Holiday Blogging

Hey Everyone,

The blog has been pretty silent since Axford's wedding (which was awesome by the way). I finally got the pictures from Axford's game in Chicago, so I figured I'd put them up here. Enjoy.

Congrats Ted!

I know I speak for everyone in saying we could not be happier for you Ted! Well done. Looking forward to buying you a drink in Canadia. Super news!

One more reason to celebrate

Even after calling everyone on the blog, I'm going to post it anyway- Rebecca and I are engaged! We were celebrating our first anniversary that I missed while in Florida, and I asked her before going out to dinner on Friday night. I'm still trying to get used to using the words fiance, engaged, wedding, and getting married, but it's finally starting to seem real. We're looking forward to Ax's wedding soon, and when she can meet Ax, Nicole, and Cat. To Anthony, I'm sorry again that I forgot you were in Savannah while we were down there, but hopefully you and Hannah can meet her soon also. As of right now, we're hoping to do the wedding between my med school graduation and residency on either May 15 or 22nd or June 19th of 2010, and it will be here in Indy. I'll keep you posted when I know more.

On a side note, I have to give some credit to you Axford for another hitless inning and a save in the 10th of the last game of the season- striking out 2 and getting Pujols to fly out to short with six 96-mph fastballs. After nearly taking D. Lee's face off, you continue not to take any shit from the best hitters in the game. I credit myself for inspiring you with our phone conversation and my news on Saturday night.

A new Young

Meet Lua. She is a 15 week old boxer puppy. We got her from a rescue who had taken her from a really sad situation. She keeps me company as I work from home all day. Dogs are the best.

Picture of John almost killing D. Lee

Picture - last picture in slideshow. You can't actually see John, but you can see D. Lee being scared for his life.

Awesome stuff John.

Axford at Wrigley Part II

To everyone who didnt see it, John made his debut tonight vs the Cubs. Highlights were a strikeout, two flyouts, some high 90's, the announcers making weird jokes about his name, and a near death experience for Derrek Lee. A very solid outing. I DVRd it and will try to get a video clip posted. Congrats Ax! Crazy.

Axford at Wrigley

I got to see Axford up close and personal at the Cubs game last night. Unfortunately the Cubs couldn't get to the bullpen fast enough and I didn't get to see Ax's major league debut. Hopefully, It'll happen tonight or very soon. I'll have pictures up in the next couple of days (they are on my parents' and sister's camera).

Also, does anyone have a connection to get a parking pass for the Notre Dame v. USC. The golf course now has parking and tailgating for $40, first come first serve, but that it pretty far away from the traditional tailgating. I haven't heard of anyone hosting a tailgate, so I'm looking at getting parking space, so we'll have somewhere to party.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Chris

Axford is my Hero

Article

I'm going to get tickets for next week at Wrigley and will hopefully be able to sit right behind Axford. I know I speak for all the guys when I say we couldn't be happier for you.

Chris

ND Games

Gentlemen,

Is anyone going to any ND games this year? We're looking at Michigan State and USC. Not set on either, but we will probably go to both. Anyone coming up for those two? Any others that people are thinking of attending?

- Jonathan

New addition...plus other things!

Hey Fellas,

First allow me to say congrats to Sam and Amy and of course Chris and Molly! Fanatasic stuff for everyone!

I'm chillin in a Memphis hotel right now in the middle of a 12 game road trip. Thought I would just drop a quick update and let you all know that Nicole and I have a new addition to our soon lawfully wed family! He may be small and slightly goofy looking in this pic, but he is cute and I get to finally meet him in August when Nicole comes to visit. So far we've just skyped so he can see me! hahaha.

I introduce you all to TITAN!

He's a Yorkie...a tea cup size...or miniature! And he'll only get to be about 4.5 pounds. hahaha. I'm gonna look like a total man walking this guy!

Take care guys. Hope all is going well.

