Bonnaroo

I have a few things to catch up on (as usual) but I figured that I would write a little post about last weekend while it was still nice and fresh in my brain.

I'm sure by now most of you have heard about the music festival Bonnaroo, but you may not know that it happens only about an hour away from where we live, in Manchester TN. Because of the proximity, it seems that lots of Nashvillians have music connections with someone and happen to make it down to the festival last minute to hang out and enjoy some tunes... which is exactly what happened for us! our beautiful friend Anna works for an organization called Global Zero and was going to be at Bonnaroo all weekend with a tent set up, had a couple extra passes and needed some help staffing their table so she invited Keith and I along. We spent the entire week leading up going back and forth on our decision whether we were going to go or not, debating whether the pros out weighed the cons of camping and port o potties (and no showers) but in the end we packed up our Element and hit the road on Friday for Manchester. There were lots of obstacles that popped up Friday evening, but despite it all (and me telling Keith I just wanted to give up and go home) we finally made it in to the camp site and were able to listen to some great music.

The first thing we went to on Friday night after entering the festival was LUDACRIS. Craziness. Seriously though, it was insane haha. So much fun, and I can honestly say that I know a lot more Ludacris songs than I thought I did haha. Keith was hysterical with his singing and dancing (ATL pride) and after his set was done we listened to a little bit of Dawes then made our way to the GZ tent to drop our stuff and unite with friends. We heard some of St Vincent from our tent and then made our way to the insanity that was Radiohead. Thanks to my parents I've seen them a few times before so I had something to compare it to, and I must admit that this wasn't my favorite set of theirs. I don't think that it was because of Radiohead or how they played, I think it's just so hard to actually enjoy a show like theirs in a venue like that. Imagine 80,000 people all trying to be in the same place at the same time and you might have a better idea of the absolute battle we were facing haha. By the end of their two hour set I was literally asleep on my feet and we made our way back to our campsite to catch some sleep.

Saturday morning we fixed ourselves breakfast on the tailgate and packed up all our beers and lunches for the day to set out for the Global Zero tent. Keith and I didn't have many bands we wanted to see so we were content holding down the fort and talking to anyone we could about eliminating nuclear weapons haha. Keith wandered off a couple times to check out the craft beer tent, or Bad Brains and Flogging Molly. Later in the afternoon we stopped and watched the Punch Brothers before we headed off to the BBQ put on by a management company Keith works with. It was so stinking nice! Like a little oasis away from the smelly muddy people. We ate as much free food as possible and had quite a few beverages as well (free is free people!), I even got to go on my first tour bus! It was real fancy and comfortable, even if I was just there to go to the bathroom haha. Once it got dark out we went back to the GZ tent to hang out with Anna and Erin, tried to watch the Red Hot Chili Peppers, got annoyed with the huge crowd and then went back to the campsite for sleeping.

Sunday morning started with another comfy breakfast out of the back of our vehicle before heading into the festival grounds. We spent most of the afternoon at the GZ and then devising a schedule for who was going to see what and when so that there was always someone to watch the table and everyones stuff. Some of the bands we saw: our friend Ben in Fly Golden Eagle, The Beach Boys, BEN FOLDS FIVE!!!!. Bon Iver and fun. Such a great day of music, I only wish that the 6:00-8:00 block wasn't so packed with great things because I would have liked to see more of The Shins or to have made my way over to the Civil Wars. Still, we were very content. There was some hustle and confusion getting everything at the Global Zero tent packed up and put away but by around 10pm Keith and I were saying farewell to our Bonnaroo family and heading the 60 miles north back to Nashville.

Overall, we had a total blast. There were definitely some things that could have gone better or that we would do differently if we went again but we got to see a lot of great bands, and we had plenty of quality time with friends Anna and Erin (and new friend Will who was also there helping). Final verdict... I would go again. Only if we had vendor or artist passes though. General admission camping looked like an absolute nightmare of crazies and if we had been over there we wouldn't have been able to bring in any of our food and beer (which would have made for an extremely expensive weekend). Honestly, on Sunday I was kind of thinking to myself that if I could find a good shower that I wouldn't mind staying a little bit longer haha. But anyway... without further ado, here are some of our weekend photos (there are more on Erins camera and Keith's phone but I cannot be bothered with all that tonight haha):

Keith getting out of his mind for Ludacris

Sunset on Friday night.

