Weekend Fun.....

Went to Wade and Deborah's on Saturday evening after the Crowe Reunion. Deborah cooked t-bone steaks on the grill and had TONS of food that we all enjoyed greatly! We had such a great time with Wade and Deborah, and Jerry, Scott and Mike. Can't wait to do it again! Thanks, guys, for a fun time! :)

Jerry, Me, Deborah and Mike

Scott and Deborah

Dan and I took a ride in the tractor scoop, like I used to do as a kid. LOOK, he even has his BlackBerry in his hand here! And he says he's not addicted......

We also took a ride on the 4-wheeler.

Wade and I

Crowe Family Reunion

Had the Crowe Family Reunion this past weekend at Dykeman Park in Logansport. What a beautiful day! The weather was perfect, and I think everyone had a great time. I think there was about 40 people there. It was nice. Here's some pictures from the day.



Dan, Trevor and I. I can't believe how big he's getting. He's almost as tall as us! :) And he's so handsome!


Dan and Kyndal. She is Sky's boyfriend Pat's daughter. She's 12, and entertained us with back handsprings. What a beautiful, talented little girl! :) And such a sweetie! She latched on to Dan.






Not sure what that face is all about....but cute nonetheless.




They had a cookie contest at their reunion. (Last year, they had a chili contest. Dan won 2nd place.) Becky, Sydney and I were the judges. The cookie that won was a molasses spice cookie. Although it was difficult to choose, as they were all wonderful! Another favorite of mine was Aunt Dee's peanut butter cornflake cookie with chocolate on top! Yum!





Dan and Aisha.









Crystal, Monique, Sky and Pat playing bocce ball. (Is that what it's called?) I'd never played before, but did play one game, with Pat as my partner. He's pretty good, but we still got beat by John and Uncle Barth.

I admit I don't know who that little boy is. But, the cutie in the middle is Sydney and the other cutie is Aisha. They got gum in a bag as a prize for doing something good in a game they were playing. They had every piece in their mouth at the same time. :)







Uncle Barth brought some stilts that he made. The kids had a fun time getting on them and walking around. Trevor was pretty good at it. Although I didn't try it, I wanted to. :) I was afraid I would fall and break my neck.

Gage's Arrival

Gage Michael has finally arrived! He joined us here on Friday 9/26 at 5:09 p.m., and weighed in at 8 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 19 1/2 inches long! He's a big boy! :) Everything went fine, and he and mother are both doing well. Olivia wasn't so sure what to think right at first, but when they brought him home yesterday, she seemed to be embracing the idea of a younger brother. She has no idea what she's in for, as she's basically ruled the house for the last 22 months. (Her and Gage are exactly 22 months apart, to the day.)

He's gorgeous, a good baby, and loved by many! Congratulations to Brent and Elizabeth on their most recent addition to their family! :)

Isn't he just gorgeous?

Olivia wasn't so sure what she should think right at first. This was the first time that she held him. :) Doesn't she look thrilled? Titi and Uncle Danny with Gage, right after his birth.

Awww.....

Gage is arriving TODAY! FINALLY!

I just got back from the hospital, where I spent my lunch break today. Elizabeth, who is overdue with Gage, got induced this morning. Now it's just a game of waiting. The doctor broke her water about 12:30 today, so she should be up and walking around by now. We should have a new member of our family tonight. :-)


I remember 22 months ago exactly, being in the hospital with Olivia was born. It's a lot of waiting around, but the end result is awesome! :) It's funny to look at Olivia 22 months ago, on the day she was born. It doesn't really even look like her! Thought I would share some pictures.


Dear Gage,

We can't wait to meet you! You are such a lucky little boy, because there are so many people who love you already! Including us! We're sure you will be just as cute as your big sister! We look forward to seeing you grow up!

Love you much,
Uncle Danny and Titi

The Life of a 2 year old.....

