The Great Pumpkin

Pumpkin update. Just look at them...

I think that first one is going to be close to 100 lbs by Halloween. It's going to be a fun Halloween this year!!

I heart Baby Gorillas

Ok, yesterday, I dragged the kids to the zoo. Actually, they went willingly, but once we'd arrived and they saw the crowd that we were going to have to contend with, their eagerness dissolved. I, however, was on a secret mission and no crowds of foul smelling people were going to keep me from reaching my goal.

It took us nearly 30 minutes to find an open parking space which was located approximately 10 miles away from the zoo. And, after our hike to the zoo entrance, we were tired and hungry. So, we needed to start our zoo trip with a rest and a snack. Then we were off to pet the goats in the petting zoo.

After that, we had to have a family meeting about how to best spend our 3 zoo ride tickets. We could choose to ride the carousel, skyfari, train, tram, or purchase 2 feeding sticks at the budgie exhibit. I was thinking train, Savannah wanted to ride the carousel, and Myles wanted to try the skyfari. After looking at the lines for both the carousel and the train, and having Savannah inform us that there was no way she was riding the skyfari, we settled on riding the Tram. We waited at the tram stop and were constantly harassed by evil bees for about 10 minutes. The snickers and amused sideways glances we were receiving from everyone around us as we ran, ducked, and swatted at the evil bees that were only interested in harassing us, caused us to decided to skip the tram (for now).

That's fine, I thought, back to my secret mission. The day before, I had been watching our local evening news only halfway paying attention until they mentioned the latest addition to our zoo.

A baby gorilla! And it is now on display! And the poor baby has a broken arm. So, I slyly guided the kids toward the gorilla house. Savannah was slightly in on my plan, since she has a similar desire to have her own baby gorilla. We finally found it, fought our way through the crowd and got a couple of glances at this adorable little face.

I seriously need to have that job. How does one get to be the baby gorilla holder? That is the perfect job for me. And, Savannah also wants it. We could take shifts. (That is if either of us could pry that adorable little gorilla our of either of our arms)After we were forced out of the window, we continued on to take our tram ride, and capture a couple of of fun pictures. Savannah even got to ride the carousel.

A great day. (Although, any day is a great day if it involves a baby gorilla)

Grannies, Guard Your Ankles

Thursday was a great day for grocery shopping bargain hunters in Omaha. Hyvee, one of our local grocery stores, was having a 24 hour sale on many things that I needed. So, I thought I would be a quick morning shopper and stop into Hyvee on my way into work. That way I could stop in 2 Hyvees if necessary. (This had to be planned out due to the fact that Hyvee always sells out of everything on ad during day 1) So, I rushed into the first Hyvee I pass on my way to work, nearly sprinting the entire way into the store (difficult to do considering the shoes I was wearing). I snatched up the nearest cart and made a bee-line to the $0.88 potatoes tossing two 5 lb bags into my cart without even stopping. I then steered my racing cart toward the super cheap chicken breasts, already having planned to purchase at least 5 packages. As I turned the corner toward the meat section, I spotted nearly 10 elderly women hovering around the chicken section. Crap! And all of them had their elderly husbands steering the cart! Double crap!
What to do? What to do?
I had no choice, did I? I had to proceed. I had chicken to purchase and I only had 5 more spare minutes to get out of Hyvee and make it to work on time. Plan A: My cart and I pick up speed and slam into the ankles of every one of those Grannies in my way. Or Plan B: wait as patiently as possible, and grab the last package of chicken those vultures left me.
Being the kind hearted person that I am I chose plan B. And for my kindness, I was granted a 15 minute wait in the checkout lane, while all of the grannies that beat me to the chicken also beat me to the checkout line, and happily chatted up the check out girls and baggers.
However, I do not give up easily. So I proceeded on to Hyvee number 2. Hey, I was already 10 minutes late to work, what was a few more minutes. Turns out Hyvee number 2 is not frequented by so many of the elderly population and I was able to easily glide through the store tossing all the sale items my heart desired into my cart.
Of course, I hadn't had the foresight to think that storing 8 packages of chicken, 10 frozen pizzas, several frozen vegetables, and a couple of quarts of ice cream into a little work freezer might not work out. But, I was still victorious in my battle for the early morning grocery savings. And, thankfully my mom opened up her spare freezer to my madness (at least until I got off of work)

So, Grannies, this is fair warning. Next time there is a great one day grocery ad, GUARD YOUR ANKLES!!

