Fun, Food, Fray, Fourth

My many apologies to the faithful few who have noticed our lack of blog posts over the last two months. I blame Brett; he blames me, but I'm always right so... Anyway, I am posting now so you can all be happy! I'll give a quick recap of our lives over the last two months and then get to the title of my blog.

The last two months have been super crazy for us. I've travelled several weeks, too many weeks, in the last two months, but this week is my last week to travel on a business trip for a very long time! Brett's last day to work is this Friday and my last day is July 24. Can you feel our excitement?! Can you feel my nervousness?! I'm trying hard not to freak out. If anyone has any job leads in the Mesa/Tempe/Phoenix area, let me know. :)

We are moving July 24. We found a moving company that will haul all our stuff to a truck and then drive the truck to Arizona for us. Very handy. Because we don't have to haul our stuff across the country in an awkward moving truck, Brett and I are taking our sweet time getting to Mesa. We plan to spend a few days in Chicago with Brett's family, make a sleeping stop in Lincoln, Nebraska, and then head to Evanston, Wyoming where we will spend a few days with Brett's grandparents. From there we will most likely go to Vernal for a few days, make a stop in Orem/Provo and then head to Mesa. Our plans are pretty fluid depending on when our stuff can get delivered to our new place in Arizona.

So that has been our life for the last few months. Now on to the fun stuff: I absolutely love the Fourth of July. It is pretty high up on my list of favorite holidays. It has all the essentials for a great holiday---warm weather, BBQ/hot dogs, picnics, and explosions. This year I was not dissappointed. Several months ago Brett heard that Jack's Mannequin and The Fray were going to be in concert at Summerfest, which is a large outdoor music festival in Milwaukee. We bought tickets thinking it would be a great Fourth of July activity.

Because we were driving into Milwaukee, Brett thought he would try to find an Albanian restuarant since there aren't any in Madison. We found one called Benny's and prayed it wouldn't be too sketchy because Brett really wanted Albanian food. We were not disappointed. The place was good and we got three course meals that kept us full for a very long time. I know what you are thinking though, Albanian food on July Fourth...seriously? Yes, it is true. I caved to make my husband happy, but he made it up to me latter at the music festival with a funnel cake. Whoever thought up the idea of funnel cake should be sainted. Who doesn't love deep fried dough covered in powdered sugar?

That covers the food portion of our day...next, Summerfest. Summerfest is this huge outdoor music festival held every year in Milwaukee. There are several different stages set up and your popularity rules what stage and at what time you perform. We saw some interesting groups, some up and comers, and some Summerfest veterans. But the real reason we were there was for a concert by Jack's Mannequin and The Fray. This concert was in an amphitheater where Brett and I had tickets for the lawn above the rest of the seats. We staked out a place to sit on the hard ground and waited for the music. The wait was well worth it. Jack's was awesome and super entertaining.

During the stage change I noticed quite a few people standing at the top of the amphitheater taking pictures, so I went to investigate hoping that they were seeing some fireworks. I was right. Summerfest did not put on a fireworks show, but instead I got a fireworks show that was good for those with ADD. From my vantage point overlooking Milwaukee I could see about eight different firework shows. It was pretty great.

By the time The Fray started performing, we were able to move down to bleacher seats to get a better view. The lead singer was not what I was expecting. He was shiny bald and older than I thought. But looks aside, the music was great.

Overall it was a great day; one for the books. Here are a few pictures of our great adventure...

Brett before we went into Benny's, the Albanian Restuarant

Funnel Cake!

Waiting for the concert to start

Jack's Mannequin. The guy is amazing on the piano.

The Fray