Michael Jackson lives

By K.J. Cardinal

This is rather freaky, but it looks as if Michael Jackson lives.

Monster Mash: Cardinal Edition

By Katie Cardinal

I thought this would get us into the Halloween Spirit!!!

Monkey highlights Hudson Halloween

By K.J. Cardinal

After cruising to a 23-10 victory over Candy Corn in the annual Cardinal Blog Halloween Poll, Anna "Monkey" Cardinal stole the show for Hudson Halloween.

Every Halloween, Hudson closes Main Street downtown and local businesses open their doors to trick or treaters for two hours. It's the first time I've partaken in the festivities and it was quite a scene.

Sure there were hundreds and hundreds of other kids and even dozens and dozens of other monkeys, but I think my monkey took the cake.

Angie, Sammy and I decided to walk downtown since parking is a disaster and it's just over a mile to downtown. It was a nice night, so we popped Anna into the MacPac, which she loves, and off we went.

Anna was really more interested in people watching and just walking in the middle of the closed street than scoring candy, but we still had a blast.

Hudson Halloween marked the second trick-or-treating session for Anna as she went to Intel Halloween on Tuesday night at Angie's work. The "real" trick-or-treating is Saturday night, so she'll have plenty of candy.

While we were downtown, we decided to go to the Horseshoe Pub for dinner. Anna was a good eater, so we decided to let her experience her first-ever Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Her reaction was simply priceless... I am so bummed I didn't get video footage of her because she was so giddy.

NOTE: The active followers of The Cardinal Blog proved that they are rather soft and/or care about Anna a lot as only two people voted for the Poodle (which Anna didn't want to wear) in the Halloween Poll.

VOTE NOW: Halloween poll closes today

By K.J. Cardinal

For the third-straight year, the faithful followers of The Cardinal Blog will be able to determine which adorable Halloween costume Anna dons for a night of trick-or-treating.

Last year your voices were heard as Anna had a yabba dabba doo time as Pebbles Flintstone. While in 2007, a three-week-old Anna rocked a chili pepper costume at the request of the masses.

So, we are keeping the tradition alive in 2009. Your choices this year are Candy Corn, a Poodle or a Monkey.


For some reason, Anna refuses to try the Poodle costume on. So, if that's the people's choice, then hopefully she'll come to her senses. The polls will close at the end of the day TODAY so be sure to vote now!

Note: You facebookers out there, log on to TheCardinalBlog.com to cast your vote today!

Fireworks never sounded so good

By K.J. Cardinal

I know this is probably the first blog post ever regarding fireworks in the month of October, but I had to share this.

On Saturday night, there were fireworks in Hudson as part of the Pumpkin Festival. We had no idea that fireworks were going to be that night, but it was definitely a welcomed surprise.

I started to hear the pops of the fireworks and I bundled Anna up and we went outside to take a look. It was obviously pitch black out, so I couldn't get any video of her reaction, but this audio is priceless.

Take a listen and I think you'll agree that fireworks have never sounded so good.

2009 Halloween polls are open!

By K.J. Cardinal

For the third-straight year, the faithful followers of The Cardinal Blog will be able to determine which adorable Halloween costume Anna dons for a night of trick-or-treating.

Last year your voices were heard as Anna had a yabba dabba doo time as Pebbles Flintstone. While in 2007, a three-week-old Anna rocked a chili pepper costume at the request of the masses.

So, we are keeping the tradition alive in 2009. Your choices this year are Candy Corn, a Poodle or a Monkey.


For some reason, Anna refuses to try the Poodle costume on. So, if that's the people's choice, then hopefully she'll come to her senses. The polls will close at the end of the day on Monday, October 26, so be sure to get your votes in soon!

Note: You facebookers out there, log on to TheCardinalBlog.com to cast your vote today!

Pack Network dominates two-year-old girl demographic

By K.J. Cardinal

Not sure this is something to boast about or not, but the latest Pack Network-produced video spot has proven to be a HUGE hit with the two-year-old girl demographic.

I completed this video for America East earlier tonight and when Anna got home I just happened to play it at the kitchen table while she was eating dinner... and, she LOVED it.

She would freak out and dance while it was on and then ask "Again? Again? Again?" when it would stop. So, I did what any normal person would do and I captured her reaction through the iSight camera on my MacBook while she watched.

To get the full feel for what I'm talking about, watch the America East commercial first...



[WATCH MOVIE]

... and, then watch Anna's reaction. It's priceless.



[WATCH MOVIE]

As an aside, after emailing the commercial to my friend at America East for approval, I also sent him the video of Anna. He loved it... but proceeded to accidentally send the video along to some colleagues instead of the real video. Ooops, but he said that Anna now has a few more fans :)

Wellllll... well, it's the Big Show

By K.J. Cardinal

Following in the footsteps of Maria Menounos, I think that Anna is about ready to take the plunge into the world of professional wrestling.

For some strange reason, Anna has developed this habit over the last couple days of slipping her right arm out of her shirt, through the neck hole, in an attempt to mimic former WWF wrestler, The Big Show.


When I was in college, a few of my friends and I would sing the opening line to The Big Show's entrance music "Wellllll... well, it's the Big Show" (click here to listen), every time that we'd see a girl wearing one of those stupid shirts that had just one strap going over one shoulder. So, I am compelled to bust out that tune every time Anna does the same.


Anyway, someday we will all look back and laugh at the day when Anna was dressing like a professional wrestler... I have no idea where she gets this stuff...

A princess is married

By K.J. Cardinal

There have been certain moments in Anna's life that have been cute and we all laugh and embrace the joy that is Anna, but then there are moments like Saturday that are just so adorable that it makes you love kids so much and feel so lucky to have them in your life.

In the third and final installment of "A George wedding: A Pete and Gail production", Suzanne and Chris got married on Saturday in a thoughtful day of festivities. The day had many highlights, which I'll get to in a minute, but I can't bury the lead here.

As some of you may know, Anna has this love affair with princesses. Whether it's Snow White, Tinkerbell, Ariel from Under the Sea or any other beautiful woman in a pretty dress, Anna loves them.

Well, Suzanne, adorned in a beautiful dress of her own, became Anna's favorite princess. While on the dance floor during the reception, Anna was pointing to Suzanne and saying "Dance with princess, dance with princess". It was so precious.

The absolute best part of this came late in the night when Anna was exhausted and wanted to dance with the princess. Suzanne was gracious enough to dance with Anna... and nearly put her to sleep. Anna was in her glory.

Thanks so much Suzanne for taking time out of your special day to turn the day into a special day for Anna too. It was definitely one of those moments in Anna's life that I will personally never forget and I'm glad you were a part of it too.

The day had many other amazing moments as well, and for me, none was more moving than the stirring rendition of "The Wedding Song" that my Dad played during the ceremony. He can play that song a million times and every time I'll get all choked up. He has played it at dozens of weddings, but when he plays it now, I am brought back to that day in June of 2003 when he played it at Tiffany and Pete's wedding. One of the best moments in Cardinal history.

The seasoned veteran Andrew was ring bearer yet again and did another spectacular job. As you can see in the photo at right, Andrew is all business with his important wedding duties. Seeing him a little suit and tie just cracks me up.

Andrew, Natalie and Anna tore it up on the dance floor, creating quite a spectacle at times for everyone to see as well.

