Ninth Year and Counting

On the way to Bloomington we spent a lot of time contemplating how many years we had visited it for Labor Day weekend.  Fortunately, Facebook had several memories for me to look back on these past few days and we were finally able to figure out that we had been there nine years in a row.  Some of our activities had changed over the years (no more creek sliding), but each time we have come down we have had a wonderful time together as a family.  

Today's activity revolved around Garlic Fest.  We listened to reggae music and did some shopping at the art booths while Doug and Parce tried several different types of beers.  There were food booths, but we had had lunch at the winery again, so no one was too hungry.  Cam and I did check out the reptiles on display including a beaded dragon and several different types of snakes and turtles.  All told we spent about two hours there and were proud to claim that we had attended each and every one of the six Garlic Fests that Bloomington had put on.  

Hannah-Marie had never been to the Kroger by the mall and we wanted her to experience the cadillac of grocery stores.  Thus, we went there next.  Brett and Cal needed some groceries as well, so it worked out well.  She was impressed with the chocolate waterfall and the sushi bar.  Afterward she and Cal took Doug and Cam on in tennis.  Meg stayed at Brett's to work on homework while I rested and he organized his bookshelf.  It was Harry Potter weekend on Freeform, so I didn't mind taking a break at all.

After tennis we tried one of Cal's favorite restaurants in Bloomington - Aver's.  They had a pizza and salad buffet and Parce even agreed to meet us there.  Once dinner was over Brett got ready for mass and Doug, Cam and Meg decided to go to the IU soccer game.  The Hoosiers were ranked in the top ten in the nation and the game was packed.  I dropped them off and then took Brett to church.  He was once again the 9 p.m. mass coordinator.  I stopped at Parce's to visit with him for awhile since everyone was busy.  It was nice listening to his thoughts on class reunions and to get the itinerary for his upcoming cruise to Cuba.

After the game and mass we tried to get ice cream at Hartzell's.  The line was out the door.  Instead we stopped at McDonald's for sundaes and McFlurries.  It wasn't quite as good, but we saved a lot of time.  Cal and HM stopped by a friend of his before heading to Brett's.  The rest of us split up once again for the evening with Cam and Doug sleeping at Parce's.  It was another wonderful day and tthe weather even cooperated with temperatures in the 80's with sunshine.  We couldn't ask for anything more.