Yeah Yeah Yeah

I rarely attend concerts. The Pixies and Glen Hansard, aka The Frames, were the last bands I was lucky enough to see. But when I saw that my all time favorite punk rock garage band, Yeah Yeah Yeahs decided to grace the SLC with their presence I had to go.

Opening for the YYYs was Yacht, an indie electronica duo that have been supporting the YYY's on this tour. The girl/boy band dressed in contrasting black and white and with her bleached hair next to his black do', they evoked a ying and yang aura as they sung about the afterlife with an 80's flair set to deep bass lines. Though they only sung to the back beat, their energy on stage demanded your respect.

Yact left the stage smokin' and the audience stoked for the YYY's. Every light or sound check seemed to tease us and made the wait worse. But finally, after three years of enjoying the YYY sound and anticipating every new album release, the wait was over!

They absolutely rocked! Their setlist was more than I could have imagined. In fact after reviewing the YYY forum, I found we were able to witness songs that weren't played in other cities! The fans in these other cities hearts seemed to sink as they responed to the SLC setlist.

Karen O's performance was just as I expected; loud and obnoxiously energetic like an 80's jazzercise workout. Having explosions of Y shaped silver confetti rain over the crowd, watching Karen body slam the speaker stack and wind up her mic, spin it over her head, only to let it repeatedly crash to the stage at the end of the set (after sweaty encore) as a sacrifice to an utterly perfect and rockin' show, was euphoric.

Regardless of their rich kid-NYC upbringing the trio love their style of neo-garage punk and it showed. Look for Karen's classic voice in the upcoming movie "Where the Wild Things Are".

What Happens in Costco, Stays in Costco

Mare: Ava, tell Daddy what happen at the store today.
Ava: ...blank stare
Mare: Were you kicking Mommy at the store?
Ava: Yeah. Daddy, I kicked mommy, and it wasn't nice.
Mare: Thats right! Tell Daddy what happend after that.
Ava:(After a long pause) "...then it got weird!"

32 Years and Still Cookin'

Happy Birthday to my sweet Jonny; to whom all the cliches apply and none does justice. I love you!

Kool-Aid Points, the Poor Man's Stock

Economic downturn knows no bounds when even the Kool-Aid man gets the axe! When 10 years ago I decided to clip and keep Kool-Aid points, for purely selfish reasons, I never would have thought that their future worth would be less than the foil-backed paper they were printed on.

Anyone who has seen the inside of our pantry knows of a little blue Tupperware box that holds tons of one square centimeter bits of paper. Their “agreed” value is pretty much meaningless since you would have needed hundreds of these Kool-Aid points in exchange for even a Kool-Aid man ball point pen. If you wanted a T-shirt, well, you would better be sweating Kool-Aid!

I knew I most likely would never redeem them so saving them was novel at best, but I recently discovered that Kraft Foods has discontinued their points program altogether! I was also surprised to see that no news channels have covered this story, not even Fox! Therefore, I have taken upon myself to get the word out!

In finality, Kraft Foods has posted a deadline of June 30^th of this year to submit all unused Kool-Aid Points in exchange for prizes. To say the least, in memoriam, I will be filling out my official points redemption form for my first and final pursuit of Kool-Aid prizes. My goal; an official Kool-Aid Man brand plastic pitcher. Cross your fingers in hopes that it will be big enough to hold more than a cup of Kool-Aid refreshment. (for those in suspense, I will keep you posted)

So, farewell Kool-Aid points! I guess, it’s true when they say no one is safe in a capitalistic society as this was truly the poor man’s stock! Thank you for years of instilling in us all a fleeting hope for cheap prizes and also for giving us an elementary understanding of what "empty stocks" mean. I bid thee a respectful, OH, YEAH!!