I have tons of video footage from the night, which I will post at some point. Until then, enjoy this video I put together. If you can watch this clip without getting teary-eyed, you're a bigger man than I. Congrats Suzanne and Chris!



[WATCH MOVIE]

Where is thumbkin?

By K.J. Cardinal

Earlier this week, Angie, Sammy and I were watching TV in the livingroom and Anna was in the kitchen playing with her toy kitchen.

She was being good as gold and then all of a sudden breaks out into the cutest version of "Where is thumbkin?" that anyone has ever heard. It was so priceless because we had never sang that song to her before, so she clearly learned it at daycare.

I missed the beginning of the song because I couldn't get my phone out fast enough. Anyway, here's what I got... I think you'll agree it's adorable.



[WATCH MOVIE]

Dinner with Anna

By K.J. Cardinal

Grab a plate and take seat. Just a typical night of dinner with Anna.


[WATCH MOVIE].

A stroll with Anna

By K.J. Cardinal

I have been trying to make it a ritual of going for a walk with Anna every day. There are obviously some days when it just can't be done, but we try our best.

She absolutely loves getting outside and walking around the loop. Her favorite parts are seeing this dog down the street that's almost always outside and stopping to pick up as many acorns as her little hands can hold.

In this little clip though, the doggy's not outside and Anna concludes he must be taking a nap... then she stops to get her fair share of acorns. Enjoy!


[WATCH MOVIE]..

Anna turns two

By K.J. Cardinal

My baby... well, she's not a baby anymore.

The age of two is really the point in my mind when I feel that kids become kids and they are no longer babies or infants. She's a kid.

This realization saddens me quite a bit and, for some reason, every one of Anna's age-related milestones seem to turn more and more introspective for me. I mean this day is definitely all about her, but I can't help but think of how much she means to me, how much she has changed me and how much she motivates me.

The impact that Anna has had on my life is unfathomable... I couldn't imagine how I'd feel if I actually gave birth to her.

Anyway, Anna dove head first into her third year of life, literally. This morning, Anna went "ass over tea-kettle" (definitely a Kimism) as she fell down three stairs before Angie caught her.

Despite landing on her face (don't worry, Meme, she's OK), Anna got up and asked Ang to kiss her finger... so we knew she wasn't hurt that badly.

I guess the "terrible twos" have officially arrived. Excuse me while I batten down the hatches.

Something fishy

By K.J. Cardinal

There was definitely something fishy about Anna's second birthday party today. I'm not referring to the Finding Nemo theme, highlighted by the AMAZING Nemo cake made by Aunt Kate, but rather Anna's behavior.

On the eve of her second birthday, Anna was an absolute angel all day long. This absolutely seems fishy to me.

Should we call it the calm before the storm? Her "terrible twos" officially begin tomorrow at 5:47 p.m., so is this just one last day to be blessed by such a well-behaved little girl? I'm not trying to jinx her good behavior, but I'm just being realistic.

Anyway, as you can see, we celebrated Anna's second birthday today.

Sammy gave the house an underwater theme with balloon bubbles, streamer jelly fish and real beta fish for each kid to take home. Then, Aunt Kate arrived to put the finishing touch on the theme... an unbelievably real-looking Nemo cake.

I don't know how the heck she does it, but Aunt Kate definitely has a ridiculous talent with these cakes. What made Nemo look so true to his character were his eyes... definitely a spitting image from the movie. Thanks so much Aunt Kate, I know it was tons of work.

After cake, Anna opened up her presents and boy oh boy was she spoiled. Every gift she received was very thoughtful and in the five hours since opening all gifts, Anna has spent some solid time playing with each and every thing. Thank you all for the wonderful gifts... I particularly loved the crayons sent by Aunt Carol and Uncle Bill... such a perfect blog-themed gift!

The best part of the day for me was just being able to hang out with our families. It was so great to see everyone and being able to have Anna, Andrew, Natalie, Ryan and Julia interact was pretty cool. They were all so well-behaved all day... not just Anna.

I'm pretty sure that everyone in attendance was in their glory watching the kiddos play. This picture can serve as Exhibit A... everyone's watching the kids go after the pinata candy. Good times.

Thanks again and I'll have more tomorrow on my little girl that's (gulp) turning two.

Anna goes to Berlin Orchards

By K.J. Cardinal

This morning Anna and I took advantage of the nice weather and headed to Berlin Orchards for pumpkin and apple picking.

If you remember, we went there last year and Anna liked it, but she was so much more into it this year. Her favorite part of the day was absolutely the hay ride... or as she calls it "ride the tractor".

[WATCH MOVIE].

Surprise party again

By K.J. Cardinal

Friday marked Angie's birthday and for the second-straight year I was able to pull off a surprise party in her honor. I don't intend to do this every year, but I figured that she definitely wouldn't expect it this year since I had her surprise 30th last year.

Instead of a party at the homestead, I opted for a group dinner out at Lotus Blossom in Sudbury. A grand total of 17 of us were in attendance, so it was quite the gathering.

Angie had no idea, which was even better. Horrible traffic all over Massachusetts had most people showing up after we arrived, but I actually think that worked out better because Angie had no idea who was showing up. So, every five or 10 minutes another surprise guest would show up. It was fun.

Anna was so well-behaved it was somewhat shocking. Not that she's a bad girl that often, but a 2+ hour dinner usually comes with some issue. Her good behavior can be credited to Scott, Aunt Kate and Norm.

Those three were all over Anna and she was all over them. All-in-all a great night. A handful of people came back to the house for a little after party, which escalated quickly and before I knew it, it was 4 a.m. Yikes.

Happy birthday Ang! You're the best wife/friend and mother to my baby that I could ever ask for... but goodness you're old :P

Pack Network responsible for blog post shortage

By K.J. Cardinal

Work has been very busy and I think it's fair to say that Pack Network is solely responsible for the lack of blog postings over the past two months.

Anyway, I at least wanted to share a video sample of what I've been doing so you don't think I'm completely slacking. Enjoy!

Finding Nemo and Anna

By K.J. Cardinal

Anna's second birthday is coming up in a few weeks (October 5 to be exact) and we decided to have a Finding Nemo theme to the party.

Aunt Kate (or as Anna says "Aunt Cake") is fittingly enough going to be making Anna a cake to follow the theme, so I thought it was equally appropriate to have the invitations follow suit.

So here's what I concocted...


I think it's rather hilarious, but Anna doesn't quite know what to make of it. If you point to Nemo and ask her "Who's that?" She says "Nemo". If you point to Dori and ask her "Who's that?" She says "Dori". But when you point to the fish with Anna's face and ask her "Who's that?" She's unresponsive.

I have definitely stumped her with that. I'm trying to teach her that it's "Anna", but she's not having it quite yet.

NOTE: I'd like to apologize to our extended family (especially the Lord clan) and friends that we were unable to invite to the party. Our house isn't that big and by just inviting immediate family we are probably violating major fire codes... d*mn Portuguese :) Anyway, I hope you all understand. For really big occasions, we'll be sure to throw monumental rippers for Anna and you can all celebrate with us then.

Pete wins club championship

By K.J. Cardinal

As some of you may have heard (or followed my updates on Twitter), Pete George won the Farmington Country Club Championship back on September 7.

It was my first time ever going to the club championship and it was a lot of fun to follow the final pairing around the course. The 36-hole, one-day match actually had to go to a playoff, where Pete took home the title on the second playoff hole.

