University of Chicago Kickball (almost) Champions!!

Our team lost in the last game... we blame it on having sat throught 3.5 hours of economics lecture directly beforehand. Plus, it was really, really cold.

But check it out -- we play our intramural sports on Stagg Field: THE football stadium. Not quite The Rock, obviously...

(Bit o' trivia: Stagg Field is the site where the world's first sustained nuclear reaction took place. That's right -- this school is so nerdy they run science experiments on the athletic fields.)

Who is this girl?

Girls in training....

Girls shop.... then drop......

Moms and Tutu keep right on shopping.....

Christmas in Downtown B'town

Beautiful evening in downtown bloomington..

canopy of lights... courthouse xmas decorations...

christmas with the pops...ready for shopping tomorrow...

Thanksgiving Day 2007

Megan's First Cheerleading Competition

Who is that Girl?
We hardly recognized Megan with all that makeup!
She made it to the big game in time for the second half.

The Tumble Time Girls Before Their First Competition

IU Victory! More Tailgate Photos

The Foster-Owen Tailgating Crew - Another Successful Season

The Girls from Valparaiso

Cousins Kelli, Jenna, Megan, and Mitch

Greg and the Birthday Girl with Her Balloons

Robin and David, Experienced Tailgate Hosts

HOOSIERS WIN ...AUSTIN IS THE STARR..27-24

Karen and Huddlestons enjoy the sunny afternoon.

Greg confers with Uncle Mort before kick-off

Cousins Kelli, Jenna, Hannah, Mitch, Greg and Eric!!!

The Foster Family celebrate at the tailgate! Happy Birthday, Jenna!!

Happy birthday, Sarah!!!

Paoli men and the conquest of the helpless deep fried turkey

Bret, Hannah and Angela enjoy the pre-game fun at the Foster-Owens tailgate.

The Old Oaken Bucket

The forecast looks good...the food is being prepared...the fans are getting ready...it's almost game day!

Saturday promises to be a wonderful day for football. Friends and family will be converging on the Foster-Owen tailgate to share in the excitement of the biggest rivalry of the season. The menu will include the traditional deep-fried turkey (and other deep-fried selections from Steve), oven-roasted turkey, homemade yeast rolls, Bobby & Frank's potato salad, pasta salad, hot wing dip, Mexican layered dip, assorted veggies and dip, caramel apple cheesecake, walnut pumpkin pie bars, tailgate cookies, white chocolate cranberry macadamia nut cookies and whatever else appears on our tables!

The flags will be flying over our tent by 9:00 AM. Hope to see everyone there!

IU and Purdue....who are the turkeys?

For those living under a rock, Saturday we will be "at the rock" for the Oaken Bucket event of the year... The Foster-Owens tailgate party. It is Jenna's birthday so we think that Joe needs to bring all his girls down for the festivities (cake, included). It's also Sarah's birthday, so lots of birthday candles on the cake. And, the game isn't until 3:30 so maybe it will warm up to 40 by then... So, don't miss the fun and all the birthday celebrations.... come play with us!

Viewer Discretion is Advised

Joe asked for it....

This is me, in the upper gym of Henry Crown Fieldhouse, shortly after breaking my nose. Some of the gore had already been cleaned up by Christine (also the photographer) in order to make me somewhat presentable at the emergency room.

Feeling Nostalgic

As I'm approaching the end of my time off, I've been reflecting on how I've used these days away from school. I've concluded that I really am a Betty Crocker/Martha Stewart wanna-be, putting my creative energies into goodies from the kitchen and numerous crafty-type projects. What do I have to show for my time? I can honestly say I've almost mastered authentic Swedish butter cookies (just like my mom's friend Doris used to make) and made my own pasta (yes, the noodles - fettuccine, spaghetti, and ravioli with wild mushroom stuffing). I've loved having time to read things I want to read ( Love in the Time of Cholera and A Thousand Splendid Suns being the latest two), not just 6th graders' writing.

I've had plenty of time to think, reflect on the past, and give thanks. As much as I've savored all these little moments, today I was flooded with special memories. I was going through Christmas decorations and I happened upon the special ornaments that Pops and Tutu have given the kids over the years. Now for the past four or five years, these have gone on the "family" tree along with many other unique decorations we've collected. While unwrapping them from the tissue paper softened with years, I had the brainstorm to put up the little trees that Mitch and Megan used to love having in their rooms. Somehow these last few years have been so busy, we've never gotten around to it. Not this year! Thankful for the gift of time, I spent most of the day brushing off the little tree boxes, shaping branches, and enjoying the memories associated with each year's ornament. My decorating wasn't complete until I wrapped a Granny quilt around the base of each of their trees.

