Mark of Fridays: Happy Birthday Grandma Diane!

Or is that supposed to be: Happy Birthday, Nana! I can never remember.

Happy birthday to mom!

We here at Lynne and Matt Blog Inc., Ltd., would like to wish our No. 1, most devoted reader a very, very happy birthday!

Mom - Thanks for always being there for us; thanks for always listening to us; thanks for always being excited for us; thanks for always encouraging us; thanks for telling Matt that he should do summer running before his freshman year of high school. You were right!
There are so many fun things happening and we're glad we get to share them with you!
Love,
Lynne and Matt

p.s. Oh yeah, and thanks for letting Matt wear a cool hat, even when he was little.

That was not a shower. Apparently.

Lynne desperately did not want a shower. Showers are boring. Showers are silly. Showers stink. Boo showers.
So, instead, Lynne got a luncheon. What's the difference? Lynne didn't want a shower. Everyone loves Lynne. So no one had a shower for Lynne. They had a luncheon.
And you know what? Lynne loved the luncheon. Absolutely, adored, hasn't stopped talking about it, loved the showe...luncheon. Almost slipped up there.
Thanks to extraordinary amount of planning by Mom(inlaw), Megan, Grandma, Aunt Nancy, Sara, Aunt Shelley and Kalli, the luncheon was a big success. These ladies gave up a lot of sleep to create a Peru-themed luncheon with Peruvian food, Peruvian trivia, Peruvian posters (which were obtained from the Peruvian consulate) and even Peruvian decorations. Lynne (and Matt) were frankly overwhelmed at all the time everyone spent decorating, cooking and preparing. People made trips to consulates, stayed up making taco shells, made up games and, finally, made Lynne and Matt very happy. How do you say thank you for such generosity and love?
Lynne and Matt sure hope that everyone had as much fun as they did at the showe...luncheon. Whoops! Special mention to Aunt Maryanne who flew out for the day from New York. She always said if someone offered free food she'd show up. Matt thought that was a joke.
One of the many highlights of the day was the Lynne and Matt quizzes. The how-well-do-you-know-the-couple questions are posted below.

The answers will be posted in a few days and in the meantime you can make your guesses in the comments section. No cheating if you were there. The postee with the most right wins a recipe for Peruvian potato salad.

If you can beat Matt -(14 1/2 right) or Lynne (17 right) then you get a homemade batch of Peruvian potato salad.

Let’s Learn About Lynne!
1. Who was Lynne’s favorite singer as a little girl?
2. In what state did Lynne win a state writing contest?
3. What TV sitcom did Lynne love so much that as a kid her dad had to change the channel during a Super Bowl party so she wouldn’t miss it?
4. What was the color and make of Lynne’s first car?
5. Who did Lynne refer to as “her baby”?
6. What catastrophe struck on Lynne’s 7th birthday?
7. When Lynne was young, who was her favorite person in the whole world?
8. What college did Lynne visit that she thought was “all concrete”?
9. To where was Lynne’s favorite Girl Scout trip?
10. When Lynne was little, what did she want to be when she grew up (occupation)?
11. The name of Lynne’s first dog?
12. The first time Lynne flew without an adult, where did she go and approximately how old was she?
13. What city did Lynne go to in order to get immersed in another language?
14. What was Lynne’s first college choice?
15. Lynne is a member of what sorority?
16. What language did Lynne take in high school?
17. What two movies did Lynne watch over and over and over (and memorize) as a kid?
18. What was the only test Lynne ever took and failed?
19. Where did Lynne study overseas?
20. Lynne dressed up as what cartoon character and sang her songs?
21. Name the high schools Lynne has taught at.
22.What baseball game did Lynne go to where “everybody hits & everybody scores,” and one of the teams went on to win the World Series that year?
23. When her Dad punished her for something she didn’t do, what was her punishment for him?
24. How many countries can you name that Lynne has been to?
25. Who is Lynne crazy about that taught her about “Robby Wagner”?

Matt Mania!
1. At one point Matt would only answer to one name (that was not his own). What was that name?
2. How many times has Matt completed the Chicago Marathon?
3. What happened to Matt when he overdid it on his favorite food as an infant? How does he feel about that food now?
4. What significance does this house (the Sunderlage Farmhouse, where the luncheon was held) have in Matt’s life (prior to today)?