I Survived...

The first day of school drop off. No tears (from me) and only a couple of yawns (from me, it's very hard to get up earlier and get the kids ready). The kids were very excited to be going back. I guess I have finally reached the stage where this back to school thing isn't such a big deal anymore. (ok, we've probably been at this stage for a couple of years now, but I'm only recognizing it now.) But, I now have to deal with the fact that I am the parent of a 6th grader and a 3rd grader. And next year I will have a kid in junior high! AAAHHHHH!!

So, once the kids were dropped off, I had to drive in to work. During the 40 minute commute, while commending myself on my holding it together and not crying, Mother Nature started crying for me. It started raining buckets. I could barely see the road, my poor little PT Cruiser was hydroplaning all over the place, the roads were flooding, and I was now really on the verge of tears -- fearing for my life. And, like always, a giant dump truck felt that the best way to handle the torrential downpour and lack of ability for anyone to control a vehicle on the roads was to maintain a safe 3 centimeter distance from the rear bumper of my car. That is SO HELPFUL. Thank you dump truck drivers! I appreciate the tailgating during downpours, ice storms, and blizzards. I am very glad that I am able to lead the way for you! Please know that the finger I am waving in your direction is meant as a thank you for your kindness.

Once the kids were picked up this afternoon, we continued another tradition...

A first day of school afternoon nap. :)

Master Procrastinator

That is me -- Master Procrastinator. And today, it paid off. Being a master procrastinator usually reduces me to a nasty, shouting, crazy person shouting orders at anyone who passes my way. It usually leaves me frazzled and unable to confidently perform any task. I have been working diligently for years to master my super power, but since I am a master procrastinator, I usually put it off. But, today my super power worked to my advantage. I had to stop in Target on my way home from work to pick up the kids' school supplies. (I thought that since they had their open house tonight and the teachers wanted them to settle into their desks with their supplies, it might be nice if they had some). My kids' school is the last to go back this year (a fact that Myles and Savannah have happily gloated about for the past two weeks) and I was a bit concerned that there wouldn't be much left in the school supply department. But, alas, today the master procrastinator wins!! Everything we needed was found at a single Target store and all of it was clearanced!! Yipee!!

Let this be a lesson to all of you plan-aheaders.

My kid is 11 and I'm old!

Where has the time gone? Myles turned 11 today. And I'm realizing that 11 years have passed by in the blink of an eye. Also, all day I have been told, "Before you know it..." the kids will be driving, they'll be of to college, you'll be watching your kids's kids turn 11, etc. Everyone -- YOU ARE FREAKING ME OUT!! I can't seem to figure out how I went from holding his hand as we walked into a store to him turning 11. I need a time-turner and I need one pronto! (Dumbledore hasn't sent mine yet).

Speaking of freaking me out, guess what B brought home from work the other day? An alien. (aka a praying mantis) I was able to snap a couple of quick pictures of it, but wasn't able to represent the size of this crazy creature to my liking. So, I instructed everyone not to let it go until I got home from work. (This praying mantis was very close to a foot long and I had every intention of photographing it on a rule for proof.) So, I left for work and the praying mantis sat in it's box. When I came home that afternoon, the box was opened and the giant praying mantis was gone. After I accused everyone in the house of sabotaging my efforts to get a good picture, and getting the doe-eyed look of innocence from all, I concluded that the foot long praying mantis might have just used his giant alien arms and opened the damn box himself. A mighty little alien. I'm hoping he stuck close by.

