Sister and Brothers of the Sun
This weekend we got a special treat and visit from Dee Dee and GG. Gracie needed to do her back to school shopping and we have a tradition of doing her shopping together. (which I LOVE) There was no way Dee Dee would miss out on a chance to see her 2 little ones so they flew in on Friday and back out on Sunday. It was a quick trip but it was PACKED with tons of fun.
Justin picked them up at the airport on Friday and as soon as they walked in the door, GG and I headed out. We had lots of "work" to do. We got her hair cut and then shopped the new H & M that opened near us. We then pulled out the big guns and headed to the outlet mall back to school craziness.
We closed it down on Friday night and still had money left. Whoo hoo! That means we got up early on Saturday morning and went to Target and Old Navy before completing our list. She is ready to go for back to school.. and so cute too!
While we were out shopping the boys went to dinner with Daddy and Dee Dee and then a special treat. Somebody got ice cream for their potty efforts!
After spending some time with Dee Dee & the boys are the pool, we started getting ready for our big night out. Jake Owen, Grace Potter, Tim McGraw, and Kenny Chesney were playing the Brothers of the Sun Tour here and earlier in the week I got a notification for a "daily deal" for tickets. Face value of the ticket as $150 and they were running a special for $50 a ticket. Oh yeah! And when Justin showed up with the vouchers, he got us awesome floor seats.
We left early and stopped by a Houston favorite The Armadillo Palace near the Reliant Center. We had so much fun at this place and grabbed a quick snack.
Our floor tickets were amazing. We had our own entrance and when we walked through the tunnel and into the Arena you couldn't help but get excited. THIS was a party. You know, the Kenny Chesney beach kind :-)
Jake Owen took the stage first.. and man, is he a cutie. I had no idea. Of course, I am a sucker for a guy with long hair, tight jeans, and he played barefoot. Cutie pie. And what was so crazy? We kept saying the drummer looked like JB's drummer from his former band. After the show we found him walking around shaking hands and making friends and I snapped his picture.
Justin picked them up at the airport on Friday and as soon as they walked in the door, GG and I headed out. We had lots of "work" to do. We got her hair cut and then shopped the new H & M that opened near us. We then pulled out the big guns and headed to the outlet mall back to school craziness.
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| She is so precious! |
When we shop, we get down to some serious business. If she likes it, if I like it, if we are unsure we try it on. I think we tried on at least 50 pieces at the GAP before picking the treasured 8. We had to stay on budget of course! Jeans are the hardest and I lost count on how many brands, styles, cuts, and washes we tried.
And of course I find a few things I "need" too!
We closed it down on Friday night and still had money left. Whoo hoo! That means we got up early on Saturday morning and went to Target and Old Navy before completing our list. She is ready to go for back to school.. and so cute too!
While we were out shopping the boys went to dinner with Daddy and Dee Dee and then a special treat. Somebody got ice cream for their potty efforts!
After spending some time with Dee Dee & the boys are the pool, we started getting ready for our big night out. Jake Owen, Grace Potter, Tim McGraw, and Kenny Chesney were playing the Brothers of the Sun Tour here and earlier in the week I got a notification for a "daily deal" for tickets. Face value of the ticket as $150 and they were running a special for $50 a ticket. Oh yeah! And when Justin showed up with the vouchers, he got us awesome floor seats.
We left early and stopped by a Houston favorite The Armadillo Palace near the Reliant Center. We had so much fun at this place and grabbed a quick snack.
Our floor tickets were amazing. We had our own entrance and when we walked through the tunnel and into the Arena you couldn't help but get excited. THIS was a party. You know, the Kenny Chesney beach kind :-)
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| Suzi, Dixie, and Roxi - the girls that got away :-) |
Jake Owen took the stage first.. and man, is he a cutie. I had no idea. Of course, I am a sucker for a guy with long hair, tight jeans, and he played barefoot. Cutie pie. And what was so crazy? We kept saying the drummer looked like JB's drummer from his former band. After the show we found him walking around shaking hands and making friends and I snapped his picture.
