Ladies and gentleman, start your reading.

If falling behind on your blog is cool, then consider me Miles Davis.

On Memorial Day weekend, Wheat and I braved record crowds to attend the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. By record crowds, I mean over 350,000 people. A broadcaster said one in every 1,000 Americans attended the race. It was the first ever sell-out at IMS, which also meant the Indianapolis-area TV blackout was lifted for the first time since 1950. Hoosiers everywhere rejoiced.


Like last year, we decided to forego the get-stuck-in-hours-of-traffic option and pay for the shuttle to and from the speedway. After packing some snacks, drinks, and chairs and lathering ourselves in sunscreen, we boarded the bus hours before I usually even get up for work. Upon arrival, I forced Wheat to help me find the free commemorative milk bottles they were giving away for fans to drink alongside the winner. With our 2% drinks safely in-hand, we set up shop on a hill near Turn 4.


The hours between arrival and the start of the race are people-watching gold. Drunk frat boys bedecked in American flag everything celebrate next to families with children and foreigners who traveled from overseas for the event. The video board in front of us showed live interviews with the many celebrities in attendance - Lady Gaga, Chris Pine (who waved the green flag), Ice-T, Andrew Luck, Darius Rucker (who sang the national anthem), Josh Kaufman (who sang "Back Home Again in Indiana"), David Letterman, Florence Henderson, and several Pacers players. Countless airplanes flew overhead, dragging advertisements that no one noticed. Naturally 7, an incredible a cappella group that I've seen a few times in concert, performed on stages erected in each turn.

A cautionary tale.

As the start of the race drew closer, the anticipation of the crowd became palpable. Former race champions (and cars!) returned for a pre-race parade around the track in celebration of the 100th running. Despite the heat and the intensity of the sun, the national anthem and the accompanying jet fly-by gave me chills. So did the sound of the massive crowd cheering over the iconic roar of the engines.


The race itself was exciting, featuring lots of lead changes and a few crashes. I was pulling for my favorite driver, Tony Kanaan, or the pole-sitter James Hinchcliffe, while Wheat was rooting for super underdog Takuma Sato. In the end, an American rookie, Alexander Rossi, crossed the famous bricks first after the other front-runners were forced to pit for fuel. Rossi and his team decided to push it and just barely finished. In fact, he didn't even have enough fuel to finish his victory lap and was towed back to the pit. Oh, and if you're wondering, we did drink the lukewarm milk in celebration.


Over the course of the afternoon, we met up with a friend from grad school, crushed some Lemon Chills, shielded ourselves from the sun under an umbrella, and made friends with the people near us, who happened to be from towns near me in Ohio. In full disclosure, the journey home on the shuttle bus was an absolute nightmare, complete with massive lines, overwhelming heat, long waits, and, of course, me passing out, but all in all, it was an incredible day. The kind of day that reminds me how in love I've fallen with my adopted city and the life we've chosen to build here.


Until next year, 500...

If you're interested, click here for my post from last year's race.

Happy Thoughts Thursday

Summer is coming. I can feel it in the air, guys. Our evening strolls along the canal leave us glistening with sweat and we finally caved and turned on the air conditioning this week. Game of Thrones has been killing it, Wheat isn't working any Fever games this summer, and the sun stays out longer and longer every day. How could I possibly complain when life is this good? Here are some of my recent happy thoughts:

+ My Sister Came to Visit! In reality, she came home for the first time since October to meet our beloved niece, but I'll pretend it was to see me. We spent some time together in both Ohio and Indianapolis and it was beyond wonderful to see her beautiful face. When she and my mom visited Indy, we took them to Scotty's for dinner, devoured some frozen yogurt, country line danced in the living room, and laughed until we cried. I think it's about time that I booked a trip out to Arizona...


+ Last Weekend. It was the perfect mix of relaxing and exciting, calm and cool. Our leasing office gave us free tickets to see the minor league baseball team on Friday night, so we watched the Indians beat the RailRiders (who actually had Nick Swisher for the series), 5-1. It was a drizzly evening, but our seats were sheltered, so we enjoyed some ballpark food and the fireworks that followed in complete comfort. We also won a $10 gas card and two Grand Slam breakfasts from Denny's, so I consider the night a total win. On Saturday night, we went to the drive-in theater for a triple feature because we're insane. If you're wondering, Jungle Book was amazing, Keanu was stupid, and The Nice Guys was funny and entertaining.


