The Last Two Weeks Through The Lens Of My Blackberry. . .

Obviously I'm a little obsessed with taking pictures and I've said plenty of times before that it seems to be the only way I can keep track of my life.  My new phone takes better pictures than my last one, so when it's crazy busy like it has been the last two weeks, I find a pretty good record of what went on just by downloading the pictures on my phone! I'm hoping to say more about the last two weeks at some point because some pretty important things happened, but for now, this will have to do. . .

Monday, August 1st: The first stage is loaded and delivered . . .

Tuesday, August 2nd: Two Truck Pack. . .

Wednesday, August 3rd: Early morning departure (6:30 a.m. at the shop) and arrival (10:30 a.m. at Brundage). . .

The rest of the day was spent setting up two stages and roofs with the help of the Equaleyes guys. . .

We even managed to set some of the audio before calling it a day. . .

Thursday, August 4th: Up Early (7 a.m.) for More Set Up. . .

Friday, August 5th: Up Early AGAIN (7 a.m. ish) for Day 1 of the 3rd Annual Idaho Down. . .

Music ended around 2 a.m. . .

Saturday, August 6th: 2nd Day of the 3rd Annual Idaho Down. . .

Music on the main stage didn't start until 3:30 so Rob and I took the bikes for a scenic drive. . .

Back to work. . .

Music on two stages from 3:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. . .

Sunday, August 7th: The Tear Down. . .

We spent a couple of hours when the music ended wrapping up cables and getting a head start.  I think we worked until just after 5 a.m.  We were up again by 9 a.m. to start a VERY long day of packing everything up.  Two stages, two roofs, two trucks to pack, etc. . .

It's all a little hazy but I think we made it home around midnight. 

Monday, August 8th: BSU Orientation.  8 a.m. . .

I have so much more to say about two of the longest days of Zach's life so this is just the short version.  In a nutshell, we had our heads stuffed with way more information than we can ever use and were simultaneously overwhelmed and reassured.  Zach is now registered for school with a declared major in Criminal Justice.  He starts on August 22nd.  All in all it was a good experience. 

I didn't get to see Gloria until about 6:00 Monday evening.  (The kids spent the week with grandma and grandpa and probably didn't have time to miss me!!)  I took Gloria back to BSU where the "fun" continued. . .

I'm pretty sure this is my highest bowling score.  EVER:

Once again, late night, early morning. . .

Tuesday, August 9th: More of the same. . .

Wednesday, August 10th: Back in Donnelly for The Greencards.  There is more I can say about that but I'm not sure if I will.  If you see me in person, you could ask me about it. . .

It was a small set up so Gloria and I got to spend some quality time together at the lake below Tamarack. . .

And. . . back for the concert which I really wanted to enjoy but couldn't. . .

After we packed up, it was close to 1 a.m. and we still had to drive home.  I won't say much since my parents and in-laws read this blog and I would hate for them to worry but I did take a nap (I pulled over to sleep) in Horseshoe Bend.  It was a long drive.  I think we finally arrived home between 4 and 5 a.m. . .

Thursday, August 11th: Nampa Nights.  Too tired at this point to aim my Blackberry at the stage.  Right before I took this picture, Rob and Kurt both had their eyes closed- proof of how tired we were.  I missed the shot. . .

Friday, August 12th: Set up at Lakeview Park for Nampa's Art Festival.  It took several hours to figure out stage placement but the decision was finally made to cut down a little (unhealthy) tree that was in the way.  This never happens.  Park Department people are VERY protective of their parks so this was pretty surprising. . .

They even stuck around and helped us move the truss that had already been assembled. . .

After what seemed like hours and hours and hours, we finally had the roof put together and set the stage underneath it. . .

And then the kids and I headed to Lucky Peak for a day of boating with the youth group.  Well, it turned into just a couple of hours of boating, but it was still worth it. . .

(more on that later!!)
Home after midnight, up at 6 a.m. . .


Saturday, August 13: Day 1 Nampa Festival of the Arts. . .

Just as the festival was ending for the day, we met Jake (aka, Dog-Dog). . .

Sunday, August 14th (Today!!): Day 2 Nampa Festival of the Arts. . .

AND. . . time to take it all down. . .

That pretty much sums up 14 days of crazy-busy.  I'd like to say that we'll have a bit of a break this week, but I'd be lying.  Tomorrow, however, someone is going to have to clean my house and do some laundry.  I'm pretty sure that someone is going to be me.  After I sleep in a little. . .