Collective Soul

We had a wonderful time with our friends Ron and Dianne at a Collective Soul concert in San Diego last month.

Here are a few of the photos I took.  

This is one of those bands that people seem not to know by name, but when they hear a few of their songs it's like "oh yeah - I love that band!"

Not sure why the name "Collective Soul" doesn't still with them.

Anyway, fantastic show.  We highly recommend it.

 

Switchfoot

We went to see Collective Soul in August and a band I hadn't heard of - Switchfoot - was playing with them.    Turns out they put on a very fun show!

I had stepped back to get a drink when they started and this is the view I saw as I was returning.

Before the show I had read that they were a Christian band so I was like - rut row - we're going to get preached to all night.

However, that was not the case!  They aren't a "Christian band",  they are a band whose members happen to be Christian.  That's what the band says and I believe them.  If there was any preachin' going on I didn't hear it!

The stage performance was very energetic and uplifting, I'm glad we stuck around to watch it.

Here is the singer Jon Foreman coming out into the audience for some fun.  He was practically leaning over my seat!  The audience loved it.

The band even brought other performers onto the stage.

This was nice to see and it seemed even the band enjoyed it.

At one point they brought four brothers up and turned over their instruments for them to play a Switchfoot song.  It went great!

The brothers taking a bow.

And then came the bubbles.  Oh the bubbles! 

Again, very uplifting to watch.

A look back behind my seat during one of the songs.

This woman really lit up the stage when she came out to sing.

I believe this was the last performer they invited up.

Anyway a very good time - I'd recommend seeing them if you can.  They are from San Diego so hopefully they will put on shows often.

Thank you and good night!
 

Today Is Our 40th Anniversary

Forty years ago today I talked the most wonderful woman into marrying me.  We just told a few of our closest family and friends, ran up to Carson City, Nevada and got married one fine Saturday afternoon.

Here is the chapel where we were married - 112 North Curry Street in Carson City, Nevada.  It is about a half block from the Nevada State Capital building.  This photo was taken about a month before our marriage.  This building was originally a home and has been at this location since at least 1860 - before Nevada was even a state!

My wife and I with our first kiss as a married couple.

We were flat broke at this point in time with just enough money for rent, food, and a little gas for the car.  Everything for this wedding and reception was donated to us by my parents, my wife's mother, and wedding guests.

Therefore, we didn't have an official photographer and relied on our guests to capture the moment.  Thank you!

The wedding party with our friends Dolly and Brian.

My wife is looking out the window watching for my parents, I suspect.  They had taken the scenic route to Carson City that morning, going to South Lake Tahoe on the way.  Unfortunately, August is the height of the busy season there and traffic was at a standstill, so they missed the wedding.  There was another wedding after ours so we couldn't delay and since this was pre-cell phone had no way to contact them to see what happened.   As it turns out, they arrived just as we exited the chapel.  As you can imagine, they were extremely upset with themselves over the whole situation.

One final photo at the chapel.

My wife's sister graciously offered us her home for the reception.  Here we are upon arrival.

That's my niece Renee looking on.

And one of the beautiful bride.

My wife and I with my parents.

All of the single males in attendance

My wife's grandparents - a very kind couple.

My closest of friends John.

The wedding cake, I would imagine purchased by my mother-in-law.

Cut the cake!

We've never understood the tradition of smashing food into your new spouse's face, so we did it very gently and respectful.

Say ah!

Perhaps we should have used silverware.

One more pose!

I had forgotten about this photo.  It came out very well. 

Since these photos are from various guest cameras, they are of various quality.  The photos with darker, richer colors are from someone's instant Polaroid.   While the colors are richer, I've noticed that those photos are also starting to break down after 40 years.

My wife's sister Debbie.

My new brother-in-law Neal.

My nephew Mark.

My mother, wife and I at my car.  Not sure what we were doing.  Probably inspecting the "Just Married" decorations that had been added.

My sister Karen, her new son Raymond, and boyfriend Tim.