McGuffey Lane, cook outs and parades.

Friday night I attended a McGuffey Lane concert at the Fraze with my family and good friend Linda. It was fantastic. I grew up listening to McGuffey Lane albums (picture above) with my mom; she and my dad loved McGuffey Lane. My parents would see the band when they came into town as often as they could and my mom taught me a dance to one of their songs when I was in 7th grade.

McGuffey Lane originated in Columbus but traveled around nearby cities to play as well. My dad said when they played at the local bars the line would be so long that they had to wait for people to leave before more could enter due to fire codes.

The concert was great and I wish I would have taken my camera so I could show you some clips of their songs. 3 of the band members have passed on but you would never know it by listening to them sing. They brought back 3 of the original members and they did a great job performing. This was their first time at the Fraze and I think they were surprised by the number of fans who came out to see them; they nearly packed the place.

My 4 year old niece Maya wanted to come along too. She was excited to attend an "anadult" (adult) concert. :) She has listened to McGuffey Lane with my brother so she knew some of their songs. She was such a good girl and she truly enjoyed the concert. At the end she brought out the rock star in her and sat on my shoulders waving my cell phone from side to side. She was a lot of fun.

Here is a clip of them singing one of my favorite songs. (click here)They don't sound nearly as good as they did Friday night. They brought back the rest of the original members for the Fraze. We hope to attend their concert again if they happen to come back to the Fraze next year.

The next evening my dad invited everyone over for a cook out. He has worked really hard on his deck and landscaping recently so he decided to have everyone over so we could all enjoy it. He smoked ribs, chicken, beef brisket and pork tenderloin in his smoker. It was soooooo good. He also made baked potatoes, smoked baked beans, pasta salad, brownies and Culver's custard for dessert. My grandma made her yummy fruit salad too. It was a good eating.

As dinner was winding down my dad told us all to stay on the deck and get ready for the parade. We all wondered what he was up to; you never know with my dad. He and Maya disappeared for a while and then reappeared driving my dad's riding mower through the back yard gate..... here is the video.

My dad never ceases to amaze and surprise us; he loves to do this kind of stuff. He mails the kids cards all the time with a picture of his face cut out pasted in the return address spot on the envelope and typically there is something creative inside the card as well.

I cannot tell you how many times my dad has surprised us with gifts, nice cards and letters out of the blue for no reason at all. He is awesome and I love him very much. Not just because he gives us gifts, but because he is the best father any daughter could ask for. He has such a big heart and he loves to show his family how much they mean to him. I only hope he knows how much he means to us.

After the parade my dad turned on the hot tub and he and Nick sat in the bubbly water for a while.

Maya decided to run into the house and get a back scrubber to wash their backs...

Between the bubbling of the hot tub and the flicker of the fire from the fire pit (which we now own) I could have fallen asleep. It was a nice relaxing evening spent with people I love very much.

We are very blessed. We plan to have a cook out with Greg's family in a couple weeks for his mom's birthday.... we are blessed with many people to love and spend time with.