How lengthy can one post be on this blog? I can't even begin to describe how much fun this past weekend was, and how grateful I am for my husband who offered to stay at home with all three kids. Can it really be a DECADE ago that I graduated? I am still dumbfounded by how quickly the last ten years have flown by, and how it felt like "just yesterday" when seeing old college friends again. My years at Taylor are still such a part of my life - a chapter of my "life story" that really contributed to forming the plot. The friendships, proven again this weekend, are ones that will last a lifetime. Here's a small glimpse of my college days, and a look at a fabulous reunion weekend. 
On our drive down from the Indianapolis airport, I was reminded of how much I miss the Fall color. It was beautiful! And the cornfields.... ahhh the memories... playing tag at night... sounds like a college activity, doesn't it? Only in Upland, Indiana. 
Upland is very small. I tried to get a quick shot of the downtown as I crossed the bridge one time... Funny I should focus on the tavern. Taylor students are not allowed to drink - are you kidding? It would be breaking the Life Together Covenant!
These women are some of the dearest in my life. The Bombshelter Babes. We all stayed in one room at the Super Eight Hotel in Gas City (remember the "City of Gas City City Hall?"). We surprised Jana with a baby shower - baby #3 and it's a GIRL! Yippee!
The new entrance to campus was really pretty. A big improvement over the old boring white signs, I must say.
The Taylor Bell Tower - the landmark and well used symbol for the university. At dusk, two lights shine straight up into the sky, merging at the top into one. It symbolizes the "integration of faith and learning." And honestly - Taylor sticks to that. I have been so impressed by TU - not only because I'm an alumna, but because it is one of the only Christian colleges/universities that has remained steadfast in it's standards/morals. It stands strong and hasn't swayed with this world. I love that and am proud to have been part of it's history. 
The T.U. Soccer game was at 11a.m. Saturday morning. This was our busiest and most fun day for seeing former classmates. We never watched the game - we were all behind the stands catching up on old times and current lives. It was great. We lingered so long here, that we ended up running by and getting a glimpse of the football game on our way to lunch and everything else planned that day.
Tara's husband Tim even stopped by so we all could meet little Emma. She is a complete miracle and is doing awesome. What a sweetheart she is, Tara.
Old friends - awesome!
And, of course, we had to squeeze in a trip to the Taylor Bookstore! They were giving out free totes with your purchase too. Score! : ) 
Ivanhoe's. If you are Taylor alumni, that word says it all. 100 shakes... 100 sundaes... great food. We went two days in a row. Both days I got my favorite taco salad. I had to get my shakes too - Cappuccino Heath, and SNICKERS. They actually chop up an entire candy bar into it. YUM.
Jana, Me, Tara, Julie, Jamie
On our drive down from the Indianapolis airport, I was reminded of how much I miss the Fall color. It was beautiful! And the cornfields.... ahhh the memories... playing tag at night... sounds like a college activity, doesn't it? Only in Upland, Indiana. Upland is very small. I tried to get a quick shot of the downtown as I crossed the bridge one time... Funny I should focus on the tavern. Taylor students are not allowed to drink - are you kidding? It would be breaking the Life Together Covenant!These women are some of the dearest in my life. The Bombshelter Babes. We all stayed in one room at the Super Eight Hotel in Gas City (remember the "City of Gas City City Hall?"). We surprised Jana with a baby shower - baby #3 and it's a GIRL! Yippee!The new entrance to campus was really pretty. A big improvement over the old boring white signs, I must say.The Taylor Bell Tower - the landmark and well used symbol for the university. At dusk, two lights shine straight up into the sky, merging at the top into one. It symbolizes the "integration of faith and learning." And honestly - Taylor sticks to that. I have been so impressed by TU - not only because I'm an alumna, but because it is one of the only Christian colleges/universities that has remained steadfast in it's standards/morals. It stands strong and hasn't swayed with this world. I love that and am proud to have been part of it's history. The T.U. Soccer game was at 11a.m. Saturday morning. This was our busiest and most fun day for seeing former classmates. We never watched the game - we were all behind the stands catching up on old times and current lives. It was great. We lingered so long here, that we ended up running by and getting a glimpse of the football game on our way to lunch and everything else planned that day. Tara's husband Tim even stopped by so we all could meet little Emma. She is a complete miracle and is doing awesome. What a sweetheart she is, Tara.
Old friends - awesome!And, of course, we had to squeeze in a trip to the Taylor Bookstore! They were giving out free totes with your purchase too. Score! : ) Ivanhoe's. If you are Taylor alumni, that word says it all. 100 shakes... 100 sundaes... great food. We went two days in a row. Both days I got my favorite taco salad. I had to get my shakes too - Cappuccino Heath, and SNICKERS. They actually chop up an entire candy bar into it. YUM.Jana, Me, Tara, Julie, JamieThanks for driving, Jules!