Don't they have it great? Olivia got to stay home from school with Uncle Danny yesterday while her Mommy was getting things wrapped up at work for Baby Gage to get here. They watched Curious George, played with baby dolls, and played puzzles and books. As you can see from the picture, she's got it pretty rough. On the couch with her Ernie doll, Bogey, and her blankie, watching Curious George and getting pampered all day by Undle Danny. :-)

Lazy Sunday at the Compound

Normally, on Sundays, I like to read the newspaper, and lay around MY house and do MY thing...... but for some reason, when I woke up on Sunday morning in Marcus' living room,......I was so inclined to be lazy at his house all day long. At that particular time, there was nothing that sounded better than being lazy all day, right from the comfort of the couch. So we did. I went and picked up Dan. We laid around on the couch and watched the Colts game. Trevor played on the computer and went riding the 4-wheeler. (Took us both for rides,......he was going a little too fast for me, I was scared!) Marcus cooked some chicken wings and I made pizza dip, and we snacked and ate and I napped through almost the entire Colts game.

As you can see.......Dan's chillin' in the recliner, I'm CASHED OUT on the couch, and Trevor is watching YouTube videos. :) Ha!

Trevor taking Dan on a 4-wheeler ride.

It's so great to have friends whose homes you can invade and spend the day in their beautiful company. :) Thanks for a great, relaxing, lazy Sunday, Marcus! I spent it with my three favorite people!

Boiler Up!!

Or whatever that means..... (If anyone actually knows what "Boiler Up" means, I'd be interested in knowing. Is that like "Fire Up?" or something???....)

Purdue played Central Michigan this past weekend. I was able to get some good tickets from work, and Dan took Trevor with him. (I was still recovering from the 5K the night before. Well, maybe not the race, but the activities AFTER the race.)

It ended up being a great game, that came down to the last minute or so....Trevor said that he brings Purdue luck, because every time he's been to a game, they have won. :) They both had a good time!

At the game. Doesn't he look JUST like Dan?

TOUCHDOWN!!!

Olivia and Mommy tailgating. She was exhausted. Elizabeth was tailgating, even though she is due to have a baby any second. Maybe throwing a few cornhole bags around would provoke that little guy to come on out here! :)

Before the game......

Irish 5K

Well, I finally did it! I completed a 5K. Well.....sorta. I walked. Not ran.

Went to Indy on Friday night for the Irish Festival and the 5K night race. Was kinda' cool finishing up in the dark. It was light when we started at 8 p.m., but 49:09 later when Chanin and I finished up, it was dark. I felt pretty good the next day.....so hoping that the next one that I do, I'll be able to have a little bit of a trot in my "walk"....... and finish with a time better than 49:09.

Although, we weren't the LAST people to finish. :) Picture above is the lovely Chanin and I...... MUAH!

Hard Boiled Eggs

So.....I got this email the other day about how to peel hard boiled eggs without actually "peeling" them. I told Dan about it, and the next thing I knew, he was in the kitchen boiling some eggs. And, believe it or not, it actually works! :) It's pretty amazing, really! Take a look at this video:



Pretty amazing! Give it a try!

Fountain Mountains

Fountain Mountains. Yeah, we're pretty much addicted. Dan and I both have always drank gobs of Diet Mountain Dew in the mornings. Me, because I like the taste of it. He, because he thinks that it wakes him up. (He even drinks them in the SHOWER.) It's a tradition that on Sunday mornings, Dan goes to the Family Express and picks up a Fountain Mountain Dew, a newspaper, a $1 lottery ticket, and a surprise, and leave it on the coffee table for me when I get up. (I'm pretty spoiled, right?)

We were out of cans of Mountain Dew last week. Nightmare. He had to sleepily drive to the gas station to get a Fountain Mountain. That morning, as I was walking out the door, I expressed my displeasure that there wasn't any Mountain Dew. He graciously, like the amazing fiancee that he is, relinquished his Mountain Dew to me for the drive to work. As I'm walking out the door, he says, "Hey, Don't throw that cup away!"

I didn't think much of it, but kept the cup as ordered. It was in the cupholder of my car. A couple of days later, when he dropped me back at work from our lunch date, he said, "Hey, you didn't throw that Mountain Dew cup away, did you?" I gave it to him, and went to work, with not much thought.

