Hottest Concert Ever!!!

This summer has been really, really hot in Missouri. I think July set records about half of the time for how hot it was. Most days, the low during the day was maybe 80 degrees, the highs around 105. This is not normal for Missouri. July is normally hot, but more like 95 hot, not 105. Anyway, during this time we had the annual Ozarks Empire Fair. Well, when we heard who was coming to the Fair to put on a concert, we knew we HAD TO HAVE TICKETS!!!

So, we purchased them early. We purchased good tickets. I think we were in the 8th row, and we had aisle seats. Who was this good that we had to have awesome tickets for?You may want to click on this picture if you can't tell who they are, but maybe you recognize the blue jumpsuits? Yep, we saw the IMAGINATION MOVERS in Concert!!! Jacob just loves these guys, and now that Levi is a little older and since they came to our home town Fair, we decided to splurge and go see them live.

Our seats were awesome. A couple of the Movers even came down our aisle (this is Rich).

Some of the time, we weren't sure if Jacob was having fun or not. But I think overall he liked it quite a bit.
All the guys together. (L to R: Scott, Dave, Rich, Kyle (on drums...not on the actual show), and Smitty)
Jacob is pointing at Rich. I think he thought it was quite a bit of fun to see them this close up. He even gave Rich 'five', which Jacob thought was pretty cool.
Dave, at the end of the concert, came over to the side and Jacob and I made our way over to say hi to him. The poor Movers we so sweaty because the concert was outdoors and like I said, it was probably still about 100 degrees, even though the concert started at 7:00 pm. Jacob pointed to Dave and said, "You're sweaty!"

I was going to post a video of the concert, but it was taking too long. If you live near me and want to see it, feel free to ask sometime when we're hanging out. If you don't live close enough, then sorry, you're out of luck. But it was tons of fun!!

Long Awaited

Back in May, Brad and I decided to have the adventure of a lifetime! We asked our friends to watch our boys for about 5 days and we headed off to New York City!!! It was such a neat vacation. We were able last year to go to Mexico for vacation, and hands down I enjoyed NYC more. They are completely opposite ideas of vacation, but I fell in love with this city. I even joked with Brad that some day we should buy a flat in NYC just so I could come and visit ;)

Here I am, making my debut on Broadway! We did go see one Broadway show while in the City. We saw Mama Mia which I guess was good, but not quite what I was expecting. It was more about the singing instead of the stage stuff and also, the story line isn't very moral. Next time I see a Broadway show, I may do a little more checking into the story line before I pick my play!

Me in Times Square. It's amazing how many billboards there are in this small area of the City. And the amount of people! On a Saturday night, the place is just packed. It's a little funny to see people trying to drive downtown...yeah, not worth having a car. Get out and walk, it would definitely be faster and less frustrating.
Brad in front of Madison Square Gardens.
A view of the City and Central Park from the Empire State Building.
Brad and I at the top of the Empire State Building...actually, this is from the 86th floor, but really, from the 120th floor the view isn't much better.
On the Subway. It wasn't nearly as gross or scary as I thought it was going to be. I did see a few weird things, but nothing to really scare me.
Don't I make a good Lady Liberty?
Brad and I at Ellis Island with NYC skyline in the background.
The New York Stock Exchange.
While downtown, we wanted to go to the WTC memorial grounds. Right now, they are working on construction of new towers, but we found this wall with a neat bronze casting on it depicting the horrible tragedy that occurred. It is so hard to believe that so many people lost their lives in such a concentrated area.
In front of Radio City Music Hall.
Brad and I went and walked around Central Park.
This was one of our favorite things we saw in Central Park. I mean really, who would pay $1 for a joke? I did get a few laughs out of watching him walking around with the sign. He had a huge, cheesy grin on his face and kind of a bounce in his step. I told Brad we should give him a dollar just for letting us laugh at him.
I thought this was a cool, artistic shot of the trees in Central Park.
At one of the famous fountains in Central Park. I don't remember the name of it, but it was neat to be here because it reminded me of many movies which are set in NYC.
While in NYC, we went to the Manhattan Temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It's definitely a unique temple in that it's in the heart of Lincoln Square, right across the street from Julliard School of Music and within walking distance of Central Park. It's amazing the soundproofing of that building. Once inside, you can't hear any of the street noise...and believe me, there's a lot!
Brad and I walking on the Brooklyn Bridge. That tall building in the background is the Empire State Building. I also took a picture of a sign on the road that says 'welcome to Brooklyn' just to prove I had been there. We took the subway to Brooklyn, got off, and then walked back to Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge. Did you know it used to cost money, like $1, back in the day, to cross the Brooklyn Bridge...even by foot? Cool...we did it for free!
I thought this was a neat, artistic shot of the Brooklyn Bridge. I can't believe how long ago it was built. People back then were so dang industrious!
While out on our last night in NYC, I realized that the show "Say Yes to the Dress" was filmed in NYC and that Kleinfeld's must surely be somewhere near downtown. So, we looked it up on our trusty GPS and found the building. It wasn't anything like I expected. They were doing construction work on the building connected to it and it wasn't in the nicest part of the City. I didn't go in the store and meet Randy or anyone else, but I do have proof I've been to the store!

Anyone wanting a place to go for vacation, I would highly recommend NYC. We were really only there for 3 days (as two days were travel days) and there is still so much left to do. I love the City and can't wait for my next trip there :)