Every year on Labor Day weekend, a group of us gather at the Schroeder's house to celebrate our youth. Festivities include camping out, eating too much hummus, smores, ultimate frisbee, and playing odd games like Quelf and house ball. (House ball was created at the first annual hippie gathering and involves hitting wiffle balls at various spots on the house for points.) Yes, these are the things that 20 somethings do when gathered together. We only see each other once a year and this year's gathering was highly anticipated.
The Schroeder's house with the red carpet rolled out to welcome everyone.
Joel Jr., Jonathan's childhood friend, tied on a bandana which made Jonathan feel like a character from a video game. Hence the hot pose.
Jonathan kicking butt in Bachi ball. Joel Sr. is lovingly referred to as Paper Bear by the hippie kids.
If you've never played the game of Quelf, you should. It is similar to Cranium but with a deranged twist. You might end up going armless the entire game (as I did), or acting like various oddities such as a ninja ballerina. A never-ending source of amusement.
Yes, we are playing with sparklers on a wooden deck. And yes, we all have college degrees.
Peggy, also known as Mama Bear and JoMama, outdid herself in being the greatest hostess and feeding all of us to the brim with delicious baked goods. Here is all 14 of us squeezed into the dining room. Just to give some perspective on the amount of food consumed over the weekend: 9 pounds of hummus, 3-4 backs of chips, a few dozen buttermilk cookies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, smores, chocolate cake, who knows how many veggie dogs and burgers, and plenty of beer.
Burning Joel's business cards as they are moving this week. Sticking it to the man.
Attempting to spell out "Love 2008" in sparklers. Mary had a good enough camera to actually catch the words. Mine is just a blur.
Jonathan and Joel having a Star Wars duel with sparklers. Yes, I know.
Papa Bear and JoMama- the wonderful "sponsors" of the Hippie Gathering who make the gathering possible each year. Thank you!
For lunch we met at our favorite restaurant.
An awesome veggie burger and pizza with a free birthday beer for Jonathan.
Friday night we drove to spend the weekend with family. Saturday we got to grill and see the Mikaela and Grayson.
Birthday fun concluded with a Birthday "Blast" from Sonic. Jonathan had fun with his candle.
Thanks everyone for a great Birthday!
Me, Jonathan, and sister Lydia.
Yummy veggie sushi rolls.
We love the performance of the chefs at Nakato.
Jonathan eating his birthday cake.
Sorry it's so fuzzy, but one of my favorite things about celebrating B-days at Nakato is that they take a picture. I have each one from the past five years and I love looking back to see how we have all changed over the years.
The Schroeder's house with the red carpet rolled out to welcome everyone.
Joel Jr., Jonathan's childhood friend, tied on a bandana which made Jonathan feel like a character from a video game. Hence the hot pose.
Jonathan kicking butt in Bachi ball. Joel Sr. is lovingly referred to as Paper Bear by the hippie kids.
If you've never played the game of Quelf, you should. It is similar to Cranium but with a deranged twist. You might end up going armless the entire game (as I did), or acting like various oddities such as a ninja ballerina. A never-ending source of amusement.
Yes, we are playing with sparklers on a wooden deck. And yes, we all have college degrees.
Peggy, also known as Mama Bear and JoMama, outdid herself in being the greatest hostess and feeding all of us to the brim with delicious baked goods. Here is all 14 of us squeezed into the dining room. Just to give some perspective on the amount of food consumed over the weekend: 9 pounds of hummus, 3-4 backs of chips, a few dozen buttermilk cookies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, smores, chocolate cake, who knows how many veggie dogs and burgers, and plenty of beer.
Burning Joel's business cards as they are moving this week. Sticking it to the man.
Attempting to spell out "Love 2008" in sparklers. Mary had a good enough camera to actually catch the words. Mine is just a blur.
Jonathan and Joel having a Star Wars duel with sparklers. Yes, I know.
Papa Bear and JoMama- the wonderful "sponsors" of the Hippie Gathering who make the gathering possible each year. Thank you!
