Ahhhh....Garth

At this very time last Saturday, Kade and I were sitting in the theatre of the Wynn Casino for one of the best evenings of my life. Preface, when I was young I grew up in a house with "country" parents. They had boots, wranglers, a dodge truck, a farm, and loved country music. Therefore, I of course, found this lifestyle unacceptable and detested country music for a time. As most other young tweens I thought I was a tortured soul but happened to find solace in the music of Garth Brooks. Obviously I couldn't share this fact with many people and thus became a closet Garth fanatic. I eventually starting enjoying all country music and was happy to admit it, however, not many knew about my affinity for Garth. While I listened to every cd Garth released I hadn't ever seen him in concert. It became one of my life-long dreams, I decided that I had to see him before I died. Kade and I had talked about this and we were both excited when it was announced that he would have a show in Vegas. We planned that we would go in a few years when we could afford the tickets and trip.

Fast Forward to Christmas morning at the Tarbet residence. Sally handed us an envelope and honestly looked a little uncomfortable and anxious. When I opened the envelope and we read that two tickets were purchased for Garth Brooks at the Wynn and a hotel room at Treasure Island I honestly started crying. Sally let out a sigh of relief and admitted that she bought them not knowing if it was what we really wanted for Christmas. We were both thrilled.

The date came for us to leave for Vegas. We left early Friday morning and drove to Vegas. We did a little walking and went to PF Chang's for dinner. On the walk back I told Kade that if he found a blackjack table with a low limit and no one else there that I would play. We found just that and a few hours later we left with more money than we started. The next day we walked around the strip, went to the usual stores, found a ZARAs which was exciting, ate yummy food and then it was time. We went over to the Wynn, got in our seats, and waited in anticipation.

Garth came out in timberland boots, jeans, a hoodie, a baseball cap and a guitar. He talked, he joked, he sang, he was everything I imagined him to be. He didn't have a band with him but his incredible voice was so captivating that every song was amazing and you didn't even notice that there was no band. He began by telling about and singing the music that had inspired him through the years. He then took audience requests (one was from a girl in our group- amazing). What other musician could remember every song off of the top of his head? INCREDIBLE!!! He also brought Trisha out for a few songs, she was amazing and they make a wonderful pair. When the night was over I felt as though I had just been in a jam session with Garth Brooks. It was amazing, I don't know what else to say. Kade and I stayed out a little too late again, slept in and came home. It was a wonderful trip, I wish we could have stayed longer. Thanks Brooks and Sally and thanks Garth!

More Christmas....and other pictures.

At a family Christmas party. She has very loyal fans!

Her second hair cut. Now, hopefully, we can just let it grow and continue trimming the rat tail.

Going out to the farm with Dad. Loves it!

Some of her plethora of Christmas presents!

Sorry, not great quality. I took it on my little camera. But sometimes when she is laying down she just spazzes out for no reason.

Jamal R.I.P.

I have been avoiding this post for about a month. One night we were out playing with Jamal, Molly was petting him and talking to him. They had become good buddies. Jamal would politely sit while Molly ripped his hair out and yelled at him. Labs seem to have a long puppy phaze where they are hyper and a little disobedient but Jamal was at the perfect point. He was over the puppy phaze, he was calm and sweet and everyone loved him. He was the community dog. He would go down the street from house to house (some of which leave out scraps for him) and say hi to whoever he could. He loved to join joggers on the road and would spend a lot of time at Kara & Phils with their kids and their new puppy. He had a new friend, Max, that he was showing the ropes. He was at the peak of his life when he was hit by a car about a mile away from our house. The car didn't even slow down but the neighbors that heard it called us. Kade got the call and he immediately went and picked him up. There wasn't much visible blood but he could tell it was bad. He tried calling the vet, who didn't answer. He finally just went to the vet's office and called him again. He finally got through. Jamal died 10 minutes before the vet showed up. He was a good dog and will be missed.

Graveyard Gab

I finished subbing at a middle school in Richmond that I loved. It was perfect. It was only from 7:30 to 11:30 in the morning. I am currently devising a plan to ensure that the teacher quits and then I could somehow sweep right in and take over. But for now I am still at the Youth Center and hoping that maybe something will turn into full time, whether it is teaching or working here who knows.

Molly is 9 months old and changes everyday. She says mama, dada, (she said mama first, no big deal) She still doesn't crawl, she usually rolls and scoots to wherever she needs to get. Lately I think she is realizing that she is missing something because she will just roll on to her stomach and screech. She gets really frustrated. However, today she started digging her feet into the floor and pushing herself she just hasn't put the arms to use. She is going to start giving herself rug burns on her head if this continues. Hopefully she will figure it out soon. She has been napping like a champ. She takes two naps a day which average 2 hours a piece. It has been wonderful and I can actually get something done. She loves animals of any kind and loves going to the farm with Kade. After going in the tractor it is pulling teeth trying to get her to come back with me. She has mostly been a mama's girl until the past few weeks. Every time she wakes up from a nap or anything she immediately starts looking for her dad and would much rather be with him most of the time. I knew it was inevitable. She loves to eat, mostly anything anyone else is eating. She weighs about 20 lbs and it is exhausting to haul her around. She loves music, singing, and waving. I think most of the time she just likes to hear herself and has perfected a high pitched screech. She is a lot of fun and definitely has a temper. She is very busy, and is happiest when she can get out of the house at least once a day. She loves pictures, mainly of herself but has recently discovered some engagement pictures of Kade and I that she loves. When she gets frustrated she loves to pull my hair and bite (not a good sign).

I hope everyone had a great New Year. Although I don't understand why we celebrate another year passing. Sometimes I wish we could just pause life and not change but I suppose a fresh start each year is a good thing. I'm not even going to tell what my resolutions are because I haven't decided how committed I am to them. Thank you to all of our family for their generosity and support through the holidays. We are very lucky!