Been reading too ...

Started re-reading the Harry Potter books back in May. My plan was to read a book then watch the movie. That was all going according to plan until I picked up the Kindle Brooke and I were giving Dad for Father's Day. She put all the "Fever" books on there. Damn! I had read books 1-4 several years ago. I remember being so pissed at the end of the fourth book. I picked it up thinking it was the last one in that series. It so was not the last one. I'd read that whole book thinking I'd get some kind of closure at the end. NOT!! And I had waited for it to be released so I had no clue when the sequel was coming out. (If you aren't familiar with the "Fever" books go here to read more.)

Fast forward to June. Cari bought herself a Nook Color. She'd been waiting for the fifth and final book to hit the shelves so she could read the entire series at once. Well book five came out in January - I still hadn't picked it up though. It had been several years so I wanted to start back at book one and read them all again. All it takes is a couple of pages and you're hooked - so hooked. Cari read all five books in six days. Granted she wasn't in school or working and she had really missed reading for fun. There's simply not much time for that in between studying and homework during school. So, although I was into book four of Harry Potter I had all five "Fever" books at my finger tips. I couldn't resist. I caved.

I devoured the first two books. Then I hit the brick wall called Nashville. I didn't get much reading done the next two weeks. Acknowledging there was no way I could finish before handing the Kindle over on Father's Day, I went to the library and checked the rest of them out. I am so glad that series is done!! Good Gawd I needed a massage after finishing that last one! The entire thing was unbelievably intense! And it ended with, " ... the end" and on the next page, " ... for now." So you know that's not the end of the story, but at least Ms. Moning provided us with some closure.

I've got two and a half weeks to get ready for Harry Potter now!! Yikes!!

PS - Both Missy and Pat have now caught the fever! It's gonna be fun watching them read too!

Ahem (clearing my throat) ...

... no literally. I've been feeling poorly since Monday. Woke up with a sore throat and just dragging. The coughing started Wednesday night. My voice started going Friday afternoon. Today (Sunday) is the second day of absolutely no voice whatsoever. I talk to myself - a lot. And yes, I answer myself too. Is that an indication of intelligence or Alzheimer's? Not sure but I'll choose intelligence thank you. I've always talked to myself, even growing up. I remember trying to figure algebra problems and talking my way through it in class. Maybe it's a product of being an only child. Who knows? Anyway, now I'm whispering to myself. I forget I don't have a voice until I try to say something. If it wasn't so frustrating it would be funny. Anyway ...

Can't believe it's been two months since I've blogged. So many of life has whizzed by!! And wait, two months from today we'll be on a plane heading to Alaska! I can't believe it's that close! We've been planning this for months now. It's incredible to believe it's only weeks away now. I am so not ready! Well I'm ready, but not ready. You know what I mean! I've always wanted to go to Alaska - always. So we decided to take the trip of a lifetime for our 25th wedding anniversary! OMG the pictures I'm gonna take!

Mother's Day - Cari made me an awesome chocolate pecan pie! We had breakfast at Rock-a-fellers and snow crabs for dinner. It was a wonderful day!

Kenny!! Our summer started with a bang on June 4 going to see Kenny at Fed Ex Field. Jamie went with us and the yewts (Cari and Matt) met us at the hotel. We got to the parking lot as they opened the doors and had a wonderful time tailgating most of the afternoon. Carla and Eddie joined us - it was great reconnecting with them again. (More on this in a separate post.)

After coming home from Kenny on Sunday, I started getting serious about getting my act together for Nashville! Cari arrived Tuesday about lunchtime and the frivolity followed!! The whole trip (with the exception of Miranda Lambert being a bitch) was awesome! For me, the best thing about it was just being together. Six full days with Cari and Missy! We had a ball!!

We landed about 11:30pm Monday night - exhausted and elated. Cari had planned to stay through Father's day and Matt arrived Thursday afternoon so he'd be here for Morgan's 2nd birthday party (which was awesome!) on Saturday. The Troupe crew met at Jewish Mother for breakfast Sunday morning - that's always a fun time! Cari left Monday for Harrisonburg Monday afternoon. The bug that was working on my body had already latched on. It was a long week. So that's where I am right now. Time to back up and fill in some blanks ...

Happy 2nd Birthday to Morgan!!!

