My First Concert

 I've never really been to a real concert before.  I went to a Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband "concert" at BYU once but it wasn't a real concert.  It was mostly just a show.  So I was really excited to go with my friend Robyn to see Pentatonix this last July. It was at and outdoor place called USANA.   We went and got food first and were going to try to bring it in and eat in on the grass where our tickets were for.  We tucked our food into Robyn's bag and got in line to get in.  Then we realized that we weren't supposed to bring food in and that they checked our bags as we went in.  Boo!  So we hurried back to the car to eat our food.  After we scarfed our Cafe Rio down, we went and got back in line to get in.  When we got to the front of the line, they informed us we couldn't bring our own water bottles in.  We could stash them in the bush and get them after the concert if we wanted to...but we both had our nice water bottles and didn't want to risk losing them.  So back to the car we went again to drop off our waters.  We pretty much left everything but the bag with our blankets in it.  We got back in the same line and got to the front.  At that point the guy that was supposed to wand us said he felt bad that we had to go back to the car so many times so he just let us in without wanding us.  And when the lady checked our bag she didn't even really look.  We totally could have snuck our food in.  Oh well.  We were honest.  That's always the best choice.  :)

We finally got in and wandered around a bit.  I found out that it was 4 dollars for a bottle of water (!) and they informed us they would have to keep the lid because when people leave them on the field they get stuck in their lawn mower and ruin it.  Ha ha.  I wasn't about to hold a water bottle for hours without a lid.  So I didn't get one right away.  I did end up getting one later because it was July and hot.  But I wasn't very happy about forking over 4 bucks for a little bottle of water without the lid. 

After the concert started things got better.  It was an amazing time and I can't wait to see another one!

 Callum Scott opened which was really cool because we had no idea and Robyn loved his music.  I had never heard of him but she was really excited!

 Of course we had to get some merchandise.  I got a shirt, and Robyn got a bag and a record. 

 The second openers were Echosmith.  They were fun to listen to.

 The sky was really pretty that night behind the stage.

 Thanks for the fun night Robyn!  We had so much fun.  

Pentatonix put on a great show.  We loved the entire thing!  Lots of people left early and they missed their encore song which was amazing.  It was Bohemian Rhapsody.  Perfect ending to a great concert!

Random Summer Activities

 Here are a few pictures that we took this summer...

 I can't remember who got us these little BYU stickers for under your eyes but the kids had fun with them one afternoon.  They didn't last long though because the kids thought they were annoying.  :)

 If you ever leave the box of markers unattended...this is what happens!

 We finally dressed up as cows and got a free meal at Chick-fil-a.  It made for a nice evening picnic at the park.

 The kids are crazy and don't love chick-fil-a, but I didn't let any of those nuggets go to waste!!  

 Sometimes I see all of my kids together and I think "is that all of them??"  ha ha.  Yes, this is all of them.  And I love them.  

 Free slurpees at 7-11.  Fun day!  It was fun to go with friends.

These kids know how to put down a slurpee.  I can't ever drink a whole cup full.  I shared mine with Finley and I think she drank most of it!  :)

Lisa Falls

We finally went out and found Lisa Falls.  I was expecting it to be a much longer hike than it was.  It probably took us longer to get ready to go than it did to get to the falls.  But it was a fun little hike and we were the only ones there.  Right when we started hiking back to the car, people started showing up.  Perfect timing! We let the kids take their shoes off and dip their feet in the water.  They said it was really cold! 

Kids in nature.

I had to laugh when Riley got stuck like this...one of us had to go help her. 

The waterfall.

Rob stuck Finley's feet in the water for a bit.  I don't think she liked how cold it was.

One of the coolest parts of the hike was watching lots of lizards out soaking up the sun.  There were so many.  This ledge was prime real estate.  We saw a few lizards chasing each other away from "their" spot.

Kids exploring on the rocks.

The mountains are just so beautiful.  It makes me sad that there are big fires burning down south right now.  I hope they will get contained soon because there is so much beauty in the mountains.  Finley totally fell asleep on the short walk back to the car.  She held that hat on her face and didn't let Rob take it off...then we realized she was asleep.  Ha ha

Cub Scout Day Camp

 This was Zac's first year participating in cub scout day camp.  We had trouble finding anyone who wanted to go up to be with the boys (I can't figure out why everyone wouldn't want to go spend the day in the dirt with 10 eight year old boys!!!) So anyway, Rob and I ended up taking them for a day.  It was a ton of fun.  The boys had a blast doing things they normally wouldn't have and they all got to buy a pocket knife.  (Yikes!)  It was fun for us to see Zac with his friends. 

 All loaded in the van.

 The boys got their faces painted.  I don't remember what the symbol means that Zac chose, but he liked it. 

 Zac was a natural at archery and had so much fun shooting a bb gun.  I was just glad that all these boys went home with all of their fingers still.  They all bought pocket knives.  Just imagine 10 eight year olds trying to carve sticks and twigs with their brand new sharp knives.  Ha ha!  But we survived!

Rob's 37!

 I really don't remember what we did on Rob's birthday this year...I think we mostly just hung around the house and did nothing...which is just what he wanted to do.  ha ha.  Rob really is the best.  I love him so much.  He is so patient with the kids and takes the time to teach them things.  He loves Kung Fu and teaching it to anyone and everyone who wants to learn.  :)  We really lucked out in the husband and dad department! 

PIctures of my brain...

 I know I already posted most of these pictures on my instagram account, but I wanted them here too.  These are pictures of my brain before my surgery. The top picture is of a normal brain for comparison.  

 Ok, the left picture shows how big my ventricles were enlarged. If you look at the normal brain, there is a little angry looking face in the middle.  (The darker spots) Mine were about 10 times what they were supposed to be.  They were pushing my brain against my skull which is what caused my extreme headaches when I sat down.  The picture on the right shows the actual tumor.  That white ball right below the large black space is the tumor.  I'm actually glad that my ventricles were as big as they were because the surgeon said it worked to his advantage to reach the tumor.  Otherwise he probably would have had to go through my nose for the surgery.  Yuck. 

 I like the picture on the left because it looks like there is an upside down butterfly in my brain.  The picture on the left shows my ventricles after surgery...Much better.  Crazy how your body can just go back to the way it is supposed to be.  

 And this last picture is just to haunt everyone's dreams.  Ha ha!!!