This Summer's Biggest Event

It has taken me a few days to actually get the time to get a blog done.  As some of you know I had the opportunity to go to the Paul McCartney concert on Tues. night.  My love for Paul M's. music started back in the 70's when at a young age I memorized the words to "Silly Love Songs" when Shelley played it on the stereo over and over.  Well that is all it really took and I have been listening to his music for the past 3 decades.  So when I found out that Sir Paul was coming to Utah for the first time ever, I knew that I needed to be a part of it.  I bought the tickets back in May and I was so excited and then had sort of put it in the back of my mind until just a few days before and then I started getting hyped up for it again.  So I invited Whitney to go with me and we ended up going with one of my co-workers and her sister-in-law and then we separated to go to our seats.  Whit and I had seats down on the field towards the back.  Thank heavens for the big screens on either side.  By the way I have still not figured out this new blogspot.  I need some tutoring.  Back to the story.  So we had to wait about 45 mins in our seats.  Before the action really began.  Actually there was a lot of people watching that we participated in.  It was so interesting because there were lots of 50-60yr old people and quite a few teens and 20's.  Not a lot of people my age.  That was my perception anyway.  So we actually had seats on the edge which made me excited because that meant I could stand whenever I wanted.  He started out with a bang with "Jet".  It was so exciting that I was screaming and jumping up and down.  I did not really see myself as the screaming fan type but I think Whit can vouch that I spent 3 hours standing, singing, screaming, dancing and I would have stood there for 2 more if I could have listened to him sing.  He ended up singing 37 songs.   He is 68 yrs old and he did not take 1 break or 1 drink of water on stage and ended up doing 2 encores.  It was practically a life altering experience for me.  I know that sounds a little sappy but it was by far the best concert I have been to and about the best thing I have ever seen in my life.  Some of the highlights were when he sang " The Long and Winding Road", "My Love" and said he wrote it for Linda.  Also when he explained that he wanted to sing a song that George Harrison had written  during the civil rights issues in the South and then he proceeded to sing "Blackbird" which is a song that I love.  I video recorded him singing it and then played it later at home and it has me singing "Blackbird" because it picked up my voice and your can hear Paul a little in the background.  It was so loud there that I could not hear myself and therefore did not realize my voice was being picked up.  I was singing it quite badly, I might add because I could not hear my voice to stay on key.  It made me laugh.    He sang "Eleanor Rigby" and it reminded me of how much Jenny loves that song.  He sang "Band on the Run" which made me remember those days back in the 70's. Then Ob-La Di, Ob La Da., Back in the USSR which was totally cool.  I was screaming the words.    Then one of my absolute favorite moments was "Live and Let Die"  There was fire on the stage and fireworks and it was crazy load and I was again screaming at the top of my lungs and jumping up and down again.  "Day Tripper"  I knew every word of this song thanks to Nancy Sinatra.  And of course I cannot forget "Hey Jude" and "Yesterday".   He was quite a ham on the stage and very interactive with the audience.  At one point he ra out on stage with Utah's flag and also the Union Jack.  My 2 very favorite places.  I was out of control by that point.  I think Whit was totally surprised to see her 41 year old aunt acting this way.  Believe me, some of you would have gotten caught up in the moment and acted that way too.  I spent a good portion of the concert in a state of surreality.  It felt like I was dreaming the whole thing. It was so much more than I ever imagined.  During the second encore he said to the audience " At some point you are going to have to go home"  I recall thinking.  No. I don't want it to end.   I guess the amazing thing about him was he made it all seem so effortless.  He played 2 different piano's, electric and acoustic guitars, ukelele, mandolin and so on and so forth.  He sounded the same live as he does recorded.  I guess that is the mark of true talent, unlike some of the artists that I hear these days.  Anyway I have gushed long enough.  It was amazing, unforgettable, and truly the chance of a lifetime.

Blogspot is Freaking Out!

