Natalie Cole at Red Butte Garden

I have very eclectic taste in music.  A friend of mine once told me that I like everything from Beethoven to the Beatles to the Beastie Boys!  I guess that's true!  I became a fan of Natalie Cole after I saw her perform a Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  I was so impressed that I bought her album Unforgettable: With Love, which is a collection of many of the songs her father, Nat King Cole, sang (including her iconic duet with her father on "Unforgettable"), and it quickly became one of my favorites.  I think I have established the fact that I absolutely love going to outdoor performances in the summer, so imagine my happiness when I found out Natalie Cole would be performing at the Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre this summer!  I bought a ticket as soon as they were available to the general public and have been eagerly anticipating the concert ever since.  It was wonderful!  I think I was the youngest person there, but I absolutely loved it.  The opening act was Joy & Eric, a duo from Park City.  They played covers of various songs with just an acoustic guitar and I especially loved Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" and Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer."  Natalie Cole began with a very sultry rendition of "Fever" which got the crowd in the mood.  She, along with her amazing musicians and backup singers, turned the large outdoor venue into a smokey jazz club for a few hours.  Luckily for me she played many songs from my favorite album including "Route 66," "The Very Thought of You," "Smile," "L-O-V-E," and, of course, "Unforgettable."  Cole also included many covers including Donna Summer's "She Works Hard for the Money," Michael Jackson's "Human Nature," Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing," and Etta James' "At Last!"  She ended her set with "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" which got the entire crowd up and dancing!  For the encore, she sang an acoustic version of Des'ree's "You Gotta Be" which was amazing.  Such a lovely evening sitting under the stars listening to wonderful music!

Note:  Even though I was the youngest person there, I knew all of the words to every song!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

It has become a tradition for me to take Sean and Tashena to a baseball game every summer so I took them to see the Bees play the Memphis Redbirds last night.  We had so much fun!  I like sitting outside with a great view of the mountains.

Sean likes going because he can get pizza and ice cream in a baseball helmet (which he keeps).

Tashena only goes to humor me...but I think she actually had a lot of fun because she didn't use any of her electronic devices.

She really liked the shirt I bought her (which is why she was willing to pose for me)!

The Bees didn't play very well (they were losing 9-4 by the time we left at the top of the ninth inning) but we still had a lot of fun watching them.  Sean has this funny notion that anyone drinking beer is "drunk."  There were some people behind us who were drinking and Sean kept calling them drunk.  He said he could act as goofy as he wanted because the drunk people wouldn't remember what he did in the morning.  (Where does he get these ideas?)  I don't know if they heard Sean call them "drunk" but they eventually left.  Ha ha!  All of the players have theme songs for when they come up to bat and one of the players had "Turn Down For What?"  For some reason I absolutely love that song so, whenever he came to bat, I would sing really loud.  At first Sean and Tashena were somewhat embarrassed but they ended up joining in.  On the drive home, I played it (yes I have it on my phone) and Sean started busting out his moves.  Tashena and I could not stop laughing!  So much fun! 

At the game last year.

Cascade Springs

Yesterday was a little bit overcast which, in my opinion, is perfect for hiking.  I live in an absolutely beautiful place and can literally get to any number of trailheads in the mountains within 30 minutes.  I decided to go to Cascade Springs and then drive the Alpine Loop from American Fork Canyon to Provo Canyon.  Cascade Springs is made up of a series of cascading waterfalls over travertine terraces.  You can hike the lower loop by the pools or you can hike the middle and upper loops to the source of the springs.  It was especially nice yesterday because it was cool and not very crowded.

After hiking around Cascade Springs, I drove the Alpine Loop.  It was beautiful and relaxing.

I love driving through the mountains (especially with the windows down while listening to Neil Young).  It was a lovely day.

