Foo Fighters @ Summerfest 2012

Yesterday afternoon, John & I headed up to Milwaukee to catch the Foo Fighter's concerts at Summerfest. Huge thanks to Mom who hung out with the kids from Noon---until we got home at 2:30 am. You can read a review of the show HERE--something I love to do after a concert we attend. 

We have been to many a Foo Fighters show together. Last year, John & Ren got to catch their Lollapooloza show from the stage--and even with that once-in-a-lifetime experience, according to John, this show was "epic". No argument from me. We rocked out for a good 2.5 hours. Dave promised they'd play until they couldn't play anymore. And play they did.

Their catalog of music spans 20+ years and is quite expansive. They opened with "One by One" and closed with "Everlong". Countless favorites were sprinkled in between, as well as samplings of The Police, Cheap Trick and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

We are utterly exhausted today, but it was well worth it. One for the books.

John's shirt of choice for the evening...

 A stop at Kopp's before the show for an insane burger, fries and custard. A Milwaukee must.

 Entrance to Summerfest.

We look calm now. We looked like teenagers jamming once the sun went down and the show started. The crowd was amazing. Such a mix of people, with one common denominator.

 Stole this awesome pic from the Summerfest site.

Everlong, the finale. View from our bleacher seats. Pretty sure Kenosha heard them last night.

And finally, the song Dave said he was most proud of in his life, which just so happens to be on our Saturday morning kitchen family playlist. The song he said he'll "take to his f-ing grave"...There is no better stage master. (And we just have to laugh and smile with pride--as we play this on YouTube, Lola is signing along, word for word. I grew up listening to my parent's music. Our kids will grow up listenting to ours.)

Summer Hang-outs

We may not have a backyard of our own, but when it comes to outdoor space, Mimi & Papa's can't be beat. And, conincidently, we get to use it to entertain our friends whenever we want. It's on a 1/4 acre wooded lot, with tons of shade from the mature trees and grass for the kids to run in. We put the pool, sprinkler, water table and bouncy out and the kids have a blast! It's the next best thing to having our own. We are very lucky!

We didn't get to see much of Preston this year because of our opposite school schedules :( but we are making up for lost time and so glad to see our best bud on a more regular basis :)

Here's an album of a bunch of pics Tiff snapped:

Summer Hang-outs

Tiff brought Popsciles. They had 3--each. 

How is this BEAUTIFUL boy of ours 19 months old already?! His new thing is to throw balls...and hard. Out of nowhere today while cleaning up I got pelted with a foam baseball that actually startled me and I said "Ouch!"...I looked up and he was grinning and laughing. I had to smile, too. An arm like Daddy...

Self Stylin'

Day 2 of "The Cut" haha! You can never style it quite like they do at the salon, but I'm so happy with how it looks when the tools are left to me!

Chop, Chop.

I went to the awesome Keli, who has been doing my hair since last summer's chop session, for a fun new cut and fresh color. Keli cut it so good last summer, I haven't had to cut it since. However, my butt has been in her chair several times over the last year to cover up my premature grey inherited from both my mom and dad's families :)

My hair grows so fast and in less than a year, it was back to long and all one length--boring! Chopping it last summer gave me the guts to go even shorter this time around--how short I really wanted to go then but didn't have the you-know-whats to do!

Ronnie and Silvia's wedding is just 3 short weeks away (!!!)--Silvia selected stunning dresses for her bridesmaids and I cannot wait to pair my fresh cut with that gorgeous dress. 

Cheers to summer fun!

SIX Great-Grandchildren!

On June 11th, the St. Louis Ditores welcomed their third child! Margot Vivian is Gracie's SIXTH great-grandchild. She enjoys having little Bella close by, bringing her cheer on a weekly basis and of course it's so very special when she gets to see her other loves that live out of state, whether it be via webcam or when we are down for a visit.

We wanted to do a little something for her to mark the occasion of another great-grandchild in her life...I found this on etsy, had it made and sent down to Florida for her. She opened it today while we were webcaming and loved it. Such a great piece of art to commemorate those special dates in life :)

Click picture for larger view...

