Community!

Tonight we hosted the Young Marrieds Dinner at our house. We feel ultra blessed to be apart of such a wonderful community of friends!

Ellen is going to teach Ryanhood to dance!!

For those of you more technologically savvy than myself, you'll understand this "twitter" thing more than me...nonetheless, it's news I'm excited about!

Remember the "Oh Ellen" video I posted recently? Well, we had been waiting for the youtube play count to get up before we sent it to Ellen...BUT, she found it FIRST!! This afternoon Ellen twittered (tweeted?) and said, "Look what I found...(she then inserted the youtube clip here)...I think we need to have them on my show to teach them to dance!" Wahooo...I'm really hoping she means it...my sweater vest is packed and ready to go! :)

Can I get a what what?!

I just got home from the U of A Platinum Bash Concert...what a night of lots of loud music! Good thing for handy dandy earplugs. :)

The show was exceptionally fun...I never thought I'd see Jay-Z in concert, let alone be blown away, but he was an incredible entertainer! The same is true for Kelly Clarkson...she can definitely sing! And from my brief interactions with her, she seemed very humble and sweet.

So here go the photos...

Ryanhood!! They rocked the stage! It was fun for me to be able to be in the audience singing along and dancing while they played...the operation had their own merch people to take care of our sales.


The Veronicas...


Third Eye Blind...


Kelly Clarkson...


Jay-Z...

brown paper packages tied up with strings!

I'm missing Ryan like crazy...2 1/2 weeks is the longest we've been apart in a long time (maybe even ever?), and I've been feeling pretty sad about the long distance. So, when I came home today and saw a PACKAGE in my mailbox, I got very excited!! My friend Megan made me the cutest bathmat ever, and I have to say it has made my whole week! In fact, I'm planning to go take a bath after I write this, so I can take full advantage of it! (please note the red rectangular patch that says "clean feet" and then the two footprint outlines!)

oh me, oh my...the butterfly!

As I was walking through the Botanical Gardens to the cafe this morning, I thought to myself, "Wow, I really work in the most beautiful place!" It's so exciting to see new plants in bloom, trees gaining their leaves back, big lizards, and over 50 different species of butterflies!

Here are just some snapshots I took today...


Note how the one on the far right looks like a leaf when closed...

And then soo beautiful when open...



This beautiful cactus only blooms for one day out of the year...

The prickly pear just starting to bloom...

Outdoorsy Kiddos!

Monday (my day off) was my get out and explore the great outdoors of Tucson day! My friend Eileen, her daughter Kaia, and I went for a nice hike at Sabino Canyon! It was a pretty toasty morning, but soo beautiful to be surrounded by the canyon! And, so fun to be around sweet Kaia whose latest trick is kissing her stuffed animals, or anything you hand her...love it!


I then spent the afternoon babysitting for our friend Jen's daughter, Corban. They are moving up to Phoenix TOMORROW, and she had many errands to run. Corban loves to bury herself with woodchips at the park...so we had to go and do that! And, the park just happens to be right next to the Community Foodbank, which also has a community garden (and chickens!).

Breast Cancer Walk!

Last Sunday I did the breast cancer walk with Mary, Lori, Rachel, Sydney, Jacob and Dominic!

Happy Earth Day!

So, in light of Earth Day, I thought I'd do a product promotion for all the ladies out there...and men who might be looking to buy your lady a special gift. :)

GLADRAGS! Yes, that is right folks, reusable cloth menstrual products. So cute looking and fresh feeling that you'll never want to go back to disposables. AND, as a special plug for those of you who travel frequently, there is nothing better than The Keeper. No need to pack lots and lots of pads and tampons, just The Keeper will do for your entire cycle.

In all seriousness, I started using Gladrags and The Keeper 3ish years ago, and I'm totally sold...they are wonderful and will leave you feeling wonderful about yourself and how you are treating the environment! And, if you don't believe just how much I love them from what you've read here, feel free to check out my "publication" (I love to call it a publication, as if it is in somesort of well-known journal) on the Gladrags blog as a guest blogger here.

Sick of Ice Cream, Really?

So, I've had friends who have had summer jobs at ice cream shops tell me that they get so sick of it that they don't even want to eat it anymore. And I've always had mixed feelings about this. One, I LOVE ice cream, hands down it's my favorite dessert, so there is part of me that is sad for them that they get sick of it. And on the other hand, I wonder "are they telling the truth?" or are they just trying to look like they have good self-control? The Botanical Gardens Cafe has a frozen yogurt machine and I think there has been less days than fingers on my hand that I have not sampled it while at work...and LOVED every taste of it. And on days like today when we clean it out and have to use up any frozen yogurt in it, I have about 3-4 samplings...of course in the good company of my co-workers who I coerce into having an ice cream party with me. I'm happy to know that I don't think I'll be getting sick of ice cream anytime soon. :)

Stadium Concert, here we come!!

Thank you thank you thank you for all of your votes for Ryanhood to play at the U of A Stadium next Wednesday...they won!! They will be opening for Jay Z, Kelly Clarkson, Third Eye Blind, and The Veronicas! Yowsas! The place will seat 17,000 people and has 5 locations for merchandise sales...this is crazy! :)

Here is the article that was in the Caliente about them winning!

Oh Ellen...

Ryanhood's latest song (which even I didn't hear until the show last weekend!)... :)

Happy Easter!

I love Easter! It has become a tradition of ours to go to the Sunrise Service at our friends' ranch. I didn't take any photos there this morning, but here is a photo from 2 years ago...

It's an ultra casual service with a wide array of people...we gather not far from the stables, and sing with the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar, listen as Ben gives a sermon, and partake in communion. It's just beautiful. Afterwards we all hang out and share in a potluck breakfast.

