On Sunday, August 11, my husband made one of my dreams come true when he took me to see the Avett Brothers at Edmonton Folk Fest.  We spent the entire day at Gallagher Park, taking in shows, looking for shade and talking to some really friendly people.  This picture shows the view from our tarp, which was really just a small rug that we brought to sit on.  We spent almost no time on our mat.  It really just became a home base, a spot to keep our back packs and food.  

There were so many people there.  So many good looking guys with beards.  Seriously, Folk Fest is beard central.   None of them quite compared to this guy though:

One of the best acts we were able to see on Stage 1 was Langhorne Slim and the Law.  What an amazing show!  They just put everything out there.  Their live performance was just incredible.  

Langhorne Slim's sound is like a cross between blues and folk or Americana.  When a band has a stand up bass and a banjo player then it's probably going to be one of my favourites.  I'm pretty sure the keys to my musical heart are in a banjo.   The banjo player in The Law literally played until his fingers bled.  We talked to him after the show and he showed us the damage to his middle finger.  Seriously!  I'm telling you, these guys BROUGHT IT!

 During the last song of the set, Langhorne Slim came down from the stage and right into the crowd.  He was singing Past Lives from his new album The Way We Move.  Crawling on the ground, singing, "but I ain't dead, I ain't dead, I ain't dead yet."  That was it.  That was the moment I knew I was (musically) in love.  How can you not love someone who gives you so much?

 You can hear the song Past Lives here.  It's great but it doesn't have the same intensity as it did when I watched him live:

After the show we went behind the stage (it was outdoors) and went to talk to Langhorne Slim.  He was so kind. We got to shake his hand, tell him how spectacular he was and thank him for coming.  This experience was actually all thanks to my husband who is way more outgoing than I am. That's one of the benefits of being with such an outgoing, brave person.  You get to meet people and do things that you would never get to do without them!

We did go see The Milk Carton Kids for about 15 minutes.  They were really great, too.  Like a cross between Simon and Garfunkel and the Smothers Brothers.  Funny and very talented.  Just two guys and their guitars.

I just couldn't concentrate, though!  We had already walked by the stage set up for the Avett Brothers.  See the rug?  At every show.  See the drum?  Scott's drum.  I was in the presence of Scott Avett's drum. It was almost too much.  From the top of the hill by Stage 2 I could see behind the main stage.  There was an RV there that must have been the dressing room because I could see Seth sitting outside the RV.  Just hanging out.  I could see Seth just hanging out.  A couple hundred feet from me.  Makes my heart jump just typing it.  So I couldn't concentrate.  I had to go to the bathroom.  No I didn't.  Yes, I did.  Maybe.

  I couldn't sit there any longer so Jeff and I headed to the bathrooms and then over to the dancing area of the main stage.  The people in the front row had already staked out their own area much earlier in the day.  People lined up from 5 am to be able to get a prime spot.  We just couldn't do that but I was really  happy with the spot we did get.  I could see them really well and the sound was great, too.

Joe Kwon plays the cello.  He is the most rocking cellist ever.  I already knew that from YouTube videos but seeing his energy live was inspiring.  The whole band is inspiring.  The amount of energy and time they put into all of their shows is unbelievable.  Scott and Seth's voices were just perfect.  Their harmonies are perfect.  But I would have enjoyed it even if they weren't!  I was already madly in love with the Avett Brothers and this concert did nothing to change that.  It made it much worse, in fact.  I am now completely insanely in love.  

At the end of the show and the end of the encore, the guys all crumpled up their set lists and threw them off the stage!  AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!  I really wish I had one!  I did find this picture of the set list on the Edmonton Journal's website.  I think I'll make myself a playlist with these songs on it as a memento.  

Photo from the Edmonton Journal

At the end of the show I saw one girl crying.  I totally felt it, too.  I went and gave her a hug.  

We walked past the side of the main stage, over to the bathrooms so we would be ready to leave.  Then suddenly I see Seth running past, holding hands with his girlfriend.  Then Joe Kwon runs by, hair flying in the breeze.  I am shocked... I keep walking and almost walk right into Bob Crawford!  Jeff said I just missed Scott, he was first.  THEY WERE RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF ME!  What a terrific finish to one of the best days I've ever had.  

This was the last song they played.  I & Love & You.

I'd like to especially thank Joe and Auvery Reid for taking care of our girls so we could go enjoy the best date we've ever had.  Thanks also to Jeff Ramage for using his luck and genius in getting us tickets.  I don't know how to thank you guys.  

Have any of you heard of the Radical Self Love project?  It was started by blogger and writer Gala Darling.  Being a woman and having two amazing and beautiful daughters, it's something that really struck a chord with me.  I really do not want my girls growing up hating themselves and their bodies.  Thinking they need to change things to make people love them.  We are constantly bombarded by images telling us we are not good enough.  Problem body?  Go on this diet?  Problem hair? Use this conditioner.  Problem face?  Use this make up.  Well, what if you really ARE born with it and the make up companies don't want you to find out because they are afraid that without that self doubt, without that fear, you might not buy their make up.

No make up, didn't do my hair.  

I liked how I looked even without make up.  Is that ok?

My daughters and I discuss our tummies.  You have a tummy, I have a tummy.  They are different but they are all beautiful.  I love my tummy, I tell them.  The truth is that I'm working on loving my tummy.  Maybe by the time they are grown up I will be all the way there.  I hope that while I convince my daughters to question imagery and advertising I can teach myself the same things.   

Hair and make up, plus a carnation.  My striped dress.