OneRepublic at USANA

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is sit under the stars and watch an outdoor performance.  Saturday night was an absolutely beautiful summer evening and one of my favorite bands came to the Usana Amphitheatre for an incredible concert.  Needless to say, I was pretty happy!  OneRepublic started their set with "Light It Up" behind a giant screen, which whipped the 17,000 screaming fans into a frenzy before it finally dropped.  Whenever I go to a concert, there is always one song that I really want the band to play.  It is usually pretty obscure, so sometimes I'm disappointed.  But it just so happens that my favorite OneRepublic song, "Stop and Stare," is quite popular so they played it relatively early in the evening.  I loved it because it was an incredibly stirring performance with the entire crowd singing along!  I really love Ryan Tedder's voice and, even though it was a large arena with over 17,000 in attendance, he sang with such raw emotion that it felt very intimate.  Many songs began acoustically with one featured instrument and a spotlight (piano for "Apologize," Spanish guitar for "Counting Stars," and cello for "Secrets") and then built to a crescendo with other instruments and the usual light show.  They played a few songs from Native, their latest album, such as their catchy new single "Love Runs Out," "Preacher," and "Something I Need," but they kept the crowd happy with the hits "All the Right Moves" and "Good Life."  When they played "Come Home," they showed images from SLC projected on the screens and that definitely got the crowd cheering.  They ended their set with "I Lived," an incredible song that I want played at my funeral!  Listen to it!  For the encore, there was an amazing rendition of "Wonderful World" (did I mention that I love Ryan Tedder's voice?) and then "If I Lose Myself."  It was a really fun night of great music!

Note:  I also enjoyed the opening bands, even though I wasn't as familiar with them.  The first band was American Authors.  I didn't see their whole set because of an epic parking nightmare (did I mention that there were 17,000 people at this concert?) but I did get to hear their biggest hit, "Best Day of My Life," which was fun.  The Script put on a great show with charismatic front man, Danny O'Donoghue, running through the crowd multiple times.  I really liked their performance of "Breakeven."

A Day at the Pool

Yesterday I was on aunt detail so, of course, Sean and I spent the day at the pool.  It was really nice because it wasn't too crowded and it wasn't too hot.  Last year Sean and I spent a lot of time at the pool because it was so blasted hot!  Sean even found some friends that he had made last year!  I basically sat pool side reading a fantastic biography of Jane Austen.

It was a lot of fun!  After spending the day at the pool, we spent the evening seeing a double feature at the drive-in.  First we saw How to Train Your Dragon 2, which I thought was pretty cute (even though I hadn't seen the first one), and then we saw Maleficent, which I liked even more the second time.  Sean made it about halfway through Maleficent before falling asleep!  I remember going to the drive-in with my parents when I was a kid.  I always tried so hard to make it through the second feature but I rarely did.  To this day, I don't know how Murder By Death ends!

Yellowstone 2014

When I got home from Jordanelle, I had just enough time to do laundry and shop for provisions before I headed out again for a week at Yellowstone National Park (about a five hour drive north from Salt Lake).  I love Yellowstone and I have been planning and looking forward to this trip since April.  Since I am pretty familiar with the park, I had a plan for my time there.  On my first day I visited all of the geysers and hot springs.

Lower Geyser Basin

Midway Geyser Basin (my favorite feature in the park is the Grand Prismatic Spring)

Lower Geyser Basin (I really love the Sapphire Pool)

Old Faithful

West Thumb Geyser Basin (I liked the Blue Bell Pool)

Norris Geyser Basin (I hiked all around the Porcelain Basin which was about two miles)

On my second day in the park I went on several scenic drives.  It was so beautiful!

The Yellowstone River

The Lower Falls

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  So Spectacular!

I was able to see lots of wildlife!  You're not really supposed to get this close to the buffalo but I just kept walking towards them!  On a Yellowstone trip when I was ten, I walked right up to a buffalo to get a close-up picture and it freaked my Dad out.  He couldn't yell at me to stop because he was afraid of spooking the buffalo.  If I recall correctly, the picture I got was blurry...

I stayed in a cabin at the West Yellowstone KOA and it was so much fun!  The people in the cabins were outdoorsy, adventurous, and very friendly with lots of stories to tell around the campfire.  I enjoyed sitting on my porch reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Yellowstone.  Next time I visit I want to go fishing!

Note:  For two nights I drove into West Yellowstone to see productions at the Playmill Theatre.  On Monday night I saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which was fun as always, and on Tuesday night I saw Les Miserables, which was absolutely amazing!  It is a small and intimate theatre and the performers lead you to your seats and chat with you for a few minutes.  They all recognized me when I returned on Tuesday (I sat in the same seat both nights); one of them kissed me on the cheek and another one hugged me.  I really enjoyed both shows and I highly recommend them if you are in the area this summer.

Go here for more information and to purchase tickets.