NFL Experience

Today we headed down with Susie, Kathi & Gracie to the NFL Experience. It was cold, crowded and really fun. :) Not a normal combination, I know.
They had a racecar painted for each of the NFL teams. They looked awesome all lined up there near the Circle.
My favorite team- Tim's Broncos. I am rooting for the Giants in the Super Bowl, though, as they're my tied for 2nd favorite team with the Colts.
This was an ice sculpture that we thought was awesome.
Jackson looking tough. ;)
"Who?! Me?!" :)
Susie was trying to look tough...trying being the key word there.
All of the Super Bowl rings ever. Some were pretty. Some were gaudy. Ok, most were gaudy.
We got to stand next to the real trophy that will be given to the winner of the Super Bowl. It was pretty cool.
Susie was all smiles, too.
They also had a part where you could pretend to get drafted into the NFL. I chose to be a Bronco.
Grace chose the Packers. Barf.
Jackson picked to be a Colt. It was really fun.
We did a field goal kicking exercise, too.
That was me kicking with my pink-soled shoes. I almost made it in what everyone called the "best kick by a girl today." Jackson did an awful job and embarrassed the family. I kid. I kid. A little. He did suck, though.
This guy was making actual regulation footballs. It was a cool process to watch.
Grace and Kathi before playing some game. Grace had her face painted- she is not just bruised. ;)
She made it into the basket on her first throw- AMAZING!
Kathi did not.
Jackson- a line jumper- also sucked at this game. He did rock the pass route game that nearly broke my thumb, though, so I won't talk too much smack.
I was a big Eli fan. :)
Jackson doesn't love Tom Brady so much now that fantasy football is over and he is not his quarterback anymore.
Grace made my heart sing when she "Tebowed" by the "replica" of his locker. I'm not buying that all of these lockers are so neat. Just sayin'.
Outside I got a chance to do some curling. I was actually really good and got quite the cheer from the Canadian crowd. :) We had a lot of fun going through the experience. We came home to warm up, eat salad and pizza, and just hang out. It was such a fun day after a really tough week. Thank you so much for including us, Susie.

Packin' it up

Tuesday we hopped a flight with my Mom and Guy to Florida. We had a little trouble with our first flight being canceled, but we were able to get the next one without issue. We made it to Okeechobee just after 5 p.m. and headed to the Sheriff's station to collect Grams' belongings. Unfortunately the Sheriff's admin department closed at 5. They were nice enough to come back in after they'd left for the day to give us all that we needed to get into Grams' house. I was really impressed by that. It was so eerie to be in my Grams' house without her there. It was so quiet. Grams was really never quiet. She was always doing something i.e. making ice. HaHa. :) I had quite the break down when we first got there. The sheer fact that Grams was not home was just too much for me to take. We left there and went to get dinner. After dinner Jackson, Mom and I headed back to Grams' to assess what needed to be done the next day. We were overwhelmed.

I started by cleaning out a cabinet in the dining area. It turned out to be full of photo albums. My Mom and I spent most of the evening walking down memory lane. I'm so thankful that I was able to go there and have that time. I needed it. I needed to feel close to Grams even though she'd gone to her Heavenly home. Side note: no wonder Grams loved me- I was the cutest little girl ever. Goodness. (Humble, too!) ;)

Wednesday came and Guy, Jackson and I got to work. Mom had a lot of legal things to deal with around town so we sent her on her way and got to work on Grams' place. We were really hoping to get everything handled in the one trip instead of making another journey to Florida in the near future. By the grace of God, we were successful. It was amazing how quickly we were able to pack up their home. Jackson and I agreed to drive Grams' car home so we packed it full of a lot of her things and donated a lot, too.

A very strange thing happened when we began making donation piles in Grams' driveway- her old people neighbors came and started taking things. I called them vultures. They did not seem to care that we were in mourning and just picked at things. I hated them for it, really. Jackson said it was our fault for telling them we were donating those goods. I disagree. Either way, they were pretty much terrible. We did manage to get some things donated to the mission as pictured above. The one great thing the old people did was have a moment of silence for Grams at Bingo. She loved Bingo and would have loved that moment in her honor. It warmed my heart.