Pete was playing in his ninth club championship, so it was so great to see him take home his first title. I would just like say that I did not attend his first eight championship matches, so naturally, I feel as if I'm Pete's good luck charm.

Anyway, the only thing on the day that I found more impressive than Pete's play was the support of the George family. Pete's mom, wife, kids, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, friends, etc. were all on hand to root Pete on and to witness the joyous occasion. Probably a gallery of around 50 people.

It was really something to see and just goes to show you how much that entire family cares for one another. Top to bottom, the George family is absolutely amazing and some of my favorite people in the entire world bear the last name George.

Congrats Pete on the title and for having a championship-caliber family as well.



[WATCH MOVIE]

Cool dude

I just took the below photo of Anna and when I showed it to her, she said "Cool dude!"

'Nuff said.

Anna shuns broken crayons

By K.J. Cardinal

While coloring at the kitchen table tonight, Anna displayed her disdain for broken crayons by segregating the busted, dyed wax.

I tried to integrate the shunned crayons back into the mix, but Anna wasn't having it as she said, "Stop Daddy."

Broken crayons need not apply.

Andrew unplugged

By K.J. Cardinal

During our 2009 Cardinal family vacation back in July, Andrew tore the roof off the place with this unplugged set. I love how he takes requests...



[WATCH MOVIE]

Twinkle, twinkle

By K.J. Cardinal

Yesterday morning Anna woke up early, so I put her into bed with me and she decided to sing me a lullabye...

Click here to listen to her adorable rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Goggles

By K.J. Cardinal

This clip is a few months old, but timeless nonetheless...



[WATCH MOVIE]

Pick Here

By Aunt Cake and Norm

On Friday, Anna took a road trip with Aunt Cake and Norm to see Meme and Papa. We had a surprise visit from Aunt Tiff, Andrew and Nat Nat at Butternut Farm for a killer fruit picking session. Instead of blogging it, we put together a video of Anna's big day that includes her rockin' out on the ride up, telling everyone she is going to "Papa and Meme's house", going 1-on-1 with a stubborn apple and singing 'Twinkle Little Star.'

B-I-N-G-O

By K.J. Cardinal

I can't wait for a 50-year old Ryan Seacrest to roll this video on American Idol in 17 years when Anna's a finalist. It really shows her creativity as an artist too, as she "made it her own" by repeating B-I-N-G-O way too many times.



[WATCH MOVIE]

Isn't she...

... the cutest?

Back to School...

By Katie Cardinal

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been super busy with work, family, friends, and this new awesome thing I like to call my BOYFRIEND!!! I thought it'd be a good idea just to catch everyone up on my life and to tell you all that I miss you like crazy!

So, I have a new boyfriend (for those of you who don't know). His name is Norm and he's the sweetest, most adorable guy I've ever seen in my life. He actually works for KJ (yes, he passed the KJ test) and also works at Whole Foods in Boston(he's a health food nut - perfect!). Norm and I just got a cute little apartment in Newburyport while I'm still going to school at UNH. This was a BIG MOVE for Norm, considering he's about 55 minutes from work now, when he was only 10 minutes away living in Somerville. As you can tell, he's quite a charmer :) We've been really busy lately setting everything up and making some delicious dinners for each other (last night we had roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and stuffing). We're hoping that as we get settled maybe you guys can come up to visit. Newburyport is an adorable little town with lots of cool shops, bars, and tons of BOATS! We're one street away from where the Newburyport "strip" begins...so no driving is needed just to hang out and have fun. Obviously the summer time is the best time here because of all the boats, but we're pretty excited to see what it's like in the Fall/Winter. Oh, and did I mention I feel like I need to walk around with a sweater tied around my shoulders (Carlton style) because everyone's so wealthy here - EEK it's so fun!

Other than that I'm just getting ready for school, which starts on Monday. I'm taking a lot of cool classes this semester where I'll get to work out and cook lots of food, so I'm kind of looking foward to that.

I've been going to quite a few other concerts lately. I've been to two Keith Urban concerts since I've posted last, both of which I got to touch Keith AGAIN, and one of which I was FRONT ROW on the catwalk! I took Mom, Dad, and Norm to a Darius Rucker concert last Friday night at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom and boy did he knock our socks off. The concert was Dad's Father's Dad Present and I think I may have secured the top two daughter of the year position for my family. Tonight my friend, Sydney, and I are headed to Connecticut to see Luke Bryan and on Saturday we're off to New York to see Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley. Lastly, on Sunday Vicky and I are off to Meadowbrook to see Luke Bryan and Big & Rich (Vicky has a meet & greet). I'm really excited for all these concerts, but definitely going to miss all the commotion when school starts back up on Monday. At least I have next summer to look foward to.

Sorry for the kind of lame post, just wanted to keep you all informed :)

A weekend in the Hill

By K.J. Cardinal

This weekend we made a solid road trip up to Blue Hill, Maine, the hometown of Scott.

He threw a "ripper" at his parents' house that lasted three days and we had such a blast.

On Friday, we picked up Sammy from work at the Natick YMCA at 1:30 and headed right up to Maine from there. We knew the ride was going to be 4+ hours, but what we didn't know was that we'd hit traffic, accidents and construction along the way to REALLY slow us down.

We didn't end up getting to Blue Hill until 7:30, but we were so happy and surprised how well Anna did in the car. We actually got in the car to run errands and what not at about 12:30 and only made one stop on the way up (at LL Bean in Freeport to get a new tent).

So, Anna was in the car for pretty much seven straight hours and was as good as gold. We certainly are lucky with her in that regard. Not much is worse than a screaming kid in a car.

Anyway, Friday night we set up camp in the Murphy's backyard, grilled out and just hung out all night. It was a great mix of people... about half of the Surf with Murph crew and then a handful of other peeps that couldn't make that trip to Hawaii.

Scott's parents are so great... not surprising, I guess. But, Angie and I were glad to finally get to spend some time with the creators of the one-of-a-kind, Scott Murphy. Jim and Linda definitely reminded me of my parents in quite a few ways, but none more evident then their hospitality. Definitely made us feel like we were at home all weekend long and were never shy to try to push all kinds of food and drink on us. Thanks!

On Saturday, we really wanted to have Scott show us what the area was all about. This, naturally, meant a trip to Acadia National Park.

I had never been to Acadia before, but I'm really glad that we went. You could easily spend a few weeks up there hiking, camping and seeing every nook and cranny of the park, but Murph just took us to the highlights.

The biggest highlight of all was Cadillac Mountain. The drive up to the top was impressive enough, but the view at the top was nothing short of spectacular... as you can see in the family photo above.

After spending the day in Acadia, we ventured back to Blue Hill for a straight-up lobster feast. Scott's best friend from home, Adam (pictured left), is a lobster fisherman, so he got us a smoking deal on the 30 lobsters.

Adam gave Anna and her new "friend" Collin, an up close and personal look at the lobsters. He did the classic "put the lobster to sleep" trick and was explaining to all of us different parts of the lobster.

I have seriously eaten lobster my whole life and I learned some stuff from him that I never knew before... it was pretty cool.

Anna and Collin had sparked their friendship earlier in the afternoon, but by dinner time the two were getting pretty close. Collin, Scott's three-year-old God son, came up to me before dinner and said "May Anna have dinner with me?"

It was so hilarious and so cute. They then sat down and enjoyed dinner for three... Collin's one-year-old sister Mave joined them as well.

