I Survived!

Greetings from the Great Lakes State! Ryan and I flew to MI last Thursday to spend time with family...Ryan left on Tuesday to L.A., and I'm here until this coming Monday. The big excitement of the weekend was our immediate family reunion gone Survivor Game that my dad spent months planning. My aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, siblings, nieces, and nephew all gathered at Brown's Clearing (our family cabin) on Saturday for the 1st Annual "Survive Browns' Clearing".

Brown's Clearing...


The signing of the official documents...



The events...


Fortunately this was a friendly survivor game where no one was voted off...that would've been a bad idea for a family reunion.

Here was what really broke the ice and got everyone into the game...putting on the bandanas! The maroon team was Team Delta Force and the camo team was Team Banananas (yes, with that many "n's" :)
(cousins: Julie and Jeff, Nieces: Alyssa and Lydia)


(cousin Sharon, sister Nichole, and me)


Ryan and I were placed on opposing teams, as to not make a color upset!


Due to the intensity of the events, I didn't get to take too many pictures, but here's one of Lydia and my dad in the first event...


An unofficial event in this year's game, was the hula hoop competition...definitely an event that will take place next year!

Ryan and I tied for 2 minutes before giving up...


Tristy was good...but I think it had to do w/ the assistance of the baby growing inside...


Haleigh (niece) showing us up with her fancy arm tricks. :)


Other events of the week included taking my nieces and nephew on a hike through my parents backyard searching for "treasures" (aka trash)...a game my dad used to always play with us...




Ryan and I spent our 2nd anniversary with my Grandpa and Barb in South Haven/Saugatuck. We went dune buggying...a yearly tradition for me and Grandpa...


Then we went out to dinner at a restaurant with a beautiful outdoor patio...


After I dropped Ryan off at the airport, I met up with my Boston roommate Melissa for coffee...it was sooo nice to get to catch up with her in person!


Last night, I had a sleepover at my sister's with all the kids. Lydia made up a special bed on the floor for us to sleep together... :)


And, this evening two of my high school friends and I met up for dinner and dessert...I wish we could all just live in the same city!
Kelly, me, and Kelsey


Tomorrow morning it's babysitting and school shopping with my sister's kids and then to the rodeo at night!

Southern Cali

Friday morning we drove to California for a mini RH tour. We started in San Diego and played at a great acoustic venue called LeStat's West. It's right next to a great coffee shop called, LeStat's, (clever, eh?) and draws a very eclectic crowd of people, which we always love. Owen Plant drove down and sat in on some songs with RH.

We were able to spend the night and have quality time with Ryan's cousin, Traci and her husband Joe, who were married one month after us. It's so nice to be able to visit family and friends while we are out on the road and make it feel like a big friendship tour. :)

Saturday morning we had breakfast with some of Cameron's friends down near Mission Beach, and then drove to LA. The show that evening was at another great acoustic venue that we had never played in before called Genghis Cohen. At first it appeared rather interesting because its attached to an upscale Chinese restaurant, and the seating is old church pews. But, the feel of the room was very much like Club Passim...very folky, which we really appreciate. Norm from Cheers was even there!! Although, he was there for the food we think since we didn't see him at the show...then again, he is very short, so he could've been in there pretending to be a small child. :)

This morning at church we thought we felt an earthquake. But, not being from CA, we weren't positive if it was an earthquake or perhaps just the trash man hitting the dumpster really hard on the ground outside. But, sure enough we came home and checked on the internet to see that it as a 2.7 magnitude at 10:07 am just 1 mile southeast of Yorba Linda, CA!

Well, I'm off to make dinner for our friend Ken, whom we are staying with. And then I fly back to Tucson tonight while the guys stay in LA and record for the week.

Scrabba-dabba-doo!

Our (my) first 4th of July in Tucson was blisterly HOT! The recorded high for the day was 113, and we spent from about 9am-11pm out in the sun!....and then slept for the following two days because we were so sun-drained. :) We were at the Hilton El Conquistador, a swanky hotel/resort on the northwest side of Tucson that does a big 4th Festival put on by the radio station. RH opened for Rocco de Luca and Lifehouse. Due to 2 people putting on the event having to go to the hospital from heat stroke, there were some technical difficulties at the beginning of the concert, but it ended up being a great night of music (and sweat). :)

The beautiful natural backdrop...


I thought I'd show a shot that includes people...there were about 3,000 spectators!


Our friends Lori and Ryan at the event...


On Saturday, we hosted our first ever Scrabble Tournament! Growing up, I never remember loving this game, however since getting married, Ryan and I have become completely addicted! And watching the documentary, Word Wars, about the national Scrabble Tournament, only aided in our addiction.

We had 9 people competing in the tournament...but only Jen walked away as the official champion! She got a 84 point word in the final round (squats/zips on a triple word! for those of you scrabble lovers out there).

Heather, Chris, and Melissa during round 2



Jen and I in the final championship round (she whooped me)...


Ryan and Danny in the final consolation round...by Ryan's face, I'm sure you can determine the outcome...

Meredith Ryan Cameron!

Last weekend, I flew to Denver, met up with Janna and Kari, and drove to Winter Park, CO for Miss Meredith Ryan Hortop's wedding! It was such a quaint and beautiful outdoor wedding. The ceremony took place in a grassy meadow with wild flowers and a beautiful view of the mountains! And the reception was in a little barn that is normally used as a warming hut for cross country skiers in the winter. Each group of friends/family sat in their own little stall that was decorated with white christmas lights, tool, and purple flowers...it was gorgeous!

