You're right Kurt Warner ...

Jonathan loves Kurt Warner, so I watched & DVR'ed his press conference on Friday. (If you're not a football fan, Kurt Warner announced his retirement yesterday)

He mentioned that he'll obviously miss the couple hours he spent on the football field every week, but what he'll miss most of all is the 5 hours each Sunday he hung out in the locker room with the guys. Sure, he'll still stay in touch with many of his teammates, but it just won't be the same.

This made me really think about my current (and temporary) job. I'm working in a computer lab, sitting inches away from my co-workers. I could pull my chair away from my desk, swing around with my legs extended, and smack 4 people in the back. We all eat lunch together, work together, heck - we even carpool together (ok, I carpool with 1 other person I carpool with, but you get the idea).

Sure, after the job is over (which, for me, is probably sooner than later) I'll stay in touch with some of my co-workers, but it just won't be the same. When you spend 9 hours a day with people, all sort of fun and odd conversations happen. Plus, I really stink at keeping in touch. Facebook makes it easer ... but I just really, really bad at keeping in touch. It makes me sad.

So thank you Kurt Warner! You were the greatest show on turf, and you're one smart son of a gun.

Happy Halloween!

This was probably Halloween '93.

My mom was equipment manager for the Oswego, IL youth tackle football for a couple years (my brother would've been in 6th grade at this time), so my friend Julie and I wore FULL football pads this halloween.

Both our brothers played football, and we both coached poms/cheerleading for football, so we were around football all the time. I know I was curious about all the equipment the boys always wore. Thankfully, we both fit into some left over 8th grade football gear.

Those butt pads are not comfy at all!

Ears to you kid

This blog post is for my friend Monica, who just had a baby.

She sent out this adorable birth announcement, and this is the magnet we choose to display it with.

In typical Monica fashion, the baby will be visiting Walt Disney World before his 5 month birthday!

My Favorite Photo

This is my favorite photo of all time.

That's my brother on the right hand side, with the wildly curly blonde hair.

Those kids in the awesome retro Brewers jackets are Tom and Jeremy, who lived across the street from us when I was in grade school.

My family is still close with their family.

Dudley Do Right's Rip Saw Falls

Pizza Planet!

3 years ago when Julie came to visit she wanted to eat at Pizza Planet.  I agreed, but 'forced' her to run around the park a little while longer.  Then, when we were ready to eat, Pizza Planet was closed.

So this trip, Julie wasn't going to do anything else but eat at Pizza Planet!

Side note:  Pizza Planet is from the movie Toy Story.

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the pizza.  I figured it would be flat crust with bland toppings.  It was actually really thick crust (I love crust!!) and good pizza.  One small pizza was way too much food (Julie and I should've shared), but I shoved it down and made it my lunch/dinner, or lunner.

My brother, Corey, ate 2 full pizzas.

Ahhhhhhhh!

This might have been the greatest ride photo ever.

It had been raining all day at Universal, so we figured, "what the heck - let's go on a water ride!"

Even though we were already soaked, we managed to get even more soaked!  Especially in the crotch area.

And the drop on Dudley Do Right's Rip Saw falls is really steep!  I think some of us are screaming because we're wet and some of us are actually scared!

From top to bottom:

My brother Corey

My friend Julie

Me (I'm not scared!)

Julie's husband Mitch

Good times!

Universal Studios

(My brother purchasing his 2nd soft pretzel)

We all went to Universal Studios last Monday.  It was supposed to be not too cold, but 70% chance of rain.

(Julie and Mitch are the only ones on Dueling Dragons!)

I made everybody get up early, and we left the house at 8am.  We were  going commando style!  We only had 9 hours (9am-6pm) in both parks, and I wanted to do everything we possibly could.

(We are soaked after riding Rip Saw falls)

Little did I know that NOBODY was going to Universal that day.  

Seriously, there were NO lines.  It was amazing.  We walked right on to every single ride.  And I'm not exaggerating at all.  I couldn't believe it.

(Corey is not excited about riding The Hulk coaster)

That 70% chance of rain was correct - we were all soaked by the time we left.  But I think everybody had a fun time.

Happy Birthday Julie!

Happy Birthday Julie!

Good luck getting your balloon hat thru airport security!

Bags!

I scheduled our trip to Illinois to coincide with a noon Bears game.  Julie and her family occasionally have rockin' Bears parties that I've heard so much about.

Dennis, Julie's dad, grilled a fantastic roast.  He started at 9am!  Notice Jonathan is wearing jeans and a winter coat, and Dennis is wearing shorts and a t-shirt.  Those crazy Illinois-ians!

I've played bags (or cornhole) before, and I wasn't very good.  I played on a plastic board before.  Mitch (Julie's husband) had a really nice bags set, made of wood.