After dinner Anna chased Collin around the hot tub for about 30 minutes. It was a win-win for both us and Willie and Gina, Collin's parents, as it tuckered the little ones out.

On Sunday morning, Collin had to leave early and Anna was pretty upset. She was crying and staring out the window as they walked down the driveway. I think Collin might be Anna's first crush.

We hit up Marlintini's for a little local flavor for lunch and then came the Blue Hill tour. The downtown area is small, but definitely what comes to mind when you think of a small seaside Maine town.

The highlight of the day came when we stopped at the Blue Hill Park. It was low tide, so the water was very low, causing lots of mud on the beach area.

Anna wanted to go in the water, so we just let her have at it... fully clothed and all. It was so funny because she got her feet stuck in the mud and couldn't move. She starts yelling "stuck" and then "help me"! Take a look at the video below.

Also in the video, you'll see Scott and some others standing on top of a rock. During high tide, the water comes about halfway up the rock and people jump off of it. I wish we could've done that, but didn't hit it up at the right time.

All-in-all a fantastic weekend. Thanks so much to Scott and the Murphy's for having us over. We had an absolute blast.


[WATCH MOVIE]

My sunshine

By K.J. Cardinal

As it has been well-chronicled on this blog, Anna LOVES music. Her head-bobbing and dancing has now naturally progressed into singing.

She's still putting it together and needs some help, but her latest rendition of "You are my sunshine" goes to the top of the charts in my eyes.



[WATCH MOVIE]

"I love you, Mommy"

By K.J. Cardinal

Earlier this week Angie had to go out to Ludlow for the night for an evening wake and a morning funeral.

Needless to say, we missed her while she was gone and I sent Ang this little clip of Anna to cheer her up. It made her night and mine too... enjoy!



[WATCH MOVIE]

Intel Family Day 2009

By K.J. Cardinal

Anna's Wednesday was filled with many firsts as we took her to the annual Intel Family Day here in Hudson.

She was able to get her first taste of Italian ice and cotton candy, pet an alligator and play Rock Band.

We had fun walking around to all the different things to do. The coolest thing they had was this "airigamist" (www.airigami.com) that takes balloons to make structures and whatnot. In the photo above, Anna is standing in front of a tropical picnic scene all made of balloons... palm trees, blanket, picnic basket, etc. Pretty neat.

Anna was a good girl and sat still while she had three stars painted on her leg. I didn't think she'd be able to pull this off, but she was as good as could be and was happy to ask for yellow and blue stars.

It was pretty funny watching Anna walk around after having the stars painted on her legs because she'd walk with her head down, staring at her new artwork. Reminds me of the video of me running down the court staring at my new basketball shoes when I was five-years-old... I should post that at some point.

Anyway, after the painting, we cruised through the little petting zoo they had set up. Anna really loves animals and never seems to be afraid of them. She wanted to go right over to this alligator and pet him.

We capped off the day with a stirring rendition of Eye of the Tiger by Angie, Sammy and Anna. They had Rock Band set up in a conference room and people could just go in and jam. As you will see, Anna was into it, but didn't want Mommy to use her symbol...



[WATCH MOVIE]

Pretty good times. Thanks Intel.

Hampton Beach with Meme & Papa

By K.J. Cardinal

This past weekend we went camping at Hampton Beach State Park with Meme and Papa and we had a blast.

Anna got her first real experience of playing at the beach. She's been a handful of times before, but it was the first time this summer that she went to the ocean. As you can probably imagine... she LOVED the waves.

When we first got down to the water, Anna didn't know quite what to make of it all. She needed a minute or two to take it all in and then she wanted to venture into the water to figure it out.

After she got over the chilly, 63 degree water temp, she was ready to conquer the waves. I got some footage of her first trips into the water with Meme & Papa...



[WATCH MOVIE]

The weekend was a good precursor to our week-long vacation that awaits us next week. The entire Cardinal clan will be together up on the North Conway side of the Saco River. We can't wait!

That's quacktastic

By K.J. Cardinal

This video is a few weeks old, but priceless nonetheless. As you will see, Anna LOVES it when I make duck noises. She's so much fun. Enjoy!



[WATCH MOVIE]

Natalie...15 months (and a day)

By Tiffany George

First of all, I need to thank KJ for putting up pictures of my cuties along with the photos of Anna, because I have been seriously delinquent in that department. We got a new computer and need to get a device to put our camera card into, so for now, this post will be photo-free. Sorry!

Oh, I just wish you all could see Natalie Jane in action. She is such a little blessing. She is the happiest, friendliest baby you could ever see. No matter where we go, she waves to everyone and won't stop until they wave back. She also says "hi" which is just priceless. We went away this past weekend to Lincoln, NH, and after breakfast one morning, she walked along the entire restaurant, waving good-bye to every person at every table. This is just typical Natalie in action. She also LOVES to run around in a mall, grocery store, or anywhere with open spaces and lots of people. Aside from babies, she also adores dogs. Go figure!

Her hair is really growing in now, and it is CURLY. It so so sweet! The curls are mainly in the back, but the hair growing in on top is curly as well. We have appropriately started calling her Curly Sue, and Andrew has picked right up on this. If he's not calling her Curly Sue, he calls her NaTaLEE (which he can now pronounce correctly in its entirety), baby, or beautiful.

Andrew and Natalie still absolutely adore each other. Andrew is so nice to her almost all of the time. He doesn't mind if she lays on him, pulls his hair, or steals his food. I can't imagine him being a nicer, more kind boy. Last night before bed, Natalie kept grabbing onto Andrew's jammie shirt while she dragged him all over the place. He just giggled and giggled, making her giggle all the more.

And while Natalie loves to blow kisses to anyone departing, she is quite stingy with giving out actual kisses, though Andrew gets them all the time. She has started this new thing, where very rarely, she'll just look up at me with her beautiful little face and put her lips out just a tiny bit...melts my heart every time.

Natalie also loves reading books now, or should I say flipping pages. Key ingredients to a good book in her perspective are: pages to flip, babies, doggies, or fuzzy things that she can touch. She insists that she be in your lap if you are going to read her a book. She comes right up and steps one foot inside of my crossed legs, then turns around and parks her cute little bum.

She is also really starting to understand what we are saying, and it is so cute. If I say "go get a snack cup out of the drawer" off she marches! She also thoroughly understands when it's time for bed. I will be holding her, and when I hollar to Pete to come get her for bed, she instantly starts to snuggle me. Lucky me! We do this a few times just so I can get additional love!

Her vocabulary is also expanding by the day. She can say many words, ranging from Momma and Dadda to cheese, please, and nose. Her new favorite word is duck, which she quickly picked up this past weekend when she admired the ducks in the pond at our hotel. She's got a few animal sounds down (sheep, doggie, horsey, and dinosaur, of course) and knows most of the parts of her body. She loves to go up to people and say "nose, nose" while she points a finger at their nose...most people are afraid she's going for the eyes, but it's honestly only their nose. While she does avoid other people's eyes, she has a penchant for touching her own eyes. She's given herself bloodshot eyes on 3 occasions already. What a crazy noodlehead!

She also just recently discovered her shadow. This morning as I was getting breakfast ready, she went over by the door to the deck and just sat down, then kept waving and saying hi. The little cutie was waving and saying hi to her own shadow. It doesn't get any cuter than this folks!