Tonight, he was leaving for work. And after he left, I noticed this cup on the kitchen table. He's saving them. For what, I don't know. He's even washed it, so at least it's clean. He's always been a big recycler, but this might be taking it a LITTLE bit to the extreme. Not only are we saving the cups now, but we're also saving the straws AND the lids. (Exhibit A) I guess between the Big Kahuna cups and the $7 cups from the Colts game beers, we won't need any cups as wedding gifts. :)

Sunday Shopping

There's a few things in life that everyone has some kind of.....obsession, maybe, or a fetish with. I definitely have a couple. Unfortunately, both of them are shopping related. Jeans, and underwear. (Why couldn't I have an obsession with exercising or something??) I haven't had a shopping day for quite some time, so today, I went to the mall.

A while back, Victoria's Secret somehow got ahold of my address. Not sure how, but bless those people, they send me a free pair of underwear once a month. If you've ever gotten one of these cards, they also include $10 off any bra. Normally, I run in, grab a pair of underwear, and be on my way. Every once in a while, the guilt sets in, and I feel bad that these people give me so much free stuff, and I only buy something a few times a year, at their semi-annual sales. I cave, and buy a $50 bra. Today was one of those days. Dan was at work, and I had all the leisure time in the world to browse.

I walk from room to room glancing at everything. There's so many options. Lacy ones, plain cotton ones, silk ones, and even ones with ornamentation. Not to mention the different push-up options.

I've been browsing for about ten or fifteen minutes, and have noticed an older man standing near the dressing rooms, about five or ten feet from me. Probably a little older than my dad, grey hair, and an amused look on his face. He's leaning against a table full of lacy bras and underwear, just observing. I assume he's waiting on someone who is in the dressing room. I've narrowed my selection down to two different ones, and am just standing right in front of one of the displays, just staring. The man smiles, and says to me, "I'd definitely go with that one. The support is amazing." I smile and say "Yeah? Well, thanks!" He says, "And I'd definitely go with the white." At this point, I'm a little embarrassed, so I grab a white one and head towards the cash register.

At the same time I was heading that way, an elderly woman USING A WALKER emerges from the dressing room with a saleswoman. He says, "You ready?" and the two of them head in the same direction that I'm going. I realize that they're together, and she was who he was waiting on. This had to be his mother, as she looked every bit of 90 years old. They get into the line parallel to the one that I'm in. I'm trying not to laugh, and I'm trying not to stare. But, at this point, I'm amused, and I know that he is as well. The shit-eating grin never left his face the entire time.

It wasn't until they were paying for their purchases that I realized that Grandma was purchasing the EXACT same bra that I was. I paid for my bra and bolted out the door, only to walk all the way to Macy's laughing. Now, I have a few questions:

• Is it common for 90 year old women to wear Victoria's Secret push-up lace bras?
• Is my lingerie selection consistent with that of old people? (Maybe I'm missing something....)
• Is the fact that his mother wears the same bra his source for knowing how well supported this bra is?

Wow..... maybe I should get a job at VS. I'm sure I would be continually amused. Yeah?

Aisha Mae

What is it with these kids? They all love Uncle Danny. ... . . ...

Dan went yesterday and picked up his niece Aisha from school at Lewis Cass and hung out with her while his sister, Sky, took Eddie to the doctor.

Aisha is one of the funniest and sweetest kids you can even imagine! And she freakin' ADORES Dan. So, here's some pictures.....isn't she cute?


He took her to Happy Burger for supper and a shake.....

And they visited Grandma Crowe at her house, too! She went with them to Happy Burger!

Where were you?

Seven years ago today, the world as we knew it changed forever. It's a day that most people will never forget. Where were you?

When the first plane hit, I was on my way to class. I was going to school at IPFW in Fort Wayne that semester, and was driving to class when I heard the radio news announcement. I was on my way to a required course that I was taking titled "International Relations Among Rich and Poor Nations." Imagine the irony.