We finished at Grams' place and went to get dinner at her favorite place, Cowboys. We then went and had a beer (ok, mom and I had water) in Gramps' honor at the Shanty- the bar near their place. It was just a great way to kind of say good-bye for now to my Grams. I'll miss her so much I cannot stand it.

Thursday morning Jackson and I got on the road to Indiana. We stopped along the way at a fruit stand to get oranges and grapefruits. Yum. We bought far too many so please, if you're local and into oranges let us know. We made a quick stop at the University of Florida (Tim Tebow's Alma Mater) to see the campus and get t-shirts. We really liked it there. We settled in for the night in Ringgold, GA- just outside of Chattanooga, TN. As it turns out, Ringgold was the site of some horrible tornados in April, 2011 and was still rebuilding. It was so sad to see all of the destruction. We had stopped for the night due to storms and tornado warnings to it was a little creepy. Other than some bad rain, we had awesome driving weather. I even got a sunburn on my arm the first day from having the windows down. I love that.

We made it home Friday afternoon around 4:30. We were pretty happy to be out of the car. I'm so glad that we were able to go down to help out my Mom and Guy and to say good-bye to Grams' place. Again, I will miss my Grams for as long as I live, but the trip helped me to have a little closure. I'm so thankful that Ball State gave me 5 days of bereavement leave. I'm also grateful to God's hand in my life that prevented me from being in India at the time of my loss. He is good and He is in control- even in times of sadness.

I lost my Grams...

I got the most heart-breaking news tonight that my beloved (and a little crazy) Grams had passed away. I couldn't believe it. Jackson and I were just down there for Christmas and she was fine. I'm so very sad, but I'm glad she went peacefully. I'm also very thankful that we made it down there to see her for what would be her last Christmas. How very sad is that? Her last Christmas. The photo above was taken when Jackson and I visited right after we got engaged in May 2006. She was so excited for us. She loved Jackson and always said that "he takes good care of you, Jenna." (He does.)
She also loved to brag about being a GREAT grandma to my sister and cousin Holly's little guys. All boys. She tried to pressure me to give her a girl. I declined. Repeatedly. ;)
Grams didn't seem to love dogs, but MacKenzie was able to charm her into quite a few rousing games of ball when she visited us last summer. MacK has a way of doing that.

I always said that my Grams had a hard life- because it was true. She'd lost two of her four children and her husband. She was a tough lady, though, and never seemed to feel sorry for herself. She was just really funny and silly. I loved her. I hope she knew how much. I also hope that she is enjoying Heaven and has found the peace that she deserves in some happy reunions with her boys.

I love you, Grams and I'll see you again some day- I promise.

Beautiful gift.

This video is so beautiful- have your kleenex ready.

Lucky

Today I am overwhelmingly thankful that I'm married to my best friend and the love of my life. I love you, Jackson.

Settling in

We've been busy not being busy. It has been wonderful. :)

I prepped for leaving retirement by getting a 90 minute massage (thanks to my hubby for the giftcard!), getting my hair colored (seriously blonde again) and having our dear friends Shaya & Bates over for dinner. They're so fun.

My first day went really well. I was very nervous for some reason, but everything was fine. I got my office assignment- it is really large with 2 windows and a door (that is for Jackson- he wants a door). I really like my new boss- she's so easy-going. Everyone in the office is really nice and helpful. It has been really weird to get to leave at 5 (or close to it) each night. That is what we're getting used to now. I was hardly ever home in the evenings when I worked Big 4 public accounting. I still feel excitement at getting to eat dinner at home with Jackson. That may sound funny to some, but it had been a couple of years since that happened.

I'm now two weeks into my job and I really enjoy it. The pace and atmosphere is much different and has taken some adjustment. It has been a great adjustment, though. I've really been working on becoming a more relaxed and accepting person and this new role really helps me with that. I realized that I was letting too much "little stuff" eat at me and that life is too short to "sweat the small stuff." I am noticeably happier- quite a few people have commented on it. I feel so blessed to have been able to make this change and get back to University life. I think it agrees with me.

Getting the party started early?