Lastly, I was awarded a gift card from the wonderful people at Auntie Anne's Pretzels for my post about the deliciousness of their bake at home pretzels. It arrived today and I cannot wait to try them again. We have one more official day of summer and in addition to scrambling around to purchase all of our last minute school supplies, attending the school's open house, sorting out all belongings into new desks, picking out first day of school outfits, and dealing with any anxiety. We may have to make a batch of Auntie Anne's pretzels again. Or better yet, I may make them myself as a first day of school afternoon treat. Thanks Auntie Anne's!!

Poor Puppy

This week has been a bad one for us. Fillmore hurt his leg on Monday afternoon and we weren't sure what was wrong with him. We thought that if we left him alone and kept him calm (nearly impossible) he might recover in a couple of days. He wasn't wimpering or seeming to be in any pain, so we let him be until today. I couldn't take it any more. And after spending all of Wednesday night online doing google searches and basically earning my degree in veterinary medicine specializing in dog leg injuries, I was certain that Fillmore had torn his ACL. This is very bad news. Usually requiring surgery. Sometimes more than once. And lots of recovery. And huge medical bills (and possibly a second mortgage and insurmountable debt). Bad bad news. So, after spending the night in tears over the fate of my poor baby Fillmore, I put him to bed. The vet visit this morning was quite an adventure. I took Fillmore out on a leash to "do his business" before we left and managed to step in a pile of Boris's poop. Lovely. Then, at the vet's office, Fillmore peed on the vet during the examination, then pooped on him. The assistant took him for an xray and he peed on her as well. I think he was just making his opinion of the morning's activities known. But after all of this worry, it turns out he has a medially-luxating patella. Or, as the vet likes to call it a "trick knee". He only needed some doggie advil and will soon be feeling better. Yipee.

So, in the end I learned that peace of mind and a bottle of doggie advil costs $151.61. And, that a degree in veterinary medicine from Google University is worthless. Mine has been sent back.

On the counter in my vet's office was a sign that is the funniest sign I have seen in a long time. It read, "ALL UNATTENDED CHILDREN WILL BE GIVEN A CUP OF ESPRESSO AND A FREE PUPPY"

ha ha.

Adventures in parenting...

Ok, I'm starting this entry with an amusing story that happened last week. It was Thursday morning, and I had a feeling something was up. (Mother's intuition? Perhaps. Deja vu? More likely) Savannah woke up earlier than usual this particular morning, came downstairs, and let Fillmore (pommerat, alpha male) out of his cage. We keep him locked in his cage in the hallway now because of the constant peeing (his territory must be marked, and if he keeps it up for much longer, the owner of his territory is going to kick him out) which seems to be helping. So, Savannah went into the bathroom after letting Fillmore loose, then went back upstairs. What is she doing? I wondered. I thought she must be sleep walking because she knows not to let Fillmore out of his cage like that, and she is known to sleep walk. So, I went upstairs to investigate and when I hit the top of the stairs an overwhelming stench of fingernail polish remover stung my nose. I seriously started coughing. It was horrendous. I walked into her room as she hurriedly shoved something under her bed. "What'cha doing?" I asked. "Nothing," was her innocent reply. I had to explain to her that she cannot sneak fingernail polish remover because the stench of it is not hide-able. (Same goes for smoking in her room, but hopefully we won't have to have that conversation for a few years). So, she was busted. She did follow directions after the busting, though, and threw away the fingernail polish remover soaked cotton balls, unfortunately, I wasn't specific on which trash to throw it away in. That night at bedtime, I was dismayed to learn that the stench had not subsided. "Where is the fingernail polish remover?" I asked. "Downstairs," she replied. After looking around her room like a suspicious mother searching for some sort of illegal paraphernalia hidden somewhere, I sniffed out the problem. The small trash bag hanging on her door contained several soaked cotton balls. (What a great drug sniffing dog I could have been). I removed the bag and put her to bed, hoping that the brain damage that she was sure to suffer after spending the day breathing in those fumes would not be too severe.

