On Monday, Zane and I celebrated our 6 month anniversary. Our first date was a few weeks before May 12, but we became "official" on that glorious day. I decided to pay a little tribute to the man in my life here with some pics and mushy stuff that I love about him :)
This is one of my favorite pics with Zane. We took it at the zoo shortly after becoming "official".
We went to the Air Show at Hill Air Force base. I loved this little helicopter. P.S. It was FREEZING that day.
Our sad faces. This is after we got hailed and rained on. I ruined a pair of shoes here actually. We decided to leave shortly after this picture. We will be going again next year, assuming the weather is better.
Zane and me after carving pumpkins. You can't see his, but it was a way awesome carving of Cthulhu, that he did by hand. Mine was a not so awesome carving that I got out of a pumpkin design book. Yeah he is way more artistic than me. And yes, we do like to match our shirts ;)
So yeah, these are some of my favorite pictures of Zane and me. He doesn't like to take pics, so I have to hold back on my picture taking, which stinks. But I guess if that's the only thing I have to complain about, we are doing good.
Seriously I haven't been this happy in a long time. Zane lets me be my weird self, and doesn't make fun of me for it. In fact, he's probably just as weird as I am. Which I love. He is my best friend. I'm glad that we decided to go against the "dating your co-workers is bad news" stigma and give it a go.
So Here's the back story of this concert, at least from my prospective. I'm sure the bands (Boys Like Girls, All-American Rejects, and Parachute) have a SLIGHTLY different story behind coming to the concert :)
I LOOOOVE Parachute. They are my hands down my favorite band. I discovered Parachute about a year and a half ago, all thanks to the You Tube. I was searching for a song by a completely different artist and stumbled across this video:
I fell in love at that moment. I mean, who wouldn't love the lead singer Will's gorgeous eyes? I then proceeded to watch every music video they had on line, purchase both of their albums on I-Tunes, and fall more and more in love with them. I have been wanting to see them live ever since that day, but I never found out about their concerts in Utah until the week they were coming. So having a month's notice was PERFECT. Honestly, had Parachute not been the opening act, I don't know if I would have bought tickets to the concert. So Boys Like Girls should REALLY thank Parachute.
When I noticed that Parachute was the opening act for this concert, I knew I had to buy tickets. I had been waiting a long time for them to come back to Utah. I checked their website like once a week to see if they had posted tour dates, I was that obsessed. I called up my sister Ashley to see if she wanted to come with me. After she agreed, I bought us some tickets and anxiously awaited October 23. I had to prepare myself for this concert, so I bought some All-American Rejects and Boys Like Girls songs on I-Tunes, made a play list, and listened to it like every day for 2 weeks while I was at work.
Finally October 23 came! After work, I went home, changed into an appropriate concert going outfit, and headed up to UVU. Ashley met me there and we got some dinner before going to the concert. While at the Merch table (because I had to buy me a Parachute T Shirt) I struck up a convo wit the Merch guy. He told me that Parachute typically comes and talks to fans after their set. I think I almost had a heart attack at that moment. I was going to get the chance to meet Parachute!!! I told Ashley that we were going to meet them no matter what!
Ashley and me after finding our seats and discovering that we could meet Parachute.
So Parachute came out and put on an awesome show. I LOVED it. I had no doubts that I would enjoy that part of the concert. But part of me was distracted by the fact that in just a few moments I was going to meet the band. During their last song, Ash and I headed back to the Merch table to grab a spot in line to meet the men of my dreams :)
He has some mad sax skills. But sadly he is married
Ashley and me with Will, the voice behind the band. Oh man I'm in love. Seriously, so attractive :)
Me with my autographed ticket stub. This has been in my wallet with me ever since. Don't think about stealing it, I will kill you :)
After meeting the band and getting some autographs, Ash and I went back inside to listen to All-American Rejects. I don't really follow them too closely, so I didn't know too many of the songs they performed. But I will admit, I did enjoy listening to them talk between songs and watching people around me get more and more offended at what they were saying. All I will say is Utah Valley and All-American Rejects might just be polar opposites. But I don't know what people were expecting when they came to a concert like this. Oh well I guess. . . I loved it.
