Music awards on a local level

Photo credit examiner.com

While everyone else was shocked and awed by Miley Cyrus' performance on a channel that no longer plays music videos I was rubbing shoulders with Las Vegas Musicians at the Vegas Rocks Magazine Awards show.
A few months ago we were notified of our nomination for best Rock Band of Vegas award. It's really a great honor to be recognized for hard work when we aren't a signed or national band.
We got to walk the red carpet along with more popular musicians and celebrities. It was an amazing experience.
Although we didn't win, we all had such a great time.

Vacation Redux: Florida and Key Largo

Last week we traveled across the country to visit my mom and step-dad in Florida.

They had planned a wonderful trip to Key Largo for all of us. We knew it would be nice, but didn't expect the sheer tropical beauty we would experience there. We stopped at the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park to have lunch and snorkel off the beach. Brian and I snorkeled a cool early Spanish shipwreck and saw so many different types of fish.

This was the view for our lunch.

It was crowded and we were getting overheated so we then headed to the hotel to cool off before dinner.
The hotel overlooked the ocean.

We went to dinner at the Islamorada Fish Company. They had beautiful white sand docks and a little harbor area where they feed large Tarpon fish and nurse sharks. We enjoyed watching the fish and the view right before sunset.

 The next day we visited the Bass Pro Shop which had Ernest Hemingway's boat on display.

 This was inside the cabin along with his old typewriter. 

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.- Ernest Hemingway

We then headed back two hours to their house where my mom made amazing Blackberry Mojitos from scratch.
Hayden wanted to go fishing after we relaxed a bit so my parents set us up on their boat at the dock and we caught and released a bunch of catfish.

Hayden was surprised we caught one right away. Everything was fun until Brian got stabbed in the palm by one of their barbs. Salt water catfish have venom on the barbs and he had an instant reaction to it. We soaked his hand in hot water per the WebMD suggestion and then put baking soda paste on it until the pain went away.
We spent the next day on the boat in the inter-coastal and Hayden discovered the awesomeness of SNORKELING. Last week he wouldn't put his face in the water at all. Now with a mask and a snorkel he's addicted.

That's him looking at barracuda and collecting shells. He did this for hours and had so much fun. Grandma and Grandpa sent him home with his very own flippers and snorkel set. He's planning on snorkeling around our pool.
Overall we had a great trip and came home a little burnt and a little tan.
It went by quick and we'll miss grandma and grandpa.

SECOND F-ING GRADE!

Yesterday Brian and I got all mushy about how quickly our son has grown. I'm sure every parent has those days where you just have to stop, look the kid in the eyes and say "Stop freaking growing."

We got a letter Friday from Hayden's school on what he has in store for second grade. The first day of school is quickly around the corner and he's definitely not excited about it.
His summer was spent being crazy with his best friend Julian and wading in the pool to escape the heat and he's not too excited about the end of the fun.

Last year he was so stressed about the first day of school he kept begging us to not make him go. Then he loved first grade. 

He's gonna be in for a shock though with so much going on the next week and a half he'll be back in school before he knows it.
We're headed on vacation this Thursday and we're all super excited.

He's at the age now where he remembers so much more than we expect him to. Just this morning we had a conversation about our impending trip and he said he was most excited to ride on the boat. He remembers the boat from three years ago and he specifically likes the little cubby hole perfect for him.

Looking back brings us joy and now he's able to express his memories so clearly it astounds us.

We talk often about the wonderful things he'll remember about home and his parents when he's an adult and about what we remember ourselves. Perception changes as we age but ultimately our goal is happiness and so far so good.

Just STOP FREAKING GROWING!

Weekend Redux: A Show, A Lesson and a Game

Photo by my coworker Liz

Friday evening we played a show at the Cheyenne Saloon. We haven't played a show since the Roxy experience and we hadn't played the Cheyenne for about four months. Which is a long time for us considering the last year and a half we pretty much played there at least once a month.
The show was a great time with friends and we made some new friends in fellow bands.
We stayed out late, enjoyed our time and played a decent set.

Saturday my friend Ryan had let me borrow his pass to the Vegas Music Summit so I could attend a panel I was interested in. It was about national booking agents and how they put together tour packages, local showcases etc. Overall, it was a good motivational pep talk for me to start trying harder.
Sometimes I stop sending emails, messages, and making phone calls to the top dogs in the scene when I feel like I'm bugging them or they're just not interested in working with us. One of the speakers said "You have to want to kill for this to be successful."
That comment alone lit a fire in me, especially since I had just heard that another band was badmouthing us so they could get better slots on shows we play with them.
My gloves are off.

Sunday consisted of playing lots of Madden '13 and making chicken eggrolls. Yeah, lazy day but I had time to put together a plan of action for the band as well, and now it begins.