Pops in the Park

There are a few events that I look forward to every year.  Pops in the Park is one such event.  As a lover of all things music, I love the Kansas City Symphony.  I love it even more when the Symphony plays somewhere awesome like Shawnee Mission Park.  Pops in the Park has become an annual tradition for my family.  We pack a cooler, grab the lawn chairs and head across the state line to enjoy a night of the Kansas City Symphony.  We've managed to coerce some friends of ours to make it a tradition as well.  When we arrive, it's still light out and usually VERY warm.  This year, however, we had an unusually cool and VERY enjoyable afternoon/evening outside.  No sweating today!

The Pops in the Park gang.

This event has become incredibly popular!  It makes my music teacher heart SOO happy to see so many families outside enjoying the symphony!

I had invited Courtney and her family to join us this evening, but they had company in town.  I was disappointed but I understood.  I was just sitting in my lawn chair enjoying my surroundings when I looked up and look who I saw!!  It's the Gustafsons!!  I was SOOO excited to see them!!!  What fun!  This was Georgia's very first concert -- look how cultured she is!  The music teacher approves! :-)

After a few minutes of screaming and laughing and chatting, Georgia was anxious to get back to her cousin who is apparently much more fun than I am!  It was good timing, though, because the symphony was getting ready to begin.  Not that it's surprising for me to have a blanket in the summer, but it was getting chilly.  Here's my few of the stage.

Like I said, it makes my music teacher heart so very happy to see all of these people enjoying the symphony.  But I was completely distracted by any of that because I FELL IN LOVE!!  There was a family just behind us and to our left with two little boys.  One of the little boys (who couldn't have been more than 3 or 4) stole my heart!!  LOOK AT HIM!!!!

If you can't tell, his "violin" is a plastic toy guitar and his "bow" is a drum stick.  He played his "violin" to EVERY STINKING SONG!!  And at the end of each piece when the audience clapped, he bowed!  I could barely take my eyes off of him!!  Dear Jesus, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me have a child like this!!  :-)    Be still, my heart!


And apparently while I was oohing and aahing over the new love of my life, my dad got a little sleepy...

What a glorious view.