Jessica's Blog

Honduras (aka Fantasy Island)

2008-12-19T16:03:00.000-08:00

No really....it was called "Fantasy Island" I am not kidding. We had our own little small island, the only thing that was on it was our resort. We had private lagoons and coves all to ourselves with unlimited shore diving and 3 boat dives a day! A DIVER'S PARADISE! Plus we were with a big group of 90-100 people from Indy who were LOADS of fun! We can't wait to take another trip with them soon. I am going to stop typing so I have room for more photos!

Fourth of July on the River

2008-12-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

We spent the fourth on the Tippecanoe river. We did some camping and canoeing with some great company. We had a wonderful time sharing old stories and lighting off fireworks from the water. We even did a night float, which was scary yet fun at the same time. Tubing in the morning was very cold, but I had the best float ever and never even touched the water. Poor Jonathan was freezing because his body was almost entirely submerged! Here are some photos!

Night Float and our "BIG Bad Ass Shells"

Various Lake Pics

2008-12-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my favorite lake pics from the summer of 2008. The pics have been taken at Freeman and Maxinkuckee.

Noodle Bonging

Right before the HUGE spill

On a bad ass Mastercraft

Yes, that is pit sweat that wraps around his back and meets in the middle. They asked me to come on stage and "surf" on his back while Surfin USA was playing....um gross!

Indy 500

2008-10-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

I headed down south to the Indy 500, for my second year in attendance. I stayed again with Ryan and Danny at their campsite which is great to be around old friends. Its nice to be around the people who have known you the longest and create many more lasting memories to add to our ever growing bank of great times. I ended up getting to spend some time with Jonathan there too because our campsites were so close. And for the first time I got to sit in the stands! Although I had a minor set back with some Moonshine thats why there aren't too many pics, it was overall a spectacular time and I can't wait until next year!

Spring Break to Sarasota

2008-10-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

We headed down last Spring Break to visit Jonathan's friend Nick Fouts down in Sarasota. We drove moms van down so we would have more space and we would be able to take our scuba gear. It took us a day and a half to get there and we spent Saturday- Friday. We had a great time hanging on the beach, spending a day diving at West Palm Beach, and going out to the local bars with Nick. Plus it was nice to get away for awhile and enjoy a more laid back and warm lifestyle! Here are a few pics.

Christy and Craig's Wedding

2008-09-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

Christy and Craig got married in March. It was a great ceremony out at Oakbrook. Perfect weather that day and the church looked very pretty. The reception was at the Country Club and the bunch of us all had a great time into the early hours of the morning. I was able to catch up with people I hadn't seen in a long, long time and her DJ kept us dancing all night long! Congrats guys! Luv ya!

Bachelorette Party Pics too

Birthdays?

2008-08-05T06:12:00.000-07:00

Well...I am still playing catch up---I think I am into mid-February of our past events, so even though its August...thats not quite accurate. ANYWAY....I forgot to post about our birthdays! I turned 25...ugh, and my bro turned 22. I went to Indy for my birthday, no one came but Jonathan...yah I know boy am I a loser...people had excuses excuses....and Andrew went to Indy and it turned into a heck of a drunken yelling fight. Oh did I mention my mom wrote "Happy Half a Century" on my card by mistake? She meant to write Quarter of a Century she said...but hey what else could go wrong right? Nice mom, thanks. Anyway, at least I got a Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake.

My Birthday

Andrew's Birthday

Our World Underwater Scuba Convention

2008-08-04T05:24:00.001-07:00

We attended a yearly scuba diving convention up in Chicago for the weekend. It was held at a huge convention center and different scuba diving vendors were set up. There were people with booths full of new gear and equipment, the latest new technology and resorts and cruises lines offering great deals on dive trips. They had a pool set up where you could learn to dive, and the racecar team was there from Team Scuba which we got to get in the trailer and the driver was there for us to meet.

Jonathan and I got offered a spot on a reality tv show. It was a scuba diving reality show where a group of divers are put on a boat and go on vacation for a few weeks. They film our diving and then the activity on the boat as well, and then the company was going to try and sell the film to Discovery Channel or something along those lines. We sat and talked for awhile with the company and the filmmaker, and they really wanted us on because we were a young "cute" couple. and we said we love to party, so they thought we would be some fun to have. BUUUUUUTTTTT the trip was planned of ALLL WEEKS......DURING ISTEP.....as soon as I found that out, I about threw the waiver across the entire convention center. Even if I would have had the courage to ask for the time off, I would have felt selfish to leave my students during such a crucial week. I know I am lame, Jonathan wasn't very happy, but then we found out after looking closer at the waiver that we had to pay for some of our way, and it was halfway around the world, sooo we probably wouldn't have had the money saved up to go anyway. But anyway, we plan on going to the convention again next year, and maybe they will have another type of thing going on but during a different time of year. After the convention we also attended a film festival. Short films from famous scuba diving filmmakers were shown. These films would later air on television if they were bought that night at the festival. We saw some neat things like a swimming elephant that used his trunk as a snorkel!

Here are the pics.....

Christian The Lion

2008-07-18T06:41:00.000-07:00

I recieved this video in an email. I watched it several times and cry each and every time! It is just so touching! Check it out!

Christian The Lion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U

New Years Ski Trip

2008-07-15T05:54:00.000-07:00

A group of us headed up to ski at Bittersweet Ski Lodge for New Years! We had a blast and hopefully can make this an annual trip. Next year we have been tossing around the idea of doing the trip in Colorado. This scares the heck out of me, because I still consider myself a beginning and haven't even conquered some of the bigger hills yet. I would also like to have a go again at snowboarding (just because I want one because some of them are super cute, and because I could quit wearing those "Faceoff" ski boots that make my ankles sore)
A large group went last year and we are hoping to make the group even bigger! Last time Jonathan and I went, Krystal, Ryan Stone, Meghan and Austin McClain, and Christy and Craig Dechert.Anyway.....if you want to come along whether it be to Michigan again this year or to Colorado let us know! It will depend on price and dates if we can go to Colorado....I have to be back at school usually the 2nd or the 3rd but this year its on a weekend, so I may have all the way to the 4th......keeping my fingers crossed. Here are some pics.... Catchprase the night before in the hotel

Karaoke

Scuba Classes

2008-07-08T05:47:00.000-07:00

In case anyone is interested....the Diving Den here in Kokomo is having two more classes this summer for open water certification. You need to get the book and have it read by the time you go to class. (I only had it for a few days before so it isn't that hard to get read). You can either do the class on July 26th and 27th, which is a Saturday and Sunday...or if you don't want to waste a weekend you can take the class in the evenings on August 4,5,7. Email me if you want more info!

jmcfatridge@gmail.com

We would love to have more divers to go on trips with us!

Cozumel Water Pics

2008-06-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

I still haven't figured out how to upload the videos yet...so here are some underwater pics to hold you over until I can get it figured out.....the water and colors are so much more brilliant than the pictures show :-( But we bought a cheapo camera down there since we can't afford to spend thousands on a good one!

Thats me!
Green Moray Eel...the arrow is pointing at its head Black smaller eel, I found this one all by myself cuz I was determined to find an eel!

This turtle swam along with us for most of one of our dives!

Jon on the boat
Queen Parrotfish...my favorite fish, looks like a stained glass window
Huge lobster
Barracuda
Forget this fishes name, but its cool!

Starfish
I love you...underwater wishes
Swimming through tight spots
A stingray blended in with the sand
Anemone

Cozumel

2008-06-24T17:07:00.001-07:00

Considering we are about to head on another vacation in a month AND we've already had another vacation AFTER Cozumel...I would say it was about time for me to post some pics! I am a little behind, well A LOT, but here are our pics from Cozumel. We went down there over fall break last year for our first scuba trip together. It was my first time to scuba in the ocean, I had done snorkeling before but it was so much harder than scuba diving. Snorkeling took a lot of effort, scuba diving as long as you knew what you were doing was effortless.We did six different drift dives (two a day). The boat dropped us off on spectacular reefs and we drifted along with the current for a few miles and they picked us back up where we ended up. We could see things up to 100 feet away, and once we were under the water just felt like another world! The pictures we took underwater don't do the reef much justice, so I will TRY learn how to upload the video. If anyone knows how... make sure to pass on the info on how to do it. We spent most of our time diving, but we also rented a jeep for the day and explored the island, swam with the dolphins, and went into the town of Cozumel one day. Our resort was ALL inclusive and recently rebuilt from a hurricane so it was GORGEOUS and all brand new. We stayed at the "adults only section" and there were waterslides from the balconies down to the main pool and swim up bar. There were 5 restaurants and 4 bars, so we kept plenty busy there. Plus they always had live entertainment and comedy shows at night. It will be hard for me to post all the great pics, so if you have facebook then all my pics are on that page. Sorry it took awhile!