BRAVE

We took our very BRAVE girl to the theater this morning for the opening weekend of Disney-Pixar's BRAVE! We have been so excited about it--a couple of times a week, we'll cuddle in bed and watch the Disney Interactive book edition of BRAVE on the iPad. We were already familiar with the story, so we couldn't wait to see it more in-depth. Grammy took Johnny out with her shopping, since he's still not yet ready to sit still that long. Monsters University next summer will be his first experience at the show, can't wait!

Brave is a beautiful story about all that encompasses a mother-daughter relationship. Any relationship involving two strong, opinionated woman is bound to have it's moments of trail, as Elinor and Merida faced...but at the heart of it all is LOVE...and at the end of the day, that's all that matters. I know in life all my mother has ever wanted for me is happiness...and that's what I wish for Lola, always. Sitting next to her in the theater, holding hands, watching the story unfold was wonderful. 

It's funny that the movie was about Merida's revolting against her mother at the idea of her being betrothed--because that's exactly who Lola saw the movie with...Preston...her BETROTHED! I can't see her arguing that fact in the future, ha!

Torch Light 5K

I ran a fun 5K with my girlfriends, Alissa & Margaret, on Thursday in the city. It was a great 3.1 along the lakefront. Mile 2 was hilly up and down the Museum Campus--a great little challenge. Somehow, my last mile was my fastest. Finished in 35:20, which I'm proud of, because I haven't run much lately. The majority of my physical exercise has been biking and hauling 100+ pounds (kids+trailer)! Alissa finished first (of course!) and Margaret was close behind her, as she is training for her first 1/2. It was awesome to high-five each other as they came around the bend and started back towards towards the finish.

We celebrated with dinner on Michigan Ave. on a great patio, with some delicious wine and grass-fed burgers. The whole point of running, right?!

Carnival Time!

I LOVED LOVE LOVED carnivals as a kid. There are so many festivals around our area in the summer and we decide to hit up the Homer Fest this afternoon. 

Tickets, please!

 Riding the Merry Go Round with Daddy.

He loved watching them. We tried to get him to go on, but he got a little spooked, so Mommy and him just watched.

 Flying through the air in a car, Back to the Future-style.

 Spinning on the Tilt-a-whirl/Teacup hybrid.

 Daddy was getting a little queasy, it was FUN!

 Baby boy LOVED this ride.

 Holding Daddy's hand, offering him some moral support.

 Boppin'

 First "roller coaster", the Dragon.

 We can't get enough of his smiles and giggles.

OUCH!

We made our first accident-related trip to the ER yesterday afternoon for our BRAVE Lola. She was climbing into a friends 3-foot pool and slipped, fell back...and smacked her back and head on the brick pavers. She screamed bloody murder (thankfully) as soon as it happened. I told my friend to call the ambulance because it was a head injury...and then I saw blood. She had a 2 cm gash in the back-middle area of her head. It wasn't gushing blood, but you could tell it needed to be closed by a doctor. So 6 of Orland Park's finest EMTs showed up, assessed the situation and gave us an escort via ambulance. 

She is so incredibly tough and brave. She was such a trooper through the whole ordeal and thankfully, never stopped acting typical Lola the entire time. I was asking her tough questions and she was acing them.

She has been showered with Love--and LOTS of Candy to help her recover from her family and friends. I know every parent goes through this--it's not easy. We are just so grateful she is OK. She has not complained once about her boo-boo and is feeling great. John & I cuddled her all night, so thankful the guardian angels were with her, once again. 

To pass the time while we waited for the Dr., Lola asked if she could write the names of her family. All I told her was how to spell them. So impressed she knows when (mostly) to use Upper and Lower case!

4 staples. She cried bad while getting the numbing shot but once that was done, she was fine. 7 days with the staples in to heal it.

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed...

Eating with GG

I was organizing pictures the other night and found these ones of GG and Johnny from when we were down in Florida last. I couldn't go without posting them. They are too cute--and we sure do miss our girl. She is something else--going to be 97 this December and is recovering beautifully after surgery to remove colon cancer. What an inspiration--we are so blessed she's ours.