+ Honeymoon Planning. Wheat and I are mostly booked for our honeymoon next month. We're officially hitting London, Amsterdam, and Munich and I spend every second of every day dreaming about what we're going to do. Do you have any suggestions for me? Must sees and dos, restaurants, etc.? I've been to London before, but it was over ten years ago, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Prepare yourselves for the blog posts to come...

+ Chalk Competitions. I found out that Garfield Park and Conservatory was hosting a chalk art competition this weekend, so I forced asked Wheat to check it out with me. There were intricate drawings of Bernie Sanders, the DeLorean from Back to the Future, and more cats than I can count. The ones below were my three favorites:


+ Indianapolis. With the 100th running of the Indy 500 this weekend, my adopted city has turned the charm on full blast. Decorations and signs welcoming race fans adorn storefronts. The JW Marriott pulled out all the stops with a massive decal on its facade. Even the geese and ducks knew it was time to show off, so they've been waddling around with their new babies. It's a great time to be alive around here.


Have you been to London, Amsterdam, or Munich?
Do you want to squeeze my niece, too?
What's making YOU happy this week?

Feed me that's all I ask of you.

No, your eyes do not deceive you. I'm actually blogging two days in a row. No need to send for help - everything's fine. I just finally have a bit of free time. At some point, I'll get back to my wedding posts, but for now, I'm trying to catch up with my life and all the cool things going on right now.

A couple weeks ago, Wheat helped me check another thing off my music bucket list when he took me to see The Phantom of the Opera at the Murat. Getting tickets for Christmas is the coolest thing ever because you suddenly remember months later that you get to do something awesome. Before the play, Wheat surprised me with a fancy dinner at The Capital Grille. I'd never heard of it before, but man - I'm now a fan for life.

The awesome waitress brought us a delicious, free bruschetta appetizer because it was our first time there. My main course, I kid you not, was last-meal material. I ordered the sliced filet mignon with cipollini onions and wild mushrooms and I was in taste bud heaven. The mushrooms and onions were so perfectly caramelized that it actually tasted like a dessert melting in my mouth. Don't even get me started on the steak. Wheat ordered the surf 'n turf (seared tenderloin and butter poached lobster tails) and we split the most incredible mashed potatoes I've ever had (with sweet cream already mixed in). The only thing more delicious was my view across the table.


We asked for a box for the leftover mashed potatoes and the waitress asked the chef to throw another scoop of them in for us. We decided we were too stuffed to order dessert, but the waitress had other plans and brought out a free dessert sampler, which included cheesecake, berries and cream, mango sorbet, and espresso cake. Guys, the words on the plate were written in chocolate. A blogger's dream. Needless to say, I'll be back.


Since we stayed longer than anticipated, we had to rush over to the Murat and quickly find our seats for the show. Although I'd never seen the live production, I've always counted the movie among my favorites and really love the music. The show, which starred Chris Mann (Christina Aguilera's finalist on Season 2 of The Voice) as the Phantom, surpassed my sky-high expectations. The set was incredible, transforming from ornate, 19th-century Parisian opera house to murky underground lair in seconds. The actors' voices were pitch perfect and the chandelier, which made its famous dramatic drop over the audience when the phantom commanded it to do so, startled me more than I care to admit.


Best of all, I got to watch the entire thing while holding hands with the Raoul to my Christine. Wheat knew very little about the plot heading into the play, so it was fun to watch him experience the story for the first time. He may or may not still be singing "Masquerade" daily. Am I the luckiest girl in the world or what?

Aaahoo! Normal Wolves in Brookville.

For my mom's birthday, which also happened to fall on Mother's Day this year, I wanted to do something really cool and super unique. If you know her at all, you know that she's an animal lover with a particular affection for chimpanzees, orangutans, dogs, and wolves. So, when I first saw an Instagram picture taken at Wolf Creek Habitat in Brookville, Indiana a few months ago, I knew that a trip there would be the perfect gift for her...and I'll admit it - I desperately wanted to go, too.

I knew she'd never heard of the place (or she'd have been raving about it already), so we planned to keep the trip a secret. With the promise she wouldn't be doing anything strenuous and instructions to wear long pants, no dangling jewelry, and no fur on her clothes, my mom hopped in the car and anxiously made guesses about the day's upcoming events the whole way there.

After exiting the highway, the drive took us down some worrisome extremely windy roads into the bowels of Brookville. After several miles of no signs of civilization, we finally arrived at our destination and my mom let out an excited shriek. I quickly explained to her that we wouldn't be looking at the wolves, we would be playing and interacting with them inside their enclosures.

