Yeah Babe!

Hellooooo!!!!






The kids thinking they were gonna have a brush with stardom...


But this was as close as we got (his motorhome is the one with the door open behind the white van...)

So after I 1) got called out for work exactly 45 minutes before I was hoping to leave for the concert, and 2) finally made it home in a hurried haste and then got stuck in traffic moving only 1 mile in 1 hour... we made it to the Jason Aldean concert! *sigh

It probably was for the better though that we were fashionably late. We got there when the opening act had one song left to play before Aldean made his appearance. I think by the end of the "real" concert the kids were pretty much cashed and would have never made it had we been there an hour earlier.

I was able to get a few decent pics despite the folks' heads in front of me. The kids had a blast, singing and dancing and otherwise being cute. For "Big Green Tractor" Jade got to sit on my shoulders where she proceeded to sing every single word, much to the awe of those around us. Yes, we were a 3 man entertaining crew, as usual :)

After the concert in order to avoid sitting in traffic for another hour (oy!) we met up with a few guys from the Sheriff's Department who were working the concert area. We were gladly escorted to the bus area, where George and Steve did their best to convince Aldean's crew that he really needed to meet Vincent and Jade (well, me too... ) Unfortunately what is shown in these pictures is as close as we got to meeting anyone, but it was hilarious to watch Jade giddy in the thought that she was going to meet him. Vincent hung out at the gate with Matt while onlooking fans thought that Vincent was Aldean's son - too funny - and funnier is the fact that Vincent totally had them convinced he was.

When we finally decided to try and brave the outbound traffic, just before getting in the car, Jade bellows, "I love you Jason Aldean!" Good girl... me too!!!

Morning On The Farm

What a great morning! The sun is out and it looks like its going to be another hot one... time for a quick post...

I got up this morning and fed the horses. Vincent came out and started playing with the cats right away, and somehow everyone ended up in a tree out back. I got a chance to snap a couple of quick shots amidst all the action...

Holy Cow! That Was Fun!

Yesterday we had plans to grill out and go to the county fair... until I got a call from Rick at 2:15 that went something like this...

"Hey whatcha doin tonight?"
"Uh, I thought we were going out... grilling..."
"Well get over here now. We're going to see Brad Paisley and the bus is leaving in 45 minutes."

So I made record time (and that's no joke) getting ready and getting over to the house - we jumped on the party bus and were off to Chi town for the concert! We had a great time and hung out with some really cool friends. I think partially what added to the excitement was that I didn't even know where we were going until we were actually on our way there but I figured I was hanging out with a bunch of cops, what's the worst thing that can happen, right? (ha)

Darius Rucker opened the show and even that was awesome. Paisley played and played and we danced and danced to the point that I'm actually sore today from it. But anyway, if anyone was wondering why I disappeared off the planet for oh, 18 hours or so, thats what happened to me! Thanks everyone! I had a wonderful time! :)

Camping, Take One

Well we broke out the trailer for our maiden family camping trip - to a real campground - and had a great time. We just went local to save the miles, but enjoyed ourselves none the less. We brought Tori with us, which turned out to be a good thing because she was instrumental in getting the awning on the trailer out.

The campground was quiet, just a few other families there, but there were other kids so Vincent and Jade weren't totally bored. We were going to go to the fire tower this morning after breakfast, but it rained a good portion of the morning and the mosquitoes were awful once the rain cleared. We'll get back to do that next time perhaps. Last night was fabulous though, and the tv and DVD player in the camper turned out to be a nice relief. Gave me a little mom time alone by the fire - enjoying the cool air, twinkling stars, crickets singing, oh yeah, and an ice cold beer. Or two...

So here's to summer. Here's to good times with the kids. Here's to lovin livin. :)

What A Weekend

So I made a hasty decision to go ahead and go to the horse show on Sunday on, uh, Sunday morning. Got up Sunday morning feeling pretty good so I figured why not. Funny thing is the horse was no where near ready (no bath, no clipping... no... nothing, really) so I got him kind of presentable, loaded, and went.

I decided to get a little extra practice (since we weren't really there to be serious about it) and showed in the English and Western classes. He did great - we ended up with a 2nd in a class of 27 (!) and 1st in a class of 4 (not so stellar, but had a great ride none the less). The last class I think he'd just had it and was done. I disqualified myself with our not so subtle attitude adjustment, but at least he didn't get away with it. Better luck next time.

It was a hot day but I had good company. And it's always interesting to people watch at those things. The cold home brewed celebratory beer after the 1st place wasn't too bad either! I'm off for a few days with the kiddos because the sitter is on vacation, so I'm thinking after I get this place in order, I'm gonna pack them and the gear and hit the campground for a night.

Report to follow! This could be interesting!

I'm Taking A Day Off... Mostly

Last night I took the kiddos to the fireworks at Hebron. It was a pretty short, but it was a decent little show. Much longer and I think the kids would've probably melted down right there. In all my brilliance, I didn't take my good camera with the cool lens, but I was able to get at least one kinda ok shot with my phone... haha. Go figure.



This morning I got up bright and early and started to shovel the 4.5 tons of gravel that I had delivered yesterday. I got one stall mostly done, and the other leveled before it got just too darn hot to do anymore. I guess I have all day tomorrow to have fun with that, too, so no rush. With that, I think the kids and I are gonna just take the day off. Chill, go to a barbeque and enjoy and actual holiday. Things have been so busy around here we haven't had a day of nothing at all in quite a while.

On the topic of busy, Tory finally found a horse in Michigan that used to be a collegiate polo pony for Harvard's polo team. The price was right and we tripped up there on Thursday night/Friday morning to get the horse to bring it home. He's a nice little guy, and hopefully I can talk Tory into letting me do a little stick and balling (it's a polo term) on him! Pics (of me breaking my stupid neck I'm sure) to follow. I'm pretty excited actually. Harley's top speed is just past stop, so he's not much of a polo pony. To say the least.

So here's to relaxing! I'm getting on to my day of nothingness!