Here it is... amazingly not torn down yet... the beloved Bombshelter. This is where I lived, my senior year. There is nobody currently renting it out, so we tracked down the new landlord (next door) and he let us walk through it. Boy was that fun - memories flooded us as we walked in... the tree in the front yard falling on our cars, old boyfriends, strange neighbors with large rabbits, Gevalia coffee, stromboli, Exit 59 playing for our "Bombshelter Bash," etc. The place even smelled the same, and had the same old table and chairs in the kitchen. It was old, a bit run down, but we loved it. 
We were the original Bombshelter girls and gave it it's name, in honor of the "bombshelter" in the backyard (a storm shelter of some kind). It is on the left in the picture below. Tara even camped out on that thing... by herself!
Our old living room...
The loft (with the same, old, orange shag carpet)... hmmmm....
Here it is... amazingly not torn down yet... the beloved Bombshelter. This is where I lived, my senior year. There is nobody currently renting it out, so we tracked down the new landlord (next door) and he let us walk through it. Boy was that fun - memories flooded us as we walked in... the tree in the front yard falling on our cars, old boyfriends, strange neighbors with large rabbits, Gevalia coffee, stromboli, Exit 59 playing for our "Bombshelter Bash," etc. The place even smelled the same, and had the same old table and chairs in the kitchen. It was old, a bit run down, but we loved it. We were the original Bombshelter girls and gave it it's name, in honor of the "bombshelter" in the backyard (a storm shelter of some kind). It is on the left in the picture below. Tara even camped out on that thing... by herself!
Our old living room...The loft (with the same, old, orange shag carpet)... hmmmm.... No, no... we were good girls, really!
After stopping by the house, we made a quick visit to see Pat and Christy Moore, our former Bombshelter landlords.
After that, we all split up and headed to our departmental reunions. I am absolutely amazed at how fabulous the new art building is. And seeing my old professors was so great. Craig Moore was always a favorite and it was so much fun to see both him and his wife, Cindy. 
Mary and Kathy Herrmann were so much fun to see again too. On my way out, in a hurry to the next event, I ran through the ceramics area to the back door. There were a few art students working on projects in there. I got to the door, turned around and said, "Enjoy it... it will go by so fast."
And here it is... our Class of 1997 reunion at the Upland Community Church. In our rush from event to event, we were running late for this one. We missed the big class picture! You can imagine what this photo-crazy woman was feeling when they said they'd already taken it!!! Argh! Oh well... it was great just to see everybody and catch up on the lives of even more people. Joys, sorrows... we heard it all. I think some of my favorite things about coming back to TU was seeing how people had changed. There were some classmates who I just thought were irresponsible and might not ever do much (I know, judgemental, right?). It was really cool to see those people now, as mature adults, holding successful jobs, some being married and even having children. It was just really neat to see how the Lord has blessed these wonderful people that I knew ten years ago. I also liked how so many of the walls that seemed to be up in college were broken down. That "I have to be cool" feeling wasn't there anymore... we all were just people, living life and it was great to see that. I never did run into any "old flames" this weekend... my husband was glad about that!
Second Center Olson women... hey... are you in our class? Just kiddin...
And to cap off the evening - a coffeehouse concert by Exit 59. Their music was such a part of our Taylor experience. When they started playing, we all were instantly brought back to our Taylor years. When they really rocked it - I actually choked up. It was really cool to see these solid Christian people, back together, doing what they LOVE... and still doing it well. Their songs have some incredible lyrics, and it was just neat to see almost all of them wearing wedding bands up there. You guys are awesome - thanks for blessing us yet again!
Ben, Chris, Christine, Nathan (on drums), bass dude... and Daniel
TOPPIT Pizza 
A great weekend, but I was ready to see my family again. I came home to this sweet note on our fridge. Reality hit hard at about 6 a.m. when our boys came walking into our room. Grant said, "Mommy! ... I wet my bed." Ivan came right in beind him, rubbing his eyes, " I did too." Back to life, back to reality. And I love it. But... the break sure was nice!
Future Taylor Alumni?
For all our friends who couldn't make it - I hope to see you at our next "milestone" reunion!
After stopping by the house, we made a quick visit to see Pat and Christy Moore, our former Bombshelter landlords.After that, we all split up and headed to our departmental reunions. I am absolutely amazed at how fabulous the new art building is. And seeing my old professors was so great. Craig Moore was always a favorite and it was so much fun to see both him and his wife, Cindy. Mary and Kathy Herrmann were so much fun to see again too. On my way out, in a hurry to the next event, I ran through the ceramics area to the back door. There were a few art students working on projects in there. I got to the door, turned around and said, "Enjoy it... it will go by so fast."
