Belated Anniversary date

Such a fun night! John and I hit the Maroon 5 concert...anniversary date/present that was just  a few weeks  late! I love stretching anniversaries, holidays, birthdays out...making them last a tad bit longer.

The weather could not have been better. I think I am in love with outdoor Fall concerts in Northern California! My date was perfect :)... 17 years later and he still makes me smile.  Dinner was easy...our favorite sandwiches from Bel Air...the Santa Cruz sandwich. The opening act Rozzi Crane was great...minus one song. Kelly Clarkson was amazing! I have always  liked her songs but she is not someone I would have been dying to see. She surprised me. She sounded amazing, had lots of energy and was really down to earth and funny.

 

 Maroon 5 did not disappoint. I have loved them since their very first album and even more with their come back a few years ago. Their energy was insane and they too, sounded amazing. I think they are better LIVE! The lighting and graphics were awesome and the ton of confetti that came streaming down towards the end was FUN!

 I was getting worried because they had left the stage, the concert was over and they had not sung/performed my favorite Maroon 5 song. Not gonna lie, there was a little bit of panic! Now we all now that most bands will come out for an encore, which they did! The 1st song they came back and sang was still not my all time fave but the 2nd one was. YAY! Adam Levine and  (on guitar) did an acoustic version of  SHE WILL BE LOVED and they had the audience participate! one word, okay two...Incredible and Happy!

 

* photos from my friend Brenda H. and Kylie R.. Thank you!

G.N.O - Brad Paisley

I had been looking forward to this night, all Summer long! My girlfriends, Lisa and Patti planned a super fun G.N.O. out to see Brad Paisley in concert. While I wasn't wishing for the Summer days to fly by, I was super excited to see BP in concert again! Well, the day/night had finally arrived. YAY!!! 

27 girlfriends got together to go the concert. I think it was our largest G.N.O. attendance to date. We carpooled over, enjoyed picnic dinners on the lawn(our seats for the evening), and took LOTS of photos...a concert tradition. I need to thank my friend Amy for all of the photos. After the ordeal of getting/smuggling my camera in, I discovered that I had left my SD card in my laptop, at home. So frustrating. Amy saved the night and made sure our evening was well documented.

Amy, Me, Amanda Jen and Sandi

Amanda and I, picnicking on the lawn.



Just a few of the girls while we were waiting for the rest of the group to arrive.



Stephanie, Amy and me!

The group, minus Mer and I. I was waiting for Mer at the front gate  :-).

Loved meeting up with this cute friend(Mer). So happy  she could come.

Amy and me!

Kristin, Me, Amy and Amanda

The Band Perry opened the show. They were awesome. I left the show liking them way more than I did when I walked into the concert that evening! That is always a good thing :-).

Brad Paisley was awesome! He sang all of my favorite BP songs(Waiting on a Woman, Celebrity, Mud on the Tires). There was even an appearance(virtual) by Carrie Underwood. The sang another favorite, Remind Me. That was pretty cool and deceiving...we thought she was really there :-). 

It was an awesome Summer evening spent with fabulous friends, enjoying some great tunes!
I wonder who we are we seeing next???

date night

John had been talking about the Journey concert for months. They were scheduled to come out our way. I told him we should go. We would talk about it and then forget about it. Well, he decided the week of the concert that we needed to go. An evening spent listening to 80's music, I was totally on board. John found tickets for the lawn and we were good to go. This was the beautiful sky we enjoyed on our way out to the show.















This is the sunset we enjoyed while waiting for the show to start. Absolutely breath taking.

















Up first, Night Ranger. They sounded great. John loved them. To be totally honest, I only knew one of their songs. John was flabbergasted that I only knew one song. Sister Christian was my song-haha. I will say (in my defense)that I AM the younger wife. While he was rocking out to Night Ranger, I was most likely b-bopping to New Edition :-). I had to laugh though, they still have their 80's rocker hair. Some things will never change.














Foreigner was up next. They got the crowd going. They sounded exactly like they did in the 80's. I knew most of their songs and happily sang along.

















Journey finally took the stage at 9:30 pm. They played for a solid hour and a half. It had escaped my mind that the lead singers position had been filled with a guy they had found performing Journey songs via Karaoke. I thought the guy did a great job and sounded pretty darn good/close to the real thing. I loved singing along with the crowd to the old Journey favorites. I got major goosebumps when they sang Don't Stop Believing. Who doesn't love that song???

















We have added another fabulous date night to the books. Thanks,honey!

Same boy...

