Every weekend should have at least three days

If there's a heaven, I'm sure there are no alarm clocks there.

I love waking up on my own with nothing to do but contemplate what fun thing to do and when to do it. Unfortunately, in order to do all those fun things, work must be part of the equation. So when a three-day weekend comes along, especially in good weather, it's well received.

Because she's almost an adult, Ali had plans already for Friday night, which allowed Jeff and I to have a mini-date night. We had an amazing dinner at Mama Irma's, a Peruvian restaurant in Fountain Square and then walked around a bit, having a cocktail here and gelato there.

We found Alison at her friend's cookout finishing up story time with a little blond haired girl clinging to her back. Never one to fail to make an impression, she'd scared the bejesus out of her host by climbing on his garage roof.  She also ate my leftovers - swordfish with rice and a spicy sauce -- with her fingers on the ride home.

Saturday started with a two-hour bike ride for Jeff and me before we went down for Rebecca's high school graduation party.  This is the baby who was six-weeks old at my wedding. Now, she's salutatorian of her high school class and Butler-bound.

Ali made a friend, though. And Aleasha got up close and very personal with a hot dog on the deck.
 

Sunday featured a two-hour bike ride for Jeff and me before we watched the race from the comfort of our family room. For you non-Hoosiers, this was a big deal.

The Indy 500 has been blacked out for television broadcast for literally 50+ years. The venue sold out for its 100th running and the Hulmans were apparently struck by the Be Nice Fairy and allowed the locals to watch from home.

I'm glad for the city and the Speedway that they sold out. But you couldn't pay me to join 350K+ people sitting elbow to elbow in the hot sun. I did enjoy the photos, though...

We emerged to prep for dinner with our Ogden friends. Alison was helping wearing her paint-stained sweats. Jeff asked her if she was planning to dress for company. "We're not having company," she said. "We're having the Ogdens. They're family."

We had a great time. We hadn't gotten together en masse for a while but it could have been yesterday it was so easy.  The picture of the kids on the couch was them reverting to type and hitting the video games. The one with money is a yesteryear shot when they'd cleaned up selling old Beanie Babies in the front yard.

I convinced Ali to ride bikes to the gym today and she's up sleeping it off now and resting up for an  Indians game. It's back to the grind tomorrow. Well, for Jeff and me.

Ali is off to a Harry Potter movie marathon with a school friend. We may see her again before it's time to send her off to summer camp. It's a rough life she's living. But the way I see it, she might as well have as much fun as she can before she'll be greeted by the alarm clock every day.