As I was leaving the ranch, I saw a sign that said "Agua Caliente 2 miles"...I couldn't resist! For those of you not from Tucson, Agua Caliente is a tropical oasis that somehow doesn't evaporate with the rest of the water in Tucson. It's also a mecca for bird watchers, and wildlife enthusiasts. As I walked around, I saw a roadrunner, rabbits, a muskrat, LARGE turtles sunbathing, quail, ducks,...so glad I made the stop.


Our church had an art exhibit this morning to go along with the Easter service. A couple of weeks ago, they had passed out 4X4 sheets of paper asking people to create whatever they wanted to on it, and bring it back. Some shared recipes, others metal work, some poems, etc. I'm not the type who gets a 4X4 piece of paper like that and thinks, "I know just what to write/draw!" But, I really wanted to participate. Last night I sat down and started sketching out a plan on a scrap piece of paper...even as I was sketching, I didn't have much in mind. I finished my doodling, and sat back to look at it, and thought, "Wow, I think God is trying to tell me something here." I realized I had drawn out all different parts of my life right now. Things that I really love, but often don't take time to just ponder and ENJOY. I felt like God was saying, "Enjoy NOW. I often like to daydream about other places I'd like to live, wonder what life without touring would be like, get excited about the thought of having a family someday, etc., that I don't stop to enjoy the moment that I'm currently living in. I love so much of what my life is giving me right now: the fact that we live in a place where I can go hiking in the mountains on a weekly basis (daily if I wanted!), I love line drying my clothes...even though I know this is partially out of necessity since our dryer doesn't even work and we can't afford to get a new one, I love the upgrade from Rav4 touring to conversion van touring, I love the simplicity that comes with living in a van and out of a duffel bag, I love lots of quality time with my husband, I love our road family, I love our Tucson (and non-Tucson!) friends, ... This was such a great exercise for me to do. Live in the moment, love the now.

Happy 15th Birthday Rose!

Cameron's family came to town last week for the CD release, and with them came Rose! Rose and her parents (Cameron's cousin, aunt and uncle) are a big part of touring family; Ryan and I often stay with them whenever we are touring through Kansas City, MO. Rose's birthday was the perfect reason to bring all of our families(Cameron's, Ryan's, and mine) together to meet, eat and make music.
Rose and Cameron...

Dad and Haleigh...

The moms!

Ryan, Rachel and Mary...

Phil (Uncle), Linda, and Kathy (Aunt)...

Rose!

Cameron and Ryan...

Family!

My parents and niece (Haleigh) came to visit last week! I had to work almost everyday, so I didn't get to spend nearly as much time with them as I would have liked, but as my mom reminded me, "we got to have dinner together every night, which is way more than we normally get to do!" It is also nice to come home from work and find freshly planted flowers in the backyard, fresh ice tea in the fridge, and folded laundry in the basket ... Thank You!
Haleigh, mom, and me on the Phone Line Trail at Sabino Canyon:

Haleigh acting natural for the camera:

Jay-Z, Kelly Clarkson, and Ryanhood??

Some more good news... Ryanhood is one of 5 finalists in the contest to play at Arizona Stadium April 29, 2009, with Jay-Z, Kelly Clarkson, Third Eye Blind, and The Veronicas.

You can cast a vote for us here


Vote daily if you can (for 7 days, then the contest ends)

We've got big plans to film the show and to write a song for Kelly Clarkson in order to charm her into taking us on tour. But first, we have to win the contest!

If you know any email groups or lists that might want to throw their support behind us, by all means, go for it!

And teachers... if your students are old enough to have email addresses, feel free to take field trips to the computer lab and help them sign up and vote as well :-)

Thanks
Ryan

Ryanhood!

So, I must say, last night's show did rock my world. I told Ryan that I think it was the best concert I've ever been to. Like, not just Ryanhood concert, but of any concert I've ever been to. I know there might be some bias perspective there, but really...it was so fun, and they did so well! I think the final ticket count was like 762 people! I went up to the balcony at one point and everyone was just dancing away, it was so totally rewarding after all that has gone into making this record.

Suntran continued...

One thing I forgot to mention in yesterday's post is this on-going idea I've had for a short documentary film. When living in Boston it was a common site to see people in business suits, City Year jackets, and with guitar backpacks running--sprinting!--after the train/bus. I think it'd be hilarious to have a film of just watching different cases of actual people chasing these moving objects...sometimes catching them in time, other times being left in the dust (exhaust), being saved by a nice bus driver stopping, getting angry at a 'mean' bus driver, etc. Anyway, I've been reminded of this because I have found myself having to run to catch the bus from time to time, and people here just stare at me like I'm crazy running down the side walk with my purse/bag clutched tightly...I honestly think they are wondering if I just almost got mugged or if I just stole the purse/bag.

Tomorrow is the big concert...we've already sold 700 tickets!! :)

Oh Suntran...

I've been taking the bus to and fro work for the past 6 weeks. If you've been to Tucson, or if you live in Tucson, you will know that we don't live in a "bus friendly" city. Buses run on a grid, and to get anywhere that involves a right or left turn, takes careful planning. BUT, I love the bus! So much, that I even bought my first Suntran Monthly pass for April. I have found that I am a much friendlier person when I have that time to gather my thoughts in the morning, and also to decompress at the end of the day. I also love sitting next to strangers, making friends with others at the bus stop, eavesdropping on funny high school conversations, seeing people help others (with kids, who are blind, in a wheelchair, elderly, etc) on/off the bus...I could go on...I am a big fan of the Suntran!