Natalie is also Miss Adventurous. She has absolutely no fear. I need to be right by her side every minute of hte day or she will end up with a battle wound. Her most recent injury came the other day when she was running around Andrew's room, tripped, and took a header directly into the edge of Andrew's open bifold closet door. It left a nice straight bruise and a little blood...but have no fear, Andrew instantly ran downstairs to get her a boo boo bunny.

Natalie has also learned to yell. As one person once told me, she does have a good set of lungs. We are in the process of teaching her to ask or sign rather than yell, and thankfully that appears to be working out! She's happy when she's getting what she wants, but when she doesn't, she's not too happy...but who is??? :o)

These two cuties certainly keep me with my hands full...but my heart is so full of joy and love too!

Framed

By K.J. Cardinal

Anna is such a ham. She loved showing off for Aunt Missy the other day when she came over.



[WATCH MOVIE]

Anna, singalong and sun brighten up the weekend

By K.J. Cardinal

The sun made a surprising appearance for the second-consecutive weekend to help brighten up our trip to New Hampshire along with Anna being Anna and a singalong.

On Saturday morning, Anna, Angie, Sammy and I headed north to the Granite State for a party at Mike & Norrene's. My parents brought their camper and we brought our tent, so with accommodations for the night we could all really let loose and have a great time.

Anna did her usual daily routine of entertaining everyone. The Anna highlight of the day had to have been when she was in the back of Frank Foster's truck.

With a crew of 10 or so surrounding the truck, Anna used the truck bed as her dance floor and put on a show. I was playing music off my iPhone for her to dance with, so unfortunately I couldn't get video of it too. Trust me though when I say it was priceless. She's developing quite the arsenal of dance moves too.

After being Little Miss Center-of-Attention, Anna turned into Little Miss Snugglebug. As you can see in the photo at right, Anna really took to Mike and really loved just snuggling up on him for about 10 minutes. Actually, I'm not sure who liked it more, Anna or Mike?

When the sun went down, the campfire went up and out came my dad's guitar. He led one of his signature singalongs and we just had a blast.

Of all the fun things that I do with my family, I really have to say that the singalongs are by far my favorite. I'm sure at this point just about all of you loyal blog followers have participated in a singalong at some point, so you know EXACTLY what I'm talking.

For those of you who haven't been fortunate enough to partake in a singalong, you'll enjoy these along with the rest of us:

• Eve of Destruction
• Runaround Sue
• You Don't Mess Around with Jim
• Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

These are just four of the 20+ songs that my dad played on Saturday night. His set was interrupted by rain, which just prompted us all to run under a big tent that was set up and keep on rolling.

I gotta say that my iPhone once again proved to be clutch as I was able to record this footage so easily. The only "downside" of the footage is that I now have audio evidence of a lot of debauchery as well... most notably Sammy laying the smack down on Norm and an X rated version of Lassie... Andrew wouldn't know what to do if he heard that :)

Not sure if/when I'll post that footage. I guess some things have to be sacred, so if you want the full singalong experience, you'll probably have to just make it out to one. Or maybe you can buy the uncut version on CD someday!

On Sunday, we packed up the tent and went to Big Daddy's for lunch. My parent's have been raving about the bar/restaurant in Acton, Maine and their reviews were spot on... awesome food, cool atmosphere and ridiculously affordable prices. For instance, I had the triple lobster for $19.99... Busch drafts were $1.50... $0.25 wings... etc.

Sammy got the full Big Daddy's experience by riding there on the back of my dad's motorcycle. She had been on a motorcycle once before, but just for a short ride. This time she was smiling ear-to-ear for the 40-minute ride.


All-in-all another great weekend with the family... just gets us even more fired up for our week vacation with my whole family at the end of this month... 12 days and counting!

I scream you scream

By K.J. Cardinal

Earlier this week we took Anna to get ice cream at a little place in town, Dairy Joy. Nothing earth-shattering, just a glimpse at the cuteness that is Anna.


[WATCH MOVIE]

Fantastic Fourth

By K.J. Cardinal

Despite a rain-filled month of June, the weather FINALLY cooperated over the weekend so we could get outside to celebrate the Fourth of July.

On Saturday we headed out to Ludlow for a party at Angie's Uncle John's house. I had never been to their house before, but it was great. The inside of the house is very nice, but the outside was even better.

The pool with a sandy beach area was great, but the kids' playhouse (pictured behind Anna & Julia in the photo above) really stole the show. When I say "playhouse" I don't mean your typical plastic structure... this was a wooden house with windows and doors, shingled roof, couch, mini fridge, etc. It was sick... I'd consider moving in there if/when Angie kicks me out.

Anyway, we had a great time at John & Theresa's. Pretty much the entire Dias crew (Angie's mom's side of the family) was there and it was great to hang out. Here's a family photo op that I snapped...


We were all pretty exhausted after a long day at the party, so we decided to head back to Hudson late that night.

Yesterday morning we woke up and decided to take advantage of the good weather once again. This time, we opted to head to Hopkinton State Park.

We had never been before, but had heard good things about the place, so we packed up and headed out around 9:30 a.m.

The "beach" wasn't too impressive, but it had clean water and sand, so Anna was in her glory.

She was having a grand ole time just splashing in the small puddles on the beach and building "castles".

While I was walking around taking pictures of Anna, I decided to step in a puddle and splash her. As you can see in the photo below, I got her pretty wet, but she was less-than-impressed. I kind of felt bad, but the look on her face was so cute and she wasn't really upset, so it was all good.

After playing on the beach for a while we went for a walk/hike around the pond. When we took off walking, Anna was pretty excited so she started to run. She tripped on the uneven walkway and took a digger.

She hit her forehead on the concrete and was pretty shaken up, but she was OK. It really wasn't that big of a deal, but probably the second biggest injury of her life. I don't want to jinx it, but we've been pretty lucky in that regard so far. However, I'm foreseeing more injuries in her future now that she's climbing on anything and everything, running like a mad woman and is fearless at times.

You can kind of see the bump on her head in this photo, above her left eye, but again it wasn't that bad... looked a lot worse when it happened. Anyway, I took this photo of my girls while we were on our walk.

We left the beach and stopped at this place in Ashland called TJ's for a little lunch. They had outdoor seating and good food, so it was right up our alley. Not sure if it was because the weather was so nice, but it almost seemed like a biker hangout, which was cool with us... especially Anna, who has come to love "modecycles"... we'd love to go back with Meme & Papa sometime.

After lunch we headed home for a little more time outside. We dragged Anna around the neighborhood in her new red wagon (pictured above). Thanks John & Theresa for another great hand-me-down. Equipped with cup holders and a built in cooler... it's needless to say that Daddy and Anna with both get plenty of joy out of their new toy.

We capped off the day by having Scott over for dinner and grilling outside. We let Anna have frozen blueberries for dessert and it was quite a mess. But, a cute mess and a great way to end a great weekend with my girls.

Andrew "did it"

By K.J. Cardinal

Captured this classic footage of Andrew on Saturday at Tiff & Pete's. As you can see, he's very proud that he "did it."



[WATCH MOVIE]

Bathing beauties

These have to be the cutest kids on the planet.

We're With The Band...

By Katie Cardinal

Hello All!

Sorry I never got a chance to finish the rest of my journey at the CMA Music Festival. It was so busy and I was so tired the last few nights, I never got a chance to do it. As soon as I have time I'll write some up and either put it on here or on my Keithaholic blog!

