Say Yes: Coney Kick-off Edition

We have this new "say yes" parenting philosophy and it appears to be working out pretty perfectly for all of us. Basically it comes down to this - if the only reason we're saying no is because it would be easier not to or because we don't feel like it or because it's going to take a little work, then we say YES instead. It feels good to just go with it!

Last weekend was our first official start of summer - our first Saturday and Sunday without a Monday of school awaiting us on the other side. We kept the weekend intentionally open. On Saturday morning we woke up to a pair of "What are we doing todays" and met them with an "I don't know, what should we do?"  They went from "Hmmm" to "Coney Island!!" in less than 2 minutes. Lou and I kinda looked at each other with a silent "Why not" and we were packing up a day's worth of outside gear 5 minutes later!

We have a lot of memories attached to Coney Island because since it's an annual trip, each time we go really clearly marks the passage of time and how much they've grown.  I'll never forget the first time Josie road the turtles - we couldn't believe she was big enough to do such things! Then the day that she had a little sister to sit next to her! Lou and I sat with big full hearts and tears in our eyes as they went round and round together.  We've also had so many fun whole family memories there each Fourth of July. Then this year, they both hit big milestones and we made a whole new set of memories - with fewer slow circles and more dizzy-spinny-squeals!

Yes, our little thrill seekers are signed up for the big leagues. Beatrice, who has interest in doing anything and everything that Josephine does, decided there was no real reason not to hit the Scrambler with both hands up this year!

We all ran up to measure the group and the four of us took to the tummy-tickling skies on the ship!

Then, it happened. While we knew Josie was probably going to be too big for the itty bitty kid rides in the center, we weren't quite ready for it the moment that it hit. The girls marched up the the helicopters and the teenage employee got out "the stick." We thought it was to measure if Bea was old enough to fly solo, but in actuality it was to determine if Josie was too tall. And, she was. It happened fast and without the speech I had planned to give Josie before the turtles. She froze and looked at me and I instantly got a little teary and that sweet boy who couldn't have been more than 16 or 17 looked at her and high-fived her and told her she was SOOOO lucky because she was now big enough for all the super cool rides and told her she was going to have such a fun day! That was that, Bea hopped on the helicopters and Lou and Josie headed to The Tempest and all the sudden we had crossed a couple of childhood milestones. 

Then, more Family of Four adventures! 

Then it was time for Miss Bea to tackle some more big stuff. Her first big coaster!!

Josie and Lou sat in the front car!

And that's when things started to get a little crazy. Lou took Bea to the little rides and Josie and I took to the skies!  The last time I road this thing was on a dare with my Dad, Lou and Brother in Law. It felt a little too soon for Josie, but she said she was ready!  Something about being in a spinning cage with a six year old feels a little disconcerting, but we went for it. We only did a couple of big flips and that was enough for both of us! (Especially because I timed the flip wrong and we ended up upside down while at the top. EEEK!)

Then Bea was ready for some spinning. This is probably one of my least favorite rides on the planet, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Evidence that this thing actually does make you grow cross-eyed!

Arms up Josie!

Then Josie challenged Lou to this monster. (True story, a much younger and spin-tolerant Carri & Lou once scanned the internet with a college friend to track down this ride until we found it because such things seemed like a good way to spend a day a couple of decades ago.) So, away they went! 

Yay for the laws of physics that kept my kiddo glued to the side of this thing as it spins totally vertical in the air. Not surprisingly, there was only ONE enthusiastic thumbs up as the ride ended. Apparently next time we go to Coney I have to occupy the seat next to Josie on this one - yay.

While Josie and Lou kicked it new school, Bea and I kicked it old school. 

Then it was time for a coney at coney! (Even if Lou & I stuck to fries.)

And games! Bea won herself a Frozen poster as we warned every person in a 1/2 mile radius that we were giving a dart to a three year old.

Josie is an epic sling-shotter!

Hot fun in the summa time!

After a couple of hours swimming and water-sliding at the World Famous Sunlite Pool, it was back to rides with some girls who had another wave of bravery.

Time to Tilt A Whirl!

Right about the seven hour mark we started to hit our Sit and Spin Limit!

The girls had a couple final needs - Josie wanted to ride in the "adult seat" on the Frog Hopper.

Yay for a fun summer vacation kick-off at Coney!

THUMBS UP! THAT'S A WRAP!

Janglin Souls

Way back in February, and just in time to be the best birthday present ever, Lou found out that two of our favorite bands were doing a concert together at one of our favorite outdoor venues in Ohio! For a big chunk of a nasty winter, that end of May concert sat on the calendar like a big sunshiny promise of love & happiness.

So, Jack Johnson - totally the soundtrack for the earliest days of Carri & Lou. His first album came out the year we were married.  "Better together" was released when we were in the peak of our pre-kids, two Schneiders, still pretty newly-wed days. His Curious George soundtrack hit the airwaves just in time for Josephine to arrive on the scene and those sweet songs take us back to the days of wearing a circle track in the carpet of her bedroom downtown while we bounced & walked & sang her to sleep with Jack Johnson on repeat. So, suffice it to say that Jack's music has some sentimental value for us. It had been years since we saw him live at Deer Creek and we were really looking forward to a repeat performance.

