Barbie movie

 We reunited with Kristi, Sid and Sunny to see the Barbie movie.  It was actually Serafina's second time seeing it since she went with dance friends to see it the week before.  

It was absolutely delightful.  

TAYLOR SWIFT!!!

 Quick story...

When Serafina was nine, she went to her first big concert. It was a triple bill of Spoon, Cage the Elephant and Beck.  Though she liked songs by both Cage the Elephant and Beck, they weren't her top picks of bands.  But she enjoyed herself until she got tired and fell asleep in the seats!  She didn't complain or ask to go home, just figured out a way to lay down and snoozed until it was time to go.  I told Tom that we owed her one for being such an absolute trooper, so the next time Taylor Swift came to town, I would find a way to take her.  Of course, a pandemic hit, during which Taylor released three albums.  Serafina's musical tastes have shifted and matured, but she always has a deep love for Taylor. Then Taylor announced her epic "Eras" tour which would cover songs from all 10 of her albums.  My friend Kristi (Sunny's mom) managed to get two pre-sale codes for tickets.  I was waitlisted for pre-sale but never got a code.  The day the tickets were released, it made national news and sparked an immense outcry from her fans because the Ticketmaster site crashed a lot and most tickets were scooped up by scalpers that resold them for thousands of dollars each.  But Kristi and her husband, Ricky, both logged on to put their pre-sale codes to work.  Ricky, by some sort of miracle, got through and purchased tickets at face value.  And two of the tickets he scored were for me and Serafina! Amazing!

As Taylor's tour made its way across the country to us (the second-to-the-last stop), I had heard about the intensity of the fans, the insane merchandise lines and the over three-hour set list.  Now I've been to a lot of concerts, big and small, but nothing prepared me for this experience.  

First we did some prep.  

Pretty nails for Serafina. 

And making beaded bracelets with album and song titles to trade with other "Swifties".  I made most of them because I do love a handicraft. 

Serafina looked so pretty that night.  Gorgeous make-up, beautiful dress. A lot of attendees were dressed very over-the-top, and I think if she could do it again, she would have also worn a more elaborate outfit.  

So parking was a bit of an issue at a sold-out show for 60,000+ people so we parked at Ricky's work and hoofed it a little over two miles.  

Serafina and Sunny in front of Levi's Stadium (home to the 49ers football team). 

Our seats were way the hell up there!  And in the sun for a while.  The adults wandered around a bit, getting food and drink and taking in the crowd.  Everyone was so dressed up and the merch lines were the longest I've ever seen at a concert.  I ordered Serafina's t-shirt ahead of time online thankfully.  

The girls were too excited to do much walking around.  Also, Serafina ended up with blisters so she wasn't doing any extra walking. They took plenty of selfies though. 

I made them smile for me too. 

A selfie with Sidney (Sunny's older sister), Kristi, me, Kristi's thumb and a stranger's cleavage. 

Shortly before the show started.  I'm not sure if you can tell how far up we are but we are waaaayyyy up there.  

There were two opening bands before Taylor took the stage a little after 8pm.  

Here's a little clip of her first appearing on stage and the girls losing their minds. I love the look on Ricky's face when he realizes that these girls will be doing this the entire time. 

The entire stadium was singing along.  And swaying under our feet! Not just a vibration, a full rocking, undulating movement.  For a moment I thought I was having some sort of vertigo episode, but Kristi confirmed she felt it too.  

Do you have a favorite Taylor Swift song?  I do.  It's Lover...

When we entered the stadium, we were all given light-up bracelets.  Just a simple plastic square on a ribbon.  When the show started, the bracelets lit up and were in-sync to the music.  It was an extremely cool effect. 

Here's a video that shows that off pretty well. 

Taylor performed almost non-stop until 11:40pm.  She only left the stage a handful of times for very quick costume changes. She even made some of her changes, very creatively, on stage.  She sang 45 songs, some while dancing, some while playing guitar and some others while playing piano.  It was an absolutely incredible night.  Both Serafina and I felt very lucky to be there.  The recovery from pure exhaustion took a while but man, it was worth it. 

Santa Cruz

A beautiful beach day just because.  Lots of frisbee time for Mousse and our favorite ice cream spot on the way home.  

He insists on pressing his sandy butt right up against her. 

Making sure Leo isn't left out of his slobbery, sandy love.  

Absolutely frisbee obsessed.  

 

Leo's learner's permit

He took the online course, I quizzed him like crazy, we waited in a long line...and he passed!!!

He's officially permitted to drive with a licensed driver for the next six months and then he'll take his behind the wheel test to get his actual drivers license.  

This is quite the milestone! I'm excited for him to take this big step, but I'm also a little nervous.  I'm sure he'll do great.  

Lake weekend with Sunny

The lake house is great, but it's always a better time with friends.  This past weekend, we got to bring Sunny along and it was very fun.  

Here are the girls hanging out on the swim platform.  

Out on the paddle board, splashing each other and probably being very snarky.  

Leo brought his acoustic guitar with him and we got treated to live music on the beach.  

More splashing. 

I didn't take nearly enough pictures, but I did make the girls pose for me after I took them shopping in town on Sunday.  

At our favorite little store in town, Sunny bought matching sun and moon necklaces for her and her sister, who is headed to college next month.  I had to blink back tears in the store.  

Oh and they held my phone for me while I used the bathroom and In-n-Out on our drive home.  

So of course there were goofy selfies when I got it back.  

The night after we left, there was a fuzzy traveler through our side yard.  Glad he wasn't there while we were there!  

 

Auntie Sheila visit

My Aunt Sheila came up for a visit to spend some time with us in the Bay Area and to see my mom.  Since she was here for 4th of July, we did an all-American outing and went to see the SF Giants play.  The didn't play that well, but this hand-tossed caramel corn was delicious.  

Sunny day at the ballpark.  

Our seats were pretty high up, but it afforded us some very nice views of the bay.  I'm glad we got a chance to hang out at the game at this really nice ball park.  

The next day we were off to explore the art museum on the Stanford campus.  We took Grandpa Skip there many years ago.  It's still a great spot to visit. 

This art piece was very uncanny, and a little unsettling.  

Straight from the Gates of Hell to the ice cream shop.  

 We had a really nice visit with Sheila, with plenty of good food and chatting in addition to our adventures.  

Ft. Funston for some fun

It's been a while since we took Mousse to the beach.  He doesn't love the ocean, but he loves space to run and he is an absolute lunatic about a frisbee.  

 Water was cold but the sun was nice and it was a lovely day.