Anywho, back to more important things. Two days ago I got a call from Vicky saying that Craig Morgan and Blake Shelton would be playing at Meadowbrook, and that she had a code where I could get tickets for free...only having to pay the $8 handling charge per person. Having seen Craig Morgan in Nashville and ABSOLUTELY having him knock my socks off, I thought the concert would be a good idea....even though I didn't think I knew many of Blakes songs. So naturally, I called Sydney and we found some 22nd row tickets for the concert - FOR ONLY $16!!!

Last night we departed the Cardinal household around 6:10 to head straight to Meadowbrook. Thankfully it was kind of sprinkling when we left so we didn't hit a ton of motorcycle week traffic. Upon getting there, you KNOW that Sydney and I weren't going to sit in our 22nd row seats...I mean COME ON, that's so far away! We had looked online before going and knew that the venue hadn't really sold ANY tickets in Section A Row 12....so that was our goal. Without a problem we got some GREAT 12th row seats just before Craig Morgan hit the stage. BOY WAS HE FANTASTIC. As Sydney and I are going crazy, we realized that we're the ONLY TWO standing up and singing in the whole entire place...aka, we're awesome! At about his second or third song a security guard came over and tapped me on the shoulder. I definitely thought she was going to tell us to sit down, but instead she offered me TWO meet and greets with Blake Shelton!!! YIPPEE!!! We were a little sad that we wouldn't get to watch all of Craig's performance..but I mean COME ON, A MEET AND GREET?!?!?!

So we got in line for that and got to take a picture and get an autograph from Blake. He was a LOT nicer and funnier than I had expected, and I can definitely see why Miranda Lambert dates him :)

So we finished up with Blake and made it back to our 12th row seats in time to see like 4 or 5 more of Craig's songs - simply amazing! After that we got a little snack and some drinks and returned to our seats for the "Big Show." Little did we know that it was Blakes BIRTHDAY that night! Why the heck is he working on his birthday? Anywho...Blake came on and was really great! He was super funny and they had a birthday cake and everything for him on stage.

After the concert Sydney and I were walking out and I noticed a kinda creepy guy with a black hoodie on totally like staring at us. I actually said to Sydney, "This guy is creeping me out." After lurking behind us for a bit, he came up around in front of us and said, "I don't want to creep you ladies out, I just didn't know if you wanted to come out back in a few minutes to party with the band." After firing him with questions we said we had to go to the bathroom, then meet him over in the back. After about a 2 second conversation, we decided we were DEFINITELLY in! We were givin VIP passes and went out back. We talked for a quile to the MANAGER named Kevin, then were escorted into BLAKE"S BUS!!! No lie...we were WITH THE BAND!

Entering the bus we not only found Blake Shelton, but Craig Morgan as well! Sydney and I were SO excited inside, but definitely had to act cool. So yea, I threw back a few beers (yuck..I have a headache as we speak) with Craig Morgan and Blake Shelton...WHHHATT?!?!?! We then had a dance party with everyone in the band..it was SOOOO much fun! I honestly cannot believe what luck we have some times!! We partied til about 1:30 in the morning, then decided we better leave so we'd be ready for school/work this morning. So crazy, so awesome, so...us!

Oh, btw...I already had 34th row tickets to the CMA music festival for next year if anyone else wants to go!!!

Anna counts!

By K.J. Cardinal

The point of this post is to share this adorable audio clip of Anna counting, but I just have to say that Angie is the best... and I am slowly turning her into a dork like me.

I have been super busy lately getting ready for this conference we are going to next week in San Antonio. So tonight Angie took Anna upstairs to give me some peace and quiet while I was downstairs getting work done. When they were upstairs, I got an email from Angie (via her iPhone) with the subject "My baby's smart!" and then attached was this audio clip.

Anna definitely is smart and absolutely adorable... she obviously gets both from her mom... the dork. :p

2009 NU Family Day at Fenway

By K.J. Cardinal

Ever since Anna was born, I have been dying to take her to Fenway. The perfect opportunity finally posed itself on Saturday, so we jumped at the chance to partake in the 2009 Northeastern University Family Day at Fenway.

Northeastern is a sponsor of the Red Sox and I'm sure that partnership is somehow responsible for this family day. Anyway, the tickets were only $7 for adults and children were free, so it was a no-brainer.

I am SO glad that we went. We showed up right at noon when the gates opened and we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

They had a free photo station set up where you'd pose in front of a green screen and then they'd put your photo on a ticket (pictured right). They actually gave us four printed tickets and that was probably my favorite part of the day because it's such a cool keepsake.

After getting our photo taken, we meandered around for a while and the two big hits of the day for Anna were CoCo the monkey and Wally the Green Monster.

CoCo the monkey (pictured left) was awesome. This little monkey was trained to do everything from catch and throw a football to dunk a basketball.

Anna thought CoCo was one of the coolest things she's ever seen. She would squeal and laugh when he'd jump around and throw the ball. It was so cute.

It probably costs a pants-load to get CoCo to come to a private party, but I got the guys card anyway and we'll see. I can't really see anyone, young or old, not getting a kick out of this little guy. He was pretty neat.

After CoCo, we walked over to get our picture taken with Wally. When we approached the "Green Monster", Anna wanted NOTHING to do with him. She was clenched to my arm so tight and didn't even want me to bend down so we could talk to him.

So, we didn't get the perfect photo op, but Angie snapped this photo at right that pretty much says it all.

Immediately when we walked away, however, it was like Wally was Anna's new best friend. She kept on saying his name and pointing to the direction where he was stationed. So, we had to make a few trips back and forth to see Wally.

Anna is still enamored with the big green fella and I'm sure that this blog post will get LOTS of hits by me alone as I'll have to pull it up a few times a day to show Anna this photo... I actually just printed a copy of it for her to avoid having to have it on my computer screen all day :)

People started to file into the park as 1 p.m. approached, so we jumped in line to get our photo with the 2007 World Series trophy and then we were going to leave to avoid the crowd. Before we could wrap up the photo-op though, Anna had clearly had enough.

It was time for her nap and she wanted to go watch people play Wii Baseball while we were in line, so the photo of us with the trophy is pretty comical because Anna's crying. I'm sure when she's older she'll spin it that those were tears of joy for experiencing Fenway for the first time, but we all know that wasn't quite the case.


Notice the airbrush tattoo that she has on her left leg... it's little paw prints.

Anyway, the day was so much. We love nothing more than taking Anna to new places and showing her new things. She's such a curious little sponge these days and the cutest thing ever, so her reaction to everything makes us so happy.

I'm sure that the NU Family Day at Fenway will be an annual rite of passage from this year on.

Lounge carriage

Anna thought this was the coolest way she's ever been shopping. Needless to say, Anna has a new lawn chair.

For the record: This post came directly from my new iPhone. I'm able to take photos and upload them to directly to the blog. SWEET!

CMA Music Festival Days 1 & 2

By: Katie Lou

Hey Ya'll! Sorry I didn't get a chance to post yesterday. CJ and I were way too tired to do anything when we finally came in from the rain last night, so this will be a recap of both days.