Class started at 9:00, and the first 10 minutes of class was spent watching a network news show which highlighted politics. (It was similar to "Channel One" that we all watched in junior high school.) The second plane hit at 9:03 a.m., and we watched in horror the chaos, tragedy and aftermath of the attacks.

It's interesting that you'll never forget where you were when such a tragedy struck. I know I won't. Where were you?

Please remember your troops who are overseas right now, fighting for our freedom. I have several friends who are, were, or will be over there, protecting us. Thanks to you all for what you do.

Say a prayer today for those who have lost loved ones on 9/11, and those who will forever be remembered.

Mystery Underwear

So, the case of the mystery underwear. This past weekend, I was doing some laundry, and ran across these underwear. They were in our laundry basket. At first, I thought that they were women's underwear. We have people over frequently, and go to others' houses often, too. I figured that a friend of ours had left them at our house, or we accidentally picked them up from someone else's with our things. I threw them in the wash, thinking that I would discover who the owner was later.

However, when I got them out of the washing machine, I realized that they weren't women's underwear at all. Indeed, they were MEN'S underwear. Size L 36-38. That's certainly no size of women's underwear I've ever seen before! :) Ha!

The quest began to find out who the rightful owner of the underwear was. I sent out an email to all the people who have stayed at our house recently, as well as those whose house WE have stayed at. We just wanted to know which of our male friends was sporting BIKINI briefs. :)

Well, we're not sure, still. Because, these appear to be some pretty popular underwear. We've had three people claim that they're theirs. Dan thinks he should sell them on ebay. :)

Colts Season Opener

Dan and I were fortunate enough to get tickets to the Colts game this past weekend. We ended up going with a big group of people (there were 12 of us in all) and rode a bus down from Lafayette. We had such a blast, and were so excited to be able to be there for the first game in the new Lucas Oil Stadium.

The stadium itself was pretty amazing, and we couldn’t get over how much steel and concrete went into the design and creation of it. The field looked great, and we had pretty nice seats, I might add.

The pregame stuff was pretty neat. They brought out a huge American flag that covered the entire field. There were hundreds of people who carried the flag out onto the field, and they unrolled it, held it for the national anthem. Then, rolled it back up. This whole process was pretty impressive, I might add.

The Colts performance wasn’t as impressive, but the game was fun nevertheless. And aside from spending a fortune on beer (enough to buy an entire keg), we had a great time! We’re so lucky to have such amazing friends. (Even though Serena was there rooting on the Bears!)

Leslie and I

Rick and Sinead. Sinead is Rhona’s sister who is visiting here from Ireland. She had never been to an NFL game before, nor to an event with so many people. She didn’t really understand football, but enjoyed herself, and even scored a FREE Colts tank top. (They thought that she needed to have some BLUE on.)

Bears fans. BOO! (Serena and Baker’s mom, Denise.)

Baker and I

The Bakers and the Crowes. (Well, Almost. Technically, that’s a Moss, Crowe, Bedrock and Baker), but…..easier to say the Baker’s and Crowe’s.

I think that this is such a neat picture. However, Dan has a really weird look on his face. Thanks, though, Baker, for laying down on the ground and taking it!

Had a blast! Thank you baby for the tickets! You’re the best!

Fall Update

Thought that I would send another update, downloaded some more pictures to share….
Can’t believe that we are nearing the end of the summer. BUT, fall time is here, and that’s definitely our favorite season. Fall weather, and most importantly, FOOTBALL……

I spent some time traveling recently, but think I’m finally done for a few more weeks. I was in Williamsburg, VA for a week, and then turned around and went to San Diego for a week. The weather in San Diego was beautiful, but unfortunately, I was so busy the entire time that I was there that I didn’t even leave the hotel but once, just to walk to a Starbucks for a coffee and a mug for my dear cute friend, Chanin. :) Definitely would like to visit again sometime when I can actually do some sightseeing.