The habitat, which features a fire pit, a teepee (that you can rent and stay in over night), and a long trailer that serves as the hub and gift shop, had a heavy Native American influence. Dreamcatchers and old Native American poems decorated the walls while tribal music played softly on speakers, both inside and out. We paid the required donation for the interaction ($30 each) and anxiously waited for our turn in the enclosure. Waiting wasn't too bad, though. The staff was bottle-feeding several 12-day-old wolf pups in the trailer, so we melted over them (and the fact that they shared a birthday with my niece) until our turn.

After disinfecting our shoes, we made our way into the first enclosure along with our guide and six other people. It housed two wolves, a 4-year-old brother and sister pair named Kodiak and Iya. Instantly, I was amazed at how intimidating they were in close proximity. From afar, they look mostly like dogs, but when you're face-to-face with them, you quickly realize how big and wild they are. I was also blown away by how friendly they were. When we first entered, they hopped on their platform and greeted us, licking our faces and pawing us until we would pet them.

A few minutes after we arrived, it started to rain and although it didn't make for the most comfortable visitor experience, the wolves sure seemed to enjoy it. We stepped under the awning and watched as they ran around in the cool rain and the guide answered our questions about the wolves and the habitat itself. Another big difference between wolves and dogs (besides the awesome eyes on Iya up there)? When they want to be left alone, they really want to be left alone, so we spent the bulk of our time in the first enclosure begging them to come to us.

When the rain died down to a drizzle, we made our way to the second enclosure, which housed four of Kodiak's three-year-old kids - Denali (the only boy), Aquene, Niimi, and Nova. This is where things got a little crazy. In addition to the mud and continuing rain, Denali really seemed to like my cell phone. While crouching down to get a good picture, he charged right at me and nearly knocked me on my butt. I stood up to catch my balance and he jumped on me again, scratching me across the face and covering me in mud. He continued to jump on me (even using the platform as a launchpad), so my mom and Wheat moved in to deflect him and got some jumping and head-butting of their own. It was really eye-opening to see how strong he could be while playing and a little scary to imagine the damage he could do if he felt threatened.

The second enclosure was really incredible with all four wolves roughhousing with each other (and us). At one point, one of the sisters yelped in pain when her siblings were a little too rough and hid under a platform for the rest of our visit. Other guests to the habitat watched from a raised walkway (which you can do for free) and took pictures as we continued to play with Denali.

Covered in mud, soaked to the bone, and smelling like wolves, we left the enclosure (but not without Denali trying to escape first) and headed to lunch at Korners Kountry Kitchen in downtown Brookville, where we relived the incredible experience by looking at all the framed wolf pictures on the wall.

If you're an animal lover or looking for a unique experience, I highly recommend Wolf Creek Habitat. The owners and volunteers are incredibly informative, gracious, and genuinely happy to share these amazing animals with visitors. Plus, where else can you capture moments like this?

Another Wedding and Giraffe Hangs

Serious question: Will I ever have time to blog again?

As much as I love this space, it always seems to be the first thing to go when life gets crazy. Between hectic work weeks, weekend trips, and normal chores, I simply don't have the time (or energy) to write when I'm finally done with my day. How do working moms do it?! At any rate, I'm back with a post from THREE weekends ago. Oops. Allow me to switch gears from my own wedding and tell you about someone else's...

At the end of April, I traveled down to Evansville to watch my dear college friend Nick get married. Although Wheat couldn't attend due to the Pacers playoffs, I had a wonderful time with some of my very best friends and, as always, loved seeing the little details of someone else's special day. For instance, look at the contents of the precious welcome bag I received when I checked into my hotel.

It was raining on the wedding day, so the ceremony was held inside at the Evansville Country Club. The space, which was later converted for the reception, was really gorgeous with an expansive outdoor patio that we took full advantage of. The cocktail hour was filled with a slideshow, lots of group picture-taking, and more than a few stuffed mushrooms on my part. The mothers of the bride and groom baked hundreds of different cookies for the reception, which was a heartfelt touch that perfectly complimented the wedding cake that was also served.

Nick and his bride, Kelsi, met at YoungLife camp, so they incorporated some cool camp traditions into their reception. A couple guys taught the group two different line dances to get everyone involved on the dance floor. If you know me at all, you know I don't need any persuasion to start grooving, which is evidenced by the individual lap dance I received from the groom. It may or may not have cost $20 (thanks, Tasha!), but it was performed to Ginuwine's "Pony," so it was worth every cent. Sorry, I'm not sorry.

At the end of the night, we bid farewell to the couple with a beautiful sparkler send-off and I questioned why Wheat and I didn't decide to do that, too.