OK, so on Thursday the Music Festival actually began. Knowing that there is a VERY slim chance that you'd get to meet the artists at the "fanfair" exibit, we decided to go to the Riverfront for a day of concerts. First up was going to be Gretchen Wilson, so oh my goodness was the line long! When the gates open it's all general admission so people just start running. It was absolutely hilarious. Since CJ and I were about 200th in line we didn't get the best seat in the house, but it was definitely a good spot. About 5 minutes before Gretchen was to hit the stage, a guy came on the stage to say that there were severe thunder storm warnings and that everyone had to go take cover...meaning the people that had their FRONT ROW seats had to lose them (kinda stupid if you ask me). As everyone is filing out the rain came, and boy was it CRAZY! I've honestly very rarely ever seen it rain that much in my life. Unfortunately as the rain came, CJ and I had been separated, so we met up under this little tent at the Riverfront. After discovering that I HADN'T lost my new pair of cowboy boots, we were actually in perfect position to go back onto the field. Since everyone else had taken shelter in the surrounding restaurants we got back to the Riverfront stage first and were FRONT ROW!

So on to the concert. As ya'll know, I'm a HUGE country fan and an even bigger concert fan. Unfortunately in the past I was never really interested in seeing Gretchen Wilson in concert for one reason or another. After yesterday, my opinion has COMPLETELY changed. Gretchen absolutely rocked the stage....it was so amazing. Her voice is SOOOO much better and more powerful in person it's absolutely ridiculous. She played her biggest hits and a few songs from her up and coming album that's due out in the fall.

After Gretchen, Phil Vassar took the stage. WOW he's amazing! For those of you who don't know, Phil actually plays the piano and is absolutely phenomenal. His energy and ability to get the audience involved has actually placed him as one of my top 10 performers I've ever seen in my life. He was great, very engaging, and definitely took down the house.

Following Mr. Vassar was Mr. Cutie Patootie himself, Chuck Wicks. As usual Chuck was looking fiiiiiiiiine and sang a few of his hits including "Stealing Cindarella" and "All I Ever Wanted." I mostly liked when he did his NOT as well known songs...because I looked like the super fan who knew all the words!

As Chuck departed the stage a few bands came on that I didn't really know a whole lot about. The Randy Rogers Band was good...a little too redneck for me though. James Otto was wonderful. I take back the comments I made about him sounding like he sang with marbles in his mouth. He had a lot of energy and was absolutely HUGE in person!!! Next were the Bellamy Brothers...a older (but still a goody) band. Following them was Heidi Newfield who sings the new Johnny Cash tune. The final person we watched at the Riverfront was Diamond Rio. Originally I was only going to stay for a song or two of theirs and go meet CJ, but when they started playing I Just couldn't get enough of them. I had forgotten of all the great songs they had both written and played and was simply in awe.

After the RIverfront concerts CJ and I walked around for a bit to find a bite to eat. Unfortunately we stumbled upon this very local bar that had a lot of regulars in it. We figured they'd be pleased to see people for the festival and that out of all the places we chose there to eat, but boy were we wrong! The people were rude, they wouldn't let me order my sandwich without coleslaw on it, and the food was pretty awful. I left hungry and grumpy and will NEVER go back there again.

Ok, so after dinner we made our way over to LP Field to get ready for the BIG night of concerts!!! Brooks and Dunn kicked off the night, playing for about an hour or so. I had never seen them before and was actually a little disappointed with their performance. They weren't has in touch with the audience as I had expected and simply sounded just like they normally do on the radio - nothing special. Following Brooks and Dunn, Reba took the stage. Unfortunately she only got through about two or three songs when a guy came on the stage and told everyone they had to take cover because a terrible storm was coming through with a potential of a tornado. We all headed under the stands and waited and waited and waited. Unfortunately the rain held out for a good hour and a half, meaning they could have gotten in most of the concert. Cj and I were super bummed because Dierks, Brad, and Rascal Flatts were supposed to perform that night! We ended up leaving the field around 11 when it started pouring because we had heard they didn't allow music to be played at the field after midnight. Unfortunately, after waking up the next morning I found out that they all DID go on stage at about 1 in the morning and played for an hour and a half. Each artist did 3 or 4 songs and I'm so incredibly bummed that we missed it...there's always next year, right?

Friday, June 12

This morning we woke up early again to make our way to the Riverfront. The line today wasn't nearly as long as it was yesterday, considering there weren't as big of stars as Gretchen Wilson taking the stage. With that said, I had way more fun today at the Riverfront than I did yesterday. Opening the show was The Oak Ridge Boys. Unfortunately one of their lead singers wasn't able to sing for the concert, but they still totally rocked it. I had no idea some of the songs the had written and played. Man are they old -- but they TOTALLY stole the show, it was simply amazing.

After The Oak Ridge Boys, American Idol's own Bucky Covington took the stage. He was awesome and COMPLETELY full of energy. He was the only artist all day to sign and give away the guitar he had played to an unexpected fan. He aimed to please the audience, which is GREAT and very impressive for a new and upcoming fella.

After Bucky was Aaron Tippin. Little did I know that he was into body building - he looks great for an older guy! The best part of his show was when he took out this wrapped up object and put it on a stand at one end of the stage and connected a hose to it...which ran to the other side of the stage connected to an air compressor. At the end of his first song he unveiled his "misery" object and it was none other than a TRAIN HORN!!!!! Evan would have been so proud. It was SOOOOO loud and so amazing. I think the people in his band wanted to kill him because he kept on doing it, but I thought it was absolutely amazing.

After Mr. Tippin were a few groups I hadn't really heard much about. Love and Theft is a new up and coming band of 3 guys. They were really good for their own songs, but actually messed up the words to a Johnny Cash song, which instantly made the audience completely hate them. Next was the Honky Tonk Tailgate Party including Trent Willmon, Jeff Bates, and Mark Wills. They were a little too far out their for me, but man did the Nashville fans worship them!

Next to hit the stage was Peter McWhirter, the Telstra Road to Tamworth Winner of 2009. As you know, I'm a little partial to Australians as it is, and he is NO exception! I loved his style, his music, and his attitude. I guess he's really big in Australia right now and is trying to make it in the U.S. doing country music just as my man, Keith Urban, had done. I highly recommend you check him out!

As soon as Peter left the stage the Riverfront started to get REALLY busy! After about 15 minutes Eric Church hit the stage. For those who don't know Eric Church, he actually looks a LOT like Dave Haywood from Lady Antebellum, only about a foot taller. He definitely was playing for the audience, and everyone was just sucking him right in.

My favorite performer of the day was Mr. Craig Morgan. Being a former member of the U.S. military (in active duty for 10 years) this man was in shape! Daaaammnn..and the pants he was wearing were probably the best pants I've ever seen in a guy in my whole entire life. This guy was absolutely CRAZY! In the middle of "Redneck Yacht Club" he jumped OFF THE STAGE and into the crowd (very Keith Urban-like). He sang to some ladies like 3 feet away from me, signed some autographs, and just blew everyones' minds. When he returned to the stage he climped UP the staging off the side and just sang his brains out. I had liked Mr. Morgan from before, but now I must honestly say he's my third favorite performer I've EVER seen, behind only Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley. He knew how to rock and he knew how the thrill - simply amazing!

After Craig Morgan we stuck around for a few of Randy Houser's songs, then made our way over to LP Field for the night. Upon entering the stadium CJ and I got a little bite to eat. I made the mistake of getting the stupid giant turkey leg and no lie, I don't think it's possible to have a turkey with a leg that big. It was great, but waaaaay too much food for me to handle!

