Hola Mexico!

At the end of June we went to Mexico with a few friends and had the best time. Really, we couldn't have picked a better group! We started off with a few days of rain and I mean down pours but then ended off the week with lots of sunshine. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

We have fun on the beach, at the pools, had photo shoots, went snorkeling and even rode the spinnaker.

Music to my ears

Bonnaroo Music Festival - whew, what a sight to see! I never really thought I would step foot in the field known as Bonnaroo located in Manchester, TN. BUT when a friend says I can get you FREE tickets and my husband is dying to go, I decided to tag along. However, there were some rules for my participation:

1) We will NOT spend the night.

2) We will leave when I'M ready.

3) We're taking a car so I can get the heck out of dodge, if need be.

4) I will NOT be freaked out by what I may see.

5) Even though I don't know any of the music, I WILL have a good time.

So after I laid down the law, we were going. We ended up leaving the house around noon on Saturday. That was good. I knew we weren't staying all night so the less time there the better. It was hotter than a dickens and so dry. Just from walking through the dry fields and dirt our feet were SO dirty. Yuck it was disgusting. I saw girls with rain boots on because of all the dirt which I thought was a good idea but then I think about their sweaty feet in those boots. I think I'd rather have dirt......and I did.

Right when we got there I started to feel sick. I hadn't had much to eat since breakfast (by this time that had been a while ago) and the heat did not help. So I headed to the VIP tent that had air conditioning. Aaahh, a little relief. Then it was time to get ready for Nate's show. It was in a tent that had some air conditioning too. So by the time the show was over and we got outside it was actually pretty nice. We just missed the hottest part of the day. We were starving so we head to get pizza. I felt like I was just eating dirt with all the dust still flying around.

Nate's second show was ending so we went to meet him and spent some time in the Comedian VIP trailer. Now that was nice, a few snacks, water and air! We were talking about staying for Eminem (which didn't go on until 12:30am - OMG). So I wasn't thrilled but went with the flow. We stayed in the trailer until closer to show time then we walked all back stage hoping to get to sit with Nate and Laura with their VIP badges. Well we got right up to the gate, walked closely with Nate and got DENIED. So they herd us like cattle to another gate. We thought it was going to suck and we would just be out there with all the other fans. No special treatment??!? What?!?!? But I know Nate Bargatze! Have you seen my badge!?!?

They finally let us out and we are smack dab right in the middle of the mosh pit, 10 rows from the stage. Yes, I said mosh pit. I could not have been more annoyed. Mark was having the best time dancing (or what he calls dancing) his little heart out. That's all that matters, it was his birthday after all. I think it was over around 2am, way past my 9pm bedtime.

Laura and others waited around, not me, get me out of there. So we head for the car and we get lost. We have no idea where we are. We came out a different gate than we entered. So we were lost and Mark was not helping. He has NO sense of direction. I was crying, all I wanted to do was get home. A nice "cab" golf cart picked us up for $10 and took us right to the car. Best $10 ever spent!

So Bonnaroo, an experience that I think I can only handle one time.

Country Music Assocation Music Festival - now that's more my cup of tea. Although, I could have done without Taylor Swift. We ended our fun music weekend with the CMA concert at LP Field.

Paint + Zoo

We kept our niece, Rachel, for a weekend and of course it included the zoo and was full of girlie activities! Rachel (and Mark) love the zoo. Every time we keep her we HAVE to go. I'll admit I don't really get tired of it either. She loves the carousel, the birds and the giraffes.

We also went to paint pottery. Rachel painted a cupcake dish and a dinner plate with an "R" in the center. She did such a great job! It was a neat place and they had a large variety of items to paint. I think we'll have a date night there soon.

On the way home we saw the ducks at a nearby neighborhood entrance. They were very friendly and I was able to snack a few pictures.

We also painted fingernails and toenails, watched Rapunzel and Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue more than once.