Sabor Resort

On the scuba boat

On the beach

Our room and cute towel animals everyday!

Sabor pool, with waterslides in the background

Swimming with dolphins

Jeep Excursion around the island (including being pulled over!)
Bob Marley Village
We made it back in one piece after a huge storm and our top had holes in it!

Out with a couple we met from Indiana

Jonathan on his birthday

Senor Frog

Dane Cook

2008-05-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

WELCOME TO THE THUNDERDOME BIATCH!

Summer 2007 Scuba Diving Adventures

2008-04-30T03:24:00.000-07:00

Jon gets rescue certified with a bunch of firefighters.

Diver's Supply Annual Treasure Hunt- you dive and look around for those golfballs, every one is matched up to a prize.

My first dive in a 7mm wetsuit for cold water, I could barely manuever myself it was so thick!
Saw my first paddlefish! This isn't it, but just wanted to show how crazy they look!

Jon gets ice-diver AND dry-suit certified...someone is addicted to certifications!

Surprise Colts Game

2008-04-27T10:56:00.001-07:00

Dad, Andrew and Nicole surprised my mom by going to the Colts game for her birthday. Even more surprising Jon and I showed up after the first quarter too!! (we were scuba diving in the morning) so mom had all her family....plus some extras to spend her bday with! BOY- she was so happy! I loved the reaction on her face when we walked up! And dad said when she saw where her seats were she was also shocked! After the game we went to dinner at Jillians, and played in the arcade. Everyone had a great time and it was fun have everyone together for a Sunday afternoon/evening.

Halloween Babies

2008-04-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

Here is darling Jordan Thatcher as a teddy bear!! And my four-legged daughter Jerzie as Izzie from the Magic School Bus books. Jerzie came to visit my classroom for our Fall Party, which happens to be very Halloween oriented....off the record of course!

Halloween in February

2008-02-17T17:25:00.000-08:00

Yep I am behind posting just about all my pics, but I am trying to get caught back up. Here are my pics from Halloween this year. We carved pumpkins which I hadn't done since I was little!

At the pumpkin patch!

I love getting messy!

An outfit for all occasions!

Concentrating on our pattern

Our Electronic Christmas Cards

2008-02-10T06:11:00.000-08:00

Forgot to post these! ENJOY!!!

Snowball Fight
http://www.jibjab.com/sendables/view/uROoHMyza3FI5TluYSqXpv6I

Menorah Hora
http://www.jibjab.com/sendables/view/cPbNhrmNbEQLrSn5gGXRw3lA

Skydiving Once Again

2008-02-09T08:03:00.000-08:00

Jon and I went skydiving once again! The original plan was to take both of our brothers and our dads, but we ran into a little snag. My brother was low on money (or so he says....maybe he was being a chicken....baaa gawk) Jon's bro was busy pledging Betas at PU, and my dad just got out of surgery which gave Bob a good reason to back out. SOOOO Jon and I jumped again by ourselves. It was a lot different than the first time, we got to go up about (well I don't know how many feet) but the fall lasted about 12 extra seconds. Both of us sort of panicked because the last fall wasn't that long and they weren't pulling the shoot. Jon was a lot more at ease this time. He had the same instructor but this time he wasn't running a 101 degree temp! I actually made a crash landing and my instructors crotch pummeled me in the back of the head. It was hilarious!

All in all, we had a good time, my grandparents were in town from Arkansas so they got to come and watch. We plan on going ONE MORE TIME this upcoming fall. ANYONE who wants to come PLEASE let me know because we would like to go with a big group. It is getting sort of old going all alone. We plan on making this our last trip SO put it on your calendar for September or October and let me know you are interested!

Purdue Football

2008-02-01T07:30:00.001-08:00

We didn't go to as many games this year as usual but we had some good times! Here are some highlights of the season.

Jon and Peter Dad the cripple

Cornhole with Stone and Chad Me and my dad

Buckle up! Football in the rain! Julie! Jon helping dad Rudy Sucks!

NFL Kickoff Concert

2008-01-27T05:54:00.000-08:00

Ok....sadly the NFL season is over for all us Colts fans. But Elle and I did start the year off right and headed do to Monument Circle to watch the NFL Kickoff concert. The concert consisted of Hinder, Faith Hill, and Kelly Clarkson (in that order). They all sounded really well. I had never seen Faith in concert and boy she rocked my socks off! I kinda thought she should have been the closer but maybe they wanted someone newer. You all know I adore Kelly, mostly because of her modesty on the first American Idol and how sweet and innocent the competiton was. Back then when the judges said they were great singers those kids appreciated it. Seems now when the judges say they are going to be great, the singers just act like "well I already knew that." No sincerity anymore on that show.....

ANYWAY- seems like the last few shows I have been to for Kelly she is losing her voice! I think all her new material with the screaming and yelling, more rock style, is taking a toll on her voice. She seems sick half the time.I liked her a lot more when she sang ballad type music. My favorites are Breakaway, Thankful, Because of You, and Behind these Hazel Eyes.....anything from the first two albums about....nothing from the third. :-(BUT- this is the type of music she wants to write.....so we will just have to see what happens in her future.

Here are some pics!

Andrew gets a new puppy!

2008-01-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

Well many of you remember little Lulu that my brother adopted in Thanksgiving of 2006. Little Lulu escaped and we never found her. My brother decided to get another puppy over the summer. He is a Siberian Husky/ Lab mix named Zeke. He is just adorable! Now he is all grown up and still getting bigger....he is gigantic!

Newport Aquarium

2007-11-20T17:58:00.000-08:00

Jonathan and I are huge water fans.....anything under the water intrigues us....so we took a visit to the Newport Aquarium in Kentucky. They house one of the only shark-rays in the world. (Yes that is a manta ray/ shark mix!)

Kokomo Head to Cincinnatti

2007-11-10T09:02:00.000-08:00

A bunch of us all went over to see Joey play in a three game series against the Reds. We all had tons of fun, all stayed at the Hilton, and spent the weekend in baseball mode. I had only seen one major league game in my life, and I was happy to find out that is a lot more fun when you know someone playing and when you can drink! Joe didn't pitch until the last game, last inning....but that turned out to be a good thing because since it was towards the end of the game a lot of us moved down to the 2nd row right behind the dugout and got a better view. He did great and I proved he was going to be a good asset to the team.

Joey Makes the Big Leagues

2007-10-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

Well Joey Thatcher has finally achieved what all of us close to him had hoped he would get a taste of some day. Joe has been playing in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. He recieved the notice that he had been traded to the San Diego Padres organization in a three-person trade. Scary enough to be called in to the managers office and think you are being traded after you have spent so long trying to move up in the Brewers organization....but that tradeproved to be quite POSTIVE!

Joe would be dressing on their major league roster and was flown out to San Diego immediately. Since then he has proved himself on their roster. He has shown us that dreams really do come true. I know my family is extremely proud of him and his new position on the Padre roster. Seems like all of Kokomo has become huge PADRE fans, they even started hanging Padre banners in a few of our bars around town! GREAT JOB JOE!!

Scuba Certified

2007-10-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

I was jealous of Jonathan for getting to do all the fun with all his scuba diving adventures. Plus we thought it would be a good hobby to have to spend time together and travel around Indiana and the surrounding areas doing it. I got certified through the Diving Den. It was two weekends in a row and not hard at all. I aced all my tests, but what else would you expect from me! Haha. We would LOVE for another couple to get certified with us so we would have some more people to share the hobby with! Here are some pics from my class.

My roomie got hitched

2007-10-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

My roomie got hitched over the summer. Her are some pics of the beautiful bride!

Wakeskating!

2007-10-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

I learned to wake skate on Lake Maxinkuckee!!