Thanks, Pops and Tutu (and everyone else), for so many special Christmas memories. Let's make this year another one to remember!

The Real Story

Yes, it's true. My nose is broken.

Not too seriously -- in fact, it's barely noticeable. No visible bruising, just a little swelling, and, as Mom said, there's a slight curve to the right that may or may not be new (or just due to the swelling). Much to my delight, I'm not in too much pain, either.

I've gained some serious street cred due to my sangfroid in the face of injury (no tears!), and I'm pretty sure most of the ER staff were convinced I had been in a knife fight when I walked in - I was covered in blood from head to foot. "Do you have a stomach injury?" asked the check-in nurse. (Luckily Christine had her camera phone on her at the fieldhouse, if anyone's interested I can forward on documentation of my injured state.)

I'm in pretty good hands. Joanna had her car on hand and sat with me at the ER all evening once she and Christine and Monica had dealt with the fieldhouse bureaucracy. Later she and David took me to CVS for painkillers and both of them (and many, many more friends) have been checking up on me all day.

It turns out the Tylenol-3 I was prescribed keeps me awake and focused, which was unpleasant last night but should be good for studying today; I'm mostly taking it easy and catching up on class reading (which goes to show that maybe this is a good thing).

Sadly, it will be a couple of weeks before I'm allowed to play soccer again.

A new nose for Laura?

For those who have not heard, yesterday Laura broke her nose playing soccer. Apparently she has a "bilateral fracture" in the center of her nose and a slight 'hook'-I don't know which direction. Monday, an ENT is to follow up with her. I just hope her allergies are not acting up at this time. It would be very uncomfortable to sneeze and blow her nose. She assures me she has lots of caregivers. She probably would not have gone to the ER if there had not been so much blood. When she got to the ER, they sent her right back. She must have looked bad.

In search of the Golden Teardrop....

Young starlet Katie Riley debuts in the new play by Betty Havens.
The Starlet pauses momentarily for adoration, autographs

(and popcorn)
with her many fans after her stellar performance in Friday's show.

Constant cafe play

I do not know how there could not be a Foster or Bowen in the food serving business. Dad and I have eaten all kinds of your concoctions. While upstairs, I found a sign that read "David's Joint". The prices sound very good: Hamburger 50
F.F. 50 70
Shakes 30 40 50
Banna split 75 (your spelling)
Turnovers 45
Fish 60
Sundaes 30 40 50
Nuts 5cent extra
Dressed 10cents extra Wilson could not keep the order pads-you guys were always buying.

Can I just tell you....

...how much I enjoy reading about what everyone is doing! Some of you need to post more frequently, though!! Mom and dad: I think you should post everytime you think of funny stories about the Foster family - similar to the ones that you have posted in the past on people's birthdays. We would all appreciate laughing at ourselves!!
Keep posting!! Long Live Mashed Potatoes!

stacy and wes in tampa

stacy and wesley in tampa before they head back to Utah -- where it is cold and snowing -- they promise to start to blog when they return so expect many many pics from them --

With two midterms coming up this week, Francisco, John, Julie and I decided it was high time to get out of Hyde Park and spend a day away from the city, statistics and political economy. Luckily enough, one of the student clubs on campus was sponsoring a free trip to Starved Rock State Park near Utica. The weather was perfect, and despite the crowds we had a fantastic time.



Here are Francisco, John, Julie and me on one of the trails. Large parts of the forest were still surprisingly green, but we're not terribly upset that it's yet to get cold and gloomy here.



And here are Julie, Francisco and me near the falls in LaSalle Canyon. A bit later, Francisco and I helped "rescue" a kid who fell in just below were we were standing. Luckily the water was only waist deep and the drop small enough that he was unhurt. Cold, though, I bet.






Also luckily, not everything was still green. Francisco was impressed with his first fall (he's from Chile) and John and Julie were happy to be back in a place with seasons (he spent the last few years in Florida, she in LA).

Now it's time for me to get back to studying. The statistics exam on Wednesday promises to be particularly tough, and there are problem sets for economics due later in the week, too. Too bad we couldn't have just stayed in Utica...


Lw

IU BEATS BALL STATE ! ! !

Greg and Sarah showed up at halftime for a family picture...

This was the start of a big touchdown run.. Go Hoosiers!!

A beautiful fall day in Bloomington.. from the top of Memorial Stadium

Cousins Mitch, Hannah, Eric and friend Jill

Tom and Vivian stop by for some tailgate chili...

David having some "peek-a-boo" fun
Mort and Karen enjoy the tailgate... well, Mort is enjoying a beer and cigar, too...

Don't miss the next tailgate... IU v Purdue...Nov 17th....