On Saturday, Savannah decided to try to knock our alpha male dog, Fillmore, down a few pegs. This is the result...

I'm not sure if her methods are working, but I think I may have seen Boris (our cowardly Great Dane) chuckle a few times. Today Fillmore is sporting an adorable orange sweater with a jack-o-lantern face on the front. :)

And the last of our weekend adventures was completed today. We purchased a make at home pretzel kit from Auntie Anne's. Now, I must confess that I have been making homemade pretzels from scratch since I was 10. They are a giant pain in the butt -- a lot of labor for very little reward. (Mostly because the pretzels are only the best when fresh out of the oven, but after 2 of them you will explode. And day old pretzels only make you long for the fresh out of the oven variety). But, I have long been crowned the queen of pretzels among my family. However, my pretzels are small-ish and somewhat crunchy on the outside. And, Myles and Savannah have long ago informed me that the Auntie Anne's pretzels far outshine mine. (Break my heart and stomp on the pieces!) So, when I had heard of the Auntie Anne's pretzel kit, I thought we could give it a try. I was envisioning a sack of ready made dough that I could take home and twist into pretzels and bake and eat. What I got was a $12 box containing a sack of flour, a package of yeast, some pretzel salt, and 1/4 baking soda along with lengthy instructions on how to make pretzels that varied from my labor intensive methods only very slightly. So, we slaved away in the kitchen this morning and I now have a large pile of dishes to do. During the 45 rising time that the pretzel dough spent in a draft free place, Savannah and couple of Barbies found a fun way to pass the time.

This is a couple of Barbies making snow angels.

And, here they are having a snowball fight. When Myles was younger, he would bring out his hot wheels snowplows to plow through the left over flour. Such fun.

Anyway, this is how the pretzels looked before baking.

The kids shaped them so well. We'll put Auntie Anne's out of business before long. And, this is the finished product. What did the kids tell me after their first bite? "These do taste just like Auntie Anne's pretzels!! They are SO MUCH better than yours!" Thanks kids!

On the menu

Guess what we had for dinner tonight? It was my famous burger balls. (That's right Papaw. You missed out on burger balls) These have been my specialty for a couple of years, and even after being given a burger press, I still manage to churn out the delicious, round burger balls. May have to open up a diner and invite Guy Fieri out for some grub.

And the winner is...

ME!!! I entered a contest on a writer's blog and won a free tshirt. The author is Chelle Cordero and she was promoting her new book, Hostage Heart.

Now, because I was a winner in her contest, I thought I had better look into her work a little bit. So, today, while killing time at work, I found her website and blog. You can visit it here or check out her blog (which is what I was reading) here. You have to go read her August 9th teaser exerpt from her book. I brought it up at work and was sitting at my desk reading it, (open cubicle floorplan with very little privacy) when one of my co-workers comes up behind me to ask me what I was doing.

"AAAAHHHHH!" I shriek and quickly click the window closed. That wasn't suspicious, right? Crap, how do I make this look less like I am totally busted for illicit activity? "Geez, did I scare you?" I was asked. "Um, yeah. I was just doing a little research and didn't hear you come up," I said, trying to act casual. The blush on my cheeks and the sweat on my brow may have given me away.

So, if you are looking for a steamy romance novel, I think I have a recommendation for you.

