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We {Heart} Mother Falcon

January 20, 2014 By JulieK

**Sorry… Turns out this post is epic :) lots of pics and videos, but it’s because Mother Falcon and Jeffrey Prystowsky are just THAT awesome**

Mike has a real knack for finding “interesting” things for us to see and do. It’s a gift I tell you :) Our new favorite thing that he found is Mother Falcon. (photo from their website)

Mike discovered them when he saw the NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert featuring Mother Falcon… If you didn’t see it yet, here’s the video… Watch it and then come back :)

So… They’re a young Indie band… and unfortunately most of their shows are either 18+ or 21+ and in bars…. but our kids LOVE to listen to them. Mike searched around and found an all-ages show in Providence, RI and we got tickets!! (Tickets for the show were $12… What?? Yup!! And, that’s only the beginning of the crazy :) ) Friday right after school we drove down. Here’s the Marquis when we first arrived (early) and drove over to find the Columbus Theatre, stopped at the hotel, got some dinner and before heading back for the show…

The theatre is on the National Register of Historic Buildings, the show was in the smaller upstairs room. Doors opened at 8, show started at 9 and Mother Falcon took the stage at about 10. Here’s the marquis when we arrived after dinner.

Whoo!! Hands “stamped” :) on our way into the show!

Here’s a pic of the group on stage from our seats (please excuse the iphone pics, it’s not great in low light)

Kathryn took a video (again, just with the phone) It’s not a great video, but you can get the idea…

After the show, the members were hanging out in the lobby, selling t-shirts, and CD’s, and we got to talk to some of them for a little while… They were all so nice!! Really made Sean and Kathryn feel special!

So, after taking pictures and talking to Mother Falcon (did I mention how nice they were?? Just a bunch of band kids, hanging out :) ) Anyway, we’re leaving, and on our way out the door, Mike and Sean spot Jeffrey Prystowsky of The Low Anthem (another indie band that Mike and the kids LOVE) hanging out by the snack bar… So we walked up to him, apologized for interrupting, but we love his “This Goddamn House” song, could we bother him for a picture with the kids… What happened next was crazy… We didn’t get a picture, but an impromptu concert!!! He smiled, said, “Come sing it with me” walked over to a little pump organ leaning up against the stairs (which honestly looked discarded) and proceeded to sing and play the song for us!!! Crazy!!! He even called over one of his friends and did the “cell phone trick” I’m not sure we can ever go to another concert, ’cause it will be so disappointing to just go, listen, then go home without crazy amazing things happening :)

I took video of the performance… again, iphone isn’t great in low light… but you get the gist…

Here’s a video of the group The Low Anthem playing the song… No one pulled out a saw by the snack counter, but we did see the cell phone trick which was way cool :) Notice Jeffrey Prystowsky playing the same pump organ!!

Honestly… If you get the chance to go and see them… PLEASE DO!! Having been a music student myself, and teaching music for 23 years… I’m a little hard to impress… But they blew me away… The group is based in Austin, Tx, and practice/play in a church down there… (another funny thing, at the show we parked right in front of their white econo-van with Texas plates that they drove up in :) They are so good that we’re seriously considering a road trip to so see them in their “home base.” You all know we love a good road trip :)

52 Fridays

January 10, 2014 By JulieK

Welcome to the new year, and the start of several resolutions! I so enjoyed my “40 Days” Lenten project last year, that this year I decided to expand on it, and make it a weekly feature on the blog… So, today we start this year’s 52 Fridays, each Friday of the year, I will post an image (that I took, or have permission to use) and a scripture verse that spoke to me that week. I hope you will join me this year spending a little more time with the bible.

I want to start with my one of my favorite-go-to verses…

Matthew 6:34

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I am still collecting favorite verses… If you’d like to share your favorite verse with me, please fill out the form HERE and let me know, on the form you can enter just the book/verse or the text or both. You can also simply post a comment here :)

In a similar resolution, for the last several years, I have started listening to the Daily Audio Bible. I love it, there’s a reading from the Old Testament, New Testament, Proverbs and Psalms every day. Read to you :) I also have the companion book, so I can read along or just read that day if listening isn’t in the cards. Every year I make it to about mid-July before I get out of the habit of listening and fall off the wagon… I’m hoping this year I can make it all the way to the end of the year!!

Shiny Happy People

November 17, 2013 By JulieK

Wait… My last post was August 6th??? Can that be??? Sorry!!! In my defense, I did get apply for, interview and GET a new job at school… It’s in addition to my regular job teaching, and now I’m also teaching after-school workshops for teachers… It has been so much fun, I’m really loving it, but it’s been a lot of work!!

