Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Thomas Donald Lanphear Jr.

I had wanted to do this post to remember Tom on his birthday, but I just haven't had time until now. As many of you know, Paul's brother Tom was killed in a car accident just over two years ago. He would have been 37 this year. It was a huge shock and a tragic loss. Tom was a really good person. Tom and Paul were very close in age and shared many experiences growing up. It was, and still is, so difficult for Paul. Paul has said that growing up, he can't remember very many times when he and Tom weren't together.
When Paul and I were dating we used to hang out with Tom fairly frequently. He and Paul would take their parents little Dodge Colt and come out to pick me up sometimes. Once when they picked me up, Paul was really upset with Tom because he has spilled a huge Slurpee while they were driving and it got on Paul, but not Tom. Tom was able to laugh at the situation (unlike his brother). We went to the first Lollapallooza with Tom, my sister Amie and her friend Sage. It was August in Phoenix at Compton Terrace. In other words, it was H-O-T hot! We had a blast anyway!
As time went on and we grew up and got jobs and whatnot, we didn't spend as much time together. We both really reget that we didn't spend more time together. Tom was such a wonderful person. One thing that we admire in Tom is that he was kind. He was always willing to help anyone. We miss him terribly.

Catching Up

I know I've been slacking off on my blogging recently. I've been really busy... REALLY busy. In addition to all of the holiday preparations, my latest class, Research Design, began this month. It's a tough one, but after this class I only have 2 more to go and I'll have my M.Ed. Of course, I'll be expecting you all to join me in lovely Plymouth, NH for my commencement from Plymouth State University, which I believe will be in August. Just kidding! :) It does look like a lovely town, but I doubt I'll be going. I am very much looking forward to being done with school for a while. It seems like I've been taking classes forever!

So, I'm trying to get some blogging in that I've been meaning to do over the past month. I hope everyone has a great New Year!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Celine Dion

Last night Paul and I took our moms to see Celine Dion. We planned it as a surprise. In fact, we bought tickets over a year ago! My mom figured it out a while ago, but Paul's mom was really surprised. When he told her we were going to Jobing.com Arena, she was excited because she thought we were going to a hockey game! After we got there, Paul finally told her.
We had great seats, 3rd row one the floor, but it was more like the second row because there was only one row of seats in front of us. Mohammed Ali was there, Celine introduced him, they shined the spotlight on him up on the club level, and he got a standing ovation. (Our seats were better than his!)
Now, I know many of you are thinking that I don't seem like a Ceine Dion fan. Generally, I listen to alternative music, not because it is labeled as alternative music, but because I like the way it sounds. The same holds true for Celine. I don't really care what genre her music is, she has great songs and an incredible voice.
That being said. Celine is an awesome performer. Her voice is just as good live as it is on studio recordings. She's very personable and really puts on a great show. This is actually the second time I've seen her, we saw her when she was in Vegas at Caesar's Palace as well. She sang most of my favorite songs, I Drove All Night, Because You Loved Me, To Love You More, a few covers, All By Myself, Alone (by Heart), and a few new songs. The only song she didn't sing that I wish she would have was A New Day.
Anyway, she puts on an incredible performance and we wanted to something special for our moms for Christmas to let them know how much we love and appreciate them. It was great to spend the evening with our mothers at such an amazing concert. I would have some pictures of us, but I forgot my camera!