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| Drummer for Jake Owen |
Then we were totally blown away by Grace Potter. When we lived in Birmingham our dear friends Amy & Adrian introduced us to this amazing voice.
We have followed her on and off but I didn't realize how big she had become in so many different venues. When we found out she was part of the ticket I told Justin how weird I thought that was since she is not a country singer. I told him that I bet either Kenny or Tim loves her music. One of them had to have something to do with it and sure enough Grace explained that during her set. I love stories like this and I love hearing stories about songs and how they are written. Apparently Grace wrote a song called "Apologies" when she was 18. Kenny heard it and called her to be on his new album and record "You and Tequila" Here is what he said about it..
We have followed her on and off but I didn't realize how big she had become in so many different venues. When we found out she was part of the ticket I told Justin how weird I thought that was since she is not a country singer. I told him that I bet either Kenny or Tim loves her music. One of them had to have something to do with it and sure enough Grace explained that during her set. I love stories like this and I love hearing stories about songs and how they are written. Apparently Grace wrote a song called "Apologies" when she was 18. Kenny heard it and called her to be on his new album and record "You and Tequila" Here is what he said about it..
Chesney told Billboard magazine about the collaboration: "This song makes me believe in music even more. I'd never met Grace Potter until she came into the studio. She grew up in the woods in Vermont. I grew up in the woods in East Tennessee. We come from completely worlds, different backgrounds, probably religious beliefs, we haven't talked about it. I don't know what her political beliefs are, I don't know nothing about any of that. I know she's a great person and I know that she is a hell of a singer. I heard her voice and I knew I would love to sing with her one day. I didn't know it would be on this, or this soon.
At the end of 2007, I rented a house North of Malibu, California, for about two months. I was exhausted, I didn't want to talk to anybody, I didn't want to listen to music, I just wanted to be still for a minute. Every day I would drive close in to Santa Monica, meet some friends, eat dinner, and I'd drive back up the PCH with the windows down. That time of year is really chilly, I'd watch the sun set. It's beautiful, I loved it. I would turn on the radio every now and then and I would hear these songs. I heard an Eagles song, I don't even remember what the song was. But I remember thinking, 'Wow, I think I like music again.'
When I heard 'You and Tequila,' it put me in that spot. That's when I thought of Grace, because I listened to her music a lot on the boat, a lot on the bus, her live record especially. She has a song called 'Apology' that still kills me. I got in touch with her and sent her the song, I had already recorded it. She called back the next day and said 'I want to make this happen.' When she came in and we put our voices together, wow. I love the song, Matraca and Deana wrote it, but, boy, it's relatable, so universal. To have Grace on it, that will be with me forever."
Grace Potter sat at the piano and played this song and belted it out. Seriously almost brought me to tears. Its beautiful and I can see how Kenny fell in love :-)
After Grace Potter, they totally redid the stage and the crowd started pouring in for Tim.
I loved his entrance. They kept showing him coming in from behind the arena. As Dee Dee said "like Nick Saban"
He put on a great show. We danced. Well, Justin and I danced and acted crazy and Gracie hid her head and tried not to be totally embarrassed. There were so many great moments and memories. I mean, I was a HUGE Tim fan at one time and it really took me back to late high school and college.
Love this shot of Justin during "Live Like I Was Dying" which is a fantastic song we all know.
He also sang 2 new songs Truck Yeah (which is on radio now) and a new song called Mexicoma which isn't out yet but will be on his new album later this year. Gracie did the research for us after the concert because we LOVED it.
After precious Tim :-) the set really got a redesign for Kenny.
And then SURPRISE! when Kenny started he was behind us over head. This is also the same place that Tim came back out and walked through the crowd (Justin rushed up and got a high five!)
Of course Kenny was great but my favorite moment was when Grace Potter came back out for their duet together. Kenny made a little joke about the night before when they played New Orleans Grace stayed out to 5:30. I nudged Justin and said "yep. Wonder how Kenny knew that??" Ha! Here is video of them performing at CMA Awards.