Another Trip to Sin City

2007-10-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

We took another trip to Vegas for my brothers 21st in June (a little late, but better late than never) For those that don't know, all the dads in a group of about 6 families always take us kids to Vegas for our 21st. This trip was fun, it was mostly guys, as usual, but very fun. Here is a list of our entourage, me, my bro and dad, Jonathan and his dad, Matt Fox and Graham with their dad, Steph Heltzel and her dad, and Timmy Severns. Timmy gets hooked up with a suite, but he didn't like the location because he figured everyone from the clan would be coming and going at all hours of the night, so he gave me and Jonathan the kick ass suite. It was two floors high, with a hot tub, and mirrored ceilings!

Here are some pics.

In the suite

The crewMy digi goes underwater! Me at my bachelorette party somedayMe and my bro....smooches!! Swim up blackjack Oh wow.... Some day brother-in-laws!

My First Indy 500

2007-10-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

I went down with some friends to my first Indy 500. Jonathan was down there with some buds all weekend, but me and Krystal sort of "snuck" down there and camped with our own friends from high school. But what do you know, when we are pulling in to the Coke lot....who do we see....yes Jonathan and Nick walking. Honestly probably the third group of people we see walking! So much for keeping it a secret! I just didnt want him to think I was down there to check up on him. I honestly just wanted to go since I had never been!!! We ended up seeing him a few more times throughout the weekend which was fine. He still got to stay with his guys, and I got to hang out with some friends I don't see often. It poured down rain, but we still had fun, and we even made the Indy paper! Here are some pics!

New Apartment

2007-10-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

Looks like I never posted photos of me and Jon's apartment on my blog. We moved in together in the beginning of 2007. It is a two bedroom- two bath apartment. We are located at the back by the woods so we have a nice yard and fire pit behind our place. We have done a lot of painting and minor repairs since we moved in. We both really like it, its the perfect size and hope to stay here until we can find a house. We have looked at a few houses, but haven't had any we have fallen in love with.

Here are some pics...

Front Room

Bedroom

Bathroom (I know the paint looks crazy, but in person it really looks nice!) The wet bar! Back porch

I've been lost!!! Someone found me!

2007-10-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

I had a personal request to quit slacking on my blog site. And this person is probably right, I have had a lot of adventures recently to share!!! I am going to try and get a few posts on to get everyone caught up with my shenanigans!! Bare with me it may take awhile! ~Jess

Krystal's 24th Birthday!

2007-05-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

Out in downtown Indy for Krystal's 24th!

Dancin with an old man at Blu! High School Sweethearts!
She is getting her groove on! Jessica, Holly and Rachel

Can you guess who is plastered? Better!

Amanda Comes to Ktown!

2007-05-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

Amanda came up for a visit to check out Kokomo for the weekend! So glad she got to come up and visit with all my friends. We had a great time except the part where Jerzie started puking in the car! RIGHT!

2007-05-09T12:04:00.000-07:00

Gran Prix 2007!!!! Let's just say I was in my costume until 7 pm....so you can do the math how drunk I was! Somehow I didn't lose my wings or my arrows!

Jordan's First Birthday!

2007-05-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

Jordan Christine Thatcher turns 1!!!!!! What a cutie!!! GO BREWERS!

Let's get MESSY!

Brock's Visit

2007-04-18T06:06:00.000-07:00

Jennie, Ryan and Me- sorry Jennie don't even remember being there because I was TOASTED!
Big Smiles! (Jessica, Jennifer, Krystal)

Kisses goodbye!
Blair, Me, Krystal, Ryan
Sorry guys....had to put this on here because it is hilarious!
Two of my faves!

Big B came back in town for a weekend to see all of us! We headed down to Howl At the Moon where Brock had reserved the Moon Deck for us and we all had a blast. Then a few of us headed to the Hilton and had some fun at the hotel! It was great to see so many faces that I have not seen in awhile since we all live in different cities!

Sand Painting

2007-04-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

Our church showed this video to open our Easter service. It is incredible, it starts out with creation and moves farther forward until Jesus died on the cross. Watch it!

http://www.willowcreek.com/productsb.asp?invtid=PR29136

Skiing at Bittersweet

2007-04-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

I braved the slopes of Bittersweet! Jonathan loves to snowboard so he took me skiing up in Michigan. He was so patient with me and was such a good teacher! We stuck to the bunny hill for awhile, had a few beers and I was ready for a bigger hill. It probably took me 20 minutes to just get up the nerve to finally plummet down it and I crashed BIG TIME! My spirits were a little down so I headed to the bar, we got a pitcher and then he went off to conquer some of the bigger slopes. I had a great time just sitting in the ski lodge and watching my hot hunk in all his snowboard gear going down these crazy slopes! After awhile I was ready to start trying again and started to get the hang of it. We stayed until about 11 and then headed to the hotel exhausted! We had such a great time! Here are some pics from our trip!

Our drive to Michigan....Jonathan sportin his ski googles! On the ski lift! I am sooo scared! Smooches to make me feel better.....ask you can see I am smiling now considering he is kissing my grin!

Me on the bunny hill!
Liquid courage! One of theaftermath marks!

Lulu is Missing

2007-03-25T08:34:00.000-07:00

Please help us find my bro's puppy! Someone left the side gate unlatched (we are guessing a meter reader cuz no one uses that gate because it is densely covered in bushes!) and Lulu escaped! We have posted up signs all over the area, and we have been walking the neighborhood a few days a week with Jerzie hoping to find her. We also placed two ads in the newspaper and one on the radio, no luck yet :-( If you have any information call me, keep your eyes open if you are in Ktown and for those of you not in town keep her in your prayers that she is returned to us!

She is a black and white boston terrier mix. She has white markings on her face, feet and tip of her tail. She is wearing a black collar. She is about four months old (just a baby!) and we have raised her since she was 4 weeks (awwww so sad) Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

Andrew's 21ST Birthday!!!!

2007-03-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

So my brother turned 21 in DECEMBER!!! and I forgot to put up all his pics from that night! How bad of a sister am I! We started out at our house, we drank a bit there and then mom and dad picked us up in the limo. We piled everyone in and headed up to The Grill. We hung out there for a bit until he was all liquored up and then he wanted to head over to the strip club. I wanted to go soooo bad, but was scared I would see a parent or something there.
Turns out they had a helluva time, he got his boxers ripped off him by the strippers on stage and they beat him with belts! I missed it!! That would have been hilarious to see, I made him pose with his boxers to show the aftermath of what they did to him. He had welts on his back the next morning from their torture!

Mom's Valentine Card

2007-02-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

Ok- how cute is this...since my mom was snowed in she couldn't get out to get my dad a Valentine's Day card. So she "shuffled" and "hopped" through our front yard and wrote....IKILY....It stands for I Know I Love You, it was their little thing they said in college. When I pulled up to their house I thought someone had vandalized their yard and wrote KILL.....in the snow!

Blizzard 2007

2007-02-19T10:52:00.000-08:00

SNOW SNOW SNOW! FUN! FUN! FUN! Here are some pics from Blizzard 2007, all types of crazy things happen when it snows for 24 hours straight! We had fun being snowed in for 2 days and hanging around the house, plus we snuck out for a bit and had some fun with the truck! I got A LOT done for school, having the two days off was great for me to get caught up on the things I usually postpone until later. We got the apartment almost finished, painting-wise." We also had our familys over to watch LOST and play our new board game "Apples to Apples" which is hilariously funny! It is a lot better while drinking, but since we are about 40 days into our 90 day sobriety punishment we had to stick to cokes and water! It was fun to have my mom, dad and brother and Jonathan's parents over, and especially enjoyable since I KICKED BUTT in the game!

Family over for some Apples to Apples action!

Playin in the Snow!

This is how I found Jonathan napping one day!

SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS

2007-02-08T12:17:00.000-08:00

The Colts finally brought it home to Indianapolis!!! Our school got really into it, and we went all out decorating our rooms and hallways. The kids enjoyed getting excited and looking forward to the game. Here are a few photos from around the school!

New Years

2007-01-21T11:09:00.000-08:00

Nick, me and Jonathan.....I love my boyfriends!

Yay for Nick....I miss my roomie!

Jordan and me droppin it like its hot on the dance floor trying to cheer him up!

New Years was pretty fun this year. I was at the Colts game during the day, got back home around 9ish, partied with the guys at our place and then headed down to the grill. As most of you know I DISPISE New Years. I don't like the stress of the one day of the year where you HAVE TO PARTY. I always have high expectations and the outcome never lives up to what I plan! Maybe because I imagine New Years like VEGAS STYLE.....so maybe next year I should save my money and spend the holiday out there. Maybe then, I will finally enjoy NewYears. Needless to say, I still made the best of what I had to deal with, drank the night away, and started 2007 out with a BANG!