It's funny. On one hand I can't believe it's been two years since Morgan was born. On the other hand, it's hard to remember back to a time she wasn't a part of our lives. She's always been beautiful but I swear she's even more so every time I see her. It's humbling to realize there's a little bit of me in there somewhere. She was napping when we arrived so was a little groggy at first. Cari was so excited for Matt to finally meet her! Whether she remembered Cari or not (it had been about six months) it didn't take Morgan long to warm up to her. Babies and kids naturally take to Cari - she's like a magnet to them.

We ate, opened presents - LOTS of presents! - sang, had cake and played in the pool! Tiffany and Lauren were blowing up the beach balls I brought - Cars, Princesses and Nemo. Morgan saw the Cars one and said, "vrooom vrooom!" It was so cute! She's always loved balls - and the movie, "Cars." This summer she's a little fish in the pool too. Poor thing, she was shivering and turning blue in the pool but still didn't want to get out.

For more birthday photos, click here.

Kenny!!

We had been looking forward to this show for a long time (actually bought the tickets back in November). A stadium show had been on our "to do" list for years. And since he didn't tour at all last year we were in detox mode for sure! Jamie came over bright and early Saturday morning and we hit the road around 7am. After dropping Peanut off with Dad we were on our way! The drive up was pretty uneventful and it gave Jamie and I a good block of time to catch up. The yewts beat us to the hotel and one of our rooms was ready so we went ahead and checked in. All of us were excited (yes even Bob) and we were out of there pretty quickly.

Cars were lined up to get into the parking lot. The gates opened at 12:30 and we were there ten minutes early. Needless to say we got a great spot. As as soon as the car stopped we were unloading and setting up for tailgating! The little Weber handled our burgers and dogs with no problem. Cari made broccoli salad and I brought potato salad. It was a bit hot - in the upper 80's - but we were thankful it wasn't any hotter. As clouds went by and gave us some shade it gave us a little bit of a break. Carla and Eddie (Jamie's ex sister-in-law and her husband) joined the party a little later - it was great to see them again and reconnect!

I'll tell you, some people have the art of tailgating down pat. The jeep next to us had a margarita machine, tent, an incredible spread and they even brought some sand and a baby pool! It was awesome! They actually made Kenny's Facebook page! His manager was riding around in a golf cart taking photos of different fans' setups. It gave us some ideas for our next tailgating party. :)

Finally it was time to make our way to the stadium! Cari and I bought the same Kenny shirt - she has good taste - and we went through the gates. Our seats were awesome!! Carla and Eddie's were awesomer though. LOL They were right next to the sand bar. Wow!

Uncle Kracker opened right at 4:30. He was okay but nothing to write home about. Apparently others weren't too excited about seeing him either since the stadium was pretty close to empty. I like his cd better than his live show. That's a shame isn't it? Billy Currington took the stage about 20 minutes after Kracker left and he was really good. We were very surprised to learn the Zac Brown Band was the last band before Kenny. I was sure it would be Billy. I really like the Zac Brown Band but their "jamming" sessions can go on and on and on and on. It even got to be too much for Bob and he generally likes that kind of stuff. After a while it all begins to sound the same to me. Cari, Jamie and I got up in search of something to eat. We missed a lot of their set but Cari and I knew we'd see them again in a few days in Nashville so we weren't too upset about it.

In the meantime seats were filling up. By the time Kenny made his appearance there wasn't a seat to be  had. Kenny never just comes out on stage. He's always where you least expect him. This time he came up from the tech center in the center of the field swinging high through the crowd. It was awesome! The show continued to get better and more exciting from there. Kenny looked rested and thrilled to be in front of his fans again - needless to say, we were thrilled to have him in front of us again. He sang, danced, high-fived fans and made us all fall in love with him all over again. I later found the set list - the man sang 26 songs in that two hour period. Bob walked away saying, "He does a great show! He certainly is an entertainer." This was Matt's first ever Kenny show.  Let's just say it won't be his last.

Click HERE for more photos from the night.

Back in the hotel room, we snacked, showered and decompressed a little. Cari and Jamie made fun of me on my Ambien - I remember most of it. I probably would've made fun of me too if I could have. I usually take it and go to bed, not attempt to be sociable.

After breakfast in the morning we hugged the yewts and started our trek home. Then it was time to start seriously getting stuff together for NASHVILLE!!