There may not have been any roller coasters, but we had fun at our own Cedar Point!

We brought our nice camera along, so we stopped quite a few times to enjoy the view and get some shots.

It was a very marshy area, and I basically got eaten alive by bugs. Next time we head out (which I hope will be soon), I will definitely be coating myself in bug spray!

John loves trying to freak me out by pretending to fall in. Not funny!

We had a great time together – can’t wait to do it again!

More pictures:

When Hanson first came out in 1997 (13 years ago!), we were both huge fans. We were always jamming to their music around the house, and went to a couple shows on their first world tour in 1998. Later that year, I went away to college, so we didn’t get many more chances to see them together. I went to a couple shows during college, and a couple more in the years after graduating. But Jillian, on the other hand, sort of fell out of touch of their latest music.

When their new album, Shout it Out, came out earlier this year, I knew I had to get her back on the bandwagon. This album is packed with their fun, dance-y music that has always been our favorite. As I expected, she loved it. We knew it would be a blast to go to a show together again, but living over 12 hours from each other can make that difficult. It didn’t take long for me to decide that I should do something crazy and just book a plane ticket to come up to a show near her.

After she picked me up at the airport, we went to the hotel room to check in. We glanced at ourselves in the mirror and realized we were wearing opposite shirt/purse combos.  Ha!

Next order of business was FOOD! It was already after 3pm, so our stomachs were growling. We ate at the House of Blues restaurant, which turned out to be a great idea. If you spend at least $15/person, you get let into the venue early, which eventually led to our front row spots!

It’s easy to spend $15 with $9 drinks!

Soon after lunch, it was time for Hanson to start their barefoot charity walk that they do before every concert. They donate $1 for everyone who participates to a charity that provides clean water, medical care, shoes, or education to underprivileged people in Africa. You get to choose what you want your dollar to go towards…I chose clean water, and Jillian chose medical care.

Here are the guys, ready to get The Walk started!

Here’s me, walking:

And Jillian, walking:

Here are Taylor and Zac halfway through the walk, talking about the purpose of it. Zac was tweeting this at the time.

Jillian, near the end of the walk.

When The Walk was done, we headed over to the special “Pass The Line” entrance. They had already let everyone else in, but we still managed to get pretty good seats. We went all the way over to the left side of the stage, which put us in about 2nd row. After the two opening bands, people moved around enough that we eventually found ourselves right up against the front row railing! Here’s the best picture we got of the three of them, during the acoustic part of the set.

Here’s a shot of the whole band (they have two backup guys – a second guitarist and a bass player).

After the show, we hung out at the buses in hopes for autographs and photos, which they were happy to oblige us with!

The next day, we slept in (Jillian in particular really enjoyed this – no little ones waking up, begging to play Wii!), and then walked around downtown and had some brunch.

And a little later, got to catch up with our cousin Kyle, who lives in Cleveland.

Before we knew it, it was time for me to head back to the airport. It was a totally packed and super fun 25 hours. Can’t wait to do it again…

More pictures are here.

We took off from work about an hour early to arrive in Raleigh at about 7pm. We quickly checked into the hotel, and then took a walk around downtown to find someplace to eat.  Sushi is always a winner for us, so we stopped in at Sono Japanese Restaurant. (Word of warning, their website has some really annoying music. Mute those speakers.) They didn’t have any tables available for non-reservations, but no problem. We just grabbed a spot at the bar.

Yum! It was some of the best sushi we’ve ever had.

I also got an avocado salad, which was pretty much my favorite thing ever. When we were there, I thought it had a ginger dressing, but now that I look at their website, it says it’s a goma sesame dressing. I guess that makes sense, since I’m not normally a huge fan of ginger (it seems to overpower things). Also, how cool is that tilt-y bowl? I want one for home.

Since it was a special night, we were brave enough to ask the waitress to take our picture. (Normally I hate doing that, since our DSLR is so huge and people get intimidated.)

We had just enough time to enjoy our food before it was time to  head over to the concert venue. Seats were general admission, so we got there pretty early. (For John’s standards. He hates waiting around!)

I’ve got to say, I was not really a fan of the Lincoln Theater. The general admission area was all just standing-room. No seats at all! Luckily, we managed to snag a spot right behind a ledge, so we could kind of lean up against that, and have somewhere to set our drinks. We ended up being there for over 4 hours. Thank goodness I wore flats!