Different city. Different venue. Different crowd :-). Different songs heard live. *Sigh*. John Mayer was amazing. He really was.
















We brought the hubbies along with us this time :-). We all got there before the gates opened. We had fun chatting in line while we waited. Once inside the gates, we had our picnic dinners on the lawn, we sang Happy Birthday to Pete and enjoyed Amy's scrumptious cupcakes in honor of that same birthday boy.


We were all getting comfy on the lawn when Pete announced that he had landed some upgrade tickets/seats for us. SCORE. We moved from the lawn, up to section 201 row 8...just enough seats for all of us. They were awesome seats & even better when we moved one more time, more towards the center.

It is always so much fun hanging out with these girls. They are the best. They are fabulous. I love them.


An extra bonus to have these guys join us.


A few selfies while waiting for the show to start. Owl City was the opening act...45 minutes of my life(two times over) that I won't ever get back.



{I had to laugh out loud when I saw this photo on my computer. He WAS supposed to be smiling like I was -LOL}.

It was another perfect Summer night in Cali. I loved every minute of it. I am sure I had a smile on my face the entire night. My favorite songs from the evening were Perfectly Lonely, Clarity, War of my Life, Do You Know Me and his cover of Raspberry Beret. I loved his version of this song...he had cool purple lights and the crowd sang along. Two concerts, back to back = the perfect way to end my Summer.

I wonder how soon it will be before John boy (my John) will see another John Mayer concert with me :-)?

summer concert...John Mayer style

AAAAHHHHH...the day finally arrived. I have been looking forward to this weekend since March. I was beyond excited to head to the Bay Area. I got to see John Mayer in concert at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. I met up with my sister, Amber and my cousin, Kerstin. We grabbed sandwiches and were on our way. We met up with our friend, Michelle. Perfect company.

Here are a few my favorite/unforgettable highlights from the JM show.
- Felt right at home at this venue...it was our spot for concerts during our younger years.
- Getting to spend time with some of my most favorite people in the whole wide world.
- Listening to JM songs the entire ride down to the Bay Area and to and from the concert, anticipating what he would play that evening.
- Listening to John Mayer run a sound check while eating our dinner in line...goose bumps for sure.
- People watching...seriously never a dull moment.
- 4 scrapbookers/life artist forgetting their cameras. Okay, truth be told, I had mine but I didn't have the memory card in it...who does that???
- Giggling while taking traditional self portraits, over and over again with our cell phones.
- the {older} drunk cougar women behind us who just should have known better.
- Laughing so hard we almost cried...or some may have slightly peed their pants{see above, people watching}.
- The poor 17 year old boys next to us who happened to be the cougars prey that night...eeeeewwwwwww!
- John Mayer singing Slow Dancing in a Burning Room. One of the two songs(I haven't heard live) I wanted to hear live-YAY!
- singing along to all of my favorite JM songs :-).
- Singing along to Why Georgia with the whole audience.
- texting my friend Mer(she's a BIG JM fan, too) during the concert while Mr. Mayer took a potty break during the show. I have never had that happen during a concert.
- loved, loved, loved how chit chatty JM was during the show. He was funny,charming and very entertaining.
- Favorite songs from the evening were Half of My Heart/Dreams,Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, Why Georgia and Edge of Desire.








I seriously enjoyed every minute of his show. I felt sad when it was over but then quickly reminded myself that I was seeing him tomorrow night at the Sleep Train Amphitheatre :-).

**John Mayer photos swiped from SF Gate(actual photos from our concert)...remember I didn't have a camera. I love the world wide web.
**Friend/Family photos swiped off of my sisters FB account...thanks, Am!

are you serious???

I had to laugh when I received this reminder email in my inbox. Seriously, who would forget about seeing this guy in concert???

Trust me, I won't forget about this event. It is *** and highlighted in my calendar...it is etched/fried/stamped on my brain. I am counting the days down! Only 10 more days to go. Are you going?

I am pretty sure I say this every month...and I will say it again! I love how versatile the monthly Green Tangerines Kit Club product is. So far, I have been able to create 3 totally different layouts (with one in the works) with just one kit. You can see the others in the posts below.

Here is my latest creation using the April/May kit. If the pictures look familiar, they are. I scrapped our most recent Girls Night Out, Summer concert style.







Oh these pictures are making me want to hit up another summer concert with these girlie's :-). Girls, who are we seeing next :-)?

