get on the roof

16 Reasons to Get Yourself on the Roof(top Concert Series) this Friday:

1. It's outside. On top of a parking garage. In the summer. #epic
2. It's F R E E .
3. There will most likely be white lanterns strung all over the place.
4. Black Sheep Cafe's sweet potato fries.
5. India Palace's curry stand.
6. New Electric Sound is playing. (Need proof for their coolness? Watch here:
7. Oh yeah, and Fictionist will be there too (!).
8. It's easy to get to the front of the stage if you want.
9. It's easy to get far away from the stage if you want.
10. You can sit or stand.
11. Sammy's shakes are a mere stone's throw away.
12. Chances are you'll run into at least five people that you know and like.
13. Always great trend spotting here--pompadours, stars and stripes denim pants, suspenders, teal windbreakers...you name it, Rooftop Concerts has it.
14. FlyProvo sponsors the Concert Series. Here's why this counts as a reason to go to the concert: If you haven't flown out of Provo yet, it's pretty much all-caps COOL. Super-convenient, super-close, they give you a warm cookie on the flight, annnnnd you get to walk out on the tarmac like you're in a 1940's film. (If you're missing my logic here, if FlyProvo=COOL and FlyProvo=Rooftop Concerts, then Rooftop Concerts=COOL.)
15. 3BYoga also sponsors it. Anything these people do turns to gold, so you know these concerts have to be good.
16. I'm going to be there, so duh it's a good idea.

In other words,
Provo Rooftop Concert Series.
7.30 on September 7.
Seriously, though.
Come.

Andrea

From a night of white lights, dancing, root beer, and lots and lots of pictures.

tiny bird, mountain clouds

Tonight we found a baby quail. Maybe its mom lost it, or maybe it lost her, but either way, we found it in a cat's mouth, so under a heat lamp in our garage it went.

It was still shivering an hour later, so I held it for a long time, cupped in my hands. The tiny wings, the tiny beak, the tiny down...the thing was perfect. And after thirty minutes it had stopped shaking.

Amazing that something so tiny can be so perfect.

There were big storm clouds tonight too, and the kind of monstrous thunder that rumbles (as opposed to the kind that crashes). We wrapped ourselves in heavy quilts and slept out under the storm clouds, the whole family. When I woke up, the mountains were tiny against the currents of clouds. Parts of the sky looked like paint-by-number.

rooftop concert: 16 good things

This week's been a bit of a case of the mean reds, I'm afraid. I almost stayed home tonight to get some sleep and some rest and maybe do some laundry or read a book or be responsible like a real-adult is. But then some very influential people called (and by "very influential" I mean they have the power to talk little me into anything, not necessarily "influential" like Mitt Romney or Oprah or Mr. Darcy) and before I knew it, I was driving down to a little thing we call the Rooftop Concert Series.

And boy am I glad I went, because the night bubbled over in benevolence, old friends, new introductions, and lots of good tunes.

The list of good things is as follows:

1. listened to Blessid Union of Souls all the drive down. (They actually have some amazing songs.  Remember this?)
2. found the haircut I've been dreaming of.  I'll explain: there's a haircut that exists in my mind but that I can't find any pictures of or examples of anywhere.  This makes requesting said-haircut difficult and risky. (Not to be confused with "risque," which my nine yr. old sister did this afternoon.) So where's the best place to find awesome haircuts?  The Rooftop Concert Series.  I asked the girl that was sporting it if I could take a picture, and she was so obliging, she even explained to me the ins and outs of the haircut.
3. was introduced to the charming sounds of Book on Tape Worm.
4. saw a whole slew of people I really like. (Can you use the word "slew" when talking about people? I'm not so sure...)
5. met Danielle, a girl with very much kindness and very amazing hair. I think we'll be friends now. Especially because we see each other sometimes at the milkshake place.
6. saw a new side of Brandon tonight--the "fightin' words" side.  this = exciting because it means we've crossed into a new realm of friendship.  which i like a lot.
7. saw Miss Liz (yep, apparently these concerts are the place to go). She is tall and stately and elegant and beautiful and every time I see her I feel better about who I am because that's the effect she has on people. Sigh.
8. stood on an elevated curb, held onto a railing, and swung out so I could see the concert better. I don't know what it is about holding onto railings and swinging out, but I find it particularly wonderful and want to do it all the time. (One time doing so almost got me hit by a bus in Scotland. Sheesh, remember that time?)
9. got to go up close for the last band
10. realized the last band is actually a band that I LOVE. He headlined under the name "Isaac Russell" (which I didn't recognize) but when I knew every single song by heart, I started trying to figure out where I knew the music from. It was like music from a dream. Then on the last song it hit me--RURU, a band I fell in love with years ago when my friend Marci introduced me to them. (At least I think it was Marci...sorry if I'm giving credit to the wrong person.  There is nothing worse than when someone else gets credit for finding a band that you love :)
11. sat on the concrete for a while with my amigos. There is something singularly enjoyable about sitting on concrete with nowhere to go on a summer night.
12. saw Daniel (an old, old friend who I haven't seen in years) and met his wife, who was darling and who I think I want to be friends with because she's starting a publishing company and likes good music and was otherwise just generally really delightful to talk to.
13. saw Joshua James, long-time musician idol. He was wearing reeeeeally short shorts.
14. saw lots of handsomely trimmed beards and shirts buttoned up to the top button--all things I find endearing.
15. drank some dang good grape soda.
16. drove home with the windows rolled down, doing that wavy thing with my arm out the window (you know what i'm talking about), listening to "Time after Time" and I didn't roll them up until I was parked in my driveway. I need more of those summer moments in my life.

dream of summer evening

Late summer evenings,

Rocking chair on the porch, white paint peeling

A sticky neck from the day’s humidity

And storm clouds on the horizon.

The big old maple tree out back

Where we played when we were kids.

Heavy with our secrets

Heavy with our stories,

And our lonely secret summer love.

Rain on the roof above

Beneath the red and navy quilt,

Squares soft like skin

We had a dock.

It was summer.

{summer evenings}

Tonight, Spencer came home from his mission to Paris.  We spent the remainder of the evening all gathered around him, listening to stories, listening to him laugh, so happy he is home again.

{summer evenings}

Tonight we had a miniature tea party on the bridge over the creek, then hunted for bugs.