Super Busy Saturday

Part 2 of the Best. Weekend. Ever.

Saturday started early. I went to REI and waited in line with my friend Justin for the members only sale. Some people camped overnight. Justin got in line a bit after 6. I arrived at 8. Was supposed to get there sooner but when I heard they werent giving out numbers, I slept in a little. They put people in 2 lines and there were 2 sections fenced off with orange plastic and at 9am they let everyone in and once everyone was in their sections (this all took place outside) then you could go inbetween both sides. People are quick and grab the good stuff but I was able to snag a camelback waterproof backpack for $20 instead of $130 and the only reason it had been returned was because the customer wasnt satisfied.

Hooray for me!

Got a couple other things , said bye to Justin & went to Target. The best deal I got was a car seat cover for the drivers seat in my car. $4.99. I love the end shelves at this store! I used a bunch of coupons to get $$ off soap and toothpaste. Exciting I know.

In the afternoon I kind of relaxed after my busy morning and chatted with my dad online, worked on cleaning my room, washed my car and washed my birds!

They really enjoyed being sprayed by the mist from the hose. Chloe' is on the left with Mr. Chubbs and Rococo and Shanaynae (on the ladder) on the right hand side of the cage. Chloe' has her wings all spread out in this pic, enjoying the "rain"

Went to Chandler to pick up my battery charger from work for my camera. Stopped by Fry's Foods to get this whipped cream stuff that doesnt expire til January! and it tastes WAY better than regular whipped cream. It is so so so so so GOOD!



Here is 1 of the containers I bought (less than $2!) and I'm trying to do the healthy thing and eat some apples with it. A little more whipped cream, a little less apple!

Picked up food from Panda Express because I had a coupon that was about to expire, got some for Brennen too. Drove back to Mesa to his dad's house where we hung out until I got a call from my friend Kyle saying that he had been able to get me into the Owl City concert @ Martini Ranch in Scottsdale. YAHOO!!!! I had been wondering all day if he'd be able to get me in and he was able to do it!

So I went to Jamba Juice (had a coupon for there too and got a gift card for some friends who got married) and changed clothes at home, went to the reception for about 10 minutes or so and then headed out to Scottsdale. I had to be there at 8:45pm . No sooner. No later. Or I wouldnt be able to get in. Luckily I was able to get there right on time, talked to the guy at the door, showed him my ID and he lead me around to the back and wah - lah - I was in!!!

The show was awesome!







It was so packed inside so I managed to get on 1 side of the stage but that meant that Adam, the lead singer, never really looked over towards me. OH well, his drummer was real good so that was fun to watch. There were people of all ages here. It was a really fun concert.

Got back to Mesa about 10:15 and Brennen and his sister Kim picked me up and we went to a Rock Band party hosted by Countryside Park ward. The Rock Band was set up on a big screen outside.



There were also tons and tons of boxes of pizza that had been eaten. There was delish homemade rootbeer. Steve Cox kissed my eye. I talked to a few friends. Dil avoided me it seemed. Haha. It was so much fun. I'm glad I got to go. OH and I wore my Owl City shirt (had to get one!) and on my way in, a guy heading out said "Oh I love Owl City!" and I said "Me too! I just came from their concert" and he was like "No way! Lucky! How'd that happen? " and I said "I have a friend who got me in. Dont worry, they'll be back in April if not sooner."

Saturday was a jam-packed day but it went so awesome I wouldnt change a thing (well, being able to go to Joey's soccer game would have been hecka nice..but..next Saturday I'll be there!)

Best. Weekend. Ever.

And because ( I know sentences shouldnt start out with those words..but..its a blog...) it was the best weekend ever, I might have to write about it in 2 or 3 separate posts.

I'll start with Friday night.

Kristi Yamaguchi Ft. The Backstreet Boys @ US Airways Center in Phoenix. AMAZING. It was SO worth the money to go. It was worth it even though I went by myself. They were taping this for a tv-special airing November 1st (I think). Here are some pix I took from the evening:

The arena was set up SO COOL! Lots of neat light combination's and the Backstreet Boys were at the opposite end from where I was but its okay. At least I could see them.

This pair was amazing! Eesp when he swung her by her feet!





This couple was amazing! They skated to one of my favorite songs from Glee.



I should probably crop this pic, the camera crew is in the way, but this is Michael Wiess mid-air




This couple was really good. She even flipped him upside down!



I will have to look up what his name is but he is the guy who can do a back flip on ice! WITH skates on! So amazing.



Yuki Sato




My Backstreet Boys!! Loved the stage background behind them too. Sooo pretty



Ekaterina Gordeeva was one of my absolute favorites growing up to watch on TV so it was so awesome to see her skate live!



Kurt Browing. Another favorite! He is so funny & entertaining.





At the end of the show all the skaters came out and skated together and then they lined up with the Backstreet Boys.

GREAT SHOW. YES YES YES. Did I say that already?

Then afterwards, since this is going to be on tv, they had a few of the skaters who fell in their routine, redo that part so they can fit it into the tape and make it "perfect" for when it is on tv. I had no idea they did stuff like that ! LOL

Chris Daughtry in concert!

Thanks to fairly cheap tickets online & a rescheduled show that opened up more tickets to be sold I guess, I was able to see Chris Daughtry LIVE at the Marquee Theater on October 13th. Here are some pix from the show...