Then Boys Like Girls came out. They were pretty enjoyable. I knew more of their songs then I did All-American Rejects. And they made it fun. At the very end of the concert, when they sang Love Drunk, they insisted that everyone put up their phones and cameras, if we were sitting in the seats to get out on the floor, and we all just rocked out. I was a bit scared for Ashley, since she is so small. I didn't want her to experience death by mosh pit. But we had fun.
I have never gotten the opportunity to go to a concert like this. Most of the time I stick to my country music concerts. This was a completely different atmosphere, and I loved it. I did however, go to the concert with a cold and come out of it even more sick than before. But it was definitely worth it. I mean, I got to meet my favorite band. I will take having a cold any day if it means meeting and hugging Will Anderson :)
I can't wait for Parachute to come back to Utah. I hope the next time I see them live, it is just them performing. I would love to hear more of their songs live.
Great concert, great company, great bands. The end :)
Every once in a while, a girl just needs to visit her mom. I had that desire come in September I was stressed with work and bills and all that good adult stuff. I just wanted to get away. Luckily, my mom only lives about 10 hours away from me, so I took a day and a half off of work, got in my car and drove to visit her, my step dad, and my little brothers. We didn't do anything special, but that was ok with me. I enjoyed just hanging out at my Mommy's :).
I left work at noon on Friday and began the journey. I took some cool landscape pics on my phone, but haven't uploaded them to my computer yet. Driving on Highway 6 through Spanish Fork canyon allows you to see some pretty cool rock formations and such. I loved the scenery a LOT. And that's saying something because I'm not a huge fan of the mountains. I got to my mom's around 930 or so on Friday night. My little brothers got to stay awake to say hi to me and then my mom, step dad and I just kind of stayed up for a little bit longer to chat.
Saturday we went out for breakfast at this local Mexican food restaurant. While there, my youngest brother David asked me if I really had to come back to Utah. I told him that I did because I had to go back to work. He then said that I didn't have to go back. Mom could just give me an allowance if I stayed with them. I said "Well David, it's not that easy". And then David, being the smart 8 year old that he is said, "Well of course not Tara, you have to do your chores. . . " Oh how I love that boy. I sometimes wish I could go back to those days of getting an allowance and living at home. But alas, I have grown up.
After breakfast, Mike (my step dad), changed the oil in my car while Mom and I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some food for dinner and some snacks for my little brothers' soccer games. Then we all piled in the car to go to the soccer fields. My little brothers both play soccer and had games at the exact same time. Luckily their fields were back to back, so we got to watch both games at once. They both played goalie at the same time, and we were lucky that they were goal tending at back to back goal posts. I had never gotten the opportunity to see them play soccer, so I loved it! I don't know much about the sport, but it was fun!
My brothers before their games
David running back to the net after tossing the ball back into the game
Aryan goal tending like a champ
David and me after his game (which he won. He claims its because he was wearing the Maroon jersey).
Aryan and me after his game. (Which he lost. David says it's because his team won and Aryan's team always loses when David wins)
After soccer, we all went home and relaxed. It was hot outside during the games, so we all just needed to cool off. Once dinner time came around, Mom made me my favorite meal: Ranch Chicken and mashed potatoes. I LOVE that stuff! It was delicious! The rest of the evening was spent talking and relaxing.
On Sunday, we basically just hung out around the house. Mom made me another one of my favorite meals for dinner. At dinner, another awesome conversation took place between my brothers and me. I had asked Aryan and David what they wanted to be when they grew up. Neither one of them knew for sure. A few minutes later, David said that he wanted to be a Ninja. This is the conversation that followed:
D: I know what I want to be! A Ninja!
A: You know that Ninjas' have to live in like China or Russia, right?
D: Oh well then I'll just be a retired Ninja!
Oh if only it were that easy! I wish I could just skip to retirement right now too! At least I know he's my brother with that mentality!
This is how I awoke every morning. With a big Alaskan Malamute jumping onto my bed pretending to be a lap dog. And then a Chihuahua joining in because he wants to play. I loved it. Jake (the big one) is such a big cuddle bug! This is the best way to wake up :)
Monday morning I left my mom's to return to the real world :( I had an awesome weekend with my family. I love every minute I get to spend with them. I can't wait until Thanksgiving when I get to see my little brothers and mom again!