And then there's Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. I was introduced to their music by a summer intern a couple years back. They popped onto my playlist during a time when I was actively seeking new music and I was instantly hooked. Those of you who know me well know that I'm a tambourine girl in a traveling band in my dreams, so it didn't take long for me to be all-in on the peace, love and happiness vibe of ESMZ.  Those of you lucky enough to know the version of Lou that I know are aware that he's all rainbows and sunflowers under his suit and tie. We have a long history of chasing around live music (our first date was a David Byrne concert), so we were REALLY excited about another opportunity to see ESMZ after what was an amazing show at the Taft last year.

Yeah - so they were playing TOGETHER! At Blossom! In May! After a hellacious winter! And we had tickets!! And my parents volunteered to have the kids overnight! And ROADTRIP!!!!

After dropping the girls off in Xenia, we made the 3 hour drive up to Cuyahoga Falls. It was a gorgeous day and wonderful drive and we were super giddy!  Blossom is in this amazing little pocket of wilderness. Just a couple of miles from the venue, we sat in stopped traffic because there was a giant tree with at least a dozen heron nests in the treetops. They look itty bitty here but they were huge and each had a big 'ole heron perched on top. It was pretty spectacular. (So spectacular that ESMZ's Alex Ebert even mentioned them during the show.)

Then as we were walking into the venue from the super faraway parking lot, a little rainbow appeared. Good times were a 'coming!

After some pretty spectacular sushi from a food truck & a giant cold beer, we headed down to our seats in the pavilion. SAY WHAT?! We had FRONT ROW!!!!  We had no idea until we got down there. Needless to say, we were super pumped!

It wasn't long until ESMZ took the stage. Meet Alex. Some of you may know him as Edward, which is okay, but he's in fact Alex Ebert - who has recently gotten increased attention for his Oscar win for the score of the Robert Redford movie All Is Lost. Anyway, I digress. But this matters more in a minute.

The band sounded great and we were having so much fun!  We were a part of the small but loyal cadre of people who were really there to see ESMZ and it was a blast!

AND THEN THIS HAPPENED! GAH!!!! You guys, they played "Man on Fire" (the song with the line in the photo at the top of this post) and I made eye contact with Alex from the stage and wouldn't you know he hopped off the stage and before you know it I was singing with and dancing WITH Alex Ebert (and hugging, it's true, it happened automatically)!  Clearly I thought this was the best thing in the whole wide world. (Poor Lou, I think I said about 250 times the rest of the night various versions of "Umm, remember when I sang with Alex Ebert" and "Hey, pretty sure I just hugged someone with an Oscar.")  So, yeah, I superfan-geeked-out and it was awesome.

Blossom is beautiful and if you live ANYWHERE near there, please go there to see a show! (And why doesn't a place like this exist in Cincinnati?)

During the set break we ventured out for another beer in the woods, watched all the people passing by and thanked our lucky stars for front row seats!

Then it was time for Jack Johnson. Seriously, I could've walked away from that show totally happy after ESMZ but we still had another whole show ahead of us. And it was great! I'm still not sure how he crammed in so many songs to one set - maybe because I'm used to 30 minute Phish songs & not 3 minute love songs.

Lou and I did our fair share of "remember whens" as we were listening. Soooo many memories attached to these songs. It was a really great night. (Sidebar: This is a pretty good pic of the set-up. These peeps are in "the pit." We've been in the pit before for Phish and it is a pretty badass place to be, but it definitely has it's disadvantages. Now, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't turn down a pit ticket, but we were uber happy in our front row SEATS - with actual seats and our own dedicated space and a little waist-high wall between us and the fools falling all over each other in front of us.)

And then, look who came back. The whole ESMZ crew for a few encore songs!

And check this out - they covered Rocky Raccoon & I Shall Be Released!

And ended with "our song" (and likely "the song" for about half of the crowd).

So yeah, it was a really really really good night. Great music! Time away for the two of us! A beautiful night to kickoff the summer! And all around awesomeness. Oh, and I danced & sang with this guy!

And even if that guy has an Oscar and could use a new tambourine girl, I couldn't be happier that my real life includes this guy - 

THANKS SO MUCH LOU FOR BEING THE ONLY OTHER PERSON IN THE CROWD WHO KNEW HOW TO CLAP ALONG TO 'NOT FADE AWAY,' FOR KNOWING THAT IF YOU DIDN'T TAKE A PICTURE OF ME WITH ALEX THAT I WOULD'VE KILLED YOU, FOR MAKING ALL THOSE MEMORIES ATTACHED TO JACK JOHNSON SONGS AND FOR SINGING & DANCING WITH ME UNDER THE STARS ONCE AGAIN. HERE'S TO MANY MORE!

(Postscript: Something sucky actually happened around this show. After a few weeks of noticing a curious absence of Jade from ESMZ  shows & after attending this show thinking she was sick and just off this tour, a couple days after the show the band announced that Jade had been asked to leave. We are SUPER thankful that the news came out after the show because there's just no way we could've enjoyed it in the same way had we really known what was going on. In fact, not sure what exactly is going on, but it hasn't been fun to watch unfold. This is my favorite version of my favorite song she sings: Fiya Wata. So yeah, that sucks. Guess it can't all be peace, love and sunshine all the time. Hope they all get back to that place again soon! We have more dancing to do!)

Wordless Wednesday