Dream on

When I was in high school I saw Aerosmith on the Toys in the Attic tour. I saw J. Geils on the Sanctuary tour.

I wore this tshirt for a long time.

And Aerosmith's bad boys, led by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, became part of the sound track of my formative years. Dream on, Walk this Way, Back in the Saddle, What it Takes, Sweet Emotion, Last Child....

At the time, a girl growing up on the shores of Erie and Ontario....did I know I was going to move to Boston and never leave? No. But I was a good Irish Catholic girl...brought up to love the Red Sox and the Kennedys...so honestly? It wasn't that big of a stretch.

Roll forward the clock and here I am...living in Boston, for longer than I've ever lived anywhere. It's home. Just like it's home to the guys that took the stage at Fenway the night of August 14, 2010 with all those songs...Those songs? They're home too.

Before Aerosmith took the stage on the hallowed greens of Fenway we were treated to the following video, narrated by another Boston bad boy - Dennis Leary...




Need I say more?

Was it worth the exorbitant price of admission?

Steven Tyler in amazing voice, strutting and writhing on stage like it was 1978?

Yes. It was priceless.

I know he's paid the devastating meth clinic hell hole price of being a bad boy...but Tyler is a survivor. And that night he was triumphant.

We all sang at the tops of our lungs when he surprised us by showing up on top of the Green Monster sitting at his white baby grand piano...playing "Dream on."

Yeah, we had been dreaming for many years... we had no trouble singing out into the starry skies about Fenway.



Thankful for all of it.

Ah...Summer Camp

I love summer camp. I remember my days at summer camp so well - those quintessential summer days, the sounds of kids and splashing water, the smell of the woods, the dock at the lake, the singing and the mess hall.

Drew goes to Camp Rotary every summer for 2 weeks and looks forward to it all year. It's a classic camp with everything from sailing to ropes course to archery and loads of funny songs and themed parties. He meets up with old and new friends.

They post pictures online every day and it's fun to go look through them, hoping to see Drew.

Here are today's Drew sightings!

Before the jump:

During the jump:

Man Camp

This weekend the men and the boys headed to Lake George to camp on the islands. This was a repeat of a trip that happened about 10 years ago...and now, a new generation of kids were inducted into man camp.

11 guys. 4 tents. 3 days. 2 boats.

Did they have a good time? Does a bear sh** in the woods? Do men build fires that are too big? Do fish get sacrificed? Are there stories none of us will ever hear?

Yep.

SPANG at Gillette Stadium

Spang played a Battle of the Bands at Gillette Stadium in June. Was kind of a rainy day but how cool is it to be at the Patriot's stadium!?

The guys had all just come off of prom and decided on a whim to wear their tuxes for the gig. When asked by the emcee, "What's with the tuxes?" Dylan said "We wanted to be classy." Ha! In this crowd of trendy hipsters...they certainly stood out. Mission accomplished.

Give them an Ovation

This is Drew's second year in The Ovations, an all guy's singing group at the Middle School. At the end of the year concert they performed....well, you know the song....Dom, dom, dom, dom, dom, dom be dooby....

Imagine

Drew has really gotten into piano this year.

He chose one of my all time favorite songs for his recital.

No. Way.

Those crazy Germans...

Better than money

You know in your gut that:

1. A happy marriage is more important than money


2. Commuting is a soul-sucking, deadly experience


3. Friends and laughter are essential
   

And today, in his NYTimes column, David Brooks provided all the data to back it up.

Here's my favorite quote:

"If the relationship between money and well-being is complicated, the correspondence between personal relationships and happiness is not. The daily activities most associated with happiness are sex, socializing after work and having dinner with others. The daily activity most injurious to happiness is commuting. According to one study, joining a group that meets even just once a month produces the same happiness gain as doubling your income. According to another, being married produces a psychic gain equivalent to more than $100,000 a year."

Drew's singing

It seems Drew has been singing and whistling his whole life.

He sings so unselfconsciously. He makes up songs all the time.

He sings to himself, to me, his friends, the dog.

He must sing around the halls of school too, because last year, in 6th grade, the 7th-8th grade music teacher invited him to join the 7th-8th grade a Capella group...and then submitted his name for State junior districts where he sang with other song-meisters from around Massachusetts.

This year Drew is actually in the middle school...and he just keeps on singing. But now, he has even more great ways to do it.

Here he is as Samuel in Pirates of Penzance:



(He was quite a hit with the girls, too.)

And this weekend he performed at the Junior District concert for his second year.



This will be his last year as a Soprano - his voice has officially changed and hitting those high notes was tough!

Bob comes from a long line of singing Welches. And he's always told me, whenever I wished for a little quiet and got frustrated with Drew's constant singing and whistling....

"Mol, only happy people sing...only happy people whistle."

Bob's right.

Snap, Crackle, Oscar

I held my third annual Oscar party this year.

I wore my trusty thrift store dress. Ann wore hers too. Mari wore her new California stack heels. And yet, all I seemed capable of doing was taking pictures of the most honored guest....Oscar.




Patty is world-renowned for her sculptural expertise in the medium of breakfast cereal.

And she out-did herself this year. Presenting us with an anatomically correct, such as he is...Oscar.


We couldn't keep our hands off him.


As the night heated up, and the food and laughter and awards and cries of Oscar Bingo were heard, his marshmallow gave and he did start to tilt.

So, well, it was Ben that took the first bite.


And then...we ate him.

All that and the first woman won Best Director for Hurt Locker.

Great night all around.