An Evening with MY Friend

I have been afflicted, of late, by some kind of midlife crisis in which I have been going to rock concerts once again.

Prior to the opening of the Sprint Center here in Kansas City, I had not been to a rock concert in quite some time. So maybe it's just the change in venue, (that is, we finally have a decent, indoor venue), but I find myself in large groups of middle-age (and older) people reliving their teen years by going to concerts. Until now, most of my recent concert experiences have been a little disappointing, and I found myself in the middle of a concert wondering: What am I doing here? Did I really pay $100 for this ticket? I wish I could just go home...right now.

But that changed on Tuesday night when we saw my #1 man, Mr. Tom Petty, in concert at the Sprint Center. Allow me to say this: TOM HAS GOT IT GOING ON! I love me some Tom Petty. Tom is da man. I have seen him three, maybe four times, and he never, ever disappoints! I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, he's got it.

(Wow! Is this some great writing or what? I should become a reviewer!) Ha!!!!!

Anyway, the concert was highly enjoyable, even though I was fully aware of imminent and permanent hearing loss as a result of the high decible, ear-splitting guitar jams. Highlights were: Listen to Her Heart, Don't Come Around Here No More, and best of all: Last Dance with Mary Jane. My man didn't play a couple of my favorites, including The Waiting, and She's a Woman in Love, but all is forgiven.

Tom, if you're reading this: You kick ASS! I love you, man!

Vegas Family

Here's another quick pic from the vacation.

Vacation!

And we're back!

The Blanck Family arrived home last night at 2:00 in the morning after a fun-filled, whirlwind vacation through the Great Southwest. Where did we go? What did we do?

In twelve short days, we visited Los Angeles, Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, Tucson, Puerto Penasco (Mexico), San Diego and back to L.A. We managed to spend time & money at: Mandalay Bay, M&M World, Sponge Bob 4-D Movie, a Mexican market, The Midway (aircraft carrier museum), Sea World, Disneyland, Universal Studios, Coronado Island, and the Ripley's Believe It or Not Odditorium. We flew to L.A. & back, drove 1,775 miles in our rental car, and listened to all forty-four chapters of "The Swiss Family Robinson" on CD.

A few highlights and words of wisdom:

If you take your kids to Vegas, be prepared to do some 'splaining. "Mom, what's a brothel?"

If you pick up a jelly fish, it will sting you.

Sometimes jelly fish cleverly disguise themselves as water balloons.

The Grand Canyon is kind of dangerous -- I would not recommend it for small children.

The desert is hot in July.

California is cold, especially at night.

If you allow your child to eat whatever she wants on vacation, it only takes a week's worth of candy & doughnuts to give her a stomachache.

Books on CD are a gift from God when you're driving 1,775 miles with four kids.

The Border Patrol is not fooling around.

You really shouldn't allow your 8-year-old son to eat a banana split in the car, even if you're in a big hurry to get to San Diego.

If you do allow your 8-year-old son to eat a banana split in the car, the chocolate syrup which drips out the passenger door becomes a very useful way to identify your otherwise nondescript rental car.

And finally, always feed your kids before 11:30 at night, even if you're having a really good time and nobody wants to stop and eat. It's just a good idea.

Confession

Lately, I've developed the habit of assuming that any male with a foreign accent who calls for me is a telemarketer. The conversation goes like this:

(Phone Rings)

Me: Hello?

(Long pause while the calling machine connects me with the presumed telemarketer)

Foreign Man: Hello. Yes. May I speak with Jenny-fer?

Me: (Adopting a very sorrowful tone) I'm so sorry, she died a couple of months ago.

Foreign Man: (Sounding very non-sorrowful) So Sorry. Click.

Hi y'all. Here are a couple of pictures taken just minutes ago. The first is a photo of my prize daylily, "Strutter's Ball." It is really spectacular while in bloom. It has a nice bud-count per plant, and will bloom for at least three weeks.

The other pic of my kids eating snowcones with their cousins. From left to right: Kathleen, Little MJ, David, Lily, Stephanie. (Lily & Stephanie are Laurita's kids -- aren't they cute?)

Bestest Buddies

I just heard my Little MJ tell our neighbor that he and David are "bestest buddies." Oh, Man! That is so cute. And the cutest part was that he made that statement in all sincerity. It might only last five minutes, but those are minutes to treasure.

Insomnia

Ever have one of those nights? You swear you haven't slept, but you must have slept. Surely, you must have slept! I went to bed at 10:30 and I was there! Nanoseconds from great sleep, when something woke me. I think it was the sound of my 45-year-old husband hooping & hollering while he played "Hide-n-Seek-In-the-Dark" with all the neighborhood kids. Don't get me wrong, there's no sweeter sound. I love kids of all ages having fun. Love it! But, unfortunately, I have this handicap which makes it impossible for me to sleep if I'm disturbed during that one nanosecond before I drift off. Damn! You know the feeling: checking the clock ever half hour, hearing every sound in the house and beyond, the feeling of mounting frustration because you know you can't sleep in, and finally...finally falling asleep just in time for the alarm to go off.

To My Little MJ

Little MJ: I love you, child, but you are one needy little sucker of my life's energy. You drove me nuts today, hear? NUTS!

First it was the obstacle course. Did it have to stay up all day long? I need to be able to navigate my own home. Yeah, it was cool, for about five minutes. But you taped strings over my doorway, and your little toy motion detector would...not...stop. About that motorcycle blocking the kitchen door, how many times did Mommy trip over that thing today?

I realize you were cranky because your brother was away at camp. But why so cranky after he got home?

Then you cried because your brother and sister were coming to your baseball game, along with your Grandma & Grandpa. You were afraid you'd strike out with all those people watching. But you invited them! Michael Joseph! You are a certified nut.