Saturday with Swift

Saturday turned out to be quite a great day. This is sort of amazing because the forces seemed to be working against us most of the time. Early Saturday morning, B informed me that he was watching some Taylor Swift tickets on eBay. The concert was that night and he thought Savannah would like to go. But the price kept climbing and climbing. So, the eBay tickets didn’t work out. (Evil forces 1, Us 0) But, I tried our luck with Ticketmaster and after about 587 attempts, I scored some great main floor tickets. (Evil forces 1, Us 1) So, Savannah and I had plans for the evening. Woo hoo! But first, we had the Washington County Fair Parade.
The parade is second only to Halloween in the amount of candy loot the kids haul in. They look forward to it all year long and when the day finally arrives, it is full of candy catching preparation. Our chairs are placed out by the curb very early in the day to reserve our spots. The plastic shopping sacks are all inspected and only the sacks that are largest in size and strength are brought out to hold the precious loot. The kids will check the windows approximately every 30 seconds to make sure no one is coming along to attempt to steal our spots.
I went into the house just before the end of the parade to tend to my roasting chickens and some cheerleaders came by with super-soakers along with one girl equipped with a bucket of water. From what I’m told, she had set her sights on Myles and intended to soak him (ha ha), but had incredibly bad aim and instead soaked Savannah and as a result filled her candy bag with water. (Evil forces 2, Us 1) After a few tears and many paper towels. The candy was salvaged as was the soaked outfit. (Take that evil forces).

We scarfed down some chicken and hit the road. On the way downtown, we heard on the radio that a downtown bar was offering free limousine rides to the Qwest center. They had free parking and would drop us off at the front door. Yipee! So, we circled around and around (damn one-way roads) until we found the place. I parked and we rushed up to the crowd standing outside this bar. "Can we take the limo to the Qwest?" I asked. I wasn't sure if this was a drinking ride and required everyone to be 21 or not. "Oh, you just missed it," I was informed by a burly security guard. "Are they coming back? Can we take the next one?" Nope. There was only one shot and we had missed it by exactly one minute. (Evil forces 3, Us 1) So, we got back into the car and headed toward the awaiting Taylor Swift. Except there is no parking at the Qwest Center. None. And it's starting to drizzle.

We parked about 8 blocks away, hiked in the rain with nothing over our heads but my stretched sweater, and arrived at the Qwest Center about 30 minutes into the show. Thankfully there were 2 opening acts. Once we were inside, Savannah was excited. She definitely wanted to get a tshirt and we waited in that line for another 30 minutes or so. But, she was thrilled with her shirt and promptly put it on over her dress.

Crowds of people started pouring out toward the concession stands, and I took that as our queue to find our seats. Main floor row 16. (That's right, baby. Row 16!!) We walked way up to nearly the front to find row 16 and couldn't figure out which seats were ours. After climbing over the laps of several people numerous times in a very un-fun game of musical chairs, we finally figured out that two women were in our seats and kept sending us off in other directions in an attempt to keep our seats. We sent them packing.
Then the lights went down and Taylor Swift came out. Savannah spent the entire concert standing on her chair and could see the whole thing really well. She had a blast. So far this summer has included her first Broadway show (Wicked) and her first concert.

Taylor put on a great show. She even performed a couple of songs out in the crowd at the back of the arena. (I love when this happens because that's usually where my seats are. This time, however, those were the parts we couldn't see very well) At the end of the show, Kelly Pickler and another girl came up with a big sign stating that Taylor had just won 2 teen choice awards. And then Taylor performed a song with Kelly Pickler and Gloriana. (We missed both of those acts due to lack of parking and huge tshirt lines, so it was nice to see a little of them)

Here's some of my 280+ pictures from the show.

See? Always a weirdo. This particular weirdo was under the delusion that Taylor wanted to see his bared flabby belly.


The girl can belt out a tune!

Savannah was getting into it. Confetti was shot out over our heads just moments later. Of course, I couldn't get a good shot of that!

Taylor stood under a waterfall at the end of the show. She was only slightly wetter than Savannah and I were after hiking into the show.

In the end, the evil forces still lost because we saw Taylor Swift and had a great time. On the walk back to our car, Savannah wanted to know when she'd be back because she wants to go again.

