One of the cool things about doing this blog is all the people I get to meet on a weekly basis. A couple I met last summer at Champs West have become semi-regulars here at MBIP and their names are Todd and Michelle, here’s a photo of them from our first meeting last summer:
Since then we’ve become good friends and it’s always a blast to hang out with them and their crew from West Peoria. Last Sunday was Michelle’s birthday and Todd arranged for a party at one of my favorite Peoria restaurants, The Fish House. They graciously invited me to the party and I hope you’ve got a gift for Michelle, because you’ve just received a virtual invite to the party, let’s go!
Here we are at The Fish House. This place is truly a classic Peoria restaurant.
They also have the heaviest doors in town. Let's put all our strength's together and try and open them and head inside.
As always, when I'm meeting people, I'm about 45 minutes early, so I thought we'd stop in here at the bar for a beer or two until the crowd arrives. I think I see a familiar face behind the bar...
It's Paul O'Connor who's been a bartender at The Fish House for a long time standing in addition to being an MBIP pal and contributor. He's working on a new post for the blog, so stay tuned for that!
The guests of honor have arrived! Here's Todd and the birthday girl herself, Michelle, seated at a table in the back room of The Fish House.
And here's the table as it fills up with guests for the birthday party.
Most of the party has arrived and here's a shot of our table. Okay, I'm turning the flash off now so as not to bug the party for the evening. The photos will be a little blurry and magenta, but that's just the way it's got to be. I don't want to bug people through the whole party.
A tale of two moms. That's Michelle's mom to the left and Todd's mom to the right. They're both really nice people and it was great to meet them.
Todd pours the birthday girl a beer as she checks out the menu.
Here's Todd introducing everyone. That's Michelle's Dad in the foreground. Todd's got his own landscaping business going here in town and you can check that out right here.
Michelle's Mom is calling the police on me because I won't stop taking pictures of her. Okay, I swear this is the last one!
Here's Michelle opening up presents, as you can see from the Bud Light cans, there's definitely a theme going on here.
Jessica is taking photos too. She flew in all the way from Utah for the party and gets the prize for the person who came from farthest away to wish Michelle a happy birthday.
Michelle takes time to read a card from her birthday collection.
Yep, there's definitely a theme alive here in the presents!
Here's a colorful glass that she can use to house some of the beer she got as presents!
Okay, the flash is back on as Michelle opens up my presents. The first is a 25 ounce can of Bud Light, yeah, I'm keeping the birthday theme alive!
And check it out, Michelle now has her very own...
Fatty Patty doll! Just when you thought she was gone in a dumpster, she makes a frightful return here at MBIP for Michelle's birthday festivities!
After the presents, they brought out a Happy Birthday slice of cheesecake and ice cream for Michelle.
After dinner we adjourned to the bar for a couple of Happy Birthday drinks.
After a couple more drinks the party headed westward back to the Owl's Nest. Since I was taking a cab, I stayed back and ventured to the bar for a final beer before heading home.
And it was there that I met Jeff and Brdget. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll recall that I met the niece of Terry Doyle, who was featured on this MBIP post, a couple of days ago on this week's Saturday Night Cheeseburger. Well, it turns out that Bridget is Terry's daughter! Okay, as much as I hate to do it, we must cue up, "It's A Small World After All!"
Happy birthday, Michelle! Thanks for a great party and we'll see you all tomorrow!
Related Posts: SNC @ The Fish House and Happy Birthday To My Mom!
Benefits For Central Illinois Tornado Relief
There’s a benefit for Central Illinois Tornado Relief coming up on Saturday, November 30th at VFW Post 3883—4518 South Lafayette, Bartonville. There’s going to be a full bar, food and live music, so far ten bands are slated to play. The music goes from 4PM to 10PM and this is a family friendly event. Click here for more details.
Another benefit is happening this Friday, November 22nd. Over 40 live bands are promised to be playing at the “Taz Is Well” Benefit and you can get the detalis as they happen by clicking right here.
If anyone knows of any benefits, events or something related to helping out the tornado victims, please email me or DM me on facecrack and I’ll put up a notice on the MBIP blog to help publicize your event.