Concert Goers

The first concert I took Haley to was Hannah Montana, when Haley was 5 years old and Miley Cyrus wasn't so gross.  Then, I sat outside of the One Direction concert while she had a fangirl-fest inside with Sydney.  This time, I took Haley and Kendall to see American Authors & Echosmith at a small venue downtown.

On the way there, we saw this guy out for a run.  Haley about died when she realized that he was the lead singer for American Authors.  So we stalked him for a bit ….

Yep, definitely him.  Fun, random sighting pre-concert.  

Can you feel their excitement at having a mom along with them?  

Everyone stands during concerts at The Depot, and the girls got a spot right up in front.  As in, super amazing great view...

Compared to my view ...

It's all good, though. 

I am a total American Authors convert now.  They were so fun to see in concert!  Their energy was infectious.

Another great thing about concerts at small venues? Both bands had a meet & greet afterward.  Haley got to hug the bands that she's been idolizing for a long time.  :)  Great night.

And they liked us, too. :) This was their post on Instagram the next day.

Oops

Our cute 17 yr old neighbor had a small run-in with our mailbox the other day. :{ Poor girl! I came out of the house and saw her truck high-centered on what was left of our mailbox, but Reagan was nowhere in sight.  Thankfully, she was ok and since mailboxes can be rebuilt, it's all good.  We couldn't believe how the bricks crumbled like a bunch of Legos!

How did that tiny tree not snap in half?

Fun Kodak moment. :)

Fairytale

(Check out this balloon castle! My little balloon artist was totally captivated.)

A few weeks ago, in a magical place close by, a Fairytale Festival was held.  As part of the festivities, there were princess tea parties, knights in training, glass slipper fittings, crown making classes, etc.  Elle & little cousin Kate attended a tea party together that was so cute, and strictly excluded parents.  We were only allowed to watch the goings on via this tv in the lobby.  The girls didn't mind in the least!





So many princesses mingling with the girls - they were in heaven.  And then each girl was fitted for a crown ….




Being fitted for a glass slipper ….


That evening, the girls knew something special was happening with their dads but they didn't know exactly what.  At the appointed time, the doorbell rang and these cute dads appeared to whisk their daughters to a daddy/daughter ball.  Corsages and all!  It was the cutest.

It was totally magical! I'm sure Elle won't ever forget that night.  I certainly won't.  

Summer wrap-up ….

This little girl had been asking for a balloon kit so she could learn how to blow up balloons and make them into animals or whatever.  She asked and asked and asked.  Finally she found a kit she could afford on Amazon, brought me the exact change and asked me to order it.  Well, alrighty then ...

Sure enough, she taught herself how to make flowers (this is her very first creation) and then all kinds of animals.  We've been finding little balloon animals all over the house ever since.  Remind me not to stand in her way when she's set on something. :)

Christian & Michael Frame catching a ride home.  I stopped a few doors down to talk to a neighbor and they hopped out and climbed on top.  Barely cleared the garage door, the crazies.

Took the family to the Ogden Temple open house.  Wish I could say that there was no complaining or grumbling about getting dressed up on a Saturday, but that would be stretching the truth.  No one complained about the fantastic lunch we had afterward, though. Good to see our priorities are straight.




I've been wanting to take the girls downtown to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir record Music & the Spoken Word live.  We finally crossed that off of our summer bucket list a few weeks ago.  So fun to meet Aunt KK, grandma & Valerie there, too.


Phase 1 of braces for Elle.  So weird to see my baby with braces! Stop this train ….


Our one trip to Lagoon this summer.  I never used to get so queasy at Lagoon. Must be old age.  Or old age.


The girls & I spent at least an hour on this free gondola ride in Park City.  We went up for the day to swim and hang out with cousins and rode this thing to our hearts' content.


We also went on a factory tour at Sweets Candy.  Worth the visit ...




Celebrated 19 years with my honey.  We celebrated by taking all of the kids with us to a movie. Non-traditional anniversary but a great night anyway.


Haley & Syd spent an afternoon playing in the rain, and then decided to hop in the tub together like they used to when they were tiny.


Haley also put a creative slant on her ALS ice bucket challenge.

















Finished the summer with Christian going to Jam Bands Camp (School of Rock, basically) with Rosie & Benn.  They spent 6+ hours a day rehearsing together in several different band groups and then had a concert that Friday night.  Christian came alive last summer when he learned how fun it was to perform on stage.  They had such a great week.

He performed with another band on stage in the park a few weeks later …. He's addicted to performing. :)

Messing around at home ….

And then school started … 8th grade for Haley at Millcreek Jr High, 5th grade for Paige returning to Oak Hills Elementary, and 2nd grade for Elle Grace.

She rocked her new backpack. :)

Christian the high schooler didn't want his picture taken but Bountiful High has been good to him so far, so that's a plus.