The next night, the kids and I hung out watching the teen choice awards on TV. We got to see the awards Taylor won.

The Heat is On!

Ok, for most of this summer I have been complaining about the lack of heat. Our pool opened when the daily high was averaging about 72 degrees. I was eager to take the kids to the pool and work on my tan. But, the heat never came. We would get up to the low 80s, but that was it. I need some oppressive heat to warm up that pool water, so that I don't end up with pneumonia from a summer trip to the pool. What is up with all of this mild, comfortable weather? I whined, I complained, but the comfortable weather continued. I would sadly watch other people swimming and shivering, but was not willing to freeze my keester off in that ice pool. So far this summer, we have visited the pool 4 times. That's it. Then, yesterday, the heat finally came. Of course we had plans to go see some friends' band perform at an outdoor festival during the peak heat of the day. So, while my pool dreams could have been realized today, it was not meant to be. Instead the universe preferred to teach me a lesson. Whine about the lack of heat and you will be put out in it and you will suffer. So, I suffered terribly. Thankfully we knew the band and were able to stand on the side of the stage with them in the only shade available. I am quite certain that the 50 or so people in the crowd (that number was so low only because sane people stay inside or in pools when it's this hot out) must have checked their sanity at the door. There was not one centimeter of shade to be found anywhere beyond the stage. And those crazies still chose to sit out in the blazing sun and 100+ degree heat. Insane. At one point, this was all I could think of:

And I would have killed for one. Instead I melted to a puddle of sweat standing in the shade. The band, Matt Woods and the Thunderbolts, was great. You can check them out here. And they did distract me from my misery for a while.

Anyway, I survived the oppressive heat today and even scored myself a nice heat rash. Now the heat wave is predicted to continue and the pool closes for the season in two days. Why does the universe mock me?

Love Getting Mail!

I picked Myles up after an afternoon of fishing with his Papaw last Friday. On our drive home, Myles informed me that a package had arrived at my parent's house for me. "Really?" I asked. Trying to think what kind of package would have been mailed to my parent's house. "Yes, something in a bright colored box. I think it might be a Dolly Mama sample or something," I was informed. Well, I knew it wasn't a Dolly Mama sample (Dolly Mamas are these funny cross stitches I have made),


but I do love surprise samples arriving in the mail. Especially yummy food samples. Hooray. Yummy surprises awaited me the next time I visit the parents.
As we drove home, I was thinking about this package, and suddenly recalled a sample package that had arrived at my sister's house that same day. Wait a minute! I knew what had arrived in the mail for me. Not yummy food samples. Nope. KOTEX samples.



I laughed, when I realized and decided that this would make a very funny blog entry. But, I would need to be able to take a picture of the sample to achieve the full comedic effect. So, since we usually go to my parent's house on Sunday's for dinner, I figured I would get my eagerly awaited sample then. On Sunday, my package was presented to me upon my arrival. (Thanks Mom and Dad for saving my pads for me). I didn't immediately tuck them into my purse, but left them in their box on the desk in the entryway of the house to grab on my way out.

When it was time to go, my pads were missing. And, there were 3 guilty looking girls that quickly made themselves scarce. Not to worry. I am the great finder of lost things and I will find the missing pads without problem. Unfortunately, my frantic searching seemed fruitless. The girls had hidden my pads really well. Damn it. So, I turn to the youngest member of the trio, my niece, Sydney, certain she will rat out the culprit. "Did you see my box that was on that desk?" I asked her. She promptly informed me that Briana and Savannah had that box but she was not involved in any way. So, I turned my questioning to Savannah. "Where is that box?" I demanded. Savannah said they had picked up the box, but put it right back where it was. When I told her it wasn't there, she denied any further knowledge. I searched the basement and my Dad searched his office. It was lovely having the entire family ransacking the house for my Kotex sample. Find Those Pads Damn It! They turned up in my dad's recycling bin, but Savannah is certain that she and Briana had nothing to do with them getting in there. It's a giant mystery.


