#38 Funny T-Shirts

Several years ago I found two fart t-shirts and gave them to Aaron for his birthday. Last year, while looking on the Internet for birthday gift ideas for him, I came acrosse a great Web site - www.cafepress.com. They have t-shirts and other gifts for every occasion. I found a great one and gave it to him for his 18th birthday - it has a picture of a wooden bar stool on the front, with the title, "Solid Stool Company". Below that it says, "Because there's nothing like a good, solid stool." I like it because it's subtle.

When Christmas came around I looked around for swim-themed t-shirts and came up with this one:



He wears it proudly!

#37 Senior Night

No, I'm not talking about senior citizens, I'm talking about New Palestine High School swimming and diving team's senior night, which was held Tuesday, January 26. Aaron is a senior this year. I have been going to watch him swim since his days at Doe Creek Middle School and have never taken pictures! This was the night. That night he swam in the 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay, 100 backstroke and the 400 freestyle relay. I think he usually only does the 200 medley, 100 backstroke and the 400 freestyle(?). I can't keep track. :-) He is a four-year letter winner and his most memorable moment is winning this year's Hoosier Heritage Conference meet for the first time. He will attend Purdue University to study pharmacy. I am very proud of him! Not only is he a good swimmer and a smart student, but he's a great "kid" (young man) and lots of fun. (And the third from the left.)



If you've seen one person swim, you've pretty much seen them all, but here's his leg of the 200 medley relay. He's the third swimmer up from the black handrail. Enjoy...

#36 "Very Superstitious..."

While driving back from Lexington, Aaron called me with a request. He is a huge Colt's fan and was excited that they were going back to the Super Bowl. "Aunt Linda, I'm really superstitious, and since we went to the last Super Bowl in Miami, we need to go to this one too." As fate would have it, when the Colt's made it to Super Bowl XLI, two face-value tickets fell into my lap. One person had already passed on them, and I even offered them to another person, but they regretfully declined. After thinking it over I decided it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So Aaron and I made our way to Miami. We stayed with a friend of a friend in Coral Gables. We arrived very late Saturday night. We took a bus to the stadium and our butts hit the seats just as Billy Joel was to sing the National Anthem.

The whole experience was very surreal. I never in a million years thought I would be at a Super Bowl. I've been to many Final Fours and even the US Open, but this was crazy. It was also very wet. It rained all day and most of the game. Aaron put blue paint in his hair and it dripped down his face and pooled in the corners of his eyes.



Unfazed, he told me "This is what football is all about!" He also said at one point, "I will remember this for the rest of my life." Me too. Prince was awesome at halftime and his song "Purple Rain" was very appropriate. Most importantly, the Colts were victorious!



So back to this year. I have put out some feelers for tickets but think it will be an even bigger long shot than the last time. Aaron also informed me that my brother will not pay for the trip this time. When I asked him how he would pay for it he looked at me and said, "A loan from my Aunt Linda?" Hmmmm. I will have to think about that.

#35 Bluegrass Road Trip

Megan and I took a road trip last Sunday to Lexington, KY to watch the Lady Cats take on the Auburn Lady Tigers at Memorial Coliseum. We did this two years ago and decided to do it again. Unfortunately, the outcome was the same. The Lady Tigers lost. By 18. Ouch! Kentucky was very quick and shot a lot better. Nonetheless, we had a fun trip. I was impressed with the large crowd in attendance. We had to drive around the block to find a place to park. Megan didn't plan on the rain and her cute moccasins got wet walking to the game.

After the basketball game we listened to the second half of the Colt's game on the radio as we drove home. Auburn travels to Lexington once every two years so it was a small sacrifice to miss the football game. Megan and I also got a chance to wear our Aubie t-shirts.



I'm glad Megan enjoys going on trips with me - she's lots of fun. She spent the night Saturday night and we watched "P.S., I Love You." Great movie!

#34 Blue Friday

No, I'm not feeling down and out, it's Colt's Blue Friday! We are allowed to wear jeans and Colt's gear at work during playoff Fridays (thanks to a $5 donation to Haiti). I decided to wear my vintage #4 Jim Harbaugh jersey. Hopefully I won't jinx the team. I'm not superstitious but some people think if you wear a particular shirt one time and you win, you have to wear it the next time. Last Friday I wore my regular old Colt's t-shirt. Time will tell...

P.S. Thanks to Denise for giving me the fabulous jersey. She didn't want it anymore and it was either me or the Goodwill.

#32 Maggie and Sophie

Last Saturday I visited Alyce and her new baby Maggie (see Post No. 22). We had a nice visit and I even got to dress Maggie. After tossing me her clothes, Alyce told me that she hates having her clothes changed and she would cry. Thanks a lot! I don't think I've ever dressed a two week old baby. Maggie was a champ, even though she did cry a little.



I also took Sophie for a walk. Allan works weekends and I thought she could use the exercise. We walked for an hour and it was fun to pretend I had a dog. I ran with her for about a mile and then she pooped. After that we just walked - it's hard to run with a dog on a leash in one hand and a bag of poop in the other. After we got back, Sophie crashed on the couch. Apparently she was "pooped" out!

#31 1, 2, 3...JUMP

Alyce and Allan were married September 15, 2008. I was honored to be one of the bridesmaids. The photographer was very creative and had us doing all kinds of things before the wedding. One shot was to get all the bridesmaids to jump in the air on the count of three.



The photographer had a bit of difficulty with me. When she got to three, I would squat down, but since I'm so tall it took me too long to get in the air and I was never on cue with the others. Finally she suggested I squat down on the count of two. It worked! After seeing the final photo Alyce and I laughed so hard. I took up the entire frame! When I do something, I really put my all into it! At least my face wasn't covered up with the bouquet like one of the other girls... (Note: The girl on the far right had a broken arm so give her some slack for not jumping very high.)