A day without a Mexican...

restaurant, that is. We had a welcome-home from Peru dinner for Patty, Curtis' girlfriend, and the only reasonable, sit-down dining place with Mexican flair available was the chain-errific Chili's. It was also the first time we really got to meet Patty's family, as well. Patty's generosity and thoughtfulness was wonderful, as she brought back a Peruvian gift for each of us. For Jon, she brought a set of pipes of pan (as if he wasn't making enough noise already :-) ), and for Cortney,  a decorative mirror. The margaritas and fajitas were plentiful, and, while cross-table conversation can be quite a challenge with such a large group, we really had a great time.

We continue to pray for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.  www.redcross.org

"Watch out, Jon's in manly mode!"

That has to be the quote of the day.  As if we had a quote of the day.  Well, we do in this entry, and as one can tell by the picture, Jon really was in manly mode this evening; with a hatchet (a purchase he was very proud of) and his goggles he set out to break up some fire wood for tonight’s deck fire (this being after he grilled the burgers, too).  Now, if that isn’t manly mode, what is?  I suppose we could have added a flannel shirt.  Kristin and Matt tell us that part is required for the Lumberjack Competition on ESPN.  But flannel or no, Jon and Matt got the job done and all four of us felt strangely proud to roast marshmallows over a good strong fire that we built ourselves. The last time Jon and I tried to build a fire in our new outdoor fireplace we failed miserably and the partially burned logs from that evening are still gracing our catch-all box (read: old sandbox) in the backyard.  But tonight we were successful and it felt like a right of passage – we made a fire without the help of the scout master!  By the way, we also underwent another right of passage today, this one a hold over from the 1950s suburban American dream – Matt and Kristin called to borrow an egg to make the cake that they were bringing over for dessert tonight.  Now, we realize that it wasn’t a cup of sugar, but we figure that this is close enough.  Yes, I suppose we are adults now… when we want to be.

Michigan football countdown:  6 days to go!

Rock N Roar, Toledo Zoo

Who said the seventies were dead?  We went with Kristin and Matt to the Rock and Roar party at the Toledo Zoo tonight.  We're not sure why it was the Rock and Roar party as opposed to the Disco Mania Night, but we had fun just the same.  By the way, Elvis really isn't dead and neither are bell bottoms or platform boots.  We also met Austin Powers, or at least saw him try to dance with lots of girls.  Notably, we did some of our own boogying, but we learned upon arrival that the days of arriving too early at a party to be cool do not stop with middle school.  Thus when we arrived promptly at the beginning of the shindig, we spent most of our time entertaining the wildebeast and zebras, not to mention the various crane birds (hey, some of them have the afro built in).  Once people started arriving, however, our attention was drawn swiftly from the grazing ungulates to the oddities gracing the makeshift dance floor.  There are only so many gyrating afros one can stand, so we joined them.  Kristin and Cortney had the moves down.  Matt and Jon just bopped.  The souvenir martini glasses with seven different LED light settings in the stems were totally worth any amount of disco embarrassment, though, right?

Wedding #3 (or #4, depending...)

I told everyone this summer that in July we had 4 weddings and a musical (nevermind that one of those weddings was in June and we didn’t even go, it still sounded funny).  This weekend was the fourth and final wedding, and it was a great way to close the season.  Our friends James and Jessa were the lucky couple and they got married in the park right on the Huron River, with the sun glinting off ripples in the water and light breeze keeping the attendants as cool as possible.  We may have gone a little crazy at the party.  We (along with Curtis, Patty, Sara and an unnamed little girl) were the last to leave the dance floor at midnight.  The really amazing thing is that with all of those weddings, at least one of them should have suffered a rain storm or something, but it didn’t happen.  This wedding was just as sunny and bright as the others.  Fantastic.  And now on to the musical, Sondheim’s Into the Woods, musical direction by Jon.  Actually, they have already been rehearsing for the entire month of July, but the opening night is Thursday.  It’s going to be a busy week.

Wedding #1

Today was perfect for a wedding.  The sun was shining, the clouds were scarce and the wedding itself went off without a hitch, except for that of the bride and groom of course.  The most stand-out part of the wedding was the music.  Because both Nathan and Diane are UofM music school alumni, they had both a brass and a string quartet set up on either side of the nave.  The groups took turns playing, collaborating on a couple of the pieces in a way that echoed throughout the church.  It was fabulous.  After Cortney took her history exam online in the hotel room, we went back to town for the evening picnic celebration, complete with fried chicken and square dancing!  The best part about the day?  We weren’t lost once!