Surprise!

Margy and I decided to have a joint surprise 18th birthday party for Tommy and Danny. We plotted and planned for several weeks and we ALMOST pulled it off. Danny found out just a few minutes before the party began (phone call from a friend asking when Tommy's surprise party started!).


Danny was a good sport and Tom was VERY surprised. They enjoyed the evening with their friends, some great food, a bonfire, and a scrapbook created with pictures taken and printed at the party!

Happy 18th birthday!

Backpacking adventure!

On October 4th a few of the 'indy lady hikers' headed south towards Nashville, Indiana stopping for breakfast at Cracker Barrel on the way, arriving at the trailhead inside Blackwell Horse Camp about 11:00.



We shouldered our packs (after an emergency repair by Pat) and I tried to remember what all the straps were for (it's been a while since we hiked with our large packs). The camp was clean and quiet and we set off along the Grubb Ridge Trail.


We mapped out an 8 mile hike to the Peninsula and the day was delightful. Some of the trail was also a horse trail, so we stepped carefully. The terrain was mostly level. We stopped a couple of times, once for lunch and another time for a quick break (just to take the pack off for a few minutes). We arrived at the tip of the peninsula about 3:00 and scouted out the campsites. The first one we saw had the promised fire ring and a level place for tents, but also had an unexpected picnic table! We immediately claimed that site with our backpacks and set off for an exploration of the area.


The shoreline as far as we could see was trees, trees, trees with just a hint of fall color. The sun was shining and it was quiet and secluded. We saw a couple of other camp sites inhabited, but they are so far apart that it's like being there alone. We explored for a bit and then returned to camp to set up the tents and get our gear organized. We got water from the lake and gathered firewood for later. Pat made us coffee (and tea), we wrestled our thermarests into the chair covers and moved down to the shore. We relaxed there for an hour or more, just enjoying the scenery and each other's company.




Back at the campsite, we prepared for dinner. Durena brought cheese and crackers for the appetizer, Pat made bratwurst on buns with coleslaw for dinner and I brought dessert (s'mores of course!). We enjoyed a peaceful evening sitting around the fire, watching a spectacular sunset, trading hiking stories, gazing at the stars, and roasting marshmallows, venturing further away each time for more firewood.


The temperature dropped overnight and we boiled water and started another fire as soon as we got up (firewood much easier to find in the daylight!). We were not in any hurry and spent a couple of hours over breakfast and coffee, discussing future planned and possible trips.

Eventually we broke camp, packed up and headed back along the Peninsula Trail. We took a slightly different route back, along the rest of the Grubb Trail loop. We had an option to make it an 11 mile day, but kept it to 8 as it was getting late and we still had a 2 hour drive back home. We stopped for lunch once at a great clearing (with logs to sit on!) and talked to some fellow hikers.


It was another beautiful day with the sun shining through the trees. Not too hot and a nice level trail. Perfect!



website:
www.indyladyhikers.com

1st game at Lucas Oil Stadium

On August 22nd, Fishers High School was the first team (and Noblesville) to play a football game in the new Lucas Oil Stadium. The student crowd was amazingly spirited and cheered the team to victory. Danny is part of the paint crew and was also used as the crowd surfer at this game :)



We were lucky to have friends that invited us to watch the game from a suite. The stadium is awesome and we enjoyed the roof opening at the end of the game (as well as the victory for FHS).

Back to School!

A little late in posting :) It was a whirlwind after arriving home the day before school started from hiking with Sarah. I arrived back in Indy very early Wednesday morning and work started the next day!

At the district wide meeting that morning, Emily, Adrianne and I met in the parking lot at SCE so that Adrianne could meet up with NBE teachers. The following Monday was the first day for students and Danny began his senior year!!!!!!!!!!!