Olivia, Evelyn Maeve, and Victoria Cranston

It's Haiku Monday.
The day to post about food.
It's Haiku Monday.

Chicken fajitas.
Caramel apple cider, brah.
It is the season.

Drank me some cider.
From fresh orchard apples, brah.
I'm ready for fall.

It's 60 outside.
This is the perfect weather.
I'm ready for fall.

Pumpkin spice latte,
Is something I do not like.
But I'm sure you do.

Pumpkin spice err'thing.
This is the perfect weather.
Caramel apple spice.

Shrimp scampi pizza.
Only in Downtown Valpo.
Magic Vid'ya Game.

Chinese food, of course.
Love me some lo mein noodles.
And some potstickers.

You are now hungry.
I am very sure of it.
Chicken alfredo.

I am a foodie.
It seems pretty obvious.
Eating spaghetti.

Levi Cranston and David Ingram were playing a little bit of tennis this afternoon in Valparaiso. Levi and David have known each other since they were very little. When Levi's family moved to Crown Point, Indiana from Warwick, Rhode Island, he and David ended up joining a little kids' soccer club together. They have always been really good friends, but when Levi's family moved to Valparaiso in fourth grade, he couldn't see David as much as he used to. But, at that time, they still saw each other every once in a while.

Today, David was taking a day trip in Valpo as he lives in an apartment in Merrillville with his brother, Brody, and a couple other friends. He wanted to play some pick-up tennis with Levi because he had nothing else better to do. David had gotten out of church, and he was most definitely in the mood to play tennis. He hasn't played the sport in a couple weeks, so now was the perfect time to hone in on those skills.

​The two boys had played tennis this afternoon for a good three hours, and now they were hoping to do something else.
 
"I'm really hungry," Levi said to David.
"I am, too," David replied.
"What are you in the mood for?"
"Anything."
"Are you opposed to Mexican?" Levi asked.
"I'm actually in the mood for Mexican," David replied.
"I could probably pull off the two burrito challenge now."
"I might be able to as well. Have you actually eaten two burritos in one sitting before?"
"Oh yeah. Once I ate two burritos in a matter of fifteen minutes. I was THAT hungry."
"What were you doing before that?"
​"My buddies and I were practicing tennis and we were starving."

Levi Cranston playing tennis

Steve, Bronco, and Spike

Wonderful weekend.
Friends came here from Illinois.
Wonderful weekend.

Saw them week before.
Went to Illinois two times.
It was excellent.

Shrimp scampi pizza.
In downtown Valparaiso.
Magic Vid'ya Game.

Walked around a bit.
There are awesome candy stores,
I don't know about.

Then, on to Crown Point,
Looking for those rare creatures.
Hi, Rockybado.

Movie night was lit.
We were all getting sleepy.
Let's do tomorrow.

Soda was a hit.
We went to a coffee shop.
Showed it to my friends.

Hey everyone,

I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend. It's only Saturday and I know that this weekend will only get better. For me, that's true because my friends from Illinois are coming over for the weekend and we've got some ideas of how we want to spend it. And, as far as the little excerpts that I'm going to continue doing, I am taking this weekend off. I am most likely going back to it next weekend. Today, I will give you some fast facts about some kids from each series, so here we go!

David Ingram (Rockybado):
1.) Although David Ingram and Olivia Flavenshevich are technically engaged, they are not even considering getting married for at least another five years or so.
2.) David, his younger Irish twin brother, Brody, Adam Levistad, and Andrew McCalsky live in an apartment in Merrillville.
3.) Brett Ingram is still going strong with his band called The Hawaiian Geeks.
4.) He and Olivera Slobodan are no longer dating. They are just friends. He just got into a relationship with another girl named Andi Patterson.
5.) Dawson, the oldest, is married and they live in Crown Point.

Andrew Grzedek (The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs):
1.) Andrew and his girlfriend, Eliza Colbert, have been together for technically eleven years, but they broke up for a little while in high school. They have been back together since the beginning of college.
2.) He currently lives with two of his cousins and mutual friend on the west side of downtown Valparaiso.
3. Caleb has an apartment with his friends Tad Beruve and Mark Davis. They live in Merrillville.
4. By trade, Caleb decided to not become a teacher and instead work in marketing.
5. Caleb's band, Northbound, just recently changed its name to What Would Mark Do. Caleb, Tad, Mark, and Alessandra Marbanks, Caleb's girlfriend, are in that band now.

Levi Cranston (The Magic Video Game):
1. Levi, Mackenzie Burbanks (Levi's girlfriend of nearly 11 years), Jack Andrews, and Asad Prejesh live in downtown Valparaiso.
2. Levi's oldest full-blood sister, Victoria, just recently had a baby girl. Her name is Sofia Kiley.
3. All of his full sisters live somewhere in Valpo, with the exception to one of his half-sisters. She and her husband live in Crown Point.
4. Levi has a full-time job doing marketing and communications for his dad's company.
5. His bedroom at his parents' house is what he uses for his office since his job is mostly virtual.

That is it for this weekend. Stay tuned for Haiku Monday, as always. And, I need to say this now.

Have a fab weekend!