In the end, I got my pad picture.

Weirdo Magnet

B and I went to see the Arc Angels the other night at a bar in the casino. The night was pretty fun. We got to the show early (the doors opened up at 6:30, but the show didn't start until 8:00). Well, it turned out that there was an opening act that B wasn't too excited about. So, what to do for a couple of hours? In a casino? Well, gamble of course. I told him to get out his wallet. He did. We played the nickle slots first. I was looking to kill time, not kill our bank account. B kept saying that the nickle slots didn't pay very well. But, with the $5 I put into the machine, I left with $11.30! I felt the spirit of winning shining over me. So, we moved on to the penny slots. With $1 from my winnings, I amused my self on the penny slots for well over 30 minutes. At one point I was up to $4, which meant that I had quadrupled my money! Things were going good. Until my machine stopped ringing and lighting up. And my $4 dwindled down to nothing. Damn! So, B and I put in another $5 and within 20 minutes that was gone too. Damn cheating machines. So, we left the gambling area, dejectedly.

Things learned while playing slot machines:

1. Most people in the casino smoke too much, and some come dangerously close to bumping you with the lit end of the cigarette.

2. People play a whole row of machines at a time. I can't even keep track of what is going on with my own one machine.

3. Too much perfume is being worn to the casino. Is this to ensure that no one sits down right next to you?

4. It is proper procedure to discuss winning/losing statistics with perfect strangers in the bathroom while in separate stalls.

So, we headed over to the bar for the concert. We were able to get right up in front of the stage. The great thing about the Whiskey Roadhouse is that you are able to get right in front of the stage, mere inches away from the band. The bad part is that from that location, you can hear none of the vocals. At all. But, we parked ourselves right in front of Doyle Bramhall II's spot. All the guitar guys around us, including B, were taking pictures of the pedal boards and guitar racks on either side of the stage. All getting dreamy looks in their eyes. I was scanning the crowd for weirdos. This is how I always amuse myself at concerts. I have learned over the years that most of the people that flock to the front of the stage are weirdos. I am certain that B and I are the exception. (We are not weirdos, we are not weirdos).

The band comes out, and having moved from Texas over 10 years ago, I haven't seen these musicians in quite a while. Well, Doyle is hot! I didn't mind standing directly in front of him one little bit.

They really put on a good show. There was some sort of sound problem, that I couldn't hear, but was really pissing Charlie off. Some drum was rattling, or something. At one point during the show, mid-song, Charlie throws a towel at the drum sort of hitting Chris Layton in the process. I thought there was going to be a fight in the middle of the concert. But, there wasn't.

That's Charlie Sexton on guitar and here's Chris Layton on the drums:

Now for the weirdos. I am a magnet for them, so once the show started, all I have to do is turn my head and there they will be. So, I turn my head and look over toward the center of the stage and there is a man that must have been only 5 feet tall dancing his little heart out and behind him stands a tall man wearing purple light up glasses. My photography skill suck, but this is the photo I took, while trying not to be noticed.

Also, directly behind me were a very drunk couple. The male half of this lovely couple kept huffing his beer breath into my hear as he and his drunken woman danced. It was horrifying. At one point during the concert, the drunk woman leaned over to me and said, "he's hot isn't he?" motioning up to Doyle on the stage. I nodded in agreement, quickly leaning away to avoid contact with her beer breath. Then, she leaned forward up to the stage, where Doyle was squatting down to adjust some of his pedals. "CHARLIE, YOU ROCK!" she screams up at him. Dumb drunk ass! Purple glasses informed her that that one is Doyle, and the other one is Charlie. At least he knows who he is watching through his glowing specs.

So, the concert ended and we headed home. I really enjoyed the show. And, B was lucky enough to get to drive out to Davenport the next night to see them again. His friend was opening up for them. Here's some of his pictures. (I need to take some photography classes)