However, the second night of my conference, another vendor sponsored a party with the American Idol Rejects. Remember them? She bangs! She bangs! (William Hung…..who looks like William Hung OVER in this picture) and some other guy named Renaldo something or another. These guys are known for their horrendous singing. They came to this party and sang. (The name of the party was “I HUNG with Trace Security”….very clever.) And yes, it really is that bad in person. It was pretty much a train wreck, that you couldn’t quit watching. Anyways, they took their picture with me. (That hat does not belong to me. It belongs to Renaldo.)

Most of you probably know that there are two little girls who smear a smile all over my face. My niece, Olivia, and my goddaughter, Savannah. Savannah just had her first birthday. It’s hard to believe that she’s already ONE! She’s growing so fast, talking, and walking all over the place. She’s an unbelievably beautiful and sweet baby. She had her party a couple of weeks ago. Although she wasn’t really sure about the cake at first, she definitely had icing everywhere. (Including in her ear!) Dan bought her a sock monkey for her “special” present from him. The thing was ugly as hell, but she seemed to like it. (Here she is with it below!)

I can’t recall the last time that I sent an “update” but things with Olivia haven’t changed much, I’m sure. She still loves Uncle DAAAAANNNNN the best, and tends to like him above everyone (cept’ her Mom, of course!) the majority of the time. Although, she does still remembers my name (“Titi”), and Dan assures me that this is just a phase for her. She’s getting ready to have a new baby brother sometime REALLY soon. Although her mom is about to pop any second, Elizabeth is still gallivanting around town, working, and was even reportedly spotted TAILGATING this past weekend…..although that’s not really that odd, as Elizabeth, (who purely LIVES for shopping the day after Thanksgiving) sped around the mall on Black Friday, only to go into labor with Olivia later that night. BUT, she got her shoppin’ done! :) We’re not sure exactly how Olivia’s going to do with all of this, as she’s pretty used to being the one to rule the house the majority of the time. I do think she’s excited about the baby, though. She knows EXACTLY where Baby Gage is at, and if you ask her, will promptly run to Elizabeth and pull her shirt up…..to expose her belly. And the kid is still rotten. If you ask her, she’ll proudly announce: “I’M NOT ROTTEN!” Ha! Does she LOOK like she’s not rotten….??

Trevor is back in school, and doing great! He had a fun time this summer at the lake. He finally got his dad on the tube with him this past weekend. They flipped the tube and ended up crashing into the lake at a high rate of speed, but he thought it was awesome, and couldn’t wait to get back on there! :)
He’s started football. He had a game last week against Pioneer. Although his team didn’t win, he had a great game. He had 1 sack, 5 tackles, 1 interception, and a fumble recovery. He’s doing so well, that the coaches have asked him to start practicing with the Varsity team on Wednesdays. He’s the only one from his team who got this privilege. He was nervous, as an 8th grader, practicing with seniors, but it seems to be going o.k. We’re really proud of him. (That’s him #52 in the pictures below.)

We went on a canoeing trip with our friend Chanin for her birthday. Drove down to Turkey Run and canoed down Sugar Creek. Of course, Dan and I didn’t follow directions very well. The guide told us after crossing under the suspension bridge, to stay to the LEFT, because there was a tree sticking out into the water that would suck you in and upset your canoe. Pretty simple instructions, right? Well…..if you can believe this, I was talking….. (No way!) and not paying attention. Yeah. We ended up in the tree. And before I knew it, we were also in the water. My shoes were floating downstream, we were soaked, our canoe was full of water, and the biggest bummer of all, our camera was gone. It’s probably somewhere in Kentucky right now. We weren’t so upset about the camera itself, but the great pictures from the day that were on there. Dan did manage, however, to save the most important item from the canoe. Our camouflage cooler of beer. :) I stole this picture from Chanin (thank you!), it’s one of the few pictures that we have from the day. :( We did have a great time, though!

Hope this finds everyone well……and enjoying the end of summer and beginning of fall. We’re looking forward to some tailgating time rooting on the Boilermakers, the birth of Baby Gage, Monday Night Football, some quality time catching up at family reunions coming soon, and a weekend trip to a SURPRISE destination (Well, it’s a surprise to Dan. I know where we’re going.). Fall is here, and we couldn’t be more excited!!