Little Lulu

2007-01-13T09:23:00.000-08:00

My brother got a new puppy over Thanksgiving break. No one is quite sure what type of mix she is, but all we know is that she is FULL of energy, not afraid of anything, and super adorable. She wears the other dogs out! Introducing LULU!!!
Lulu's first day home!

When is dinner?

Relaxin with her daddy

Nappin with Jonathan on the couch

More sleepy!

Colts Game

2007-01-09T12:23:00.000-08:00

I got COLTS TICKETS for XMAS!! I had never been before so I was so excited. Me and my bro headed down to the Dome together and watched the game on New Years Eve. We played the Miami Dolphins and WON! The last time Andrew had gone was when he was 8, and he fell asleep in the bleachers! I was so happy to go and be back in the football atmosphere! Except I started dressing all warm, and I finally realized....HEY....this isn't a Purdue game.....it is indoors!

Winter Break

2007-01-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

Me and Jonathan
Me, Grimme, Kristen
Grimme and Me again

AGH A nice two weeks off of school, to relax, DRINK, and be with old friends! I got to do all of the above, but also moved into me and Jonathan's new apartment so I stayed pretty busy. I also decided to back my car into a tree during break.....I know I know you think....typical Jessica, BUT REALLY!!! I had gone SO LONG WITHOUT WRECKING IT!

Anyway, I got to see some GREAT old friends, and wish I had gotten pictures with everyone but I was having too great of a time to even think about it! Here is a few from over break!

Skydiving Videos

2006-12-21T09:39:00.000-08:00

It just dawned on me that I never posted these videos from Skydiving!! Click the link and ENJOY!! I sure did!! Can't wait until next season. Anyone interested in going, Jonathan and I already purchased some jump tickets for next year so let us know!

To get to the videos- click on the link, then click on the full screen version, you have to put in your name and email, but they won't send you any junk mail if you click the "No Thanks" box. It has some pretty junky music compared to our DVD's we bought, but it is still awesome to watch!

http://www.realxstream.com/?XStreamID=30337&Vid=2 Jessica's Video

http://www.realxstream.com/?XStreamID=22223&Vid=1 Jonathan's Video

Pacer Game

2006-12-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

I finally got to a Pacer game! I went down the day after Thanksgiving with Jonathan and his mommy and daddy. We had 6th row seats so we got to go down to the Best Locker Room bar and eat and have a few beers. Plus the players locker room is right next to the bar, so when you sit and look out they run right by you to get to the floor! It is so awesome! But they are so huge up close. I got to see Lebron James up really close (we walked right behind the bench where he was standing!) I had never seen him play in person so that was fun!

Thanksgiving Break

2006-12-13T12:39:00.000-08:00

Why am I eating Krystal's hair, can you tell I let Jonathan be the driver this night!
Sorry guys...your faces were too priceless not to post!
Stone is doing some YMCA dancing for some reason prior to his DUI.

I look forward to this weekend every year! The night out on the town where anybody who is anybody is out and about getting sloshed and trying to recover before their Thanksgiving feasts the following day!

Oaken Bucket Game!!

2006-12-03T17:10:00.000-08:00

Well this one was suuuuure interesting needless to say. We headed over to Purdue on Friday night... a friend of Jonathan's brother offered us his spare room at Willowbrook. This was going to be a step up from our twin bed with towels as blankets from the weekend previous. We went out to Jakes and met up with Julie and Matt. COUGAR AND BOBBY were back in town also so it was FABULOUS seeing them. They always brighten my day!
We headed out to Willowbrook around 3 and much to our dismay Jordan wasn't answering his door. Agh!!I popped a squat by the stairs because I think I peed the most I have ever peed in my life. Maybe even stocking up all my pee for a full week, it may have been comparable to this fountain of yellow. It was dripping over the stairway there was so much! Eww...but you know me, I am not ashamed to go ANYWHERE.
Ok...so after I peed for what seemed like 2 more hours. We tried our best to find an alternative place to stay, but pretty soon it was 4:30 and we knew we would be getting up in less that 2 hours so we just parked the truck and cuddled up to sleep. We didn't really sleep much, but...hey, what was our choices!
We got up around 6:15 and headed over to bclub. I was so tired, sore and grumpy I didn't even bother with my costume. It was way too complicated and there was no way I could get it all ready inside the truck. We got to the bar scene and the LINES WERE OUTRAGEOUS. People were all over the place and I saw some awesome costumes. We waited in line at Where Else for 50 minutes before we even got in. But it was all worth it cuz we caught up with my dad....aka Flava Flave and all his friends who were also all pimped out. They were getting us beer after beer and at one time we were triple fisting. That made all of our grumpiness go away!!!
We stayed at bclub for about 2 hours then headed up to the game. And yes we made it to the game!! For once I got to see it! My Boilers pulled out a win over the Hoosiers. It wasn't a pretty win....but hey a win is a win right!
My father cracks me up...what a crazy dude! I was trying to get a picture of the outrageous lines...but instead this pic pretty much sums up what bclub is all about, lines lines lines, police and boys in Hooters attire!

Dad handed over the costume for a little while! My Cougar and Bobby back in West Lala!

The newly engaged Julie Troyer!

Stayin warm at the game....GO BOILERS!

I JUMPED OUT OF A FREAKING AIRPLANE

2006-10-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

Yes....you heard me....I went SKYDIVING! I surprised Jonathan with a trip flying through the sky for his birthday. AND IT WAS AMAZING!!!! We both are addicted to it and couldn't quit smiling once we finished. I never really got nervous once I got all geared up! It was amazing, and something everyone should try!

Jonathan's dad flew us down to Greensburg (I knew that dating a pilot's son would pay off some day) so our trip to Greensburg got cut from 2 hours to 30 minutes. It was, however, very intimidating to hear people coming over the radio saying...."JUMPERS AWAY JUMPERS AWAY AT 1200 FT.) Yah scary knowing we weren't even close to flying at that altitude so we were going to be going even higher than that and jumping.

We got to Greensburg, in style may I add by being flown in, and we watched our little safety video. I swiped my credit card for damn near $600 bucks and we signed our life away (16 page waiver ). About 20 minutes later they suited us up, assigned our instructors and we hopped on the plane. I was DAMN LUCKY...my instructor was JAY STOKES, who holds the world record for most jumps in a day (640 in 24 hours.......he is damn good) He has gone all over the world skydiving and is a professional, so I felt as safe as I possible could. Plus if this world record holder dies....well then I will get to be all over the news with him right!!! Jonathan on the other hand got assigned to a guy who had a 104 degree temperature and looked very very pale....So needless to say my stomach was in knots knowing that! But Jonathan seemed pretty calm but anxious to fly!!!

We got in the plane and FINALLY they gave us some instruction once we were off the ground. I was soooo happy I really don't remember any of my instructions tho! I wanted to jump first, cuz I knew I would not have been able to handle watching him jump out and fall right before my eyes. So we gave our last kiss goodbye, a few I love yous....and off I went.

Jay and I did a gainer out of the plane.....AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!! And I began my free fall at 120 mph from 1200 feet. It was SOOOOOOOOOO COOOOOOOL!!! My face was flapping I was going so fasst. I was yelling from pure joy!! I didn't want it to end!!! After about 40 seconds the parachute opened and Jay let me play in the air for a bit with the controls and we sailed around for about 5 minutes. My landing was a little shaky....but I was just so damn excited to talk to Jonathan I couldnt wait! We went right back in and bought more jump tickets so we could try and jump again in the next two weeks before the season is over.......WE FOUND A NEW HOBBY!!! AND AN EXHILARATING ONE AT THAT!!!!

All our pics are loaded on my yahoo site so check those out at
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/boilerbabe44/albums

Breakfast Club Vs. Minnesota HOMECOMING!

2006-10-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

Yet another great Homecoming! I even grew some balls (don't worry they were surgically removed Monday morning) and me, Jonathan and Stone headed over on Friday night....we got there around midnight. Headed over to good old Where Else to meet up with Julie!! And we danced the night away. APPARENTLY, Jonathan put me to bed around 4 at Vishnu's......but I don't recall anything after leaving Where Else....I know I know bad news but HEY haven't blacked out in a while, I needed a good one!

