Joe Bonamassa x3

We went to see Joe Bonamassa

for the third time in two years.

He's one of Eric's favorites

and I think he's pretty awesome too.

We saw him in Salt Lake City 

and then in Tulsa for our anniversary.

Each show was a little bit different.

This time, he brought some musicians 

with him from other countries.

Amazing talent!

Eric in front of the tour truck

All the acoustic guitars - I think he played 9 total

Our seats were on the 2nd row!!

Since our seats were on the 2nd row, I brought my earplugs.  

We were not disappointed.  In fact,

we will probably see Joe again before 

the year is up.  He will be in Tulsa and 

Dallas in November, and he is playing

at Red Rocks in Denver this summer, 

so we want to try to go to one of those.

  We will probably go see him every 

time we have an opportunity. 

Yes folks,

he is THAT good.  

Picasso and Wine

Ronda took me to paint

at Picasso and Wine during

our Christmas visit to Colorado.

If you ever have an opportunity

to visit this establishment, you

should! 

 In a room full of

about 24 other people, you are

instructed on how to paint

one specific painting.

Everyone's comes out a little

different, but with the same

general idea.  It's pretty incredible!

Starting with a blank canvas

The shapes we were instructed to draw that
eventually turn into a bird

My painting (on the left) and Ronda with her painting

Our finished products!

Anniversary Photo Shoot

A new friend of mine is

a fabulous photographer.

Her name is Shelby Leigh White.

She is on the board of the

Officers' Spouses' Club with me.

She took these wonderful anniversary

pictures of us a few weeks ago.

Now that our anniversary is upon us,

(October 29th)

I decided to share the photos.

It's hard to believe it has

already been a year since

we got married...

...But we are loving every minute!  

Looking through our wedding photo album

1 year!

The cute pumpkin I made this year

Toby Keith

We had the privilege of

going to the Toby Keith concert

Thursday night.  Eric got free

tickets on base.  Toby Keith donated

a bunch of tickets to the base.

He is a very proud American.

He's also an Oklahoman.

I felt like I was in Oklahoma

last night.  There were lots of

cowboy hats and cowboy boots.

I even saw a few OU and 

OKC Thunder shirts!

Unfortunately, we missed

watching the second Thunder game.

They lost.

I promise it wasn't my fault.

I was cheering for them

and checking my phone

every five minutes for updates.

The next game is Saturday though,

so there's still hope!

Usana Amphitheater 

Usana Amphitheater

Usana Amphitheater

The mountains in the background were so pretty - and look at those "thunder boomer" clouds!

Eric and me at Usana Amphitheater

Eric and me at Usana Amphitheater

Toby Keith at Usana Amphitheater

Toby Keith at Usana Amphitheater

Toby Keith at Usana Amphitheater

Toby Keith at Usana Amphitheater

Toby Keith singing "Red Solo Cup" at Usana Amphitheater

I wanted to share some of the lyrics

of Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup" song...

It's pretty ridiculous -

but quite entertaining.

"Now a red solo cup is the best receptacleFor barbecues, tailgates, fairs and festivals...A red solo cup is cheap and disposableAnd in 14 years they are decomposableAnd unlike my home, they are not foreclosable

Red solo cup, I fill you upLet's have a party, let's have a partyI love you red solo cup, I lift you upProceed to party, proceed to party

Now I really love how you're easy to stackBut I really hate how you're easy to crackCuz when beer runs down in front of my packWell that my friends is quite yuckyBut I have to admit the ladies get smittenAdmiring how sharply my first name is writtenOn you with a sharpie when I get to hittin' on them

Red solo cup, I fill you upLet's have a party, let's have a partyI love you red solo cup, I lift you upProceed to party, proceed to party
Now I've seen you in blue and I've seen you in yellowBut only you, red, will do for this fellowCuz you are the Abbot to my CostelloAnd you are the fruit to my loomRed solo cup, you're more than just plasticYou're more than amazing you're more than fantasticAnd believe me that I'm not the least bit sarcasticwhen i look at you and say:

"Red solo cup, you're not just a cup. (No, no, no!)You're my, you're my (friend?) friend. (life long!)Thank you for being my friend."

Red solo cup, I fill you upLet's have a party, let's have a partyI love you red solo cup, I lift you upProceed to party, proceed to party."

Toby Keith singing "Who's Your Daddy" at Usana Amphitheater

Toby Keith puts on a good show!

If you get a chance to see him, you should go!

An Evening with Joe Bonamassa

If you ever have the opportunity

to go see Joe Bonamassa,

don't think about it - 

just do it.

He is an amazing musician.

He flies under the radar somehow,

so not many people seem to have heard

of him - but he has been making great music

since 2003. His new album (13th album) 

comes out in the next couple of months.

Check out this video of Joe Bonamassa - 

this is one of the songs he performed last night.

It's 10 minutes long, but worth a listen.

We started out the evening

at Ruth's Chris Steak House.

Delicious.

Abravanel Hall

Abravanel Hall is right by Temple Square
 in downtown Salt Lake City

Abravanel Hall - where the Utah Symphony plays

The light fixtures were pretty

Eric estimates that this set is worth around $15,000

We saw an awesome mullet

He used at least 8 different guitars throughout the evening

My favorite moment was when he thanked us
 for coming out to see him on a Sunday evening.
He said, "Abravanel Hall is the only business
 opened in this town today, what is up with that?!"

We had an amazing evening.

Eric said it was the best concert he has ever been to

(and he has been to a lot of concerts, so that's saying

something, I think).