Another fun Girls Night Out for the books...okay, for the blog. After last years Brad Paisley concert, we all knew we needed to hit another concert together. This years pick was Tim McGraw with Lady Antebellum opening up the show. The weather was perfect, the music was awesome and some of my favorite friends made it a fabulous night. It was just what I needed.















































Lady Antebellum opened the show with the perfect song...Stars Tonight. They sounded great, just like their CD. Check out those shoes that Hillary rocked the stage in. That alone takes talent.

Next up, Tim McGraw! I loved every second of his show. He was funny. He sounded amazing. He looked great and he kept the crowd moving. A few of my favorite songs from the evening were: Still, Blank Sheet of Paper, Tiny Dancer and Just to See You Smile.




























If you are looking for a great concert...Tim McGraw is your guy. I left the concert loving his music even more than I already did. There is just something about seeing the artist live, it always makes me love them more. It was the perfect way to kick off my Summer.

{thanks to Amy and Jen for sharing their photos}

week in the life of us...

picture a day style.
I am still on track with taking a photo a day(something that represents our world for each day this year). I am even caught up on getting those photos in the album with the journaling to go with each day. I am loving this project. While I still love to scrapbook, I love that these photos have a home even if they don't ever make it onto an actual layout.

Here is a glimpse of what we have been enjoying this past week.

{Sunday}












Brody watched Toy Story and Toy Story 2 for the first time this month. He is a HUGE fan of the movies. He now has to have Woody and Buzz tucked into bed with him every night. He has been walking around the house & quoting the movie. His favorite line is "Reach for the sky".

{Monday}












This is a favorite after dinner past time at our house. The boys love to head out into the back with Dad. John is so good about getting out and playing with the boys. Whether it's a game of catch, throwing the football, or playing goalie as the boys practice their shots on goal...everyone gets involved.

{Tuesday}











A big happy birthday to our favorite husband/daddy! We celebrated his big day with a baseball game, a soccer game, dinner, cake and presents. Whew....and to think we accomplished all of that between 5-9 pm.

{Wednesday}










Tanner got to take the mound for the first time this season. He was excited and so nervous. he has been waiting for his chance to pitch. He has wanted to show his coaches that he could do it and he did. He struck a couple of batters out and there were no RBI's while he was the pitcher. Way to go Kruppy!

{Thursday}






















I have been enjoying taco Thursdays...or Tuesdays at my friend, Moe's(Moe is in the bottom picture w/her new man) house. She is the hostess with the mostess. She makes yummy tacos and we all get together to visit and enjoy her home cooking. Tonight we played Go Fish, Old Maid, and a round of Memory. So much fun and something to look forward to each week.

{Friday}












It has been two days now & I still get giddy when I think about this. I had heard that a local radio station was giving away John Mayer tickets this weekend. I wanted to try and win some. I thought it was a long shot and planned on listening all weekend in hopes of winning. The first set of tickets were going to be given away at 5 pm. I heard the DJ announce that it was time to start calling. I picked up the phone and dialed. After two calls that ended with busy signals...the phone started to ring on my 3rd try. The man on the other end just said "hello". He didn't say "thank you for calling The End". I so thought I had dialed the wrong number. Then he asked if I wanted concert tickets. I started jumping up and down while screaming "No way". John thought I was totally joking and goofing around. So, long story short, I won tickets to see Owl City and John Mayer this summer. I am so excited and hope August gets here fast.


{Saturday}








We finished tying our fleece blankets for the Binky Patrol. We signed up for the Disney "Give a Day, Get a Day" service project. We let the boys help pick out the fleece. It was fun to see what/why they picked it. For instance, Carter picked the fleece that had dogs on it. He picked it just in case there was a boy or girl who might love dogs just as much as he does. It was a great little service project for our family. It will be fun to hit Disneyland sometime this year...for FREE.


{Sunday}












Carter received a note in the mail with $20.00 cash. It was from Grandma Shore. The note attached said that Carter had won her drawing. She had entered every family member and then she randomly picked winners in remembrance of Grandpa. She is always doing fun things like this. She is the best. Carter's name was drawn and so the $20.00 was his to spend. He picked out a new Giants jersey in honor of Grandpa who loved the Giants. We love being part of a fun, loving family.

So how are you? How has your week been?

p.s. as a side note, thank you to all of you who have dropped money off in support of my Mom and the Rape Crisis Center. You are awesome. I will be collecting money until Wednesday morning and then I am heading to the Bay Area to participate in the Walk a Mile and Cheer on the good men who will be walking in their heels :-). If you are out of state and mailing money, just let me know how many tickets you need so I can let my Mom know before the drawing. I will hand deliver the money then.