I must say that I'm quite intrigued by the culture of Winter Park. It's a very small community, population 800, but it doesn't feel like any other small town that I've been in. It actually feels more like a big college campus for people who are all majoring in outdoor activities. Everyone was always outdoors playing (mountain biking, running, etc), or talking about being outdoors...pretty cool.

Here are some photos from the weekend...

Meredith and I first seeing each other in the lodge where we were staying...and where Meredith spent the night before her wedding day.


The walk to the Hawaiian BBQ the night before the wedding...


A little Albion pride...


Meredith's husband (to-be at this point), Chris Cameron, in the grass skirt...


Meredith and Janna staking down the sign to direct people along the 2-track dirt road to get to the ceremony the morning of the wedding...


The ceremony location...






The reception...




Congratulations Meredith and Chris! And just as a fun side note, Meredith's full name is Meredith Ryan Cameron :)

Good Craic!

Last week I went to Philadelphia to see our friend JohnO who was visiting from Ireland!

>>To catch some people up, I met JohnO while studying abroad in Ireland, then he lived with my roommate and I during the summer of '04 when Ryan and I met...thus making the three of us (well, really the four of us with Cameron) really good friends. JohnO returned to Boston in the summer of '05 for our wedding, where he was a reader, pronouncing every "you" with a good Irish "ye".<<

We thought Ryan was going to be recording for the week in LA, so we didn't buy him a plane ticket...However, it turned out he didn't have to go to LA, but it was too late to buy a ticket by the time we found that out. He had a great time hanging out with his guy friends at home though. :)

We took a bus tour around Philly and saw all the major sites.
Our first stop was the Betsy Ross, where I had done a service project for MLK weekend in college...


Chinatown...


LOVE...(look for the red letters behind the trees)


St. Peter and Paul...


The Franklin Institute...a great hands-on museum...JohnO seeing if he can lift his own body weight...he did it!


We also went to Lancaster County, Amish Country. I'm fascinated by the Amish, so I loved going and learning more about their culture. We did a tour of an Amish home, and also watched a movie on a boy of age (16) making his decision about whether or not he would choose to remain in the faith. The Amish are currently retaining about 90% of their youth a year! The Amish can use rollerblades and scooters to get around, in addition to horse and buggies, however they cannot use bikes because bikes would allow them to get too far from home. I was a bit disappointed to find that most Amish families now use Pampers instead of cloth diapers, and even wear manufactured sweaters, but I guess they needed to find some short-cuts when their lives are otherwise quite laborious.







We stopped in a little village that sold Amish goods. Here's Lisa sampling some jam...of course we had to sample everything in the store! :)


Lisa, Arnold, and Megan, friends of JohnO's from Ireland who are missionaries for CrossWorld in Philadelphia, and also who we stayed with...


Me and JohnO...


It was a great trip!

My journey home however was filled with adventures of another kind...both flights were delayed, which weren't too big of a deal because I was reading a good book, but then once I reached Tucson, our car died in the parking lot of the airport! :( We had to push the car through the gate so that we could pay without having to have the money add up while we waited. Hopefully gray beauty will be back working again soon!


Congrats to our friend Melanie and Devin who got married last weekend!

Liz and Charlene's Visit!

Hi! I'm going to pick up with where I left off on my last blog post...Liz and Charlene's visit...
We had a great time having them stay at our place for the week. Charlene is the easiest baby ever! She never cried, except for when she started teething on her last day here...and I think that warrants crying, she slept for 13 hours a night, and smiled while strangers held her!
Here are some photos from their visit...

We were all taking naps when Ryan got home...


An evening hike at Sabino Canyon...


Swimming at Grammie's...


Grammie insisted on babysitting while we swam...


Rachel (Ryan's half sister-on the left) and her friends were entertained by Charlene for hours!...


Ryan and Charlene played together for hours...


Liz and Charlene ready for the airport...


Charlene catching on that she is leaving AZ...


Charlene not happy about leaving...

Breakfast, Birthday, Babies...

Hello!

I hope everyone is enjoying summer! On the radio today the dj said "it's going to be a cool week with temperatures only reaching the upper 90s."...eeks...even though I've already survived one summer here, I'm still not ready for what June/July/August bring! Yesterday it was 102, and today is already much cooler, with a high of 'only' 94.

Ryan spent the morning at the dog park with Lily and Stanley, while I drove to Phoenix to pick up our friend Liz and her baby, Charlene! (I knew "babies" in the title would catch everyone's attention!) I'm having one...stay with me for the week that is. :)




Thanks for everyone who voted for RH to get into the Cornerstone Music Festival this summer in Bushnell, IL! They finished in 2nd place out of 230 bands, and will be performing on the new band stage on Friday, June 29 at 4:20pm, for anyone that will be there!

On Memorial Day, Ryan and I discovered/re-discovered (I had never been there/Ryan went on a field trip growing up) Augua Caliente. It's a beautiful park near where we live that has WATER!! Up until now, I thought NO place in Tucson had water...the "rivers" are dry washes, the water falls don't fall, and the only time you can see water is if you go to someone's pool, or during monsoon season. But this park has beautiful ponds and palm trees all over the place! We brought a picnic breakfast, read, and walked around the park for the morning before all the BBQ'ers rolled in.




On Monday, Grammie celebrated her 76th birthday! There was a huge surprise party for her at Bazil's, her best-friend's restaurant.