simple math

what do you get when you add: kristy's suburban

+ lots of little people

+ a long drive

+ a gripping match of catch phrase jr to pass the time+ iceberg onion rings with a whole lot of fry sauce (wow)+ lots and lots of blankets & hoodies+ happy smiling kiddos?all of this can only add up to one thing = ryan shupe and the rubberband!we had a few more kiddletts with us this year (hence kristy's suburban), and it was a little colder than usual, but the atmosphere was still gorgeous, the music was still great, the band was still so much fun to see live, and the most important factor for fun at an outdoor venue....fresh kettle corn....mmmmmm. plus is was warm so we fought over who got to hug it like this. good times were had by all. this concert is definitely one of the highlights of the year for me, i look forward to it every september and RSRB never disappoint! hailey was teasing me because every time a song started i would say, "oh i love this song!". she's right though, i do love them all!

rubber band boys

I had a feeling that once school started the blog entries would be fewer and further between. For one thing, with the kids gone, not quite as much is happening during the day. I could tell you about how Ethan has two big bruises on his forehead from falling down twice in two days but that's not very exciting. So, this week went by with the whirrrr, but that's how it always is during the school year, that's one of the things I hate about it actually. I have decided though that I am going to document some of my volunteer work, not because I want to brag but it's a huge part of what I do, and this is my blog/journal after all, it seems like an appropriate thing to do. But that's another blog story. One more thing I'm going to do is add a gratitude section at the end of all the blogs, or at least most of them, where I list five things I'm grateful for today. I thought about having it be an ever-changing list on the side that always stays on the home page but I decided against it because I would like to be able to look back and see what I felt on that particular day.

On with the blog...

Last night we participated in one of our favorite events of the whole year. We went to Thanksgiving Point to hear Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband play. It's an absolute beautiful setting at the Waterfall Amphitheater with, you guessed it, several gorgeous waterfalls off the redish cliffs behind the stage. Besides the scenery, the music was so fantastic, as it always is and we were lucky this time because they played all of our most favorite songs, Corndog tops the list for sure.

The history with us and RSRB is this, several years ago when they were still pretty small, Microsoft booked them for their Christmas party and Rich and I loved their funky music show so much we bought a couple of CDs. We talked them up to the kids and when we found out they were playing the Utah Arts Festival, we took the whole family. They played UAF for a few years in a row until they got too big and since then we have been going to their September concert at Thanksgiving Point. We ended up missing last year because Ethan was a little too little for music that loud. The last few years we have seen the "bowl" at the amphitheater grow considerably as they've signed a deal with Capitol Records and have been touring all over the country. It's has been fun to see them become so popular.

This year, I was still a little worried about taking Ethan, but he was a dream toddler, totally enthralled by the entertainment on stage and even did some Ethan style dancing, sweet.It was chilly enough that we all huddled together and sang along and enjoyed our silly little selves. We love this band. (yes Ethan is picking his nose in this picture, it was dark when I set it up ok?)

Five things I'm grateful for today (well, this is really yesterday's list) -

1. wonderful teachers

2. a picnic blanket big enough to sit AND cover up with (thanks Eileen)

3. perfect fall weather for an outdoor concert

4. awesome music that also happens to have kid-friendly lyrics

5. a perfectly behaved toddler for no less than three hours