Next morning we woke up ready and pumped to go to Breakfast Club at 8:30. Stone being a breakfast club virgin didn't know what to expect. Stone got me stapled into my Statue of Liberty costume and off we headed. For those of you who know my philosophy on making Breakfast Club outfits, staples always works best. We drank our fair share at "The Club" then headed up to Cary Quad to meet up with Pete and get some more drinks. Unfortnately, Jonathan got a little TOO DRUNK, and didn't make me such a happy camper. But hey....the day must go on. Stone, Vishnu and I still managed to have a superb time, after a few Long Islands, our driver finally showed up....in rare form of course. And we headed on home. ANOTHER GREAT WEEKEND AT PURDUE!I LOVE ALL MY FRIENDS I GOT TO SEE.....a few weekends off and then we will be back in action for the WISCONSIN game! BOILER UP! Headin down to Where Else!
I found Witney....and her baby
Yes....sadly this is my boyfriend in rare form.....somehow I found the ability to forgive him for making an idiot out himself!

Mom's Scooter

2006-10-15T12:42:00.000-07:00

My mom all of a sudden got an obession with buying a scooter to ride to work to save money on gas. Finally after many pleas with my dad she finally got one. She was as happy as a kid on Christmas morning. She couldn't stop smiling! She even got matching yellow Oakleys to wear! She is just adorable and it only costs $1.50 for 100 miles (or something like that!). This was the first time me, Andrew and Jonathan had seen her on it. She came honking by our house with a huge grin on her face on the way to my Gmas.

Breakfast Club vs. Ball State

2006-09-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

I BROUGHT BACK THE FOOTBALL BRA!!! It was debuted at the last Ball State football game, so I thought it was only appropriate to bring it out once again. After a little bit of adjusting/repairing of some staples and ribbon it was all set. The crew went over....and finally they agreed to getting an early start, just as I had been begging for all season thus far. We got there around 8. I didn't bring along a friend cuz everyone was either at Xfest, or wussing out on me in Colorado. Soooooo I just hung out with the oldies...but as always I had a blast!

Ryan Hungate, Me and Dad

Ryan, Hetzel, Dad, Parker

Me and Melissa and her "fist of goodness"

Retraction

2006-09-18T12:31:00.000-07:00

Ok-so apparently me referring to my boyfriend as "hunny buns" in a past post has really gotten a special lady worked up. I was totally being sarcastic, but she must not get the humor in it. So for her sake I am retracting my statement of "hunny buns" and from now on he will be referred to as simply "my sexy bitch." There ya go Miss Grace, hope thats the old gansta style in me you remember.

Breakfast Club vs. Miami of Ohio

2006-09-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

Another Breakfast club down for the season. This week I was blessed with the attendance of Jonathan and his momma for the big event! How fun was it! Can you tell what Sally is???? This is classic, she taped leaves to a visor, and when someone asked what she was she would blow on them......get it yet????? A leaf blower! Ha I thought I got pretty creative plannin that one out. Unfortunately my creativity ran out for myself. I thought if I got a few drinks in me Friday night something amazing would come to my brain. Sadly, nothing did so I was up at 6 scroungin around the storage closet looking for an old outfit to wear. I was pretty disappointed with my choice of costume, not original enough for me...but it worked I guess.
We had an amazing time at "the club." I weaseled my way into the student section with Brandon and Clint! YAY old times! Clint broke my sandals soooo I had to wear his tennis shoes around all game? Why do I always lose/break my shoe the past several months I have no idea! The Boilermakers had a hard time against this pathetic team. Doesn't look like we have much of a team this year, probably no bowl game :-( We blocked their kick when they were trying to go ahead of us with a few minitues left, so we went into overtime and somehow pulled out a win. Can't wait for next game!!!

My Classroom!

2006-09-15T12:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of my classroom minus the little hooligans!

Kegstand Virgin

2006-09-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

I FINALLY did my first kegstand, I don't know what I was so afraid of! I thought it was fun and luckily I wasn't one of the many that these guys dropped that day! Football season brings out the best in me!

Breakfast Club vs ISU

2006-09-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

IT'S BAAAAAACKKKKK!!! OH yes what I live and die for every year...FOOTBALL SEASON which equals.....BREAKFAST CLUB! I have been looking forward to this since last season! Our troops were small unfortunatley, guess some people don't have their drinking game worked up to par quite yet. But you know me and my dad wouldn't miss it for ANYTHING. I met up with Elle and Hartman at the bar and we did a little bit of boozing. We didn't get there till 9:45 so we got a very late start, but we still did our fair share. AND I did my first KEGSTAND! How proud I was!

Elle and I went as baby-sitters. Get it...babies tied to our butts....hmmm how clever and oh it was so easy and comfy.

Lake Maxinkuckee

2006-08-31T07:18:00.000-07:00

Well, since I have been stuck getting my room ready the past several weeks. I decided it was time for me to have a break. One of the last sunny weekends we have had (when is the rain going to stop anyway?) me, my dad, brother, and Jonathan headed up to Lake Maxinkuckee to do some boating. Rich Schwartz has one bad ass cottage up there on the lake with the prettiest boat I think I have ever seen! It is one of the speed boats that you can fill the back up with water to create a surf wave behind it. Yes! You can actually surf on a surfboard behind it. We stuck to some skiing and jet skiing though. Jonathan did some fancy wakeboard which was fun to watch. (Wish I knew how to do it) I attempted several times to get up on one ski but just can't do it! So frustrating! We cruised over to check out Culver from the jetskis, and Jonathan showed me all the buildings he remembered and where he lived. It looks more like a fun summer camp than a punishment to get sent there to me! Then we decided it would be fun to launch the jet ski's over the wake from the back of the boat. I hit the wake wrong a few times, and boy did I wipe out! It was fun though, but I had some pretty big bruises to show for it! Wish it would get nice so we could go up again before the summer is over!

Mr. and Mrs. Austin McClain

2006-08-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

Well Meghan and Austin finally tied the knot earlier this month! It was a beautiful wedding out at Oakbrook and brought so many of us old high school friends back together. The wedding was on the 5th and the guest list was HUGE....I'd know since I kept the books! But everyone who was anyone was at this wedding! The couples were as follows: Me and Jonathan, Krystal and Kent, Jennifer and her fiance Eric, Jennie and Logan, Blair and Laure (minus their new baby Isabella aww) Ryan and Brooke, Zach and Meghan, Brock and Amanda, and Brooke and Jesse. It was soooo awesome to see everyone and get to spend time with them all! Plus I got to see a bunch of other people at the wedding and reception.

Meg's Bachelorette Party

2006-08-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

Well, this is a little late post, but I have been waiting on Krystal to get her pics developed cuz some of mine didn't come out very well. ANYWAY.....two weeks ago we had Meg's Big Bachelorette Party down in Indy. We went over to Molly (maid of honor) and Catherine's (bridesmaid) to have a "pure romance" party.....aka SEX TOYS!!! I was inspired and focused on all your options in the bedroom! After some messing around and taking pics with some of the "equipment," we all changed into our partying outfits and headed downtown in a stretch limo!

We first went to Talbot St. which is a gay bar downtown. Oh did I mention Krystal and I were dared to flash all of Meridian Blvd? Some of these girls that were friends of Meghans apparently didn't know that me and K were up for just about anything. Ok...so off to the gay bar we go, we hit up the drag show...which was AMAZING!

Then we drove down to Broad Ripple to LandSharks for an hour or so and then over to Seven to party with the big dogs. Somehow we cut through all the lines to all of these place even though Broadripple was packed! I believe Molly was quite a celebrity cuz everywhere we went as soon as we pulled up to the bar, someone came out and took us up to the very front. Now that is what I call PIMP!
A
fter Seven we headed home, all a little drunk and tired. I waited until everyone crashed and then snuck out to drive home. I was suprisingly sober by about 4, and missed my hunny buns so much....especially after the "pure romance" party haha. So I went home to snuggle in our own cozy bed. Once you stay with someone every night, sleeping alone feels that much more lonely. What a perfect way to end the night!

All in all, I had a SPECTACULAR time. Nothing is better than a night out in BroadRipple with the ladies in a limo, especially for my FIRST bachelorette party. Here are some pics from some highlights of the night. I posted all the pics on my yahoo site.
Us with our posing with our "toys" In the limo Here comes trouble-these girls should know better than to bet me and Krystal Meg and the Queens Dancin at Seven

AGH!!! School starts tommorow!!