Okay, I just put all the pictures on the post and something has gone awry and I can't do any commentary.  So here it is.  I had a great weekend and most of the pics are of  the BBQ that I decided to do because I actually have a backyard worthy of sharing with others.  Thanks to Shelley, Alan and Morgan who were visiting last week and basically did the backyard makeover that I have always been dreaming of and I didn't even have to do a silly reality show video and submit to anyone.  Again a huge thank you for all the work that you guys put into making my backyard a place that I now want to hang out in.  We had a great BBQ and as you can see everyone who lives up here was able to be there except poor Madi who had to work.  After the BBQ it was fort building time and dance partying and of course a little freeze tag.  Josh had to drop Stacy and her mother off at the airport for their big trip to "The Continent"  particularly the area of France.  On Sunday night I got down my Madame Alexander dolls for the girls to play with and Maren was in 7th Heaven and even needed to try on Rapunzel's hat.   Before that I had met John and his family at Wasatch Lawn Cemetary to put flowers on Grandma and Grandpa Thomas' graves as well as Nana.   We had a fun visit and those pictures are on my cell phone and so they have not made it on the post.  One of the things that I wanted to for sure do this weekend was attempt a strawberry rhubarb pie.  I had lots of help from the kids and I think they turned out quite nice.  It is one of those things I like to eat in May, albeit the last day.  I made it in the nick of time.  It was a very fun weekend and I hate the thoughts of returning to work tomorrow.  This next little while is going to be a little busy with helping Josh out with the kids.  We are hoping to inlist Whits help.  Between the 3 of us adults we should be able to make somewhat of an attempt to do what Stacy has to do each day.  Wish us all luck.  By the way Shelley I did get over the Engh and buy that peach colored climbing rose and Josh put it in today.    I am excited to see what it will look like when it finally gets established.  The last few pictures are of the kids working on their lastest project.  We had some watermelon at the BBQ and Gabe got the bright idea to plant some of the seeds from the watermelon.  They found the little shovel and went to town.  I just let them do it.  Jonas has promised me that in 8 years I should have a great watermelon crop.  They crack me up as usual.  Hope you all had a great weekend.

Memorial Weekend

I updated my blogspot and now everything is a little funky and so I am hoping that this all works out. 

My latest project, learning this dance

Spring is Bustin Out All Over!

It has been a great couple of days despite the weather (snow this morning!). I was fortunate enough to have some visitors come for a while. Morgan, her girls and Shelley came down from Idaho to get away from their lousy weather, little did they know it wouldn't be much better than up north. While they have been here they have been up to a lot. including....

drawing fine works of art. Thanks to Lily we may make loads of money from her priceless art and she may even be asked to be included in the game of Masterpiece. Also there has been a little sneaking of tuna fish as pictured below.

She had a bit of a melt down after I had to grab both spoons away from her.

She also enjoyed a little ice cream sandwich after dinner this evening. She scarfed it down in no time; we're lucky we got the wrapper off before she inhaled it.

Also, our sweet Hannah turned 11 on Sunday. I was fortunate enough to make her birthday cake; a Texas sheet cake. I think I have found the best recipe that includes a secret ingredient (cinnamon, okay not so secret anymore) It was so good I couldn't stop eating the batter, I don't usually like cake batter but this stuff is delicious.

Just some pictures of the festivities.

Our delicious assortment of meats that Joshua grilled.

I was also very excited to be able to use my new drink dispenser I got from CostCo! It was perfect for it's job to dispense a delicious drink! It holds ice at the bottom to keep it cold without watering down the drink, Genius!

I wasn't able to get any pictures of the ceremonial opening of the presents but she got a lot of really cute clothes and some fun new things to play with this year. Happy Birthday Sweetheart! I love you!

The first morning Shelley was here she took a look out my back window and had this lovely view. I knew it was going to bug her.  Actually, it had been bugging her since she saw it the week before.

