Cars, Colts, Catfish and Crooked Stick

Hey Everyone!!! Well as I had mentioned in the previous post, my dad came out to visit us July 22nd-28th. This was his first visit to Indy. Even though we had seen him during our trip to California, it was great to spend some quality time with him and give him the tour of our new town and surrounding areas. Here we are posed in front of our house... In case you were wondering, construction is still going on out here....in fact, my dad could not believe all the new buildings going up in our county. I really only pay attention to our neighborhood...see our cul-de-sac? One more lot left....

The area behind us is pretty much built out too. I'd say within a year our sub-division will be completed.

The first day my dad was here, we took him on a drive to check out the local scenery...

We went to the town of Cicero.... Showed him Morse Lake....

All the corn crops... and soybean crops...Then we showed him Geist Lake...

and ate lunch near the docks at Bella Vita :) It was a BEAUTIFUL day! We have had exceptionally cool weather here the past few months...mid 70's-low 80's and very low humidity this summer!!! We also took him to Clay Terrace in Carmel...We went to Cold Stone and got some ice cream. We sat outside and enjoyed the pleasant weather... The next day, we drove to the town of Speedway for Qualifying Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Nascar Allstate Brickyard 400 .It was raining!!! We decided we would endure the crummy weather and go anyways... When we got there, the first thing we did was check out all the driver trailers. This is a pic of my dad and his friend Don. They have known each other since high school. He stayed with us too. They are both big Nascar fans. Here is my dad posing next to his favorite driver, Matt Kenseth's trailer... Don posing in front of Dale Earnhardt, Jr's trailer....too bad his engine blew in the real race!!!My dad made Ryan and I pick a car to cheer on...I chose Jeff Gordon, because he drives number 24 (our wedding anniversary date).Ryan chose Jimmie Johnson because he won last year...and surprise, surprise!!! He won this year too! Ryan, you sure know how to pick em'! :)FYI- Wearing flip-flops in the rain is not too bright when you are walking on muddy grass!!! Since qualifying was delayed because of the rain, we decided to go to the racing Hall of Fame...

Here is a shot of me and my dad :) The museum was pretty cool. It had a HUGE variety of race cars dating back to the early 1900's to today... My Science-Guy had to take a pic with the checkered flag that went up in space... Dad checking out an older race car... Once we left the museum, we were glad to see the rain had stopped!!!! Dad and Ryan were all smiles :) I was happy too... Here is dad posing in front of the famous "Gasoline Alley."One of the cars heading onto the track for qualifying...

My dad and Don taught me a lot about racing. Here is the line-up for qualifying. Drivers received their order randomly and got to drive around the track twice to try and get the fastest speed. Whoever was the fastest started first in the actual race...

Ryan, dad and Don... Mark Martin was the "Pole Winner." He had the fastest time....however, he did not win. He placed 2nd in the actual race. After Qualifying, we took dad and Don on a tour of downtown Indianapolis...

First, we ate lunch at the "Slippery Noodle." It is the oldest bar in Indy...built in the 1800's!After, we walked around...

and headed to the center of downtown...

toward the War Monument... The horses and carriages were waiting for prospects... The birdies were waiting for lunch...LOL Shot of the state capitol and carriage... Me and my 2 favorite guys- Ryan and dad :) The next day, we woke up early and drove to Speedway to go to the Nascar Allstate Brickyard 400 race! Jumbo-Tron... My dad was very generous and purchased awesome seats for us! It was a totally different experience being up in the stands, as opposed to being in the infield like we were at the Indy 500... The fly-over :) I am VERY proud of this pic!!!!

Balloon release... Taking the pace lap...

Nascar is WAY louder than the Indy Cars!!!! Check out the video clip (you will have to scroll down and pause the music playrer if you want to hear the cars).

Hey everybody!!!

Ryan and his ear-plugs...We both wore ear-plugs to muffle the LOUDNESS!!! I had a huge stash of them at home since Ryan snores like a freight train :)

My daddy :)As we were leaving, we saw these members of the armed forces leaving the race. They were marching in tandum and singing. It was really neat! This was the crowd leaving the race and believe it or not, we were out of there in about 15 minutes!!! Crazy, huh??? We took Don to the airport and my dad stayed an extra day. We decided to take him on a tour of Lucas Oil Stadium. Since Ryan and I have never been to a Colt's game, we were excited to check it out as well....I am going to throw in some facts we learned on the tour....Did you know that it cost $720 million to build this stadium??? It opened last year and seats 63,000...The stadium has a HUGE retractable roof that opens and closes in 9-11 minutes and a giant retractable window...This is the view from that window. Check out all of downtown Indy :)

This is a pic from the Press-Box...

Another shot of the field...

Lucas Oil Stadium is the home of the Super Bowl in 2012. It will also host the NCAA Final Four in March of 2010. The only concert that has been performed there is Kenny Chesney.

Dad and Ry...

View from field level...

Ryan in the end zone...

We were only able to go in the visiting team's locker room...I know, what a crock!!! Don't these guys make enough money???? Sheesh- they should let the public see what we are essentially paying for!!!

This was the closest I could get to the Colt's Lockeroom...

To all my friends and family who are Chargers, Cardinals and Broncos fans...you better watch out!!!! This is going to be the year of the blue and white :)

The tour has really made Ry and I want to go to a game...we are going to attempt to purchase tickets for at least one game this upcoming season! Dad, I'm glad you got to see the stadium too!!!

Later that evening, we all went fishing at the neighborhood pond. Here is my dad waiting for a bite :)

Our neighbor Steave waiting and waiting...

Reflection on the water :)Ryan prepping his line...

Daddy to Be- Eric!!! Oh, and they FINALLY picked a name....Elise Anne :)

Geese :)

Lil' Layne...not even 2 and casting away :) Zach and Ryan :) Dad, Ryan, Kristen and Layne... Me and Lisa :) Night on the pond... Zach got a tiny bite... Steave went frog giggin'.... He grew up on a farm and showed us how to skin and prep frog legs for cooking. When he gets enough he is going to have a "Frog Fry" and yes I will try them...I heard they taste like chicken??? This pic is for my dad- A Couple of days after you left, Ryan caught this one and the day before, Ryan and Zach caught a HUGE catfish!!! I will e-mail you the pic once I get it from Kristen...It was MASSIVE!!!! We had the BEST time visiting with you!!!! We love you!!! xoRyan and I have very little time left before we go back to work, (Ry goes back on the 12th and I start the 18th) so we are trying to make the most of our time off...We went to Fort Harrison State Park earlier this week. It is about 15 minutes from our house... Driving into the entrance, we spied a deer... It has a ton of acreage and a lot to offer- BBQ's, fire-pits, picnic area, lake, duck pond, playground, horse back riding, etc... Here is Ryan standing in front of Delaware Lake :) Queen Anne's Lace... More wildflowers.... Leaves... Wildflowers again :) Ryan and I went on a 2 mile hike. We didn't take the dogs because Frodo just got neutered...poor baby :(

After our hike we went and said hello to the horses :) We may have to go horse back riding soon-I need to get over my fear...we went horse back riding in Colorado when I was a kid, and I had a not so cooperative horse...LOL :)On Sunday, we went to the U.S. Senior Open at Crooked Stick Golf Course in Carmel. They did not allow cameras, so this is all I get to show you! We got to see several great players including Greg Norman, Tom Watson, Mark O' Meara, and Fred Funk. In case you are a golf aficionado, Fred Funk won the tournament. He shot a 65 and won by 6 strokes!

We love everyone and hope all of you are enjoying what's left of the summer!!!

Until next time...xo