The concert was fun. Paul and Storm opened the show. We didn’t know any of their songs, but we still enjoyed it. I’m afraid I’m not quite geeky enough to catch all their references, but I didn’t feel completely lost. JoCo‘s set was really great. I just love his voice, and his songs always make us laugh/think/happy. He played most of our favorites, except for I Feel Fantastic, which I’m bummed about. I think that would have been fun live.

The weird thing about the show was the lack of participation from the crowd. Sure, there was the occasional Chewbacca roar (growl? yell? how do you describe that noise?) or other nerd reference shouted out. But I’m talking about enjoying the MUSIC. I swear, John and I were the only ones there dancing and singing along (not obnoxiously, mostly just mouthing the words). Most of the crowd seemed to just stare up at the stage (except for the songs where they specifically ask for audience participation). I guess the nerd crowds are just a little more introverted and subdued than what we’re used to. (I will be seeing Hanson at the same venue in July – that will be a complete 180!)

I’m glad our first JoCo show was one that P&S were opening for, as he always has them join him for a few songs. Fun stuff.

The next morning, I talked John into visiting the art festival going on a couple blocks from our hotel, Artsplosure.

I’ve gotta give him props, because he hates walking around at stuff like this. He was jealous of those lucky folks on the Segway Tours!

And it was hot. His bald head is not a fan of that bright sun! Good thing they had Strongbow on tap to keep him happy. :)

And I had a giant fresh-squeezed lemonade, which is happiness with a straw if you ask me.

As we were leaving, I noticed some guys doing a live sand castle sculpturing. (This is the back view of it. I swear, it was cooler from the front.)

I ran over to check it out, not realizing John was taking pictures of me dorkily gazing at it.

After I noticed him…

I of course had to dance back over to him like an idiot. Because that’s how I roll.

Sorry, John, but you married me! ;)

I am certainly not a lover of cold weather or snow, but I decided to go out and have some fun on the one day it arrived.

John let me borrow a pair of his combat boots, since I no longer have any winter boots!

Lookie! Icy branches!

I realized quickly that this was perfect packing snow. A snowball fight would have been really fun!

I mean look at these giant snowballs!

But John was being a party pooper and wouldn’t leave the porch, so I built a snowman instead.

Here it is! But it looked a little naked…

So I dressed it up in my hat and glasses.

Snow and ice can be really pretty and fun when you don’t have to deal with it for months and months on end!

But I still only lasted a few minutes out there, and then I was ready to come inside for a fire and hot chocolate.

And some cuddling with my honey/photographer.

There are a few more pictures here.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps was the guest of honor, which was a pretty cool. (He’s kind of a big deal.)

I’m glad we took advantage of the opportunity to meet him and have our photo taken by his official photographer.

United States Marine Corps Photo by Cpl Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

(Yeah… he’s tall, huh?)

The ball took place in a gym, but it was one of the coolest ceremony-wise that I have been to. Not only did we get to hear the Commandant speak, but we also got to enjoy the II MarDiv Jazz Band (I think that’s what they’re called) during the cocktail hour:

And then during the ceremony, the regular marching band came out to do a few songs.

Not only did they sound great on the instruments, but they even sang a few bars of one of their songs!

Sitting in a gym and listening to a marching band play military pieces really brought me back to our annual Veteran’s Day assemblies in high school. They were annoying to have to do back then, but now that I’m an old fart, I guess I miss them.

Hey look, we made use of our tripod and took some pictures before we left for the ball! (Since we’re too cheap to ever pay for the professional photographs you can get at the ball.)

And of course John took this one of me all dolled up.

I loved this dress, even if it probably was worn by 16-year-olds at proms across the country last Spring!

First was the installation of new steps for John’s truck.

Here’s the naked truck before the project. It’s a big jump to get in for little people like me.

John was so excited to unpack the steps.

Hey look, it’s me!

The steps were harder to install than expected. Teamwork pays off!

Once they were done, I got to be the guinea pig to make sure they were installed properly. No more leaping to get into the truck! Wheee!

Next up was our low water pressure issue. It has been a problem since we first bought this house, and was just getting worse. We have a well, so they took a look at the water pump, and Dennis knew just what was the issue.

It ended up just being like a $25 fix.

I’m pretty sure Dennis can fix anything you throw at him.

When he’s around, John fills the role that I usually have: supervisor/observer.