Ax

Sam's Wedding

Hey Guys,

So, we'll all be heading to Tucson a week from today. Well, I know the following are going to the wedding:

Jonathan
Greg
Anthony
Pat
Ted

Rowlands and Axford - You guys coming?

Jonathan, Greg, and I are flying into Phoenix and driving in Friday afternoon (hopefully the hottest part of the day). I'm exciting for another wedding to get to see everyone and Molly is coming this time so I hopefully won't be praying to the porcelain god this time around. Also, I'm hoping the brother of the groom doesn't call me a vagina and ask me to suck his dick . . . repeatedly (Oh Peter).

Hope all is well for everyone and I can't wait to see you all.

Chris

News You Can't Use

Forward to the 2:55 mark and watch the story about the puppy. Joe Scarborough's joke around starting at the 4:25 mark might bring back bizarre memories from Dillon Hall and the odd jokes we used to tell.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Congratulations Axford

(Viera, FL) The Brevard County Manatees are off to a strong start in 2009, and were rewarded for that by placing seven players on the FSL North All-Star team. Pitchers Evan Anundsen, Amaury Rivas, John Axford, and Rob Wooten were selected to the team after leading the Manatees to the best ERA in the league. Position players on the squad are right fielder Caleb Gindl, second baseman Eric Farris, and third baseman Zelous Wheeler.

. . .

Axford has been arguably the most dominant setup man in the FSL this season. He is 4-1 with a 1.75 ERA out of the Manatees' bullpen. He has 39 strikeouts in just 25.2 innings, and is limiting opponents to a .149 batting average.

That is awesome man. I haven't even been employee of the month at my job.

Chris

Full article

Quick posting

Cannot wait to see a good portion of you in a few weeks at John's wedding. Exciting times! Quite a year ahead for the Dillon crew, its remarkable the difference a few years can make.

My wedding: Just pushed the Westin rate down to $99. Make sure they give it to you. Also, if you have not received an invitation by the end of the week, please let me know.

Its been a stressful couple weeks out here. My company was bought by Deloitte and layoffs were happening left and right. Thankfully I made it over, but lots and lots to do. Not to mention that im moving, planning for a wedding, etc etc. Pretty much ready for August when everything will have settled down!

I hope all is well with everybody. Best of luck to Meryl. I hear Iowa's got a good med school and is where all the cool kids are these days.

hey bitches!

Hey gents,

Just wanted to send an update since I've been bad about keeping in touch. All is well in St. Louis. Meryl takes the MCAT in under a month, so she's studying like crazy. Once she applies this summer, we'll have a year until she starts (August '10) med school...which means there is a fair chance we'll be moving somewhere new next summer. My job is going well still. We had our hours cut in November and December (had to lay off a couple people too) but things are on the upswing now and we're busier than ever. I had time to freshen up my website while our hours were cut, so if you want to see some arty stuff and see what I do for work (and by that I mean the 10% of my work that won't be in production for the next 2 years) go to: www.jonathansundy.com

My brothers and sister keep having babies (not with one another). I now have almost 11 nephews and nieces (one is on the way). Meryl is happy they keep taking the pressure off of us...because she hates babies. BTW, for all of you on your way to marriage, it is freakin' awesome. I won't get into the mushy details, but you'll love it...atleast the half of you that make it. Welp, can't wait to see you guys at John's wedding. Talk to you soon!

- Jonathan

Football Lottery

I'll ask anyway even though I can guess the replies if I get any- is anybody applying for or planning to go to specific ND games next year? USC and BC are the big home games, or we could pick a game where we have a better chance of.. um, winning. The home opener is Sept. 5th vs. Nevada. I'm guessing Chris will be applying for season tickets, but is anyone else planning to go? I know plane tickets are expensive and there are 3 weddings this year, but it would be fun to meet up for a game if anyone can come. The deadline for the lottery is May 15th, so let me know ASAP if you have any plans.