The dusk sky was the best out in the middle of nowhere in Tennessee

Radiohead

Cuddled up on our air mattress in our Element. Seriously though, I wanna camp all the time no that I know how comfortable it is! No bugs and no threat of getting wet from rain. Win/win.

Erin in the GZ tent.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr in the Ford tent that was giving out bandanas filled with ice, hence our stopping by to watch them haha

Working the crowd.

Anna and I!

FREE ICE CREAM! Bonnaroo buzz just happens to be my actual favorite B&J's flavor too (coffee malt ice cream, whiskey caramel and heath bars. yum yum yum!)

Tour bus bathroom.

Anna dancing her brains out listening to a band from our tent spot.

Party animals

Anna, her friend Andrew and the terrible henna tattoo she gave him hahaha

Car campers :)

Ice cream lovers.

Soaking up all the Bonnaroo

At the Beach Boys showing off our Global Zero shirts

Ben Folds :):):)!

Bon Iver, another highlight

fun. !!! We had such a blast during their set!

<3 day 3 of no showers and still in love haha

Community

I mentioned this already, but this week was extremely busy. The ironic part was that all of the things we had to do were great, and included catching up with friends... but at the end of the week Keith and I are both just as tired and excited for a semi-planless weekend. 

Tuesday evening I had the pleasure of joining my favorite ladies in Nashville for dinner at Chuy's while our men were bro-ing it up at the newly opened Buffalo Wild Wings. It's been way too long since Jamie, Carolyn, Jordy and I have all gotten to get together and it was really great to have a few hours set aside to just enjoy each other's company. Even Sage got to join, and was such a little sweetie while we talked endlessly about Jordy and Trent's upcoming wedding. After dinner we met back up with the boys and had a little more hang out time before we needed to head home and get to bed. The only thing missing? The Meyer's! We all miss them lots and lots :(

2011 Review

Alrighty kids, it's time for a yearly review! 2011 was an extremely awesome year, and I can't believe all the things that have happened! Keith and I both got new jobs, we bought a second car, we saw lots of people get married, visited a few states, celebrated our first anniversary, ate at a lot of amazing new restaurants, played tourist in our own city and then Theo learned how to catch snakes (boo!) also, it was certainly the year for weddings and babies!! haha Here is our list of highlights:

In January, we rang in 2011 with friends Ryan and Chelsey and then visited New York City to have a belated Christmas with my parents and brother. We played lots of loaded questions with friends, and I took my students on a field trip to the museum. We became official Tennessee residents, it snowed a bunch, I got some awful food poisoning, helped friends move and then our blog turned one!

In February we started the month with a new job for Keith! Carolyn had a baby shower, we hosted a super bowl party and I discovered nutella cookies. I got nostalgic about old roommates, we finally organized our guest room, my cute valentine gave me the best gift ever: shaving that beard! and then I watched an inspiring film. Also, we bought our very own washing machine and dryer, and then I baked my first cake entirely from scratch!

March started with a Black History Month program at work, I baked a delicious crumb cake and our friends Isaac and Carolyn had their first child: the perfect little baby Sage! Keith came along on a field trip to see a Predators game and the next big event? MOM AND JOE-DAD GOT MARRIED!!! At the end of the month we enjoyed some great weather in the park with friends, there was an extremely scary shooting at work :/ but on a lighter note, we got to spend more time with beautiful little Sage.

April was pretty awesome! It started with Keith treating me to a Krispie Kreme date (or two), and then we road tripped to Georgia for Braves opening day. I helped throw a baby shower for Chelsey and we started our love affair with food trucks. Then it was party time! Keith and Jordie shared a birthday and Keith celebrated by getting a big green egg!

May: my parents came to Nashville for the first time! We had an awesome time sight seeing with them, and we even went to our first horse race in Kentucky. Then we hosted a pre-Easter BBQ to test out the grill, we got to see Jackie play roller derby in Clarksville, and played with Sage even more. Lastly? I took my students on a treacherous field trip to the Georgia Aquarium and wrote a manifesto about surviving such events haha.

June was packed and brought with it lots of heat and a ridiculous amount of cicadas :( but my camera was broken so I didn't take many pictures :/ we went to our first food festival, and I relished in my love for Keith after he surprised me with an iphone 4! I visited family in Florida for my cousins graduation which was bitter sweet because Keith couldn't get off work to come with me. But! when I returned we got to celebrate with Ryan and Chelsey as they welcomed their son Elliot! Keith and I got baptised, I went to Ruby Falls, we bought a new car! I had a yucky root canal, we BBQed with more friends, played with their babies and I got to teach art. Awesome, yet super busy month!

