Homecoming 2013

Last year at Homecoming time, Rebekah was getting ready for her very first high school formal dance. Big stuff. Lots of angst as we spent days checking out multiple stores (in some cases multiple times) to find the perfect dress and shoes. We almost forgot the boutonniere!

This year...been there, done that. My girl was experienced. She picked out her dress in a one stop shopping deal at our favorite dress store one afternoon with her friend Shannon. She was supposed to be looking around, ruling things out, narrowing things down...and then I would swoop in with the wallet for the final go-over before we picked the final dress. At least that was how it was all working out in my head. But instead I got a text with a picture of her in a cute little purple number, asking my opinion and if it was okay to put some money down and give them the go ahead to make modesty alterations. (And take in the waist line...my girl is an itty bitty one.) Another day we ordered the boutonniere, found shoes and jewelry all in one quickie afternoon trip. Yep, experienced she is.

She was asked to the big Homecoming dance (and big it is...this being their high school's 100th year and all) by Jayden....one of her very best guy friends. She was very excited knowing that with Jayden, she was going to have rip roaring time seeing as they always have so much fun together. (This is the boy that she took to Lagoon in the summer....)

It was a drawn out date...with the day activity the weekend before, the Homecoming football game the night before, and then the actual dance with dinner before and games afterward. (The dinner was some 7-course meal cooked by one of the boys' uncle who is a chef. Rebekah claims she has never eaten so well. Hmm. Should I be offended?) It was fun to hear all her stories....because my girl had a fabulous time and raved about the big night for days afterwards.

(Props, kudos and thanks go to Julianne for doing Rebekah's hair....)

Young love

Mom: How was Fun Dance today, Lilian?
Lilian: It was great! There's a boy there that I love. I want to kiss him. On the lips.
Mom: (Concerned) Umm...Lilian, you're too young to be kissing boys. How well do you know this boy anyhow?
Lilian: I don't know him at all. I've never even talked to him.
Mom: So why do you love him and want to kiss him then?
Lilian: Because he's just SO cute!!
Mom: (Sigh) You can't love boys just because they are cute! What if he's cute but really boring? Or maybe he's cute but super mean....
Lilian: Oh no Mom, he's not mean! He says hi to me every week! But I never say hi back because I'm shy. (Lilian? Shy?? Ha!!)
Mom: Does he say hi to everyone or just to you?
Lilian: He says hi to everyone. But there's one girl that he really likes and talks to all the time. (disappointed look)
Mom: (Consoling) Maybe he already knows her. Maybe they've been in class together for a long time or live near each other.
Lilian: (Defiant) Well, whatever. I'm going to marry him.
Mom: What's this boys name? (You know, if he's going to be my son-in-law someday...)
Lilian: I don't know....I forgot.

Pioneer Trek in pictures

I didn't have any disposable cameras to send to Pioneer Trek with Rebekah and Julianne....so you can imagine my happiness when I was sent an email a few weeks ago with a link to over 2,000 pictures that various photographers had taken of all the wannabe pioneers. It took me quite awhile to whittle through them and find the few shots of my own bonnet wearing girls. But find them I did. And in the name of preserving our family history, even though I've already told the story of Trek back in June, here is the experience in picture-palooza form.

JULIANNE

REBEKAH

Electric Run

Another 5k...similar to the Color Run we did in August in that it is a themed run, more about atmosphere and fun rather than a new PR. We swapped out Lilian for Brandon this time. And when at the last minute Rebekah had to work and couldn't join us, we gave her registration to my nephew Dalton so he could come with his mom, my sister Katie, who had already planned on running with us.

The race was created by the guy that started Ragnar, so we already knew it would be impressive and well organized. It started at 8:00 at night, just when it was getting dark. The whole course was lit up with various themes of light, glow in the dark, neon and black lighting....along with thumping music to keep you putting foot to pavement. We covered ourselves in as much lit up, glowing paraphernalia as we could find. Thank heavens for the Dollar Store and their large selection of glow sticks, yes? It was rather fascinating to see all the various ways people tried to light themselves up like neon Christmas trees.

We ran. And walked even more. (Julianne preferred to skip and dance her way through the course.) And stopped a lot for photo ops. And wished mightily that the cameras on our phones could truly capture the awesomeness.

