Disclosure: These are the New Years cards that we designed from Shutterfly. The cards were my compensation for a campaign that I wrote about Family Photo Days. Psssst….these will be arriving here any day, so if you are receiving one, act surprised.
Growing up, I have fond memories of my parents taking me to concerts. This is where I should laugh that some included Paul Simon, Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond, The Beach Boys, and countless other people and bands that they were fans of. Then there was the Rosenshontz concert that brought back the biggest memories. There was something special about being in that smaller theater and watching Gary Rosen and Bill Shontz rock out. Heck, I still remember seeing my mom and dad sing and participate along with them.
Now imagine me, rocking the mommy van with my Laurie Berkner music playing most mornings. As I take the kids to school, we often are belting out Victor Vito, BOOTS, I’m Gonna Catch You, or one of her other catchy tunes. I also have memories of JSL rocking out with Laurie and his play guitar in December 2009. He loved to watch her segments on Nick Jr. Of course, the inspiration for that was Laurie’s song My Family. Here is a video about the song:
Our boys love going to concerts and we were lucky enough to be invited by the PR company representing The Laurie Berkner Band to see them next weekend for a stop on their “Animal Party” concert tour. Yes, Capital Region friends – Laurie and company will be in Schenectady on the Mainstage at Proctor’s Saturday, January 7 at 11:00 am. If you are not near Schenectady, NY – have no fear. The Laurie Berkner Band has other dates on this tour as well.
There are so many goodies on the website for Laurie Berkner, but I love the section about the concert. Check this little bit out:
The Laurie Berkner Band is throwing an Animal Party Concert!
What can you bring to an Animal Party Concert?
1. Your favorite stuffed animal (for your head). Any kind will do!
2. A party outfit!
3. Your dancin’ shoes, so you can groove to the music!
I have a feeling Snowflake and Clumsy just may be joining us for our concert adventure! So my question to you this week is inspired by our love for family concerts:
Have you ever seen Laurie Berkner in concert? I would love to know about it or another concert you went to and your favorite song. No doubt there will be more coming on this after the concert.
Disclosure: My family and I will be receiving complementary tickets to the “Animal Party” concert next week. The opinions are mine as a long time fan of Laurie Berkner and I received no other compensation..
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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
Aloha #184
Tonight, we will gather at our dining room table one last time to light our menorah. This year, we have been using a Maccabee Air menorah. In addition to this, we bought an LED Magen David to add a little extra something to our celebration.
The first few evenings, the boys actually pulled up their little chairs to watch the candles flicker and burn down. While watching, I would play Chanukah music on a special Spotify station that I made with tunes that we enjoy for the Festival of Lights. There were also evenings that I shared some fun holiday music videos with the boys. Another new one was really fun and I thought I would share.
So please excuse me while I spend the day playing games and having fun with the boys while they are home from school this week.
Dear NHL and JSL,
So far, we have had a really nice Chanukah together. I think the only negative items have been the colds that are causing the two of you to be really miserable. The constant screams for tissues and leaking noses are getting a bit old for everyone. Hopefully, they will vanish before the end of the holidays.
Each night, we light the menorah and it is really amazing to watch the two of you.
You have grown up so much. I can not believe that you both basically know the Chanukah blessings and help to light the menorah. It’s also fun to hear you sing along to the songs that we play while eating dinner each night.
I do believe that the two of you get that Chanukah is NOT about presents, but about spending time together as a family.
Love,
Mommy
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If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.
Wednesday came and went and seems like a blur to me. I was hardly home most of the day. Three hours in the morning were spent setting up for the big family party at JSL’s nursery school. The front of the room was festive. There was a podium with a banner, a menorah to light, and presents for the teachers. Each table had balloons, Chanukah glitter, and napkins.
Then, in the back of the room, there was a buffet line set up for everyone to get their goodies. A lot of time was spent baking the latkes for everyone to enjoy. Families were able to have the latkes, apple sauce, sour cream, clementine oranges, grapes, donuts, and juice.
At the Chanukah celebration last year, JSL and the rest of the boys refused to sing and dance. This year, JSL was shy, but more into it. I have video to share with family and friends later on. The kids did a great job. Then, it was time for a sing along. Since I went to set up the latkes on the back table, JSL sat on Mimi’s lap. He was so thrilled that she came along with Aunt S, and Nana. He really liked all of the attention once it was time to have donuts and apple sauce.
Just before everyone left, we decided to take a photo of four generations of us at the party. So Nana, Mimi, JSL, and I jumped into the shot. Thank you to Aunt S for taking the picture.
Thank you to everyone at JSL’s school for helping to make these memories possible. I know our family enjoyed this special time together.