I didnt know all the songs her performed but it was great to sing along to the ones I did know and see him again in real life! The last time I saw him was in 2007 when he performed at the state fair in Sacramento, CA. I liked the single he performed coming off his new album , which I am not sure when it comes out, but probably soon! Cant wait!

I got a bit closer to the stage towards the end of the show which was cool. Also it was nice that my friend Bryan & his friend could come to the concert as well so I wasn't totally by myself.

I posted a couple vids I took on my Facebook page so feel free to go check those out as well

Random Photos of the Day

The bangle tiger cat at work just chillin. Looked funny so I took a pic.

I thought this car had sweet rims

The morning I was to get my wisdom tooth out. Got $1 off a strawberries & creme Starbucks frappachino. It helped my morning a tiny bit.

Protesters that slow down traffic above the freeways (the 60) and they usually are protesting the cameras that are going west-bound towards Phoenix

Free Pei Wei

I heart Pei Wei. Not "pee-wee" as my sister Laura calls it. Thanks to Facebook I signed up to be a fan on their page and got a card in the mail for free food! Mmmmm

Got this on Saturday evening, a day after having my wisdom tooth out. Everything was nice and soft & tasted great as I laid on my bed and ate and watched a movie online with Tony.

Conference Weekend

Landing in SLC , UT on Friday October 2nd

My flight was an hour late in leaving Phoenix and the plane was hot and smelly (due to people/children) and the lady next to me complained the whole way. I did get to see the band Cavo but they were on a flight headed to New Orleans. Sad day.

The original plan had been for me to get in at 6pm, change, do a session at the SLC temple & go to eat. I ended up landing at 7pm and the last session at the temple was at 8pm so we would probably not have made it in time. My visiting teacher Tara told me about this place called the Red Iguana so we decided to check it out. It is so popular that we had to wait and hour to be seated! So we went across the street and had dessert first at Leatherby's.

We shared mint chocolate ice-cream and it was so good!

The picture on the left is the door into the Red Iguana. It is COVERED with stickers from many places, to "represent" I guess. There were even a couple of In N Out stickers!

We got the Red Iguana Plate and it had a bunch of food to try. I liked pretty much everything and even with Tony & I sharing it we had a whole box of leftovers to take home. Definitely a winner place to eat and I cant wait to go here again next time I am in Utah. I cant believe Tony used to live right down the street from this place and we never knew about it or how popular it is!

Saturday morning we dropped off Tony's "new" truck to be check out at a mechanic and we walked to a church building and sat and listened to the morning session of conference on my Zune.

We went to Tucanos for lunch. I thought it was really good. My friend Steve Cox met us there and I ate and ate and ate - even more than Tony! The food just settled really well in me I guess. I for sure got my money's worth. When you want them to bring meat to your table , you flip the wood peg to green. When you dont want them to stop and offer you meat, you flip it to red. You use the tongs to hold the meat as they slice it (if it is a sliced meat). I liked the sliced meat the best and the rice & fruit salad. I never got to make a regular salad or try too many things at the salad bar but Tony liked Tucanos and said he'd like to go again sometime. Yay!

Tony & I watched the afternoon session at his place, then did a few errands before Tony took off to the priesthood session and Laura picked me up and then we went to pick up our friend Suzie! We met her at a Camp Ritchie YSA Labor Day wknd in California & have been friends ever since. She got back this year from her mission to New York and so it was great that we could all be in Utah and hang out some!

After meeting up with our guys on temple square when the Priesthood session got out (me-tony, Laura - rolfy , Suzie - her friend I forget his name but he just got off his mission a few days ago!) We went to eat at Noodles & Co (minus Laura & Rolfy who went to Tucanos) and I believe there was a picture taken but it is not on my camera so it will be inserted in this blog later.

[ picture here later ]

Tony, Suzie and I dropped off Suzie's friend & we went to my friend Teresa's birthday party. That was cool to see her. Teresa and I both served in the Oregon Portland Mission. We stayed about 45 min or so admiring her birthday presents - an iphone and snuggie - and dropped Suzie off at her aunts and then went to bed. SO TIRED! and we had to be up early for the morning session of conference on Sunday.



Enjoyed Music & the Spoken Word before conference started at 10am

So many people down below



Always gotta take a picture coming out of the conference center with the SLC temple in the background



Saw Laura after the morning session got out and took a quick pic



We went to eat at Dees Restaurant after looking at a couple houses. I was so starving! Gotta love the cheesy fries with fry sauce! Only in Utah...



Watched the afternoon session at Tony's and then Brian & Susan came over to visit! Brian & I both served in the Oregon Portland Mission. I havent seen them since their reception last year. They hung out for about 45 min or so before having to leave. Yay for seeing friends!!

I went to my friend Aimee's to pick up some tapes she had converted to DVD of my mission for me that my dad had sent her. Talked to her for a bit while Tony read stories to her daughter Bailey who is 2 I believe. It was sooo awesome to see that and I wish I had gotten a pic. Sometimes I wonder how Tony is/how he will be, around children because I never see him interact with them ever! But he did a great job in reading to her and she kept bringing him more and more books. So funny.

Watched a movie and popped popcorn and Monday morning Tony took me to the airport. It was harder for me to leave this time because as of today , there are 50 days til Thanksgiving , and thats when I will see him next! Seems like an awfully long time :( Thank goodness for Internet, web cams, texting, cell phones and IM so we can keep in touch!