And here it is... our Class of 1997 reunion at the Upland Community Church. In our rush from event to event, we were running late for this one. We missed the big class picture! You can imagine what this photo-crazy woman was feeling when they said they'd already taken it!!! Argh! Oh well... it was great just to see everybody and catch up on the lives of even more people. Joys, sorrows... we heard it all. I think some of my favorite things about coming back to TU was seeing how people had changed. There were some classmates who I just thought were irresponsible and might not ever do much (I know, judgemental, right?). It was really cool to see those people now, as mature adults, holding successful jobs, some being married and even having children. It was just really neat to see how the Lord has blessed these wonderful people that I knew ten years ago. I also liked how so many of the walls that seemed to be up in college were broken down. That "I have to be cool" feeling wasn't there anymore... we all were just people, living life and it was great to see that. I never did run into any "old flames" this weekend... my husband was glad about that!
Second Center Olson women... hey... are you in our class? Just kiddin... And to cap off the evening - a coffeehouse concert by Exit 59. Their music was such a part of our Taylor experience. When they started playing, we all were instantly brought back to our Taylor years. When they really rocked it - I actually choked up. It was really cool to see these solid Christian people, back together, doing what they LOVE... and still doing it well. Their songs have some incredible lyrics, and it was just neat to see almost all of them wearing wedding bands up there. You guys are awesome - thanks for blessing us yet again! Ben, Chris, Christine, Nathan (on drums), bass dude... and DanielAnother thing that touched me was seeing Christine's little ones run right up and jump into her arms after she walked off stage. Someone I know (you know who you are, Dave) wanted me to ask if they had made a new CD. She said, "tell him we've been making babies instead!" 
Why are they called Exit 59, you ask?
Why are they called Exit 59, you ask? It's the off ramp to Taylor's campus.
TOPPIT Pizza The Only Pizza Place In Town!
We pigged out late on Saturday night with pizza and their infamous bread sticks. No wonder I gained the "freshman fifteen" EVERY YEAR.
This is also James Dean country. Back when I was "PA" (most colleges call it RA) of 2CO in Olson Hall, we had a pick-a-date to the James Dean Festival. People are crazy about him - still. I remember the first time I stopped by to see his grave, there was a group of guys by it. Taylor students, I'm sure, ha,ha. They were setting beer cans on his grave stone. We asked, "Are those FULL beer cans?" One guy looked up and said, "Yeah, man... he deserves it."
This is also James Dean country. Back when I was "PA" (most colleges call it RA) of 2CO in Olson Hall, we had a pick-a-date to the James Dean Festival. People are crazy about him - still. I remember the first time I stopped by to see his grave, there was a group of guys by it. Taylor students, I'm sure, ha,ha. They were setting beer cans on his grave stone. We asked, "Are those FULL beer cans?" One guy looked up and said, "Yeah, man... he deserves it." Wow.
Dave - this picture's for you...
The Sunshine Cafe was our favorite place (besides the Flying J truck stops) to pull all-nighters. We always had a pot of coffee and a large bowl of whipped cream to stir in. So, Jana, Julie and I had breakfast there on Sunday. This place was recently put on the map when Eric Estrada (Ponch from "CHIPS") and Latoya Jackson made their appearance for a meal while filming a reality TV show. Quality programs we have these days... Anyway, it was fun to be back. The coffee tastes the same. Our favorite waitress, Margaret? Not there anymore. Probably a good thing. We actually bought her a personalized mug for all the nights she served us.
Remember this place? One of our Ball State hang outs. Coffeehouses... Coffee...
A great weekend, but I was ready to see my family again. I came home to this sweet note on our fridge. Reality hit hard at about 6 a.m. when our boys came walking into our room. Grant said, "Mommy! ... I wet my bed." Ivan came right in beind him, rubbing his eyes, " I did too." Back to life, back to reality. And I love it. But... the break sure was nice!
Future Taylor Alumni? For all our friends who couldn't make it - I hope to see you at our next "milestone" reunion!"Go, T. U!"
7 comments:
Okay Kat, I am SHOCKED that it only took you 3 hours to do this blog. This is amazing. I think I am going to put a link in my blog to yours and cheat...
Thanks for the great pictures! I feel like I was there! Glad you had a wonderful time!
Thanks for the walk down memory lane! Things look so different yet so much the same. I think you'll understand what I mean. I'm jealous you got the taco salad and TOPPIT breadsticks, two of my favorite, too!
Glad you got to have a fun weekend away.
Great pictures! It was fun to read about your college experience. Thanks for sharing all of it. I am so glad your visit was so much fun!
Wow, how very cool! It makes me a little "home"sick for Fort Wayne since it doesn't look much different than your pics....how fun! I still wonder if you were the same class as a friend of mine that went to Taylor - Kari Manko...she actually looks a lot like you! :)
Wow, great job... I remember you writing me back then to tell me about the band at your place (guessing it was exit 59?)and all the people you had over. :)
This made me think that next summer will be 15 yrs from highschool graduation... Think we should do anything??
Thanks so much for letting me feel like i didn't miss out on entirely everything last weekend! =) So sad i missed seeing you guys - maybe i'll randomly run into you someplace...did julie ever tell you we ran into her and chad and girls in breckinridge last summer? what a small world!!!!
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