concert.

The Cheese Guys -- my brother Mike and Dave's brother Marc. I never take good candid people photos so I usually say, "Cheese Guys" to get the attention of my photo subjects.

Bruce and I in our cool shades. We've never been the type of couple to dress in matching clothing. But, now that I see this photo, it looks like we color coordinated this evening.

Rick, Kelly and Dan remembering old times and making new memories.

Randy and Janelle made the trip over from Ohio for the show. Together they've raised six kids... and they still look like kids themselves. Randy has a rewarding career in the Air Force. Following retirement after 20 years of active duty, he's now a citizen employee of the Air Force. He still won't tell us the real secret about the happenings at Area 51.

Dave, Dan and Rick threw the best parties during the summers of our college years. Dave and Rick lived together in a house on 52 south of Lafayette and Dan's grandmother had a farm not too far down the road. I can still remember hearing Dan's grandmother yelling from the house, "Danny, are there girls out there???" We were a group of giggly girls back then.

Randy reminded me of our bottle rocket battle at Dave & Rick's house where one of the fireworks went right under the car of the Police Officer who was called out because our music was too loud.

It's no surprise that our friendships have remained strong even after so many years and with so many miles between us all.

Dan, Rick and Cindy haven't been seen together for years. I think the last time I saw Rick was at a wedding more than 20 years ago. He's now upstanding citizen of the state of Minnesota.

Yes, a few of the old crowd were not there to share the festivities with us tonight, and we missed them all. But, there's always next year so book your plane tickets early -- as soon as Tim and Doug schedule the Frank's Joy Ride concert for 2009.

Annual Independence Day Blast at Jerry's

Bruce and I missed out on kick ball this year. We left the party for a few hours to visit with my family. When we returned Kelly was recovering from a knee-to-the-head injury she sustained while sliding into first base.

Cheese Art. This is a really bad photo of a really great idea. If you fold in the corners of your cheese slices, they don't melt over the edge of your hamburgers and into the charcoal.

It took a few hours for the fire to burn down enough for Jenna to roast marshmallows for s'mores. I had a s'more without the graham cracker and marshmallow. When I was about 10 years old, I was at summer camp and got really sick after eating marshmallows. Turns out I had the flu, but I always associate being sick with marshmallows so I don't eat them.

It's all fun and games until someone shoots an eye out. The guys were shooting off fireworks when Eric handed me a roman candle. I thought it might be fun to shoot it off, but at the last minute had a vision of it exploding in my hand and me trying to type one-handed and I quickly passed it back to him.

Somehow Tabitha got an eye full of ash from shooting off fireworks.

Cookout and Guitar Hero

Kelly and Michael (her friend from London / Jamaica) came over this afternoon to watch the World Cup Soccer finals.

Luckily, the match was on one of the local channels so Michael could watch it on the big TV in high definition.

We made a couple beer-up-the-butt chickens on the grill to show Michael how the crazy Americans eat.

After dinner I introduced him to another crazy American past time -- Guitar Hero Aerosmith.

By the end of the evening, Michael was a Rock Star.

Welcome to America, Michael

It's been three years since we last saw Michael. He's the English / Jamaican boyfriend of our friend Kelly.

They met in Jamaica a few years ago, while Kelly was on a medical mission. His family owned the resort the doctors and nurses stayed in during their trip.

Michael lives in London so he was still a big jet lagged from his long flight Thursday.

Many friend were on hand at Hacienda to welcome Michael to America -- Mexican style.

We're Famous

Bruce and I are featured on the home page of the Hacienda website.

So are our friends Kelly and Heather.

Both photos were taken last July when Dave, Kelly, Heather and Travis came up to visit. We spent the day at Weco Beach and then went to Hacienda to celebrate Kelly's birthday.

Sex and the City Premier

Four fabulous friends -- Kelly, Sharon, Cheryl and Donna -- went to the premier of Sex and the City Friday night in South Bend.


We met at Hacienda before the premier and gathered there after to discuss our favorite parts of the movie.

Some of my favorite scenes of the show:

* Charlotte accidentally drinks the water in Mexico and has an embarrassing reaction.

* How the blue shoes in the closet of the Manhattan penthouse bring Carrie and Big together.

* The hunk that lived next door to Samantha.

* The fact that Miranda was too busy at work to schedule a wax before leaving on vacation.

Spike Wants to Play

We had a houseful of friends over this evening for a card party.

While the gals played euchre and "Screw Your Neighbor", the guys played poker.

Poor Spike couldn't get into either game.

Happy Birthday Cheryl

We celebrated Chery's "29th" birthday at our favorite place, Hacienda. Too bad it was at lunch time and we all had to drink Diet Cokes instead of margaritas.




Hope you had a wonderful birthday Cheryl.

Cheers,

Sharon