I realized that I can dominate a bags game!  Julie's brother and I won 3 games in a row.  I even got 3 out of 4 bags in the hole one round.  I was pretty proud of that (until Mitch got 4 of 4 in and shut me up big time).

Notice the 3 orange bags 1/2 way in the hole.  These are beanbags thown from about 30 feet away.  I would say it's impossible to get 3 stuck in the hole like this ... but Julie's brother manage to do it!

You Man!

Remember I mentioned the "You Man" photo a couple posts back? The "You Man" originated with Julie and her brother Tom (I think?). The phrase comes from the baseball movie Major League. Julie and Tom both posed for a photo saying "Yoooooou Man" and pointing at the camera. Somehow, our family got involved and now we do it when ever we can!

Here are a couple more examples:

For some reason I'm the only one doing the You Man here. I'm also sporting overalls and a sweater. Not a great fashion year for me. This was right before Corey and Tom (Julie's brother) went to senior prom.

Here we are again (all saying "You Man!" this time) at Corey and Tom's high school graduation.

Totally Radical!

Julie already downloaded some photo from the '80s party!

Here is the entire group taking the traditional YOU MAN photo. It's a family tradition ... long story ...

For some reason we're doing a kick line. From left to right is Jonathan, Julie, me and my broth er Corey. Jean shorts or "jorts" as everybody calls them were very popular.

Here is Julie and her husband Mitch slow dancing - '80s style! Mitch was dressed up a little Bret Michaels and a little Miami Vice.

Balderdash!!! From bottom left: Tom (Julie's brother), Jonathan, me, Jeremy (Julie's other brother), Mitch and my brother Corey. When I was in 2nd grade Julie's family moved in across the street. Julie and I are the same age, and Tom & Corey are the same age. Jeremy is in the middle. They are pretty much my 2nd family. And Corey spends a lot of time with them b/c our parents live so far away.

Totally Tubular!

Last night (until 2am - yes, I stayed up until 2am!) my friend Julie hosted a party for my brother's 27th birthday. It was an '80s party. Unfortunatly Jonathan and I aren't really party animals, so we didn't come prepared with any '80s gear.

Thankfully, I had packed a cheesy '80s looking Kwaj t-shirt to wear. It was a size small. Since Julie let me borrow a polka dot tank top with bows all over it, Jonathan tried on my Kwaj t-shirt. It fit him like a glove ... a really tight glove. So Jonathan's got on the tightest t-shirt ever, and a mullet wig. The wig didn't last 10 minutes b/c he claims it was itchy. Jonathan was pretty sexy with a mullet! All the girls at the party sported side pony tails.

I discovered the wonderful game of Balderdash! It's hilarious. My cheeks were killing me the rest of the night from laughing. It's easy to play, but hard to understand. Basically, the person who's turn it is has a card. He reads a movie title from the card, like FANGS. Then everybody around the table makes up a quick synopsis (sp?) of this movie FANGS. For example: A small town in Nebraska is infested by tree snakes // A NYC Cop is actually a vampire and learns to love again // An unpopular teen turns into a wherwolf and learns to play basketball ...

These 'answers' are all read outloud, and you have to pick the real one. The person who was 'it' has the real answer on the card. Everybody at the table tries to pick the real synopsis of the movie FANGS out of all the fake ones. Again, it's fun to play but hard to explain via blog. I highly, HIGHLY recommend you check it out. It's a great game for about 4-7 people.

Today it's off to the thrift stores!!! Jonathan is really excited - not!

Sweet home ...

... Chicago!

Jonathan and I flew in to Chicago tonight. We landed at 9pm and we arrived at my friend's house at 10:20pm.

We have to wake up tomorrow at 6:45am in order to catch the train to Chicago! Tomorrow my friend who I'm staying with (Julie - check out her blog here) and my brother have to work, so I'm going to show Jonathan around Chicago. Not that I'm a great tour guide, I've only been there a handfull of times myself.

I've never seen that "bean", so I'm pretty excited.

Then we're celebrating my brother's b-day tomorrow night. Julie is throwing him an '80s party!

Good night!

Go Rays!

Mmmmm ... stadium food!

For the past 2 years the Tampa Bay Rays (formerly Devil Rays) played a 3 game se

ries at Disney's Wide World of Sports.  If you bought tickets for a Disney game, they give you 1 free ticket for a game in Tampa.

Since Jonathan and I attended 2 Rays game at Disney, we got 4 free tickets.  We took our friends Bill and Melanie to Tampa.  For the 2nd time this year, I saw the Rays actually win a game!!!

Before the game, Dionner Navaro (the Rays All-Star catcher) signed autographs.  Jonathan and I are always a sucker for an autograph

Slip 'n Slide

Warning: If you're about to use a Slip 'n Slide, make sure you stretch first! We had a party on Sunday night, and Monday morning my upper arms were soooooooooooooo incredibly sore. What a wimp I am!

These photos are myself, my friend Julie and her boyfriend.