On the rare occaision...

Since Christmas we haven't been just hibernating in our cave...although, with the frequent snow storms this winter past, it was a tempting thought! We did get out to do a few things.

On November 18, 2007, as part of Trevor's birthday celebration, the boys and I went to the Van Andel to hear the Newsboys. They were on tour with New World Son and Kutless. That was one fantastic concert! We have a few pictures to share from that:

The Newsboys do a great job keeping the concert exciting with confetti, lights, special effects, some pyrotechnics, and a neat little stunt where the drum platform elevates, tilts, and rotates-while the drummer is performing! Pretty cool...the other bands were great, too. Everyone at my house loves Kutless. New World Son is a newer group. They have a more funky, jazzy sort of sound. Good stuff.

In January, instead of the traditional Super Bowl party, Tyler and I opted to go see Lou Diamond Phillips in Camelot at the DeVos Performance Center. We went to downtown GR early in the day to look around, eat at Friday's, and check out the ice skaters at Monroe Center:

Lou Diamond Phillips was fabulous as King Arthur. The entire cast was wonderful. You can sure tell the difference between a Broadway production and a local one! The sets and costumes were so elaborate-it was worth going just to see that! I haven't seen Camelot since middle school but it's surprising how much I remembered about the play and the musical pieces. This was the first time I had been to DeVos Performance Center. Beautiful. Note to self: take in more cultural and artistic events. Both Tyler and I had a wonderful time. The down side-a terrible snowstorm hit while we were in the play. Driving home looked like the opening scene from Star Wars with all the little white specs flying at you!

In February, Tyler, Trevor, Courtney and I went to see the Blue Man Group at the VanAndel Arena. I loved the show this year. It was much improved over last year's version. The musical pieces are fascinating to watch and done with a lot of playfulness and humor.

We entertained ourselves with trips to Deanna's Playhouse with Jayden, trips to the Children's Museum, and our all-time favorite, Meijer Gardens. We saw the butterflies twice! We also got in on the Bonsai Society event again this year. I know it sounds like a big YAWN but the art of Bonsai is really quite intricate and fascinating. Let me tell you, these people are passionate about their little trees!!

Tulip time came and went. The only event I attended was Kinderplaats with Jayden. I did take some pictures and will hopefully get those posted before Labor Day!

Mother's day was nice. I got a bike rack and helmet as a gift, went out to dinner, and to see the new movie, Iron Man starring Robert Downey, Jr. That was a fantastic movie if you like action types and movies of the Batman and X-Men ilk. I thoroughly enjoyed it-worth going to see!

Took in Echoes of Pink Floyd at the Intersection this past weekend(May 17). This was a great cover band. They did three sets and had good video backgrounds, lights, and pyro effects to add interest to the music. I was amazed at how many people were there who were older than me! I saw a lot of parents there with their twenty-something kids. This is definitely a group whose music has endured and captured several generations of listeners. For the last set I went up to the stage and it was fun standing there watching the band-all of whom were young. So many of the younger people there knew every word to every song-amazing-even I, a die-hard Pink Floyd fan-could not accomplish such a feat.

That's pretty much it for now...stay tuned though, I am jumping into my pre-year(49) with both feet! You'll see what I mean when I do my birthday post!