The end of summer, and the beginning of fall have been crazy busy, good crazy, but crazy nonetheless!! I have been trying to sort through the photos from the past year (almost 4000 of them) to make the annual “Christmas book” and having a blast remembering all the adventures we had!! I’ll post more pictures soon, but here’s one of my most recent favorites… Last weekend we went up to North Conway with friends and although we woke up to SNOW!! we had a blast :) Here’s a pic of the kids sitting on the lifeguard station at Echo Lake…

And, just ’cause I’m sorting through photos from the summer trip… An amazing shot from just outside the Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park in Montana toward sunset… I seriously could live out the rest of my life as a hermit at the base of these mountains… Just one of the almost 2000 pictures I took during our amazing summer adventure…

And… I’m also working on another little “project.” If anyone has a favorite bible verse, and they’d like to share it with me… If you could either leave a comment, or email it to me directly… I’d greatly appreciate it!!!

I promise I’ll be back SOON with new pictures to share!!!

Awesome Summer Adventure (part 1)

August 6, 2013 By JulieK

Here’s the first installment of this summer’s Awesome Summer Adventure :) We’re crazy, I know :) but this summer’s adventure had us flying into and out of Seattle, then driving to Montana to go back to Glacier National Park… Where we spent 7 glorious days which included an overnight on the Canadian side (Waterton Park) and then on to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons for 4 days, drive back toward Seattle (OMG, please don’t talk to us about Idaho…) with stops at Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens… Ending with a Red Sox game in Seattle on our last night… 17 days and 1986 pictures!!! I promise I won’t post THAT many :) just some of our favorites… Click on the photos to see them full size.

First up… Glacier National Park… I have to start by saying that Glacier is my all-time favorite place in the whole world. Hands down… and we’ve been a lot of places :) Mike and I went last summer during the (not so) Great Train Adventure… and it was so amazing that we needed to take the kids there… But, we didn’t take the horrid train this time :)

So, to get started, if you go to Glacier, you’ll see a lot of these signs… Bear Spray was the first thing we bought (it’s kinda like pepper spray on crack) which isn’t a spray you use as a repellent, but if a bear charges at you, it’ll stop them…

Our first hike… To Avalanche Lake… The guide books describe it as a “Calf-burning climb” and it seems like 2 miles straight up :) but it’s well worth the effort!

Lots of water along the trail… Magical water with glacial flour in it giving it a beautiful blue-green color.

Stopping for a GIANT burned out tree stump

Cresting the ridge, you get a glimpse of what’s to come…

Then… There it is!

Holy cow… it’s amazing… I always describe it as “How to Train Your Dragon” it reminds me of the “scenes” from that movie only, it’s not animated… it’s REAL :) we sat on a log to have some snacks and water… take a peek at those logs in the background behind Mike and Kathryn…

So, we’re having snacks… Taking pictures…

and Kathryn asks Mike to get up and stand in front of where we were sitting so she could take his picture… He stood up, turned to face us, and HOLY CARP>>> Bear!!

Here you can see where we were sitting in relation to where the BEAR was walking across the logs!!

WOW!!! A BEAR on our first hike!! The bear didn’t pay any mind to us, just walked along the logs for some yummy snacks (berries and flowers) across the lake.

Oh, yeah… We LOVE Montana :) The mountains are just amazing…

And, then there’s the magic water…

One Big Happy Family :) (very thankful for the many friendly people who took family photos for us :) we returned the favor, it’s so nice to have pics with all of us!)

And, that was just our first hike!!! I’ll be back with more about our trip :)

Happy Birthday to my Favorite Tween!

July 10, 2013 By JulieK

(It turns out that this is a belated birthday post :) It was all ready to go, but needed some more recent pictures… but then we went on vacation… Happy Birthday Buddy!!) So, Sean keeps reminding me that he’s “almost” a teenager… But I have one whole year left before THAT particularly fun milestone!! Today I’m wishing a VERY Happy Birthday to my first Baby… Here’s a few pics from when he was still adorable and a lot less fresh :)

Look at those missing teeth! Don’t you just want to grab and squeeze those cheeks??

Thumbs up!! Picking pumpkins :)

Easter… how cute are they??

Holding signs for daddy in the rain, but still smiling!!

Disney wears a boy out :)

Riding the “contraptions” and yes, still smiling!

And… Although it is hard to believe that my little bubby is 12… Here’s some more recent pics… Yes, my “little” boy is now almost as tall as I am… And, I couldn’t be more proud of the smart, funny, kind and thoughtful young man he is becoming… These pictures are from our AMAZING SUMMER ADVENTURE which I’ll be posting about in the next couple days…

Sean at Many Glacier the day before his birthday :) Still 11 :)

Another from Glacier, but I can’t quite place it… I’ll figure it out when I look at the other pictures :)

This was also at Many Glacier, on the hike back from Grinnell Lake

Same spot, silly kids :)

And, this one was on his actual birthday!! At the beginning of what we’ve come to call the “Iceberg Death March” :) more about that when I post about the trip :) but it’s probably enough to say that it was a 10 mile hike… All the way to the base of that ridge you see in the background… to Iceberg Lake… which is still frozen, and has ice all year!!

Happy Birthday Buddy!!!