The next morning, everyone else headed home relatively early, but with Wheat in Canada, I was in no rush to get back. So, I decided to postpone the three-hour drive and take myself on a date to the Mesker Park Zoo. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the zoo, the beautiful weather, and the small amount of people on the grounds. I spent a couple hours traipsing through the exhibits, admiring the gorgeous, humid greenhouse, taking selfies with the giraffes, and walking around the lake that serves as the zoo's centerpiece. There weren't a ton of animals (which I expected from a smaller zoo), but I particularly loved the red panda, the jaguar, and the otters.

Once I'd covered every square-inch of the zoo, I forced myself into the car...but not without stopping for a McDonald's ice cream cone first.

Maybe one of these days I'll get back to blogging about my own wedding...

Odds and Ends

While I've been working on my wedding recap posts, some cool things have been happening around these here parts...you know, besides the grand entrance of my niece. Spring has ushered in some desperately needed good news, mostly beautiful weather, and happy times. The chaos of the NBA playoffs, car trouble, and a hectic work schedule have been balanced nicely by leisurely strolls on the canal, trying new restaurants, and the return of Game of Thrones. What follows are some of the highlights because bloggers gonna blog.

++ Wheat and I scratched something off my music bucket list two weekends ago when we saw Mumford & Sons at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. In a few words, they were phenomenal. Marcus Mumford's voice is truly heaven-sent and even though I didn't know most of the music from their new album, I was still completely enthralled by it. I was blown away by their energy throughout the show and we both thought the live experience added something to songs that we'd previously thought were only okay.

They're so good the stage caught on fire.

At one point, Marcus actually ran through the crowd to the opposite side of the area and still sounded just like he does on the record. He also stopped on his way back to the stage to dance with the fans for a bit. He switched seamlessly between guitar and drums as the band played a nice mix of their newer, "plugged-in" music and several of our old folksy favorites. It was honestly one of the best concerts I've ever seen.

Blake Mills opened the show nicely and came out to play with Mumford on several songs throughout their set. Toward the end of the show, the four original members of the band made their way to a small stage much closer to us to play two acoustic songs around one microphone. It was incredible. At this point, Marcus also sang a bit of Justin Bieber's "Where Are You Now?" which was just as hilarious as you'd imagine. Check out this video I found of it on YouTube:



It also happened to be the last show on this leg of their American tour, so they decided to have a little fun and call a fan on stage to sing AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long." The guy, dressed in a Reds jersey no less, didn't have a great voice, but made up for it with his ridiculous energy and excitement. He also changed the lyrics from "knocking me out with those American thighs" to "Kentucky thighs," so you know they chose a winner. Here was the setlist:

Snake Eyes
Believe
Below My Feet
Wilder Mind
Lover of the Light
Tompkins Square Park
Broken Crown (with Blake Mills and Stuart Johnson)
Ghosts That We Knew
Awake My Soul (with Blake Mills and Stuart Johnson)
Fool You've Landed (with Blake Mills and Stuart Johnson)
The Cave
Little Lion Man
Ditmas
Dust Bowl Dance

Reminder
Cold Arms

Hot Gates (with Blake Mills)
I'm on Fire (with Blake Mills) - Bruce Springsteen cover
You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC cover (sang by random fan)
I Will Wait
The Wolf

++ American Ninja Warrior filmed on the Circle in downtown Indianapolis for a couple nights. Wheat and I decided to fight the crazy crowds to get a glimpse of the action and I'm really glad we did. The line of hopeful contestants stretched around the Circle and it wasn't long before we weren't able to move in any direction. It was awesome to see the center of town shut down for such a cool event and we loved watching a few competitors try the course. We didn't stay for long, but we saw plenty of wipe-outs on the rolling log. You couldn't even pay me to try it. The Indianapolis episode airs on June 13th.

++ The Pacers were eliminated in Game 7 of their first-round series against the Toronto Raptors, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's bad because I want Wheat to have the opportunity to cover a team that makes deep playoff runs, but it's good because I'm selfish and I have my handsome husband back. Before they were eliminated, I had the opportunity to attend two playoff games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse - a 101-85 loss in Game 3 and a 101-83 victory in Game 6. I'm sure this goes without saying, but the atmosphere at a playoff game is totally different than the regular season. The excitement is palpable and I love being there to support our local team. There were no Drake sightings in Indianapolis, but I did get free t-shirts for the Gold Outs at both games.

My honorary Canadian heart swells with happiness for these guys.

Now that Wheat isn't jetting back and forth from Canada, I know I'll have plenty of cool things to blog about...and maybe, just maybe, I'll get the energy to finish my wedding posts.