"Weird Al" Returns

One of my favorite performers, the great "Weird Al" Yankovic, returned to Utah on the Bigger & Weirder tour with a stop at the Maverik Center in West Valley City on Monday, June 23. It had been ten years since I'd last seen Al in concert, and I didn't want to miss another one.

So, Pepe and I got tickets (nine months ago actually) and went to the show. This was my eighth time seeing "Weird Al" in concert, and Pepe has been with me through the majority of them.

A performer I'd never heard of before, Puddles Pity Party, was the opening act. He was dressed up like a clown, but once you got over any similarities to a murderous clown a la Stephen King, PPP was actually a pretty fun and talented singer. Our favorite number of his was his cover of the "Gilligan's Island" theme song, set to the tune of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven."

When the main man, Al, came on the stage, the whole place went bananas (noise wise). We were treated to a wonderful show. He performed many of his favorite tunes, including "White and Nerdy," "Dare to Be Stupid," "Fat," "Amish Paradise," "One More Minute," "Word Crimes," "Canadian Idiot," "Mission Statement," and so many others.

For a man who's now 65 years old, Al is still pretty limber and athletic, and he moves around the stage pretty easily.

The evening couldn't end without an encore, and this one included Al's two Star Wars-inspired songs: "The Saga Begins" and "Yoda."

Do you feel like you missed out? Well, come with us to the next one. Hopefully, it won't be another ten years from now.

Weekend at Bear Lake 2018

For the second consecutive year, we went on a family vacation up to Bear Lake. Except this time, everyone (all 27 of us) from the whole Plowman clan went, and JB and I were among them for a four-day weekend of good times and good fun.

Day 1: On our way up to the lake, we stopped at Gossner's in Logan for some cheese curd and ice cream, because that is how we roll.

Following, we also stopped by the Smithfield City Cemetery, where Mom and the kids spent some quality time with Grandpa.

After that, we made our way up through Logan Canyon to the lake, where we spent our vacation at a very large house in Laketown, right on the lake, that Mom rented out to fit all of us.

Christian flexed his muscles on the beach:

. . . while Mike and Ike also enjoyed some time in the sand.

After everyone got settled in and we had some dinner, Kate and I joined a few others for a viewing of Disney's Frozen.

Day 2: Most of the gang went out on the water on a boat we rented for the day, while JB and I enjoyed the fresh air and got in a lot of reading. Like you do while on vacation.

In the afternoon, JB and I ventured out on our own to Zipz in Garden City to enjoy what else but a Dole whip and a raspberry shake, respectively.

That evening, we enjoyed a family "RiffTrax" while watching an '80s classic, The Neverending Story. To their great credit, the kids (Dallin and Jackson especially) are much better at riffing than I had initially supposed.

Day 3: Some of the boys buried Jackson in the sand, because TBH you just can't resist the urge to do that while you're around him.

Our final night at the lake included a talent show, during which those more musically inclined than myself performed a few numbers. Ben and Steve performed a couple of Bluegrass Thunder numbers, while Kylee and McKenna sang a duet together, with Kenna accompanying them on the ukelele (quite an impressive skill set I didn't know she had until then!).

Ben and Steve goaded me up into joining them for a karaoke rendition of that "Weird Al" Yankovic classic "One More Minute," with Steve playing the guitar for us:

Toward the end of the evening, we posed for this family photo, with all 27 members of the Plowman clan (including four Woods) present:

On Day 4, we were on our way home to Bountiful, wrapping up an enjoyable four-day family trip.

We look forward to hopefully doing the same thing in 2019.

Christmas and a Galaxy Far, Far Away

So! Our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations were wonderful, too.

We attended a brief church block Sunday, consisting of sacrament meeting only, that featured Christmas music by the ward choir and talks by the bishop, his wife, and Pres. Gibbons of the stake presidency. After that, it was over to Mom's house for Christmas Eve with the Plowmans.

Following a hearty dinner, we participated in a brief retelling of the Christmas story together, as is our custom. My sister had the foresight a few years ago to record Dad reading the text from Chapter 2 of Luke, and that is what we listened to as the kids acted out the parts of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the three wise men, and the animals in the manger. It made Dad feel not that far away at all during our first Christmas as a family without him.

Meanwhile, Kira drew this picture of "Fatty" the reindeer:

Pass the Parcel followed for the kids. JB and I prepared the parcel and the goodies this time around, and I think they enjoyed the candy as well as the holiday swag they nabbed. We then exchanged family gifts. Yours truly and JB ended up with this gem:

Fortunately, JB's family spends Christmas Day together, which works out well for our collective plans. Over at her parents' house, we gathered for breakfast, games, football, and another gift exchange. JB gave me this:

. . . which actually contained "Weird Al" concert tickets inside!

Has Star Wars felt like a recurring theme during this post? So it goes. While we're on the subject, and for the record: We've seen Episode VIII, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, three times now, and it just keeps getting better each time.

La-La-La-La Lasagna

Over the weekend, I made lasagna for the first time:

Granted, I had a lot of help from Steve and Summer and also little Daniel (who went shopping for ingredients at the grocery store with Steve and me), and we used Jana's recipe to mix and prepare the meal.

I think it turned out very well, and no one got food poisoning, so all in all it was a lot of fun to do.