Hope to see everyone this summer,
Ted

Happy Birthday Ax

John,

Happy Birthday - I hope Arizona's warm weather is treating your aging body well. Be sure to show those 16 year old Dominicans what a mid-twenties Canadian can do (I don't want exactly that means . . . obviously dominate them, maybe ice skate?).

And if anyone needs early ideas for my Birthday present . . .

Rooms

Ted, thanks for getting this going. I will go ahead and reserve a room at the Courtyard Marriott - unless anyone has already booked a room elsewhere. Id be happy to share a room with one or two others, let me know if you want to bunk up.



Wayne's World.

Or Imagine being magically whisked away to.. Delaware

Name that movie. So has anyone booked hotel reservations for John's wedding yet? Since we're only going to have two nights together, I think we should try to stay in the same place. Of the 3 where there are rooms reserved, the Courtyard by Mariott is the cheapest before wedding rates. Assuming I can bring a guest.. hopefully.. I'll be staying with Rebecca, but they have rooms with 2 queen beds if someone else wants to split the room. I might call around this weekend just to get this thing going.

Later,
Ted

Hold onto your hats!!! More fun for 2009!!!

Sup Fellas,

As some of you may know by online creeping of facebook, word of mouth, or phone calls, I AM ENGAGED!!!

I asked Nicole this past Monday the 2nd. And she totally said YES! Winner - Me!

And yes...the headline is true. More fun for 2009. Nicole and I are indeed getting married in the this great year of Weddings. Our date is already set, so everyone please save this date. November 7th, 2009.

Quick? Yes. But it was either that or the following year in October or November 2010, and we both didn't want to wait that long. But just so you know...this is how far ahead of the game we already are...
We have our Priest and Church booked.
We have our Reception booked.
We've already met with the Priest and have taken initial steps with the Church (talked about us, our future and taken the preliminary faith based and spouse based tests!).
We pretty much have our colors picked out (prepare for fall colors mixed with chocolates...and a little bit of plaid; orange plaid! Nicole is Scottish, hence the plaid, and we will also have a piper, and many tartans!)
We already have our guestlist. (Although there will def be changes in the future I'm sure).

I think thats about all we have done so far...but I'd say thats pretty good considering I proposed just before midnight on Monday. So we've accomplished a lot in only 40 hours!

So here's some quick details right now on where!

Ceremony - Sacred Heart Parish Paris, Ontario
Reception - Ancaster Old Mill Ancaster, Ontario

The Chruch is beautiful and the Old Mill is picturesque. All the food there is organic and grown locally. Nicole and I went there for Valentines Day this year and fell in love. So we had to get it.

So prepare yourselves for some highly alcoholic, REAL Canadian beers and the wonderful crisp Autumn (maybe colder) Canadian air. Get your passports ready. You can even make it yourself out of construction paper, our Country doesn't care! (Actually we do care, so get a real passport!)

That's all for now my homies. I'll talk to you all soon I'm sure.

Ax

A burrito is a sleeping bag for ground beef!!!

Just wanted to say whats up to everyone. Haven't been on in a while so I thought I'd update everyone right quick. I just finished my extensive work as a bartender this fall and winter. I'm taking two weeks off before I head out to Phoenix for Spring Training on the 13th. Everything is going swell and I'm just looking foward to some nice weather and baseball again. Too bad about the date Old Pat...but congrats again and hoefully I can figure some shit out for you and the lady friend so I can make it.

I also just wanted to mention to all the lovers of our former favorite freshman year comedian. Although Mitch hedberg passed away a few years ago a new album was released last year and it is quite hilarious (much like his other two CD's). It was recorded in Toronto in 2005 and it's called "Do You Believe in Gosh". Quite enjoyable.

Talk to you fellas later.

Ax

I'm posting so as to not leave Chris hanging

Here's to not leaving you hanging, buddy. 

