Creating New Memories with Old Friends

Okay, so Ryan and I had the BEST time this weekend!!! Erin and Kellie flew out from Cali, and Andrea drove down from Chicago. I picked up Erin and Kellie from the airport Friday afternoon. We stopped by the elementary school where I am going to work, so I could show them around. Then we went home and got ready to go out to Broad Ripple. When Andrea arrived, we were ready to hit the town!!!

We met our new Indy friends, April and Cari at a place called Naked Chopstix. They brought their friends Brad and Margaux along. We had an awesome sushi dinner and even made time for some well-deserved sake-bombs...GONG and all!!!

After dinner, we went "Bar-Hopping" in downtown Broad Ripple. We drank, danced and played pool. We stopped by Landshark's to visit our friend Steve who I worked with at Moreno Valley Ranch and who Ryan played high school baseball with at Valley View. He moved to Indiana 2 years ago.
It was so fun hanging out...just like old times!!! I was also glad my best friends were able to meet my new friends.




All and all, it was a very fun-filled night!!! I was so glad I was able to spend time with three of the most important gals in my life!!! For those of you that don't know- me, Erin, Kellie and Andrea have been friends since 1990, when we all used to live on the same street in Moreno Valley. Erin and Kel still live in MoVal, and Andrea relocated to Chicago last year, after graduating from law school on the east coast. All three of them are like sisters to me. I love them sooooooooo much!!!

The next day, we woke up and Ryan made us breakfast (yes, he is an AWESOME hubby and I am VERY lucky). Then we got ready to head out to Indianapolis. Downtown Indy is so wonderful. There is a TON to do there. We walked around, checked out the shops, visited the War Monument, walked the canal and checked out the mall.

After our tour of downtown, we decided to drive the girls by Geist Lake. We got a little side-tracked and decided to drive by and gawk at the mansions...a girl can dream, can't she???

We ended the evening at our home sweet home...I made dinner, while the rest of the crew played an intense game of Boggle.
After dinner, we played Scattergories late into the evening, but had to stop after we got into a heated argument about where Lysol is kept...Erin and Andrea said the medicine cabinet...Kel and I said they were full of it. Ryan, being the "smart" guy that he is stayed out of it... OBVIOUSLY, Lysol is kept under the sink, don't you agree???...We voted not to give Erin the point, and that caused a HUGE board game controversy!!! Yes, folks...this is what we do for fun.

The next day, after we regained composure from the great "Lysol" debate, we decided to drive to Chicago and let Andrea show us around. The first place we went was to her apartment. She lives on Lakeshore Drive and has a spectacular view of Lake Michigan.
After seeing the lake from afar, it was only logical that we walk down to the lake and check it out in person. All I can say is WOW!!! It was just like being at the ocean (with the exception of the large waves of course). It was absolutely phenomenal.


After our walk on the beach, we took a stroll through Lincoln Park. It was such a lovely day- light breeze and fortunately low humidity. There were several statues and gardens scattered about. I think Ryan liked being the only guy, walking around with 4 cute girls...The man is really deprived, I tell ya!

We went to dinner at cafe Ba Ba Reeba and had our first dining experience with tapas (little plates with just a small serving of a single entree). We each ordered a few tapas and shared. The best tapa was the dates wrapped in bacon....YUMMY!!!
We said goodbye to Andrea and made the 2 1/2 hour drive back to Indy. On Monday morning, I drove Erin and Kellie around Morse Lake, Carmel, and Fishers. We met up with Ryan on his way home from his teacher training at the Keystone Crossing shopping mall. He said his good-byes and I dropped Erin and Kel off at the airport...so SAD!!! I love my girls!!! Oh well, there's always next time....