2006-08-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, I can't believe it is already here. School starts tommorrow and I am still frantically trying to get things ready and its 10:00! I was in my room for over 12 hours today and 9 yesterday. Oh my what we go through for these kids. I am both nervous but also very anxious to have a class I can call my own. I just want the first day to be over with and then I can relax and try to be a good teacher.....well I have wasted too much time typing this, precious time I have before I pass out from exhaustion. Hopefully I will be able to sleep tonight!

Cedar Point

2006-08-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

In leui of my new job we decided it would be a great time to get out of Indiana and do something FUN! before I had to enter the work force. So we headed off to Sandusky, Ohio to conquer some coasters at Cedar Point. Originally it was supposed to be me and Jonathan and my bro and his girlfriend Nicole. But OF COURSE Bon Air called on Friday and said I had training the EXACT same days we had reservations to go the next week. Sooooo we had to do some quick rearranging and my bro and his little hunny couldn't get off work. I was soooo bummed and had looked forward to go with my bro....but luckily Jonathan's brother and two friends got to go.

We went last Sunday and Monday and hit up all the major coasters plus spent some good quality time at the swim-up bar in the water park. Oh the joys of being of legal age! My personal favorite was new "Top Thrill Dragster." This coaster shoots you from 0-120 mph in four seconds straight up at a 90 degree angle.....and then straight back down going 120 mph at a 90 degree angle. Then the brakes come up and slow you down as quickly as possible. (They also don't tell you that you are going to be corkscrewing on your way up and down which I thought was the scariest part at those angles and speeds!) We conquered this bad boy in style....FRONT SEAT BOTH TIMES!! I even kept my hands up the entire second time, which proved to be quite difficult. We also of course hit the classics, Millenium Force, The Raptor, and the new Wicked Twister which I also highly recommend. I would not recommend however riding Snake River Falls....NO MATTER HOW HOT YOU ARE! You will NOT get cooled off....you will get DRENCHED like a mutha!

Top Thrill Dragster....look left you can see it launching

Pimpin it in the front car with our hands up!!Goin so fast gnats were hittin our face!

On the Skyline....we had many plans for this ride once it got dark but it got closed down...haha

Entering the real world

2006-08-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

Yep that's right, I am entering the real world! I got a call saying Bon Air would like to hire me as the new third grade teacher! Yep you heard me, my dream grade just what I wanted, THIRD! I interviewed in beginning of July for seven positions around Kokomo Center Schools. It was a TERRIFYING interview with FIVE (yes FIVE) principals. I was sooo nervous, and I have a hard time with interviews because I have a hard time bragging about how good I am! Anyway, they told me they would contact me for a second interview to look at my portfolio. ( Did I mention over 100 people applied for those seven positions? Yah so they had a lot of weeding out to do) Anyway a few weeks later, I got a call, no second interview Bon Air just wanted me! I was so excited I forgot to ask all the important questions and had to call back human resources the next day. I was pacing back and forth with excitement! The catch is it is temporary for the entire year while the other teacher is on her second year of maternity leave. (Don't ask me how you can stay on maternity leave for TWO years) But maybe she will decide to stay home with the kids and I will get to stay. Anyway I am just excited to get started, but the room is COMPLETELY BARE and needs TONS OF WORK!!! So don't expect me to have much of a life for awhile!

Ribfest

2006-07-30T16:51:00.000-07:00

Pops and me...yes I am trashed Me and my baby!
Kisses for Ryan

Another downtown extravaganza has came and went. Funny how you plan a huge event like Ribfest in downtown Kokomo and everyone decides to come home and visit. It's like people think its the party of the year or something. It also tends to attract some rather "interesting" people who crawl out of the holes in the wall in the ghetto. I had a glorious day, drinking by the pool, hittin up Johanna and Justins wedding, chillen on the back porch with my favorite partner (Bud Light) to reflect on my boo's night spent in Carroll county jail, and then headin down to The Fest. Needless to say I was shitfaced, and wearing a skirt and high heels didnt really help my balance.
BUT as usual I had a wonderful time, got to see some old faces who I miss so much and heard the newest R&B hot single. The second installment of "I'm in love with a stripper" sung by Mr. Jonathan Hollingsworth himself..."I'm in love with a teacher." :-)

Fourth of July

2006-07-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

For our Fourth of July weekend, Krystal and I headed up to Jennie's lake cottage on Lake Wawasee for the day. We spent the day anchored out at the sandbar along with about 200 other boats and drank the day away. It was an awesome time as usual, music blaring, kegs on the back of boats, and just hangin out withs tons of random drunk people. After a day out in the sun, we headed in to get ready for our nightly festivites. We boarded the new boat belonging to "The FROG" (a bar up there). The trip was set up similiar to a booze cruise with alcohol and dinner. Then to end the night we watched fireworks from the boat. Everyone had docked their boats around the lake so there were boats everywhere. The fireworks were even synchronized to music! It was a great time, and it was nice to get out on a lake for awhile!

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND

"I am Jesus"-Krystal Featherston

2006-07-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from our last random night out in West Lafayette. I decided it would be a great night to get plastered for some reason. But these pictures I haven't started to hit my peak quit yet. By the last one tho-you could say I was headin on my downward spiral!
Yay, Jonathan finally got here from the lake!
Me and Elle prior to our table full of shots
Yes......the wounded turtle

Outta Lafayette

2006-07-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

Well, seems crazy but I am officially done working at The Lodge. Many of you know, I had moved back over to Lafayette for the summer to go back to work at my old job at The Lodge Apartments. I had been working some weekends in April and May, but went back to working all the time as soon as I got back from Hawaii. They gave me an apartment and me and Jonathan had a grand old time living over there for a little over a month. It was good to get us both out of Kokomo and since he commutes to Frankfort every day, it got him closer to work.

Sadly, we had to give up our apartment at the beginning of July because someone needed to move in early and we had the only three bedroom available. So we had to pack up our stuff, and I quit my job. I tried to commute for several days but with gas the way it is I just couldn't do it. Plus things really arent the same around there anymore since everyone has left/fired/quit. So ADIOS!!! TO THE LODGE for me!

I'll now be back in Kokomo, where my brother and I are getting a house. Should have pics uploaded soon from it! Here are some random pics for the month we were over there.
The good old Lodge Apartment 11201
Packin it all up Chillen on the balcony Jorge passed out in the game room Slip N Slide

Hawaii Pics!

2006-07-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

OK----it took awhile but I finally uploaded "SOME" of my Hawaii pics. We took a little over 600....so I didnt upload ALL of them. Plus I LOST!!!! (yah I am pissed) one of the picture cds! I had been trying to get our scanner fixed so I could upload some of them from the printed out ones, and some from the underwater cameras...but our scanner is a piece of crap and has had its last days I believe.Soooo I uploaded what I could, and if I splurge and buy a new scanner I will upload some new ones. Really the underwater ones are the ones worth looking at because they are so unreal. Luckily, Pops let me spend $300 on developing while we were in Hawaii so I have copies of all of them in albums. ENJOY!!