News around here:

I got the call that I'll be moving to Charleston for my job after I take the bar exam, in August. Sweet, right? I know Greg fell in love with the town. I really love Columbia and will be sad to leave, but hey, how bad can it be? Cat's from there, by the beach, overpriced real estate - what's not to love? And I get to sell my house - and now is just the time! 

So the plans are firm: Wedding is May 1, 2010. We have the reception hall, the band, the church (Episcopal), and the caterer. Put it on your calendars. Axford, I'm sorry buddy. I fought hard for the February wedding, but lost that battle. It would have been a great trip to get out of the northeast/midwest during the dead of winter, but for those of you who can make it, May is going to be beautiful. It'll be warm enough to swim, definitely, but not so warm that the horse shit from the cobblestone street carriage rides smells up the whole town. I encourage anyone who can afford it to take an extra day off work to spend a day on the beach or touring the city. 

Anthony and I are having a good time while he stationed here in town. Last week we had a regular hootenanny. We took our best girls down to the shooting range, fired off a few boxes full of ammo, made out with our respective best girls and then the guns themselves, then topped it off with some moonshine and raw roadkill for dinner (by which I mean sushi and Old Pat sucking down 1/2 price martinis). But seriously, good times. I figure I'd rather learn from Anthony who's been trained properly than from any other ya-hoo I know around here. 

Sorry I can't lend anything to the basketball conversation. In my eighth year of university, the only college basketball game I've seen in those eight years was in Greenville when they hosted the first round of the NCAA tournament and I watched ND lose, as I had become accustomed thanks to our football program. 

Alright, fools, keep it hangin' low. 

Jason Terry scored 34 on Illinois in 1998

That may or may not be true but come on, 33 points? Is this D1? Is this Men's D1?

Glad to hear you got your tickets. Its a real easy drive from Phoenix, usually takes just under 2 hours. Hope all is well.

Airfare Booked

Hey Everybody,

I booked my airfare for Sam and Amy's wedding. Molly and I are flying into Phoenix (looks like a 2 hour drive to the resort) Friday morning. We're scheduled to get to Phoenix at 8:30 a.m. and I have an old high school buddy that I want to meet up with for lunch before I drive into Tucson. I don't fly out to Phoenix until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, so don't even think about asking me to split a rental car if you have at the butt crack of dawn (Ted - I'm looking your way). A pretty decent fare popped up yesterday so I jumped on it. For me, it was a good $100 cheaper per ticket to fly to Phoenix, the flight times were better, I get to see my friend, and the flights are direct.

Anyway, I'm super-pumped about seeing you guys this summer (and excited that I'm pretty much all set as airfare is the hardest part). Too bad it is still a few months away. The weather has turned a little nicer here. It was 60 degrees on Monday, but it has fallen back into the 30s today and is supposed to snow tonight. It is still better than the -20 degree wind chills.

Hope everyone meets expectations on Valentine's Day.
Chris

Good Basketball

Hey All,

Well, Southwest really didn't come through for me with lower fares, but I think I've got a good deal to Phoenix. My plan as of today is to fly into Phoenix Thursday, July 2nd and stay that night with a buddy from High School. Friday, I'll drive to Tucson. I'll drive back early Sunday to Phoenix to fly out. All this is subject to change since I haven't booked my flight yet. Sam's working on the details for hotels, but I'm not too concerned about that yet.

Anyways, back to the title of my post. I thought Sam would appreciate this fine basketball display.


Deron Williams: Illinois Basketball Star
Where is Jason Terry go to college?

Later - Chris

February, Airfare, Weddings

Hey Guys,

January is finally over, which I couldn't be happier about. The average temperature in Chicago during January was 15.5 degrees. I'm hoping February will be a little nicer.

Anyways, I writing to let you all know that Southwest Airlines puts their ticket block on sale for July and August tomorrow. I'm hoping that there will be some pretty good fares this far in advance for Sam's wedding. Southwest flies into Phoenix and Tucson.

I'm already booked for Rowlands's wedding and will soon be booked for Sam's. I hope that a lot of you can make it to both because I want to party with you guys.

