Concert Fun

We had an awesome time at the Keith Urban concert last night!

 

First, we stood in line for over an hour to get through the gates and missed part of the first act, Maren Morris.  There were thousands of people behind us, and they didn't get everyone in until Keith Urban started, so some missed the second act, Brett Eldredge, too.  We were inside and heard them all, though, and they were wonderful!

We ended up with two extra tickets that my friend sold to me for half price, so we took Emma and Layla with us.  It was Layla's first real concert, and I think she picked a great one for her first!

 We like lawn seats the best because we can spread out and get comfortable. It was a lot more crowded than the Boston/STYX concert was, but we still had room for our blanket, so it was perfect.

 The amphitheater was built a year ago, and is the largest in Idaho.  It holds 11,000, and since the Keith Urban concert sold out, that's how many were there.  It was packed with excited fans! 

There were a few fun surprises during the night, and one was that he had a second stage set up at the back of the seats at the front of the lawn area, so he did part of the concert up close to us.  He even gave one girl there the guitar he'd been using, after he signed it! 

 A few of our friends were in the front, so I got some of their pictures. 

 Fun concert, beautiful night!

Cousins at Cherry Springs

 It's always fun when cousins get together, and generally lots of silliness ensues.  The girls were bored with playing dress up, so I decided to take them to Cherry Springs for a walk.

 We were excited to find that there's a new area to play, complete with a climbing tree, rope swing, and easy access to the river.

 The climbing tree was irresistible, and even I had to try it out.

 

 Ellie was excited to catch a Monarch butterfly, and I was excited to catch a picture of it as she released it.

 Drama at the amphitheater.

 Snake grass mustaches.

  Farr's Jungle Retreat was the perfect place to cool down.

Lunch with Sister Hansen

Maren and her first companion, Sister Anela Hansen, worked together so well and became very close, so I wasn't surprised when she sent me these instructions:
"If you're ever in Utah visit her. She is literally the best! Anela Hansen. Find her on Facebook, call her, be her friend, LOVE HER!!!"

I was planning a trip to Salt Lake with Becky, so I contacted Anela through Facebook and set up a time to go to lunch.  I met Anela and her mother, Leah, at the Gourmandise Bakery in SLC, and we visited for a couple of hours.  They felt like instant family, and I didn't want our lunch to end.  Leah is from New Zealand and is one of the warmest, kindest people I've ever met.  She loves politics, so we had some things in common...other than our wonderful daughters!

 Anela is amazing...truly amazing!  She's so beautiful and talented and spiritually strong.  I instantly loved her and could have spent hours talking about the Kazakhstan mission with her.  She had so many wonderful stories to tell me about Maren.  According to her Maren is a spiritual giant and braver than anyone she knows.  That's always fun for a mom to hear. Anela is a beautiful singer and has a YouTube channel with at least 24 songs she's recorded.  She's good enough that I'd buy a CD today if she had one!

I'm determined to keep in touch with these wonderful ladies and hope to see them again soon.

Exploring Pocatello

It's amazing that I've lived in Pocatello for 46 years, and I've heard people talking about Chink's Peak many times, but I've never been there.  Emma and I took off driving on a Sunday afternoon and wound up at the top of the mountain, now called Chinese Peak.  What a view!  I need to get out and explore more!

Old friends are the best!

 Samee Barney and Martie Bunderson were Becky's and my best friends in high school, and we have so many fun memories together.  It's always fun when we're able to get together again. This picture was from about 8 years ago at Applebees.

 Samee Beck lives in Pocatello, so Del and I go to dinner with her and her husband Jeremy every 2 or 3 months.  Martie Hill lives in Texas, though, so we don't get to see her nearly as often. 

 Samee and I had fun in the photo booth at our last class reuinion.

Martie came to visit again, so we had a long breakfast at I-Hop with lots of laughing and catching up.  I sure love these ladies!  I'm sure we'll still be getting together til we're blue in the hair!

Gifts from Ireland

 Who knew Chris was such a great gift giver?  He seems to have had so much fun picking out just the right gift for everyone, and we absolutely love them!  For Maren he picked out a "Justice for Gingers" tote and pin that she will find hilarious!  She also got a green wool scarf for when the weather in Kazakhstan gets chilly again and a beautiful leather journal.

 Chris got his dad a tweed cap and flies to go fishing.  Since Del has lots of Irish ancestry it suits him perfectly!

 I got a beautiful pendant necklace. It's made with Connemara Marble, Ireland's only natural gemstone.  Perfect for a geologist's daughter who loves jewelry!

 Emma got spoiled with a leather journal, a silver dolphin necklace, and a beautiful metal hair clip.

 Chris bought Devin a gorgeous pocket watch with open work and Celtic design.

 For himself, Chris got a nice jacket and scarf and a Sherlock Holmes pipe, which he says will be great for his bubbles.  What a sweet guy!  We all feel spoiled now!

Happy Birthday to my Honey!

Breakfast in bed...

 A thoughtful, homemade gift...

a sarcastically funny homemade card...

some great reading material...

 and a new razor!

Yep! It was a great birthday!