Friday night we went to the Marion High School vs. Eastbrook (my high school!) in boys basketball. One of our friends is a cheerleader and my cousin plays for the Eastbrook Panthers. The Panthers got beat pretty badly, but it was fun to go. It made me feel old to be back in that Marion gym. I spent so much time there in my youth and it always felt SO big, but it really isn't. We had a delicious Mexican dinner before the game with my parents including a dish of ARROWS CON POLO. (HA :) Love you, Mom.) We went back to Upland for a quick Ivanhoe's shake and then headed for home.

Jackson and I drove separately because I came from work in Muncie and he was coming from downtown Indianapolis. I followed him home most of the way, but his speed was too much for me. HA. Ok, so I left a few minutes after him and never caught up as much as I tried. Anyway, he pulled off an exit before our normal interstate exit to get gasoline. That particular exit has a really strange roundabout that we simply do not use often enough to remember. Jackson got to it and started to go down the wrong spoke so he corrected and went down the one he intended to go down. Then a car came out of nowhere and started tailgating him like he could not believe. He was checking around trying to figure out why this guy was so on him and must have started to swerve. Then the car behind him flipped on his lights. Uh oh. Jackson will tell the story of what happened below in italics for ease of reading:

In that brief moments from time I pulled over to time the member of Fishers finest was shining his flashlight in my car, I was racking my brain about what I had done wrong. The obligatory question came from the officer "do you know why I pulled you over?" Before I could answer, I was told I was going 47 mph in a 40 mph zone. Wow, I always knew Fishers had no real crime but 47 in a 40 was a bit on the picky side even in Fishers. Then the real questions started, where are you coming from? Do you have any guns, knifes, missile launchers, or grenades in the car? (He really asked that.) Before, I could assure the officer I had no weapons, the big question hit, "it's Friday night, son, have you been getting the party started early?"

My first thought was shoot, my second thought was it is eleven o'clock and this is a little late for an early starting of the party (I must be getting old). The officer informed me I have been driving eratically since the roundabout and swerving in my lane. I assured him I was coming from my in-laws, I had not been drinking, and would be happy to do any tests to prove my sobriety. The officer took my license and registration, and came back with no ticket for my speeding. Then it happened he caught me with my real addiction. He saw two silver cans on the passenger side of my car and his suspicions were peaked again. Diet Coke cans- I know I need to get off the junk- but I am hooked. After explaining that one away too I was finally back on my way to getting gas and home.

We laughed about how those Ivanhoe's milkshakes must be really potent. ;) I'm actually glad that the cop called Jackson out on having a dirty car (ha!) and that they're watching out for drunk drivers.

Saturday we ran errands most of the day. We had dinner that evening in Broad Ripple- such a fun part of Indianapolis except for parking, ugh- with two couples from my old job. Corey and Jenny and their spouses were so fun. I loved working with those two so it made me happy to see them again already. Jenny also left Deloitte to go work for DePauw University and Corey stayed onboard. I really enjoyed catching up and sharing some laughs.

Today one of my dear friends from high school, Derrik Heinzen, came down to watch the IU game and help us with some stuff around the house. I had not seen him in probably 7 years so it was nice to catch up! He is a union electrician so he hung a new light for us in the master bath- no more ugly chandelier- and he fixed our outside electricity that had gone out when we plugged in Christmas lights. It was awesome of him to be willing to come down and help out. We really appreciated it.

Tonight we had Susie in for a turkey breast dinner. They were on sale at Kroger so we thought "why not?!" and had a little turkey, dressing and mashed potatoes. It was quite good. We won't discuss the gravy here, Susie. ;)

As you can see we had a busy, but fun weekend. I loved not having to work at all on the weekend. I know one day that shock will wear off, but it has not yet!

NYE

This was taken at the Atlanta airport...the world's busiest. I guess people do not travel much on New Year's Eve. It was amazingly empty. I actually enjoyed the peace and quiet as I was deeply interested in my book about the Madoffs. (I love reading about the Madoff scandal. I seriously cannot get enough!)
Jackson and MacKenzie picked me up at the airport and we decided to stop by Susie's to say hello to all the folks she had in for cards and games. MacK even got to join the game. HA! I enjoyed my last Sprite since I gave them up for the new year. We headed home and were able to smooch at midnight before I collapsed after a long couple weeks of traveling. It is so fun to get away, but it is always nice to sleep in my own bed!
This morning (ok, afternoon. I slept for about 12 hours last night!) Jackson tested out his new griddle (thanks, Susie!) which worked wonderfully. I love this man and his cooking ability. We spent most of New Year's Day catching up on laundry, running a few errands and just getting ready for my retirement to end. I do still have one more day which I will spend at the spa, getting my hair done, furniture shopping with Susie and possibly dinner with Shaya and Bates. Life is good.

