Superbowl Sunday

On the first meeting of our Tuesday nights with the ladies, Heather turned to me and said, "Are you guys going to do another Superbowl party like you did last year - that was so much fun, I want to know that you are going to do it again!". Given it was the middle of September, it was definitely not on the forefront of my planning (there's a little thing like Christmas that had me distracted), but I promised her we would nonetheless.

So, here we are on Superbowl Sunday - and we completely gave the reigns to Heather and Kaela as to who would be coming - while we took care of the house to have people gather at and the food to consume. While we are technically in the collegiate ministry - it seems that this year our focus has become more "post-collegiate". That was certainly the case for today - Heather and Kaela made the guest list include a majority of folks who were no longer in college - which is just fine, as the FBC Guys' House (AO House) was hosting their own party, so hopefully everyone ended up being taken care of.

One of the first guests was Aaron - he's getting married this summer, we'll have to see if he decides to get a haircut before then....

Kaela used John's camera to take most all of these pictures - with the wide-angle lens - so some of the images are a little distorted (and wider than normal) on the edges....

This is a tribute to Aunt Laura as Brayden was one of the few rooting for the Steelers among the crowd.

Me, Heather, and Kelli. Kelli now lives in Portland, but was Julie and Heather's roommate last year. I so wish she still lived down here as she would be such a perfect part of our Tuesday night group of ladies too....(and I'd get to see her a lot more often as well!)

On the left is Amanda (one of Kaela's roommates) and Elisa

This is the "Prediction Board" for what every one thought the end score would turn out to be. What do you know, but Mikayla won. (There wasn't anything to actually win except bragging rights).

A rear view of the crowd....

A little overhead view of the condiments table - it was southwestern fare today - tacos and nachos, and burritos....

This was Will's reaction to Cyrus walking into the house. These two are literally the two tallest guys in attendance, so to see Cyrus take all of Will's weight, was kind of impressive.

I would say that less than half of the crowd actually cared about the game - in fact, many of them just hung out in the kitchen having their own kind of reunion.

The weather was mild enough for the girls to be able to play on the trampoline - its the first time its been used in 2011.


This is a picture of the "younger crowd" in attendance - it did not include the Quigleys or us Rileys...

At halftime, it was game time for us - a repeat of last year's adventure. I wasn't planning on playing (as evidenced by me not being in this pic), but when they broke into two teams, they were a player short, so I joined in.

I was a little late getting outside as I was busy setting this up...

I think my team might have actually been better off without me - notice how it looks like I had this reception totally in the bag....(and an impressive jump by Heather!)

...but then, there's Kimmie with the interception....darn it anyway!

Who knew that she was a Powderpuff player all through high school and college?!

Even though he was on the other team, I have to brag on my son that he took an interception and ran it all the way back - nearly making the score - but, on the next play getting the catch to make it happen.

Meanwhile, inside, things were a little more subdued. What a great pic of Lisa and Erica.

And another great shot of Adam and Erica...

The two tall guys - that were the two team captains for the outdoor halftime game. The other team won...... =(

Here's the second half crowd and look Kaela's actually in a crowd picture!

Elaina showed up in the second half too..... =)

Lisa looks super engrossed in the game, don't you think? That's her dad, Fred, on the beanbag - so great to have him here when, last fall, we were praying for him to undergo major bypass surgery for a heart attack.

A couple of our couples. This is Kelli and her boyfriend, Brian...he joined us in the second half.

And this is Daniel and Genna. We went to their wedding last summer and Daniel works with John. It's a very small world as Genna lived at the Trinity House and is friends with a lot of the ladies who were here. They made no apology that they were here just for the post-game "Glee" episode and could care less about the Superbowl. =)
Ah Will, I've missed seeing you around - (he was studying in Mexico fall term). John, Travis, Will, Walt, and Aaron (first picture) get together on Thursday nights, but they are now meeting at the guys' house, so I don't see them very often. Both Mikayla and Sydney made up for lost time giving him attention.

After the game, prior to the "Glee" episode, Mikayla and Erica had fun at Brian's expense doing his "hair" - he was a good sport about it. Kimmie ended up being their patients too (and I think Kaela, Heather, and Kelli....) as they decided to go from hairdressers to doctors.


About half the group left when "Glee" aired, which is good, because the crowd in attendance were much more attentive to the tv during that show vs. the Superbowl. I can't say that it was my favorite episode of all time, but the "Thriller" performance was certainly impressive.

What a great day - thanks Heather, for making sure that this happened!