Butterflies, Polar Bears and Barenaked Ladies, oh my!

This polar bear has the right idea!

What can I say?  Just another week in this crazy life we call retirement.  Who ever said retirement would be boring?

Mike and I attended a Barenaked Ladies concert on Wednesday night at White River Gardens, a beautiful outdoor venue.  Of course it would be another rainy night (last year we saw John Fogerty there on a rainy July evening), but fortunately the rain ended before the concerts.

Barenaked Ladies at White River Gardens

The opening acts were Colin Hay and Violent Femmes.

The highlight of the evening was hearing the Barenaked Ladies playing the theme song they wrote for the Big Bang Theory show. Wow!

We enjoyed a lovely evening with friends Brian and Stacy on Thursday evening.  Brian picked up a guitar, and Mike joined on keyboards in our music room.  And Stacy and I spent the evening catching up on the screen porch.

I call this one "Tiger Butts"

Our friend Stan visited us last weekend, and our first outing on Friday was a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo.

Mike arranged a "behind the scenes" tour of the veterinary hospital for Stan who is a veterinarian.

Both of us smiling?

We then wandered around the zoo taking in the orangutans, tigers and bears.  I refused to see the snake exhibit-you have to draw the line somewhere!

Stan and Mike resting at the zoo

Butterfly exhibit

We finished our afternoon with a visit to the butterfly garden which is adjacent to the zoo.  It is a beautiful peaceful space filled with plants and butterflies.  If you are ever in Indianapolis the zoo and butterfly garden are a "must see".

Butterfly made of flowers

Large owl butterfly

Kathy with son-in-law Harley and grandkids Haley and Garrett

On Saturday evening we headed to Illinois for the 40th anniversary party for our friends Kevin and Kathy.  About 40 people yelled "surprise" as they walked into the restaurant, and the look on their faces was "priceless".

We enjoyed a great steak dinner and then spent the evening outside the restaurant listening to a local band.

On Sunday we headed back to Indy to attend the Indiana Wind Symphony Concert at the Marion County Fair.

Indiana Wind Symphony

Our friend John plays percussion with the Indiana Wind Symphony, and we enjoyed a great concert of marches and patriotic songs.

With Stan, John and Mike at the Marion County Fair

Later we wandered around the midway sampling some great fair food.

And of course, fair food does NOT have calories!

ET will never make it home

Gator?

I can personally attest to this goodness!

With Stan and Mike on the Monon Trail

Monday we headed to Broad Ripple to walk on the Monon Trail.  The trail crosses the White River, and it was just a bit scary standing on the bridge over the river...

The city at sunset

And so it was a fun, albeit exhausting, week.  And this week I'm busy catching up on my sleep...

Have a great week!
Diane