I have decided to start a Radical Self Love Bible.  If you click the link you can see some examples.  It's pretty much a journal dedicated to loving yourself.  ALL of your self.  Even the tummy that sticks out too much.  Even that mole with the hair growing out of it.  Even the big nose.  Even the curly/straight/soft/kinky/long/short/thick/fine hair growing out of your head.  It's kind of a scary thing.  The fact that you might just be beautiful BECAUSE of these "flaws" and not in spite of them.  I think I need a big dose of self love because lately I've been feeling the old demon of self doubt trying to stick his foot in the door.  I want to love myself because I want to teach my girls to love themselves.  I don't want to discuss my "flaws" and my extra pounds because it breaks my heart to think of my girls looking at themselves that way.

Now I need to get myself a new notebook.  For now, I'll leave you with a couple of impersonal type pages from my old journal to give you an idea of what kind of a book you can use (the answer is whichever kind you like) and some materials you can incorporate.  I love using window envelopes.  You can stamp them, glue on them,stick photos or words inside of them.  Cut up old books, old comics, use colored markers or your favorite kind of pen.  I'm looking forward to starting.

Are you in need of any Radical Self Love?  What do you think of the idea?  

P.S.  Ever since I heard the spoken word poem "Pretty" by Katie Makki.  I have wanted to print the entire thing on a blanket and wrap myself in it.  Wrap my kids in it.  I love it.

Banff Vacation

Our first vacation in years and we decided to go to Banff.  It's close, it's beautiful and the mountains had been calling me for two years.  I'd been dying to head out!  At first we thought maybe we would stay in a hotel but our vacation budget shrunk considerably when we found out we had to do a brake job on our car.

We started talking about camping.  We would still get to have a holiday, the weather looked like it would hold and the kids are not toddlers any more (they are 7 and 8) so we might even get some sleep.  An adventure!

We pulled the tent out of the shed and went though all of our camping supplies.  We have a large-ish tent, which is more comfortable than a wee one.  You can actually stand in it when you get dressed.  We had everything we needed except for a few tiny propane tanks and some food.  We stocked up and headed out last Wednesday morning.

My husband, Jeff, had researched some camp grounds on-line and Two Jack Lakeside seemed to have the best reviews.  It's first come, first served - no reservations.  Luckily someone had decided not to take one of the (almost) lakeside spots and we got it! 

 The lake and mountains surrounding it were gorgeous!  The weather was cool and pretty much perfect for hiking.  We set up our tent, had a quick lunch and headed out to Lower Bankhead Trail.  Bankhead was a coal mining town in the early 20th century. It's now a ghost town and made for an amazing hike.

The old structures are all being taken back by the mountain.  All over Bankhead there are "wild" rhubarb plants growing, spread from the gardens of the Chinese labourers. It has spread everywhere and tiny plants even grow in the discarded coal piles.  There are warnings posted not to eat any plants that grow in the area.

My 8 year old on one of the ruins in Bankhead.

The ruins and the interpretive trail were probably my favourite part of our trip.  I would love to go again and wear some amazing ball gown and do a photo shoot in the ruins.

Having a pink-haired little pixie girl was fantastic to photograph all over Banff.

In the evening we went back to our camp site by the lake.  The light and the clouds and the sky and the lake were all so amazing.  We had no cell service at our site, which I thought was great.  It really made us feel like we were far away from everything.

I couldn't stop taking pictures of my 7 year old.  It's the pink hair!  She's my own little pixie fairy, my life sized Strawberry Shortcake doll.  

It's almost a shame to do a black and white version but that's what this photo called for.

They were having so much fun together!  

It was such a great back drop.  It felt like you couldn't take a bad picture!

So, I just kept taking them...

The next day we were all so tired!  None of us slept well.  I was afraid a bear would get us in the night.  It's not even logical.  The parks are managed so well and the staff really keep track of the bears so as long as you are locking up all of your yummy smelling stuff then you really don't have to worry.  But I worried anyway.  Jeff and I slept on nice, thick foamy mattresses but my 8 year old had the air mattress.  Air mattresses are cold!  Foam seems to shoot your body heat right back at you but the air mattress is just cold!  We went for a little hike around the lake and the kids found some ground squirrel holes.  

The squirrels are so friendly.  Probably because they get fed by people  A LOT!  You are not supposed to feed them but they are pretty cute and a little irresistible.  Just look at that face!!

That face is pretty irresistible, too.  

We went to the town of Banff and wandered around.  We went to the Banff candy store.  I remember it from my own childhood and it's the store I always imagine when I read about Honeydukes in the  Harry Potter books.

Next we went for another hike.  This one was a doozy!  It was a very steep hike up the mountain to a waterfall.  The mosquitoes were killer!  So was the view.

We made it to the top.  It was really a tough hike.  My butt still hurts from that climb!

We decided we would cram in one more hike.  It was a really short one on Tunnel Mountain.  I really wanted to go and my family indulged me.  We were all so tired we just wanted to go back to camp and sleep.

Those were my last real pics of the trip.  We stopped at the Upper Banff Hot Springs  on our way out of town on Friday morning.  By the time we were done there we were so hungry!  We went back into town and found the yummiest little burger joint, the Eddie Burger Bar.  I had the Kiwi burger on a gluten free bun (lamb, of course!) and Jeff had the Greek burger.  They were really good, the staff was busy but really friendly and helpful.

With full bellies, we headed back on the three hour drive home.

It was a great vacation!  We are already planning to go again next year.  I really want to go glamping next time, though.  I better get to work on that.