And at the end they all came out and sang together. No idea what song. Can you believe that it started at 4:30 and we left at 11:30? 7 hours! There were 30 minute breaks between each set but that was it. It was seriously like a music festival. Lots of music for the money and we got a serious deal on the tickets!
Now, while we were having all this fun out on the town, don't think that Dee Dee and the boys were sitting around bored at home. No way! She took them first to Toys R Us which if you ask Eli he will say "my favorite". Looks like they had a great time!
What is in the parking lot of the toy store? Chucky Cheese! And we have never been. Dee Dee took them on their first trip. They ate pizza and as Beckett said "payed games"
On Sunday morning both Daddy and Eli were exhausted from all the fun.
But we all still made it to church. And after lunch and naps by all, we sadly took our Dee Dee and GG back to the airport. It may have been quick but it was packed full of long lasting memories.
Love,
The Riley's
At the end of 2007, I rented a house North of Malibu, California, for about two months. I was exhausted, I didn't want to talk to anybody, I didn't want to listen to music, I just wanted to be still for a minute. Every day I would drive close in to Santa Monica, meet some friends, eat dinner, and I'd drive back up the PCH with the windows down. That time of year is really chilly, I'd watch the sun set. It's beautiful, I loved it. I would turn on the radio every now and then and I would hear these songs. I heard an Eagles song, I don't even remember what the song was. But I remember thinking, 'Wow, I think I like music again.'
When I heard 'You and Tequila,' it put me in that spot. That's when I thought of Grace, because I listened to her music a lot on the boat, a lot on the bus, her live record especially. She has a song called 'Apology' that still kills me. I got in touch with her and sent her the song, I had already recorded it. She called back the next day and said 'I want to make this happen.' When she came in and we put our voices together, wow. I love the song, Matraca and Deana wrote it, but, boy, it's relatable, so universal. To have Grace on it, that will be with me forever."
Grace Potter sat at the piano and played this song and belted it out. Seriously almost brought me to tears. Its beautiful and I can see how Kenny fell in love :-)
After Grace Potter, they totally redid the stage and the crowd started pouring in for Tim.
I loved his entrance. They kept showing him coming in from behind the arena. As Dee Dee said "like Nick Saban"
He put on a great show. We danced. Well, Justin and I danced and acted crazy and Gracie hid her head and tried not to be totally embarrassed. There were so many great moments and memories. I mean, I was a HUGE Tim fan at one time and it really took me back to late high school and college.
Love this shot of Justin during "Live Like I Was Dying" which is a fantastic song we all know.
He also sang 2 new songs Truck Yeah (which is on radio now) and a new song called Mexicoma which isn't out yet but will be on his new album later this year. Gracie did the research for us after the concert because we LOVED it.
After precious Tim :-) the set really got a redesign for Kenny.
And then SURPRISE! when Kenny started he was behind us over head. This is also the same place that Tim came back out and walked through the crowd (Justin rushed up and got a high five!)
Of course Kenny was great but my favorite moment was when Grace Potter came back out for their duet together. Kenny made a little joke about the night before when they played New Orleans Grace stayed out to 5:30. I nudged Justin and said "yep. Wonder how Kenny knew that??" Ha! Here is video of them performing at CMA Awards.
And at the end they all came out and sang together. No idea what song. Can you believe that it started at 4:30 and we left at 11:30? 7 hours! There were 30 minute breaks between each set but that was it. It was seriously like a music festival. Lots of music for the money and we got a serious deal on the tickets!
Now, while we were having all this fun out on the town, don't think that Dee Dee and the boys were sitting around bored at home. No way! She took them first to Toys R Us which if you ask Eli he will say "my favorite". Looks like they had a great time!
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| Can I have one toy please?? |
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| Yep, Thats Dee Dee |
On Sunday morning both Daddy and Eli were exhausted from all the fun.
But we all still made it to church. And after lunch and naps by all, we sadly took our Dee Dee and GG back to the airport. It may have been quick but it was packed full of long lasting memories.
Love,
The Riley's