Have a good Super Bowl Sunday.

Chris

Notre Dame #1 in 2008

A guy at work forwarded this link around and I thought it would make us all feel good to realize that Notre Dame has the best football team in the country.

http://www.racarie.com/cftransitive/index.php?team=75

Notre Dame	beat	Navy	on	11/15/2008	by a score of	27-21 (on the road!)
Navy	beat	Wake Forest	on	09/27/2008	by a score of	24-17 (on the road!)
Wake Forest	beat	Mississippi	on	09/06/2008	by a score of	30-28
Mississippi	beat	Florida	on	09/27/2008	by a score of	31-30 (on the road!)
Florida	is the 2008 Div 1-A champion

You gotta love the transitive property.

Um, Speaking of Weddings...

So the news is: Cat and I are engaged! I popped the question Friday night after a romantic dinner in front of the fireplace here at my house. For those of you who got to meet her at Anthony and Hannah's wedding, it's probably not too hard to see why. I think she'll be a welcome addition to the group at get-togethers from here on out. 

Yep, another one bites the dust. Who's next? 

In other news, I secured a full-time job for after graduation with the firm for which I've been putting in some pretty heavy hours during the course of this school year (about 4 full days a week). Some of you may remember me securing the internship over the course of Sundy's wedding weekend. The firm is about 10 attorneys, does exclusively plaintiffs' work, has a couple of offices (all in SC), and I'll be in the Columbia office, which is great because I get to stay in the house (with the added benefit of paying the mortgage - woohoo!). Cat is excited about being in Columbia long-term, so now we just have to get her a job (she'll be completing her MBA in May - and while it's not the best time to be looking for a job with a law firm, there couldn't be many worse times to try looking for jobs as an MBA - yikes). 

Oh, as far as pre-pre-preliminary information, the wedding will be in Charleston (where Cat is from) sometime between Feb. 13 and May 1, 2010. Yep, that's a lot of time for wedding planning, but I didn't sign up for this thinking that I was going to be the boss. So save up some airfare and get excited about coming to South Carolina while either 1) those of you in the north and midwest will do anything to see springtime 6-8 weeks earlier or 2) you'll be able to go for a swim in the Atlantic, if you haven't done that in a while. 

So whoever is responsible and can spearhead the effort, and whoever else is interested, we need to book rooms for Sam's wedding, because it would be really sweet to get our own "Casita", or Chalet for you francophiles. That would just give us a ton or room to party without leaving the grounds - a lot of kitchen/den area. Who is interested? As far as John's wedding, looks like I'll be driving (too much a hassle to drive, then fly, then drive), so I'm just hoping that I'll have the company of Cat and/or Anthony and Hannah - though none of them know where they will be or what they will be doing in June. I need to look into tickets to Sarah and Tim's wedding - that'll probably be my ND trip for the year, and it'll be nice to show Cat our beloved Mater. 

Well, I hope everybody's doing well, and look forward to seeing y'all this summer!

Pat

Call for Wedding Plans

Well 2009 or the "year of the weddings" is here.

I'll go in chronological order:

Rowlands - Is flying into Newark, Philadelphia, or Baltimore my best options for getting to your wedding? Molly won't be accompanying me because her brother gets married the next Saturday and evidently that will be too much. It's only 792 miles, so driving is an option (Road Trip - Jonathan and Ted - it's 865 miles if I go to Indy first).

Sam - Southwest rates haven't come out yet, but evidently flying to the desert in July is more expensive than I anticipated (just kidding). Anyone considering flying into Phoenix? Or is that a stupid idea Sam? Pat - any additional news on the hotel thing you were talking about earlier. I don't know if your joint bachelor party with Tim is gonna happen for me given the flying and such. I'll do my best though.

Sarah - I think I'm going to be invited but I can drive to this wedding, so I don't have much to talk about.

I'll add some actual worthy blog material soon.

Chris