Fort Worth

Thursday I headed down to Fort Worth, Texas to visit our dear friends Kyle and Megan. They've lived there for some time now and I had yet to visit so it was time. Thursday we went to see TCU (I love college campuses!) and ate at a fun Mexican joint near campus. It was really good food and they served their salsa warm which was different and delicious. We spent most of the day just catching up and hanging out. We went to a Chinese buffet that night and spent a lot of time laughing at this exchange:

Worker: "Table for one?"

Man: "just me, myself and I tonight."

Worker: "Oh, ok. 3 of you...you'll need a booth then."

HILARIOUS.

The next morning Meg made me this delicious breakfast. It was so pretty that I had to take a photo. We went out to a fun bakery cafe for lunch and then got pedicures at a really nice spa. It was a good girly day.
That evening we went to the Fort Worth art museum to see the movie "Margin Call." It was such a great film and I cannot recommend it enough. The museum's theatre was super nice and made for a great movie-going experience.
Mocha and Buster are their two furry friends. I call Mocha Meg's mascot because she's been her constant companion for six years now. Buster, the little hotdog dog, is fairly new to the family and is a lot of fun. He has a really unique color and is always ready to play. He loved me for some reason. It was really funny.
Here is Buster taking a break on my pillow to enjoy a rawhide treat.
The next morning I woke up to Mocha sleeping by my head. It was so funny! It was a short visit and I headed home Saturday afternoon so that I could be home to kiss my love at midnight!

Wacky Wednesday

Wednesday was a really fun day. I was able to exploit my retirement and spend the day with my Mom and Guy. Mom and I ran errands, went to lunch and then met Guy downtown at the Indianapolis car show. We saw this really odd SUV convertible that I thought was brilliant. My Mom and I did some shopping afterwards, too. One of the best parts of living at home again is getting to hang out with my 'rents on random days.
That evening we grabbed some pizzas and headed to Heidi and Andrew's house to catch up and play with little Jax. Jackson and Jax have such fun together. Jax is such a great little guy- he warms my heart when he reaches for me to pick him up. :)
This is Jax's surprised face- he can do it on demand. SO funny!
I loved this. Jackson was pretending to be on the phone with someone complaining about Jax's behavior and Jax was so worried. Even Gunner came over to investigate. It was so cute. We loved playing with his fancy kitchen- those things have come a long way since I was little!
Jackson even helped get Jax to sleep. It was really sweet.

Before anyone decides to leave comments about us needing to have our own I will let you know I tell Jackson all of the time that I will grant him a divorce to go have a family of his own. He doesn't want that so we just gladly catch up with our friends' kiddos. :)

Petefish Christmas

Tuesday evening we went to Susie's to have a belated Christmas celebration with her. We had a yummy Mexican dinner at our favorite place and then we got to open presents. We were also able to FaceTime with Kathi and Grace so they could see us open their gifts. We laughed a lot at the Alvin that Kathi got Susie for Christmas. You see, Susie had a chipmunk problem this Fall and the one we trapped that we named Alvin died. Hence the gift of a chipmunk haunting. Hilarious.
MacKenzie was just as interested in Alvin the stuffed version as she was the real one!
MacKenzie helped us unwrap our presents and even brought her toys over in case we needed a break in the action. She's always so helpful. ;)
We got all kinds of great gifts (Christmas was GOOD to us this year all-around). Kathi secured this awesome photo of Tim Tebow when he was the the University of Florida. It is autographed and all. I was amped.
Jackson got an awesome Colts package. He got this framed, autographed Peyton Manning jersey, VIP tickets to first day of training camp and an autograph-ready football. It was awesome! We're pretty sure Kathi started stalking sports memorabilia places- HA!
Susie has this creepy Santa that she always puts out near the tree. I got a kick out of seeing creepy Santa look down on praying Tebow. It is the little things. ;)