http://photos.yahoo.com/boilerbabe44

2006-06-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

WHAT A VACATION! I was blown away by Hawaii, as soon as we landed the place seemed like an exotic planet compared to Indiana! The water was crystal clear blue, the volcanoes and mountains in the distance were beautiful shades of bright green, and everywhere you looked was covered in bright flowers and etc. We landed on May 18th, and then we spent three days on Oahu. We visited Pearl Harbor on our first day, it was very interesting to see. We visited the USS Arizona Memorial and oil was still rising to the surface of the water from the sunken ship. The ship also still holds all of the soldiers that were trapped inside when the ship sunk. The next day we headed up to the North Shore to visit the beach where LOST is filmed....I was so excited. We also saw Banzaii Pipeline and snorkeled in Turtle Bay which we just kinda stumbled across. The sea turtles here were HUGE and very very friendly they would nudge right up to you. On our last day we hiked up Diamond Head which is a crater left from a dormant volcano, once we were on top (about a two hour hike) we could see the entire island!
We flew over to Maui on the 22nd. The first day we relaxed and settled into our beautiful condo. On the second day, Andrew and I took surf lessons. We were actually pretty good at the beginning boards so the next day we rented some shorter boards to hopefully be able to maneuver the waves better. Well the combination of the new board and "trying" to catch BIGGER waves about drowned us both. I got thrashed around and caught in a set of three really bad waves. My legs were pulled in every direction and I was pretty banged up from swallowing so much water and hitting the coral so much (it was only 4 ft deep). That idea soon turned out to be pretty scary! The next day we had a snorkeling trip planned over to Molokini which is a sunken crater in the middle of the ocean. The water is crystal clear and you can see down perfectly 60-80 ft. We saw all types of fish and even a shark! The next day we got up at 2:30 and drove up to Haleakali Crater, another dormant volcano. We got to the sumit at around 5:00 to watch the sunrise. It was amazing because we were higher than the clouds so when the sun came up the clouds all changed color. We spent the rest of the day on our beach hanging out and then went out to eat in Lahaina which is like a little "Panama Strip." The following day we drove the Hana Highway. This highway was hand-carved around the coast and took 30 years to complete. It had 618 hairpin turns, and 54 one lane bridges. The trip took us 12 hours roundtrip! We stopped and saw black sand beaches, red sand beaches, underwater caves, HUGE waterfalls (several of them), seaside grottos and sea arches. We also were driving directly through the rainforest the entire time, so the foliage around was BEAUTIFUL....but after about 7 hours I got pretty cranky. We had a few days of rest to shop and check out the rest of the island and then on our last day we took a helicopter tour over to Lanai and Molokai ...we saw the tallest sea cliffs in the world (8000 ft!!), some awesome reefs from the air, and the best part was we went over this mountain which opened up into a valley and there was 8 WATERFALLS in the valley. They are called Jurassic Falls and were used in the film Jurassic Park. We also saw another Waterfall that started at the top of the sea cliff and ran all the way down to the ocean......8,000 feet of AMAZING! At night we said farewell to Hawaii from the sea and took a sunset cruise (open bar was nice) and watched the island from the water. The next morning we hung out in Lahaina all day becuase our flight didnt leave until 10 at night. I loved my vacation but was ready to get home. I sure didnt miss Indiana but I missed certain someones and my doggy!
It was an awesome trip to take with my family, and something we may never have gotten to do any other time. Check out my pics cuz we spent over $300 bucks on getting pics developed (we had over 600, dont worry I didnt post them all!). But some of the pics are great!!!

You couldn't do this if you tried!

2006-05-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

So this is my first ever wreck in my first car....aka the Silver Bullet. Somehow I managed to launch my car up onto this short wall. I thought it would be a great random photo/story.

The events of this incident occurred around 7:00 AM on my way to high school. Many of you know that I HAVE to drink milk (with ice of course) right before I go to bed, and once again for breakfast. Well the Silver Bullet didn't have cupholders (or a backseat) so it was always a true balancing act how I held my breakfast and my glass of milk while I was driving. On this particular morning I had lodged my cup of milk into this change holder thing in front of the console. I pulled out around this corner (blind corner may I add) and needless to say there was a car coming I must have missed seeing. So I sped up, as I sped up and turned my milk spilled on the floor. I was devastated about my precious milk, so I immediately reached down to grab it. Well....I forgot I was turning apparently and hit the stairway between this small wall "just right" to launch me up onto the wall. My car's undersides were sprawled out on the road, and I kinda tumbled out into the sidewalk. I still look at this wall and wonder....how the heck I managed to do it!!

Gran Prix

2006-05-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

Me and Kelly (front row), Amanda, Kelly, Destri and Shrock.

GRAN PRIX 2006....how did I forget to post about it! Oh my what a wonderful day at Breakfast Club! Me and my girls dressed up as a drinking game (which we sucked at btw) and we double-fisted screwdrivers until we were slobberin and speaking jibberish. After an hour in line, we spent our day at Jake's and Stacks and I was completely drenched in beer and who knows what by 2:00, but of course I didn't care! After some breaking out into a random dance party at Stacks and some lovely conversation at the fire station we headed home to Amanda's place around 5. I puked, passed out and woke up to discover Amanda snuggling with a wild squirrel! It was such an amazing day....and the pictures sure "show" some memories I will NOT remember forever....at least I have the picture to try and use my imagination!

Thomas' House

2006-05-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

May 7th a whole group of us reconvened for our annual visit out at Thomas' House in Burlington. I can't believe it has been six years since I lost my precious Adam, well we lost our precious Adam. Adam was such a wonderful a caring person, his life was cut way too short. He would have gone on to accomplish so many amazing things. I miss the kid like crazy and wonder how my life might be different if he was still around. Maybe I would live in Brazil with him while he was playing soccer for goobillions of dollars!!!

Adam's Garden and the Fishing Beach

Anyways, every year on the anniversary of his death, a large group of us go out to see his parents and we spend the day out at their house. They live on a beautiful property with a private lake, horses, four wheeling trails, cabin on the lake with a theater big screen and surround sound, pontoon boat, canoes, and Adam's garden. It is always so comforting and nice to see his parents and sisters and spend the day out there with them. It is amazing how many people still come out there, without fail, each year to be with them. This year we spent the day fishing, four wheeling (my favorite pastime to do with Adam!!) and sitting around the beach with everyone. It is always a truly amazing day. We love and miss you Adam!

Me and Monica (his mommy) and horse kisses!

Dad's Extravaganza/ St. Patrick's Day

2006-05-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

We had an early retirement/last day of work huge bash at the Grill for my dad on St. Patricks Day. Sondy (the owner) said people had been calling all week to reserve a table to be able to come. I got up there with the rest of the fam for some dinner around 5. Then Krystal and I changed into our party shirts, which said, "Mac is our Hero" across the front. Of course the shirt wasn't complete without a pic of a famous glasses and teeth shot of the three of us. The party was crazy and the bar was packed! I had blast, and my dad was escorted home around 2. My night ended carrying an unknown 20-year old Indian Ishmaal to my car who couldnt even open his eyes, guys I was with fighting in the back parking lot losing shoes and shirts, trying to get away with stealing a huge truck cuz I was so fed up with its owner, and sleeping in a pair of shorts that were about three sizes too big for me.....all in all it was a great night that ended at about 6 in the morning. Mark it down in the book for a definate "night to remember."

Random Pic-(little delayed)

2006-03-25T07:09:00.000-08:00

Ok- totally forgot about this random pic thing I started.....so here is the next one. Yes, this is my pet pig, Molly. We had her all through her piglet years. She was bottle-fed and even walked on a leash, we were convinced she was part dog. I snuck Molly into school under my jacket once for last period. We had a pretty fun time taking her around and showing her off. It was quite a sight to see a pig running down the hallways! Sadly once she started to get bigger, Molly had to leave the house and go to her new home out on a farm.

Special Delivery!!!

2006-03-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

Jordan Christine Thatcher was welcomed with open arms last Thursday March, 16th. Her momma was on her way down to my house for some good-old Wednesday night TV, and her water broke so off she headed to the hospital. The next afternoon little Jordan arrived and what a cutie she is! Good thing our big hoopla of a shower was the weekend before, just in time, cuz Jordan was busting out early! (By the way the shower did turn out amazing, but I was glad it was over cuz it had been stressing me out all week!) Congrats to my little Annie and the rest of the Thatcher crew, I can't wait to watch this one grow up!

War Wounds

2006-02-27T13:55:00.000-08:00

So as you can see, this Saturday was quite the blur. I woke up with this hideous mark on my side, and a pulled muscle in my left ankle. Needless to say I believe that each of these war wounds would be proof that I had a great time. We started out at the Wiseman tree dance, not really sure what it is for, some organization, but there was free beer and food so I was definately taking advantage of it. Then once the beer ran out around 11:30ish we headed up to the one and only Grill, and boy was it packed. My night consisted of dancing until my feet hurt, watching an extremely old woman pass out in the biggest bathroom stall, planning my relocation to Arizona, singing 1945 music, achieving half of my mission for the night (wink wink), being shoved into the bar when a fight started, making it impossible for anyone to ever know where I was, almost killing my dog, petting Krystal, and basically having to be told everything I did the morning after. And then of course....whatever caused that hideous mark on my side.

Random Pic of the Week

2006-02-26T17:26:00.000-08:00

So recently I have been going through my thousands upon thousands of pictures trying to put some organization into them. I came across several random and odd ones. So I decided to do this little thing I call- "Random Pic of the Week." I am going to try and post a pic at least once a week, it will be random and crazy, and will make you think....hmmmm. I will post them on here, and then my Yahoo Photo page will still have all the archives of pictures from past weeks. Just go to my photo page and click on the Pic of the week album. Enjoy, this should be fun. http://photos.yahoo.com/boilerbabe44

This picture was taken after a soccer game. I remember doing a lot of interviewing into this banana. However, I have no clue what the back up dancers are doing. And if you look over Chach's shoulder...do you see a bear? hmmmm?