For some reason the producers of the reality show "The Bachelor" decided that the Electric Run would be an ideal date for their bachelor of the season, Juan Pablo. He brought his date, Kat and ran the thing with us all. Which meant that the race started a good 40 minutes late as we waited for the Bachelor and his camera crew to show up. The race organizers ran us through a bunch of practice sessions so we could hoot and holler and jump up and down on cue so as to look good for the cameras. And at the finish line party they were handing out even more various lit-up stuff to wave around in the air...also I'm guessing, to be all the more impressive looking of a crowd for the TV viewing audience. We were treated to not only a few words from Juan Pablo himself when he and Kat finally got the stage...but also one of those famous rose ceremonies. Sorry if I'm seeming a bit sarcastic....I've never really been a fan of The Bachelor or it's twin show, The Bachelorette.

Sarcasm aside, I must admit that it was actually somewhat exciting. I'll definitely make sure to watch that particular episode seeing as I ended up being a part of it. And Julianne? She actually IS a fan of The Bachelor and knew exactly who Juan Pablo was. So she was beyond giddy! It was entertaining for me just to watch her excitement. Poor Rebekah....already sad about missing the 5k, she was even more disappointed to miss Juan Pablo and all The Bachelor excitement.

Muse!

I've never been to a concert quite like this before....it may be the closest I've ever come to a stereotypical "rock concert." And maybe this shows my naiveté in high school and how much of a good little molly mormon I was, living in my little bubble, only going to concerts that featured artists such as Bryce Nuebert and Afterglow. I was a fan of KISN 97 and their top 40, certainly. But it wasn't until my senior year that I was introduced to and started buying tapes (yes, cassette tapes....this was just before CD's burst onto the scene) of such groups as Depeche Mode, OMD, Alphaville, Information Society, U2, and the like.

Bryan and I attended an Alphaville concert in 1999 at the state fairgrounds....the only U.S. venue Alphaville was playing because SLC just happened to sell the most albums back in Alphaville's heyday. (Side note: Alphaville's "Forever Young" was mine and Bryan's "song" when we were dating. There is still and always will be a special place in my heart for that song....) We also went to the Depeche Mode concert when they toured back in 2009. They had just released a new album. But when it boils down to it, Depeche Mode is an 80's band. So the arena was filled with 30-somethings head bopping and dancing to oldies but goodies....very few teens in sight.

I've been to multiple concerts for Josh Groban and Michael Buble....I even hit a Garth Brooks concert way back when he was "entertainer of the year." (A short-lived country music phase.) But mostly the concerts I attend are a little more "cultural" in nature...music that is more at home in concert halls rather than arenas.

That doesn't mean I'm not a fan. I may be a drooling Josh Groban junkie, and giddy when I get to see Broadway star Audra McDonald perform live....but my musical tastes are varied. Some of my very favorites....Coldplay, Blue October, Secondhand Serenade, Muse. We're fans also of Katy Perry, Sara Bareilles, Regina Spektor and Adele at our house...just to name a few.

But Muse. Muse is a current alternative band from England. They're in the midst of a huge worldwide tour and when I heard they were coming to Salt Lake City, I queried on facebook as to whether or not I should go. Bryan not being much of a Muse fan, I really had no one to go with. But then my friend Joelle saw my post and said she'd more than happily join me if I decided to buy tix. Clearly that is what we decided to do and excitedly joined the throngs of concert goers a couple of weeks ago.

And wow. I mean really. WOW!

Cage the Elephant opened for Muse. The name sounded vaguely familiar, as did one of their songs. They were harder rock. But I found them entertaining mostly on the sole basis of watching their front man and his quirky dance moves. He even crowd surfed.

Finally about 9:00 Muse took the stage. And blew me away. Muse is known for their phenomenal concerts but I wasn't sure what to expect. A laser light show, projections on a pyramid of screens, Matthew Bellamy playing grand piano like a prodigy....I mean, seriously. The beat pounding so loud and hard that it felt like it was inside of me. A treat for the senses. And after taking it all in and taking it all in and taking it all in, finally I let myself go.....put my hands up in the air, closed my eyes and just let it wash over me.

Which maybe sounds melodramatic. But it was what it was. And what it was was a-ma-zing.
(I wish my iPhone took better pictures. I am patiently awaiting my new iPhone 5s which supposedly has a better camera. Here's hoping....)

In true Sarah fashion, my next concert-going experience will be Josh Groban next week. And Michael Buble next month. But darn if I'm not supremely glad that I got to experience Muse!!