You Know Who

David and Brody Ingram

Weekend vacation.
Went to Illinois of course
To see all my friends.

Block party Friday.
Rock concerts in Elmhurst, yo.
Tail end of it.

Saturday, eat crepes.
Buffalo chicken crepe, yo.
Then a rock concert.

It was pretty great.
Walked around Elmhurst all day.
Train rides, for the win.

Back to Glen Ellyn.
Barbeque concert at night.
Lovely blues music.

Huge bowling alley.
We will go there some time soon.
That is a known fact.

Next day, Geneva.
It is pretty touristy.
Oh well. Whatever.

Build your own pizza.
With a lot of good stuff, bro.
It was pretty great.

Walked around downtown.
So many cool things to see.
I really loved it.

Gelato is good.
The key to a person's heart.
​Gelato is good.

It was about 4 pm on Saturday September 10th, 2016. Levi was at his parents' house on the west side of downtown Valparaiso. Guess who came to the door when he arrived? His parents' two cats, Duchess and Prussia. It was a nice surprise.

"Awwww....hi kitties!" Levi exclaimed in a cutesy voice. "Are you hungry?"

"Meow!" they kept exclaiming. So he brought out some tasty cat food.

"Who's hungry?" He asked the kitties. Of course, it was a fresh bag so it meant fresh food. "Yum! Isn't this tasty?" Levi said to the kitties.

Meanwhile he was getting hungry himself. "Hmmmm....maybe I could go for an horchata," he pondered.

Levi looked in the refrigerator and saw some food that he could take. After all, he has a key to the house, so whatever is in his parents' house is also his. Levi noticed a white styrofoam box in the refrigerator. And he wondered what was in it. After opening the box, he saw that a medium rare steak was inside.

Yum. This looks tasty. Maybe some butter and sour cream with a baked potato would pair nicely.

"Oh! I have a better idea. Maybe I will surprise my girlfriend with a nice candlelit dinner! I should create a playlist of rock music to have in the background. I should also find some nice scented candles and a red table cloth. She will love this, I hope. I'm always still a bit nervous," he blushed.

But then he realized that Mackenzie, his girlfriend, was busy today. She and her family were going to Illinois today. As a matter of fact, they were out visiting Mackenzie's oldest brother, Brent, and his family, who live in Bloomingdale. And, to be honest, the leftover steak wasn't enough to feed two people. Levi decided to heat up the steak for himself after realizing everything else.

"Awwww....I really miss her, but I hope she's having fun with her family out in Illinois. But at least I get to see her next weekend so we can check out some more rock music. I mean, I am a good dancer....so I'm sure that she will love to dance with me. I can't wait to see her. I love her so much. I want to hold her hand and hear her heartbeat. It is so soothing," Levi said softly to himself.

He then needed to get back into the moment. Levi put the leftover steak in the microwave and turned it on for a minute. What he didn't realize was that Duchess and Prussia were staring at him from the other room. He was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. Well, in the sense that the cats were making this awkward for him.

Levi's parents were coming home any minute. His dad was coming home from work, and his mom was coming back from Chicago. He sat down at the table, ate his steak, and texted his friends. Even though he might be in the mood for a candlelit dinner with Mackenzie, his girlfriend, there are only a few days that they would be in the mood for that. The rest of the time, they would be up for anything, even if that means going to the nearby fast food joint for dinner.

The boys did not sleep for very long because Rockybado had to return each boy to their houses. David needed to go back to Crown Point. Andrew had to return to St. John. And Levi thought that it would be necessary to come home to Valparaiso. And so did Rockybado. The crazy chicken escapade was over, and, even though they all wanted to spend more time on the three seemingly “fictitious” islands, the three boys had other obligations over the next few days.

David was sleeping on his side on the leather sofa in the common area. Andrew was sleeping on his stomach on the floor. And Levi was sprawled across a recliner. Rockybado thought that he shouldn’t have had to wake them up. However, he needed to send the boys home.

“Wake up, boys,” Rockybado announced all of a sudden.
“Wha….” Andrew answered in his sleep.
“I need to take you guys home.”
David and Levi slowly stirred. They didn’t really want to go home, but they had their own tennis practice tomorrow, so they had to come home.
“Come, come to my UFO,” Rockybado said.
“It was fun being here,” David remarked sleepily.
“What time is it?” Levi asked, just as sleepily as David.

He then realized that it was 12:30 in the morning. For some reason, the boys fell asleep early. Probably because they were very tired. David, Andrew, and Levi entered Rockybado’s UFO, and, before they knew it, they were all almost back home.

“What is the chicken community going to do now?” Levi asked Rockybado.
“Probably party like it’s 1991,” Rockybado remarked jokingly.
“Why 1991?” David asked.
“That was when Radcliffe and his friends established what is now the chicken community.”
“No kidding. All three of us were born that year,” Andrew replied.
“No kidding.”
“I was born on August 17th. David was born on October 30th, and Levi was born some time in September. Am I right?”
“No. You’re wrong. David was born on September 30th, and I was born on October 30th,” Levi replied.

​All three boys were eventually home.

Rockybado, the Robot King of the Island of Texamilio