After the singing of the National Anthem, Luke Bryan hit the stage and absolutley rocked out. My favorite part of his performance is when he sticks his hair up and sings, "I was Elvis rockin on the bar..." He's so cute and just has such a great personality that it's just so fun to watch him.
Follwoing Luke was Little Big Town. I had seen them a few weeks ago when Sugarland couldn't open for Keith Urban his second night at Mohegan Sun, so they filled in. They were pretty good, though I definitely feel the field setting is a little too big for them and their voices for the time being.
Next was Lady Antebellum - my favorite! I was a little ticked off because the sound was off on Hilary's microphone, so much to the point where you couldn't even hear her at all. I hate when technical difficulties occur and they just don't bother fixing them. Thank the heavens I'm a die-hard Lady A fan, so I was good just singing all of the words to myself, but I feel like if they had fixed the problem other people would have liked and respected them a LOT more (as they should).

Following Lady A, Rodney Atkins took the stage. He is one fiiine gentleman with some absolutely amazing songs. I love how he sings mostly about America and the pride Americans have for our country. He did a fantastic job up there in his bright orange shirt and I am definitely looking forward to seeing him again sometime soon - more toward home if he comes around.

Next was Jake Owen. He's a super cutie patootie, even though I only knew like one of his songs. He came out rocking in a VERY Texan red shirt which actually matched my velcity red Mazda 3 quite well. I think I might have to get his CD so I can learn a few more of his songs.

The Zac Brown band then rocked LP Field!!! Zac was so humbled by everyone knowing the words to his song, it was absolutely fantastic!

Ok..I'm getting tired so I'm going to wrap this up!!!

The final two performers were Jason Aldean and Kid Rock (the suprise guest). I absolutely love Jason Aldean anyways, so it was no surprise that everyone was left with their jaws wide open when he left the stage. He's such a rocker (with a very creepy band, I might add) and totally just kicks the crap outa his audience. Kid Rock was a bit much for me, but he did a fantastic job. My favorite part was when he sang "Picture" and MARTINA MCBRIDE came out to sing it with him! She JUST came out for that ONE song and blew everyone away.

Simply amazing..fantastic night! It's now 2:45 in the morning..and I need to get up at 7 for more concerts - EEK!

I need a good time...

By: Katie Cardinal

Greetings from Nashville, everyone! CJ and I embarked on our twenty-plus journey to Nashville yesterday morning after finishing packing and hitting up the gym. I left my house around 9 am, putting me at CJ's around 10:30. After having a pee break and switching things from my Mazda into his Mazda, we were on our way...and it actually wasn't that bad! CJ was a trooper and actually drove the WHOLE WAY. I know, he's crazy..but I guess I did the same thing when Sydney and I went to Virginia two weeks ago. Anywho, we made pretty good timing and after a 4 hour nap at a truck stop and figuring out we were actually in CENTRAL time now, we made it to Nashville, Tennessee at about 9 this morning.

Fortunately, we decided to try to check into the front desk a little early and it actually worked out for us! They had no one staying in our KOA "Kabin" the night before, so we were able to quickly check in, take some showers, and head off to downtown Nashville. As hard as it is to believe, Nashville is even MORE beautiful than I had remembered. Mom, Dad, and I had visited Nashville when I was in the fifth grade and I absolutely fell in love with it. Now that I LOVE country music (or maybe am now willing to admit it) it makes the experience THAT much better.

So we went downtown and the first thing we came across was a vender on the street selling photographs. Big pictures, small pictures, signed pictures, framed pictures...they had it all. Thanks to CJ I found two really cool pictures of Keith that I bought for only two bucks each! After that we went to the famous "Ernest Tubb Record Store" just to look around and to say we had been. After walking up and down the streets a few times we found this awesome place selling cowboy boots - BUY ONE GET TWO PAIR FREE! Obviously I thought his had to be too good to be true, but it wasn't! I was shocked...and I think CJ knew he had a WHIIIILLLEEE to spend in the boot store with me :) After looking around for a bit we decided to go to lunch and come back to look some more.

We knew we didn't want anything too fancy for lunch, nor did I want some super greasy food, so we ended up at this little place called the "Big River Brewery." It was very cool inside and had a cute little porch for us to sit out on. Our server was very hilarious (and very gay) and our food was absolutely delicious. CJ got meatloaf with green beans and white cheddar mashed potatoes, while I got a half of a turkey sandwich, green beans, and one of the best soups I've ever had in my entire life. It was called beer cheese soup and oh my goodness was it good!

After eating we went back to the cowboy boot store where I bought my three new pair of cowboy boots! I may have spent $300 on them, but it was totally worth it in my book. I'll definitely have the boots for my entire life, and I got them in a variety of colors - brown, black, and mint green!

After picking out my boots we went to the car to drop them off, then decided to take a few minutes to check out the "kick-off parade" on main street. We got to see all kinds of artists including Rodney Adkins, Kellie Pickler, and Bo Bice. One of my favorites was when Jeff Burton went by and I was like the ONLY fan that actually knew his name...I know, I'm awesome.

After the parade we decided to make our way to the line for the Alan Jackson concert. We had heard through the grapevine that Alan Jackson would be providing a FREE concert at the Cadillac Ranch beginning at 8, but that 1,000 bracelets to get in would be given out at 4:30. Having seen the line being formed earlier in the morning we didn't have high hopes for getting in. However, after seeing a little spot of opportunity to jump in line, we just could no refuse the chance! Unfortunately, I'm the idiot who didn't put on sun screen this morning cuz it was cool out and paid dearly for it! We had to wait in line over 6 hours to finally get to the front of the line, only to discover all the bracelets were gone and that we could wait until 8 to try to get in, but there where no guarantees. Then all of a sudden a little angel of hope came out of the Ranch. He came right over to me and said, "Hey, do you have a bracelet to come in?" Shocked, I said "NO!" and the guy gave me a fanclub bracelet he had in his hands! I was so excited I was about ready to cry, but unfortunately had to leave CJ in my dust. I had a good feeling Cj would be able to get into the Ranch before the concert and just could not let this opportunity slide by.

After going in and leaving CJ outside, I sort of began to freak out. I called Mom and Sydney to try to figure out what I should do...both of which recommended I wait it out to talk with some cowboys to try to let CJ in. After talking with a lady at the door, I realized that they probably weren't going to be letting any more people in and that I was probably going to have to leave because there was no way I was letting CJ loose in Nashville on his own. Then, my little prince charming came back! The same guy that had given me MY wristband said, "So, are you with someone tonight or what." Me, of course, was like "OMG yes, he's out there in the black cowboy hat!" Without a bad of the eyes the guy looked right at me and said, "Well I can tell how much this means to you and your passion for music, and I'd much rather you be able to stay than me, so I'll go give him my bracelet so you two can enjoy the show together." I nearly started crying!!! What an AWESOME guy let me tell you!!! Him and the girl he was with BOTH left so that CJ and I could enjoy the show together - a TRUE southern gentleman!

So the show started at 8 and before too long I was like the third row from the stage. Alan was awesome and played for just over two hours. He seems so genuine and really is just a "country boy." He played clips of all of his hits and definitely made the tears roll down my face for "Where Were You." His voice was simply amazing and he just seemed so humbled that people would wait in line to see him ALL DAY in the scortching sun. The concert was FANTASTIC and a great way to kick off Country Fest!

CJ and I are just chillaxing in the cabin now...need to get some SERIOUS rest before tomorrow's activities!

OH, and as a sidenote, someone saw Keith Urban shopping in the mall on Monday in Nashville --- AHHH!!!