PinkiePalooza 2014

Megan and I had the ultimate Pinkie Power date yesterday.   It was so epic, I've named it PinkiePalooza 2014.

Don got us awesome tickets for Kat Perkins.  This was the rescheduled concert from 2 weeks ago.  We had the VIP package, which included the meet and greet with Kat prior to the concert, as well as an autographed poster.

 We stopped at the Painted Canyon Visitor Center to stretch our legs a bit.  As we were enjoying the view, a kind man approached us to show us some pictures he took of the bison in the parking lot when they stopped a few days prior.  He was really excited about the Bison.  Through small talk, I learned he was from Fargo.  It all made sense, then.

 I hope she never outgrows her love for blowing dandelions.

A selfie prior to the concert!

This is in the Harold Schafer Center.  My late friend, Wade, is in both of the pics behind Megan.  I got a little teary seeing these.  Kat is with him in both pics as well.  Wade lived for Medora.

 I think there might have been some sort of fan by the drummer, as his hair flipped up quite a bit.

The encore song was Baracuda (released on itunes today).  It was really loud.  This guitar player had lots of piercings.

 I found myself mesmerized by this guitar player.

 Kat was ~15' away from us.  In this pic, she is singing "Landslide"

 I was even more mesmerized by him when he played the acoustic guitar

 She is having so much fun!

 I really liked this dude.  Maybe listening to rock music unleashed a hidden attraction I have for guitar players.  I had to keep reminding myself "I'm not Amy"

 This is Kat's band entering the stage.  They looked pretty bad ass.  Kat has a cousin/relative at Lewis and Clark, who shares that she is dating her drummer.

 Tigirlily opened for Kat.  They were awesome as well.

 Kat shared a few words of thanks at the meet and greet.  Standing next to the TR Foundation staff, she looks like a normal sized person.

 Prior to the meet and greet, Megan and I noticed this sign.  We thought the pretty patio closed off was decorated for a wedding. Found it later it was the site of the meet and greet.

Kat is.....much shorter than I am.  This is with her killer heels on, too.  I felt like  a giant standing next to her.

What an awesome day!  Kat has an amazing voice.  It was a night Megan (or I) will not soon forget!

Soccer

Jonathan opted to play soccer this fall instead of football.  He felt that football involved a lot of standing around waiting for the play, where soccer has more action.  Today's game was against Bismarck Simle.  Mandan won 5-2.

The zoo

On Labor Day, we met Missy, Josie, Jack, Sam, and Mark (Missy's new, ahem, boyfriend) at the zoo. 

 Hey Eric, Hey Eric, Hey Eric....Jack and Sam just love Eric.

Hunting

Kacy has caught a few mice this past week.  It was quite entertaining to watch her bat and play with them.  Trudy even got in on the fun, too.

 Poor Hamlet has essentially served as a teddy bear for Megan.  He is very tolerant of her.

 She wraps him up in her blankie, and he just stays there.

 She squeezes him so hard his eyes squish shut

 "Finally, a pet that actually likes me"

Hamlet also likes to hunt.  This our our elephant mini-webkin.  He carries it around the house with him and plays with it. We often find him cuddling up with it when he's sleeping.

First Day Fun

 Megan with Mrs. Stockert, her 2nd Grade teacher.  This was open house night.

It was cool and windy the first day!  Much different from the 100 degrees we had last year.  The kids all ride the bus home.  The bus drives right by our house on the way to our stop.  The bus driver just stops at the end of the driveway to drop them off!  There will be some adjusting, but things are going well.

'Twas the Night Before the First Day of School.....

There are some nervous kids in our house tonight.  Middle School tomorrow for the boys. And 2nd grade for Megan.  At bedtime, Megan commented on how it's her first year without Eric to protect her.  All 3 kids will ride the bus home this year.  Jonathan , Megan and I walked to their drop off point after supper to help her be familiar with it.

Excited for the first day.  Even more excited for the kids to get home to hear all about the first day.

progress???

Kacy is still adapting to Hamlet/Dirtball/Dopey/Cuddles (Megan's new name for the cat, since I told her I got a white kitten for my birthday one year that I named Cuddles.  I think I was even 7???  Cuddles lived a short life-I found her dead in the ditch one day while biking home from our neighbors'.  Not sure she even lived a year, but I digress.....)

 This is Kacy's face when she sees  Hamlet/Dirtball/Dopey/Cuddles

Who, Me?  He is completing ignorant to Kacy's emotion.