July was another crazy busy month, it started with my aunts and cousins visiting us from Florida. We got to do so many cool things with them, like taking a tour of the Jack Daniel's Distillery and Mammoth Caverns. I got to spend a day hiking and exploring Clarkesville with my friends Sara and Sarah, my students made even more art and I got home sick for Philadelphia. Then we flew to Florida for a long weekend to see our great friends Catie and Erick get married! I scanned some old family photos, camp finally ended and I worked on our heirloom book.

Then there was August... a trip to Georgia to have fun at 6 flags turned into me getting a horrible eye infection, I worked with a different camp for a week, I hung out with Chelsey and Elliot a BUNCH and Cheryl and Andrew stopped by for a quick visit. Keith refinished his drum set, Theo got fleas, and then we celebrated our first wedding anniversary with a trip to the zoo. We reminisced about our amazing wedding, then ate our delicious year old cake haha. Some other highlights were taking our first trip to Arrington Vineyards with Carolyn and Isaac, making dried fruit strips, and bringing Keith to my ultimate favorite vacation spot: Bald Head Island. Unfortunately Hurricane Irene had other plans for us, but we finished our vacation inland in North Carolina. Lastly, our first car Marty turned one!

September started with our beautiful friends Katelyn and Anna visiting from DC. We took an extreme amount of pictures, and even jumped off cliffs and danced at the Parthenon! I made recycled art with my students, and we had our first Mas Tacos experience. Then we enjoyed the weather cooling off, Keith started a band, Ben and Jackie visited, and we went to Georgia and stayed with Dane, Deb and their adorable children. Lastly, I got ready to start my new job, and Theo brought in his first snake, ugh. 

In October I blogged a lot! We started the month by taking advantage of the Goodwill half off Saturday, I zumba-ed, watched Elliot grow up so fast, and laughed when my friends joked about my hatred of horses. Then Jonathan and Erin visited, I went on my last field trip, started running more intensely, watched football with friends, celebrated Theo's 2nd birthday! and had a going away party for our sweet friends Ryan, Chelsey and Elliot. Theo continued to bring in more snakes, I made wedding decorations for Jonathan and Erin, we bowled with Brad and Jen, I made Reese's cups, Keith carved a ridiculous pumpkin and played ultimate frisbee, we said our last goodbyes to The Meyer's and I showed you a glimpse of my life as a portable art teacher. OH! and I made a dinosaur hoodie for a Halloween costume. Woof, that was a mouthful haha. 

November was full of traveling: it all started with Keith's band playing a show, then we went to Philadelphia for Dan and Aly's wedding. Within a few days of returning, we left town again for Jonathan and Erin's wedding in North Carolina. Both were EXTREMELY beautiful and so much fun! Out of nowhere we surprised everyone with news of Keith's new job, we had an awesome friends giving, and I celebrated turning 24 with a brand new computer! My friends threw me a party, I baked a pie, we had Thanksgiving in Georgia (with no arrests!) and my students made some awesome projects. 

Last but not least... December! Thanks for hanging in there if you've read all of this haha. We started the month by joining a CSA, then we got a Christmas tree, I had lots of fun at a girls night, we got our house all decorated and festive, I learned about the bike share program at the park and we got to babysit Sage. We celebrated the two year anniversary of our engagement, I cooked with purple peas, my students had an exhibit, we went to a Christmas party at Steve's, and I made a new year's bucket list (of which I've already crossed a few things off!) Our big December adventure was heading to Florida for a week to celebrate Christmas with my family and soak up all the warm weather that we could. Lastly, I shared this years Christmas card.

2011 definitely came with some highs and lows, but if I'm being honest, most of those lows hardly feel memorable at this point. We got to experience some amazing milestones, share our city with the friends and family that mean the most, and we got to visit so many of the people we love. This past year was filled with so much joy that we can easily brush the pain and the struggle aside, and move forward having learned valuable lessons. I can hardly believe how blessed we've been, and hope that that is just a sign that 2012 will be even bigger and better. I am so excited to see what is to come in the year ahead!

Lastly, I want to thank you all for reading our blog so faithfully, and taking the time to catch up with all that we have going on in our world. It means so much to hear that people enjoy reading what we have to say, and is such an encouragement to continually record and reflect on our lives. Love you all! Happy New Year!