In case you also have unused points:

http://brands.kraftfoods.com/koolaid/KoolSpace/KoolPoints/KoolPointsForm.pdf

Meet the Jensens

Congratulations to my sister, Emily, and her new husband, Joel, on their marriage this past month. They are the perfect match and I know they have many years of happiness ahead! The bride looked gorgeous (as she always does), the weather was clear and sunny, the groom was positively glowing, and the ceremony made me cry. What more can you hope for on your wedding day?

I'm sure Jon and Ross are now relieved that they're not so strongly outnumbered among the Gibson girls. We love you Emunny and Joel!

A Lesson in Taxidermy

While Marianne is living it up with friends, Manhattan style, Ava and I decided to indulge in some wanderlust and head to Wyoming. While the weather didn't quite cooperate, Jackson was the quietest I have ever expierenced it, giving Ava and I lots of space to reconnect while wandering the boardwalk town.

It is no secret however that Ava is not a shopper. She grimaces at the thought of browsing and I think I heard her mumble something under her breath when I told her we were going to walk around town to window shop. But, regardless, her charming wit had perfect timing while we walked through a store naming the several stuffed game animals on display and mimicked the sounds they make...well made, when we came to stare up at a large, shaggy moose. Without thinking I asked her what he would say (while standing there stuffed, staring blankly in a store) instead of asking what do moose say, in general. Without skipping a beat and with a bit of a grimace on her face, she growled in her best moose impersonation, "Oooo...I am not feeling too good"!
You had to be there.

The Hazards of Twirling

Ava is not very girly in any of the stereotypical girly ways. She doesn't like to play dress up and prefers balls, cars and sand over any doll. But she does love shoes, painted toenails, and twirling around in circles in a pretty dress. Even if she's not wearing a dress.

One afternoon I'm chatting on the phone in Ava's room as she's twirling around and laughing hysterically as she falls crashing to the floor. Predictably, she falls in random, ingenuous ways. Sure enough, I watch as she headplants directly into her dresser and promptly punctures a hole in her forehead on the drawer pull.

While there is screaming and some blood trickling down her forehead, both the crying and bleeding stop remarkably fast and since she is normally quite the drama queen for pain I figure that it really must not hurt that bad. (She is pretty alarmed when she reaches up to touch it and sees her own blood for the first time.) Still, there is a bit of a gaping hole in the flesh; too small for a stitch but open and deep enough to leave a nice scar. So I decide that a nurse needs to at least look at it. Ava becomes much more worried about the impending visit to the doctor's office but the magic of being three means you can now talk her through most events. We walk in the door with her blaringly red juicy wound preceding us and when the nurse comes to help, Ava understates "I got an owie!" I was surprised at how grown up she was throughout the whole thing after I reassured her how nice the nurse would be. So Ava's forehead is steri-stripped and bandaged and we're on our way.

Oh and by the way, that bandage was glued on so tight that removing it a week later was more traumatic than the whole ordeal combined.

Typical Spring Evening

If the weather is nice, this is exactly what you'll find each of us doing with some free time on any given evening.

Ava making sand cakes

Jon playing grease monkey

And me? I'm behind the camera, of course, practicing my photography and feeling content to see my happy family !

True Story

One day, long, long ago, there lived a woman
Who did not whine, nag, or bitch.


But it was a long time ago, and it was just that one day.

The End

(Thanks Maggie, for making me laugh!)

Footloose and Fancy Free

The Bean discovered the pure joy of a Hippity-Hop!

Buzz Lightyear Loves Brownie Batter

Skywalker

Ava: I can't reach the clouds!
Mare: You can't? Why?
Ava: I want to walk on them, they are fluffy.
Mare: They would be fluffy to walk on.
Ava: Can't reach.....I forgot my ladder. (with a scowl)

With a little whipped cream

Ava: I'm small.
Marianne: Yes, but you're very beautiful!
A: Yeah. Ava have pretty hair. Mommy is tall. And Daddy is tall.
M: You're right. What does Daddy look like?
A: Daddy have brown hair and green eyes.
M: Is Daddy fat or is he skinny?
A: He's skinny.
M: What does Daddy smell like?
A: Blueberries!!