Tampon Birthday Prank

2006-02-25T08:04:00.000-08:00

Krystal's dad turned 50 last week and I helped her and her mom with their birthday prank. We snuck out at night and went and "decorated" his trailer (he has a construction business). We hung tampons-dyed with Creme Soda, at all the entry ways- and all around the trailer. We stuck maxi pads on the fridge, on the doors and as many toolboxes as we could find. It was pretty funny, and the best part was the people who were driving by at night and slowing down to see what the heck we were up to! He was sure surprised!

Kokomo Krew

2006-02-20T07:48:00.000-08:00

Ryan decided to make an appearance back in Kokomo this past weekend, so I ventured out into the land of karaoke and Cha-Cha sliding. It was great to be back with old friends. Plus, I had not been out in weeks so I hadn't gotten my monthly dosage of second hand smoke. When I woke up even my cell phone stunk of it! All in all it was a good weekend, some casual drinking and dancing. And thanks to the boys for their stellar rendition of "Friends in Low Places," which got several people up and on the dance floor Friday evening.

Babies, babies, babies!

2006-02-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

My little Poppers is nearing her due nate. Anne Thatcher, a close friend of the family, is the first of "the kids" to have a baby! Several of the ladies from the group of about 4 familes have been planning a spectacular baby shower for her. The date is nearing and one of my duties was to create the invitations. I am really excited about how they ended up turning out, so I thought I would post a pic for all of you. It took me forever to finally decide on a design, and they are taking forever to make, but I LOVE them!

I used light yellow and pink cardstock and cut them into 3 inch by 8 inch strips to make a card that opened vertically. I used a hole punch and an eyelet for the closure. I used tacky letters which are double sided, and I applied rose micro-beads to the letters to make them a little more snazzy. They are just itty bitty beads like the size of glitter but much cooler. Then I used some regular stickers but attached foam backing to them to make them more 3D. The inside info is written on plain transparent vellum. Tell me what you think!

A half a decade later....

2006-02-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

First I must apologize for neglecting to post this earlier. Blake and I mutually decided to go our separate ways about a week ago. It was the night before Jansen's passing so, obviously I had a lot of other things on my mind since then.

Blake joined the Air Force in December, and since then our relationship started to weaken. I wasn't wanting to pursue another long-distance relationship. I found it hard to be optimistic about everything, and imagine him being all over the country for the next several years. It is sad to see such a long relationship end this way, but probably is for the best.

So far, I have been happy with this decision. Many of you know Blake and I have been off and on again for the past five years. With the other break-ups I always had mixed emotions, but for once I think we made the right decision this time. I feel confident that we can begin to build a strong friendship before he leaves.

I am definitely enjoying the independence, I have no one to worry about but myself, and the "sky is the limit" so to speak.

A Life Remembered

2006-02-13T06:37:00.000-08:00

It has been several days since Jansen's viewing and funeral. It was hard for me on so many levels. I tried to be strong for my brother as best I could, but learned that I could not shelve my emotions so easily. It was most difficult to see Jansen's lifeless body in the casket. Jansen was always so full of life and outgoing, and he was always moving around. But luckily they dressed him as he usually would be dressed, baseball cap and collared shirt. He would have been pretty angry he didn't have his "bling bling" in his ears though!

The viewing was amazing. According to the guest book, over 1000 people signed in. It was smart thinking to move it over to the church, instead of trying to house so many people in a funeral home. They held the services at St. Patrick's Catholic church. It is one of the most beautiful church's I have ever seen. Adams funeral was also held there. The ceilings are so tall, and the sides are lined with intricate and elaborate huge stain glass windows. Please take the time to look at the pictures, on this site. I love this church so much! Click on the picture of the church on the homepage. http://www.stpatrick-kokomo.org/

The line never got short, it consistently stayed at the same point the entire time. It took about 30-40 minutes just to wait through. They even had to conduct the rosary ceremony with people still waiting in line. I don't think Jansen would have ever imagined so many people to come and pay their respects. The funeral the next day was also beautiful. The priest did an excellent job. Again, the church was filled. We got to sit directly behind the family which made me feel so honored and blessed.

The funeral procession to the cemetery was the longest procession I have ever witnessed in my life. My dad even said the same thing, and he has lived a lot longer! At the graveside ceremony they played "I'll be missing you," by Puff Daddy. Jansen was always singing, so it was easy to imagine him singing along to it. My brother and I used to joke and say that "Jansen thinks his life is a music video!" :-) But, as soon as those first notes came out of the speaker you could just hear the people in the crowd immediately tear up. My brother took it exceptionally hard, and if you know the lyrics you can probably imagine why. It was a perfect song to play, because Jansen would have probably requested it. Our pastor did the graveside service. The Kucholick family are all Catholic, but they asked Mark to do the graveside, because Jansen had been attending our church for the past several years. Jansen really enjoyed Mark, and again probably would not have ever imagined Mark would agree to do his graveside. Of course Mark rocked the house with all his inspirational words.

Looking back at the past few days, I feel Jansen's life was honored and remembered to the largest degree possible. Everything was amazing, and the amount of people at all the ceremony's was unbelievable. The support and love coming from so many people flooded the room. I could just feel emotions and feelings, and people there to honor such a beautiful young man. I felt at ease to know he was looking down in amazement at how everything turned out.

Tragic News

2006-02-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

Our family got some very tragic news early Saturday morning. My brother's best friend, Jansen, passed away. This is devastating news to my entire family. We all cared about Jansen just like he was part of our family. My brother and him had moved into their own house in November. Even though they had moved out they were still regulars around our house, especially when food was being served. My brother woke up to come over and eat lunch over here with all of us. Andrew went into Jansen's room and found him, appearing to be sleeping, in his bed. They are still investigating the cause of his death, and right now nothing has turned up on any tests.

Many of you have met Jansen, because over the past several years he has become a second brother to me. If you check my photos regularly he shows up in a lot of them. My family sort of "took in" Jansen as a second son. Jansen spent a lot of time at our house, and not many days would go by without seeing him. Jansen also spent many holidays and vacations with us over the years. Christmas's, Florida trips, visiting family out of state, or just a weekend trip to the lake. Honestly, we just planned on Jansen coming no matter where we were headed. But, really what sticks out most in my mind, is just him being around here and hanging out all the time doing nothing in particular.

My heart is breaking because I feel as if I have lost a huge piece of my life. To see my brother walk up to the house alone and not see Jansen trailing shortly behind him hits me really hard. I am having a difficult time even imagining getting older and Jansen not being there. It is hard to explain in words how much I cared about him.

I also have so many questions to ask, and I know that I can't get any answers. I wonder if he knew how much we all loved him. I wonder if he is ok, and if he is in a better place. I wonder what went wrong on that night. I wonder what was the last thing I said to him. I wonder if my brother is going to be able to get through this. I wonder what tomorrow will be like and the day after that.....and most importantly I hope Jansen knows that there are very few people in this world that I loved as much as I loved him.

Post-Graduation

2006-02-06T15:15:00.000-08:00

Bye bye Boilers! Yes, finally three majors later I graduated from Purdue with an elementary education degree. I can't wait to get into my own classroom and begin teaching and touching young lives. I think I have finally found something I can excel in and be good at. After graduation, I got a temporary job in the school that I was student teaching in. I was filling in for a teacher's aide that was out for surgery. I was in a third/fourth grade classroom in the mornings and then back in my fourth/fifth split in the afternoons. I was very lucky because I got to stay longer in the classroom where I did my student teaching. I have grown so close to the kids and I was happy to be with them longer. PLUS I was getting paid finally! I recently finished that job on the 24th of January. And currently I am job searching in some surrounding areas. I really don't know where I will end up teaching for now I am just trying to get several options going.

My Introduction-Read First

2006-02-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my first ever blog site. It really isn't much right now, but maybe I will jazz it up sometime later. I have lost touch with many friends since moving away from Purdue, and my hopes are that this blog can keep people up to date with what's going on with me. Unfortunately, my first few posts might not be as happy and cheery as you could hope, but you have to start somewhere I suppose. I am going to attempt to try and get everyone caught up with my life and everything that has been going on the past few weeks. Thanks for listening.