Our water is fixed – consistent and much stronger than before!

This calls for a victory cigar.

No cigars for Sharon and I, we just sat in the garage and chatted with the guys.

Oh, and they brought us an early Christmas gift: a portable Holland Grill!

This is John’s newest favorite thing. He is cooking almost every single meal on it. So of course I’m a fan!

Holland Grills are interesting contraptions. The drip pan is between the food and the flame, so the food can’t catch on fire. You’re supposed to keep the cover closed the whole time – it’s more like an oven than a grill. The food doesn’t get those char lines on them like they would with a regular grill, so I don’t think steaks on it would be the best. But it’s great for our favorite food, burgers, and get this: you can cook BACON on it. That was the first thing John had to try, and it was really good!

The grill actually didn’t come with a thermometer, so John and Dennis drilled a hole in the stainless steel and installed one of their own.

The rest of the weekend was spent eating delicious food and just catching up. We don’t get to see them often enough!

(When I was a little kid, I somehow got it in my head that Ann’s first name was Hoehne. So we still, to this day, call them George and Hoehne instead of George and Ann.)

It was their first time meeting little Adrianna!

And Adrianna even had a few firsts there….

Her first Nilla Wafer:

(Which she didn’t feel like finishing, so she just saved it for later.)

Then she decided that the pizza everyone else was having looked too delicious.

So she grabbed for it.

Yum, her first taste of America’s favorite food!

Austin enjoyed his pizza ok…

But his favorite part (and Jillian’s and my favorite part) was the raspberries for dessert!

The Hoehnes have grown raspberries in their backyard for years. We used to love going back there for a snack when we were kids, and every visit since then has involved either fresh or frozen berries!

It was such a fun time catching up. I’m so glad we were able to find time to make it over there!

A great example is Austin’s bedtime routine…

He LOVES playing in the bath.

He would stay there all night if you let him!

But the fun doesn’t end when he gets out of the tub.

Because then he gets to make faces in the mirror with Mommy:

And dry his hair off by himself. Gotsta look good for the ladies!

He continues to have fun making faces at himself while brushing his teeth:

And celebrates his clean teeth!

After getting his jammies on, he loves picking out a bedtime story:

And gathering the pillow and stuffed animals he wants to sleep with:

When he lets me (sometimes he insists on Daddy), I love getting to read the story and tuck him in.

What a fun kid.

Their parents are so stinkin’ lucky!

I still have more from my trip to Ohio to upload from my camera, but it’s all the way outside in my car and I’m lazy. Maybe later this week. :)

Jillian has a season pass (the kids get in free) and she let me use a 1/2 off coupon, so luckily I only had to pay $22.50 for admission. It’s sort of a lot for the 4 or so hours we were there, but I’m so glad we went. It was my first time at The Point with Aussie!

It wasn’t quite as cold as we appear to be in the pictures (we started out more bundled than necessary). Luckily, the sun was shining!

Just after we arrived, we caught the daily parade coming through. Austin liked the halloween costumes, and I liked the Ghostbusters float with a giant Slimer!

When the parade was over, Austin knew right where he wanted to go – to ride the cars!

He’s incognito!

After some fun on the kiddie rides at the front of the park, we stopped in the Snoopy Cafe (that’s what I call it anyway – I think technically it’s got some other name) for dinner. Basically just a Pizza Hut with Peanuts characters painted on the walls.

Austin kept us entertained.

He really loved his new Snoopy I bought him!

They were having a clearance sale at the Snoopy Store… anything you can fit in a bag for 10 bucks. We got all kinds of fun stuff. (I bet they’re giving away that stuff for free this weekend, since it’s the last of the year!)

Adrianna woke up to have some dinner too. No pizza for her quite yet, though!

I just love this kid.

Austin was excited to make his return to his first roller coaster, the Jr. Gemini! So far, he had only ridden it with his Aunt Caitlin. Now both of his Mommy’s sisters have had the privilege of taking him on board!

He loved it at the beginning and the end of the ride… but in the middle started freaking out a bit. I just held him a little tighter, and he was ok. He was even excited when they took us around a second time!

He’s getting so independent. He insists on doing everything himself – including exiting the ride!

I can’t wait for next year, when Adrianna can join in on the fun a little more! (And hopefully John will be able to come with us too.)

That’s one lucky Mama!

And I’m such a lucky Aunt!