5. How many baseball stadiums has Matt visited? (And do you know which ones they are?)
6. What baseball player did everyone who visited Matt at U of I get their picture taken with?
7. On what holiday did Matt have an upset stomach that his mother blamed on the meal he had the night before? What was really wrong?
8. What collegiate team did Matt “walk on” to during his sophomore year?
9. What was the subject of Matt’s first professional published article?
10. Who is Matt’s all-time favorite baseball player?
11. What was Matt’s famous comment about his Dad’s barbecuing?
12. What big journalism award has Matt won in each of the last two years?
13. What was the reason for Matt’s senior year trek to Miami?
14. When was Matt first time on an airplane? Where was he going?
15. What is Matt’s favorite movie?
16. What was the name of the club that Matt started with his roommate (Nathaniel) in college?
17. During what movie did Matt let out a tremendous wail right at a particularly quiet part?
18. What did Matt do that almost caused his roommate to get expelled from medical school?
19. Why did Matt visit Fort A.P. Hill in 1994?
20. What kind of house played an important role in Matt’s Eagle Scout project?
21. What did Matt stop doing on his 7th birthday at exactly the time he was born?
22. Where was Matt when he lost his first tooth?
23. To what University was Matt awarded the top journalism scholarship?
24. What was Matt’s first job? How long did he work there?
25. What were Matt and Megan singing on the fateful canoe trip where he met the girl that he is crazy about?

Good luck! And thanks to everyone who made it a great day.

Didn't the Expos fold when Andre Dawson left?

Did you know there's something called a "Bridal Expo"?
Did you further know that at these "Bridal Expos" people are merely considered vessels that carry around the wallets?
Did you know about this?
Matt did not know.
But this past weekend Matt, Lynne and The Moms headed off to the Wyndham Hotel in Naperville, Ill., for the Bridal Expo. Let's start right there, with the name: Bridal Expo is sort of a misnomer. There was actually stuff there for the guys: tuxedos, cupcakes, Men's rooms.
There was also 450 booths for hair decorations, 95 flower booths, 120 booths for jewelry, 637 booths for photography, and a harp booth. Oh wait, and a cake shaped like a large-mouth bass. (No joke!)
Also, inexplicably, there was a chiropractic booth and a laser hair removal booth. What kind of wedding is that?
The first part of the Bridal Expo was a huge cattle herd, with vendors desperately trying to snag anyone they could, and brides just as desperately trying not to sign up for anything.
"Excuse-me-have-you-thought-aboutyourDJserviceyet..." the vendors shouted as the brides-to-be zoomed by, grabbing free pens but avoiding eye contact.
Meanwhile, Matt was registering for every raffle and trying to ask as many random questions as possible.
"Will your DJ play the translated Numa Numa song?"
"Are these mattress made with free-range goose feathers?"
"What's the maximum amount of tuxedos I can order?"

"Do you make dresses for seven-foot bridesmaids?"
Then after everyone got through the wedding booth maze, there was a fashion show of dresses that ranged from odd and scary to nice and classy.
Leading the show was this lady - pictured at left - who said "fabulous" or "of course" every 5 seconds. At first it was weird but, of course, it quickly got fabulous!
The Fabulous-O-Meter ended at 16 and the Of-Course-O-Meter ended at 50 billion.
It turns out - here's a free tip for those of you who are pre-engaged - that a Bridal Expo is something to go to soon after the engagement. (With no previous engagement experience, Matt and Lynne had no idea - they thought the Bridal Expo was where Andres Galarraga bought a dress.) So, Lynne and Matt had already taken care of some things available at the Expo.
But Matt did get a couple tuxedo referrals, one of those little tasks still hanging out there. And it was fun to spend the day with The Moms, getting ideas for things that we think we can make cheaper and better ourselves.
Overall, it was a suprisingly fun day, even if it has led to Matt recieving SIX flyers and EIGHT emails, just three days after the Expo. But the highlight of the day had to be when Lynne and Matt found their ride to the wedding:

Nice ride, huh? And here's the inside:
Suh-weet. There's room for eight to 10 more people, depending on how much you eat, so start kissing up and maybe we'll bring you along.

Speaking of wedded bliss...

Well, it's a few days late, but we here at the Lynne and Matt blog wanted to wish Diane and Mark Hanley a very happy 30th wedding anniversary!

30 years! Wow! That's a lot for Lynne and Matt to live up to, but they promise to give it their best shot.

To great parents, better role models and even better friends, all the best wishes! We love you both very much.

Love, Matt and Lynne

p.s. Nice tux, Dad!