Yes, those are a whole ton of weeds that took over my back yard. So of course, knowing Shelley, she couldn't leave it alone and had to start a yard project.

She and Morgan and started weeding and digging. It wasn't as bad as they had first thought because they watered the ground for about 45 minutes and then were able to pull the weeds out quite easily, (shelley knows all those weeding tricks for she is an uber weeder). Lucky for them, because it was a an overwhelming job that I couldn't face by myself, and I was so appreciative when I came home i took them out for dinner and swimming and a pedicure the nexct day.

Thanks guys for even attempting such a task!

But the job didn't stop there, they decided to do some landscaping today with the newly cleared land. They added some curves and had several plans. One mishap did occur, Morgan was chopping at some roots and accidentally chopped right into the mainline of my sprinkler system. So I guess Andrew will be making a trip down to fix it. Oh well.... what's new!

At the end of the day this is what they looked like, Morgan had mud all over and was still drenched from her Old Faithful experience.

After they got the curves dug we headed to Home Depot to purchase some new plants. I got a variagated, a red, a burning bush and two privets. They look wonderful already!

Then today they spread out the black soil fabric down to prevent the weeds from coming back.

Then they planted the bushes and added the black plastic trim to outline the curves and added six bags of peat moss. It looks so great I hardly recognize it as being my yard! I'm so excited to love my back yard!

The plans are not exactly done, I hope to put in some bricks to outline the curves and that should make it look even better, and also maybe some wood chips to lay over it all. It will be beautiful and I'm so thankful that I have family who take over and just decide to go for it.

Insert by Morgan: A treat to Lagoon would be fun. jk :)

Adventures in Cedar City

So last week I was invited down for Miranda's graduation. Whit and I drove down together and had a chance to stay at Ye Old Stratford. Let's just say they provide much more service during the Summer months. But it was fun to stay there with Tenny and Whit.
Look at Brooks. Has anyone ever seen him smile that big before. He must have been happy Miranda was finally done with school. Her sister's are all wanna be graduates holding up their programs. Their time will come. I hope to attend each of their graduations in the future.
We went to dinner together on Friday night after we got there. A truly delightful Chinese buffet in little Cedar City. We found some special treats at this buffet...

They basically dared me to eat this purple octopus that was pictured above. I happen to love chewy, squeaky, fishy, food. No one else would join me in the challenge.

Notice we invited Weird Al to dinner, and he did indeed honor us with his presence. We were a little weirded out by his flashy ensemble and asked him to sit in the corner.
Miranda looking for her future. Whit and Tenny just trying to stay warm. It was a freezing that morning. The commencement was at 8:30am, and the cars were covered in frost. We didn't come prepared for such crisp temperatures.
Tennyson Curie. Banner looks doubtful as to what she is witnessing, true greatness or another goofy moment. We know it to be the latter.
Ah, she finally found her niche, acting.

So I came home from work on Friday to a shorn lawn and a few new things on the porch. Whit and Madi had spent the day together and had decided to do me a favor. I think they had seem my "to do list" on the cupboard. It was very much appreciated when they mowed the whole yard and even fertilized for me. Then I guess they went to a nursery and got some Mother's/Aunt's Day gifts. Whit bought the cute hanging planter and the beginnings of an herb garden. I love the colors in the planter. They are so bright and very eye catching. Bless Madi's heart she bought me the rhubarb plant which made me very excited about having my own plant for the yearly making of the beloved syrup. I spent today planting a container herb garden and container cherry tomato plant. I hope they thrive. I also finished off the mailbox project by spray painting it silver. I woke up early to go up with our Stake to do a camp clean up. We had to drive an hour each way to get there and then I needed to treat myself to a little something special. I went to my neighborhood nail salon and had a pedicure. The feet are looking good, but for how long remains to be seen.

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day. I will be thinking of you all and thinking of Mom. I have cut lilacs in my house right now and they always remind me of her.