Skip to main content

Brothers of the Sun!


We celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary on July 7 with an all-day tailgate, followed by the Brothers of the Sun tour, featuring Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney (swoon).

Our set up came in handy, since the tailgating van was already packed with all of our items from last weekend's Jimmy Buffett concert -- we only had to re-pack the coolers for beverages and food items.

I will say that the Soldier Field parking attendants were pretty much worthless and could learn a thing or two from the great parking attendants at Toyota Park and Tinley Park (where we usually see Buffett play). Once we parked, it was mass chaos for almost 40 minutes while the parking attendants (when one could be seen) were trying to corrall cars into certain spaces -- and they would not allow anyone to set up until all of the spaces in that row were filled. While this was a small nuisance, it isn't brain surgery. Lay the cones out so people can't drive certain places and they were corrall into your desired spots. (vent over)


The Tiki Bar is open!
Our tailgate set up was about 60-70% of what we generally assemble for a Jimmy Buffett Concert. Small changes -- less coolers and tables, no tiki gods on the tiki bar, and no pirate flags, but otherwise, all of the necessary accoutrements -- tiki bar, 5 coolers, stereo system, Margaritaville blender, portable gas grill, lots of chairs and LOTS of friends!


It's important to hydrate.

Shotski!

Kyra and Lauren

The neighbors!


You can take the neighbors off of Courtyard Circle ...
 Oh, and there was actually a concert after 6 hours of drinking in the hot summer sun:


Five Years Married Today!

While the set up was fantastic with not a bad seat in the house, check out that Chicago skyline in the background!


If you ever get the opportunity to go to a Tim McGraw or Kenny Chesney concert -- GO! We had a blast -- all of our tailgating neighbors were very cool and the show ROCKED. They each performed great setlists of new and old songs, with Kenny also tocking Van Halen’s “You Really Got Me” and Violent Femmes’ “Blister In the Sun.”

Once Kenny sang "Somewhere With You", we could have left and I could have died happy.

Just when you thought the show was over, Tim and Kenny came out on stage together and played another four songs! They started with their duet "Rockstar," and Tim stuck around to help Kenny with “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” and Kenny returned the favor by adding vocals on McGraw’s “Indian Outlaw.” For the finale, Jake Owen joined the fun as the three rocked out to “Running On Empty.”

Fantastic show and a great day with friends!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

#firstdayoffall

We have had an awesome time this weekend with our great friends Kira and and Nat this weekend, who are visiting from the D.C. area.  While the boys started football round 1 (Redskins game), Kira and I headed west to Malta, Illinois to the Jonamac Orchard for apple picking. Talk about a great First Day of Fall activity. Chicago lent us a gorgeous 67 degree fall day. Ripe for the pocking were Early Fuji, Gala, Thompson, and apples. Based on their sweetness and our desire to bake pies this afternoon, we stuck to Early Fujis for baking, and some delicious Thompson apples for snacking at home. We though a peck of apples would do it for our dining purposes. We totally overestimated this. A peck got us 57 smallish apples. After making 3 deep pies, we still have 31 apples left over.  It was our first visit to Jonamac Prchard and it was pretty fabulous for a family day. In addition to a great store with gifts, jarred goodies, and kettle corn, there was a line 50 deep for their donuts. ...

Creamy Tomato Sauce

This is my best low point tomato sauce concoction yet! Let's get to it: Ingredients: 2 cans diced tomatoes (do not drain) 4 t EVOO 1/4 c fat free sour cream 2 T Italian Seasoning 2 t garlic salt 1 t dill 1 t thyme Combine all ingredients except the corn starch. Bring to a boil and simmer on med-low for 15-20 minutes to begin the thickening process. Transfer about 1/4 c of the liquid from the tomatoes to a small bowl and mix well with corn starch to create a roux. Once free of lumps, add the roux to the tomatoes and stir well. Continue to simmer for another 5-10 minutes on low until ready to serve. Stir periodically to ensure the sauce doesn't get too thick or begin to dry (add a little water of this occurs). PP+ 2 for 1/4 of the tomato mixture Serve over pasta (I served it over beef ravioli). Enjoy!

Instant Pot Chicken Marsala

Day two with my Crock-Pot Express (CPE), aka Instant Pot. Tonight, we are making Chicken Marsala, one of The Captain's favorites. Since I'm preparing to get back into the 21 Day Fix starting on January 15 (with the new 80 Day Obsession plan!), I'm going to enjoy the chicken and green beans only, while the rest of the family will have egg noodles with their chicken. I found a simple enough recipe on Pinterest that I'm going to adapt to work for our family's tastes a little bit better. Here is the plan: Ingredients: - 2 lbs chicken thighs, boneless, skinless - 1 T olive oil - 1/2 t garlic powder - 1/2 t salt - 1/4 t black pepper - 1/2 yellow onion, diced - 1 pint sliced baby Bella portobello mushrooms - 1 c Marsala wine - 1/4 c chicken stock or broth - 1 T minced garlic Instructions: - Set device to “Sauté” and add oil. Allow to heat for 1 minute. - Season chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder - Add chicken to pot and sear meat for 3 ...