AC/DC - Shook Us All Night Long!

Em & M fine-tuning their guitar strings - Riley is our groupie :)

Em & M on the way to AC/DC

After several weeks of painful deliberation on what to get Em for our one-year wedding anniversary, Meg decided to listen to the cries of him wanting to see AC/DC in concert - she couldn't ignore it anymore. They had just come out with a new album and were in town for the first time in almost 15 years - how could we not go? So Meg purchased the tickets, swallowed hard and presented the gift to Em. Needless to say, Em was ecstatic about the opportunity to see one of his favorite bands in concert. He had his gear ready and AC/DC playing non-stop for the few weeks leading up to the concert.

Once we got there, Meg (being the good sport that she is, all decked out in her AC/DC gear) was ready to go into the concert with an open mind. It can't be that bad, right? Right on time at 8pm, the band came out and started the show. Meg was a little surprised that for a sold out show there were ALOT of seats still empty and really no cool concert effects (no lighting, etc). After the first song, the lead singer introduced their band and told of their Belfast origins. Quite surprised that AC/DC was in fact an Irish band, Meg leaned to Em to express her shock. She also made note that on the large screens it said "The Answer" and figured this was the name of their new song. Finally after 30 minutes of Meg pretending to love the concert and after the band thanked the audience for coming out, Meg leaned to Em and told him "I'm kind of surprised that they only played for 30 minutes - the fans don't seem to into them". Realizing what is probably going through her mind, Em made sure to point out that The Answer, was in fact, the opening band. Embarassed and ashamed that she didn't know better - yet thankful that it wasn't AC/DC who sucked so bad - Meg was ready to give the concert yet another shot.



Finally - the real AC/DC came out and melted faces!!!! The seats were packed with fans who looked like they stepped right out of 1982 and everyone was going crazy. The fireworks, the lighting, the great songs and the entertaining band members all made for one of the best concerts we've ever been to.


Em enjoyed his anniversary gift and Meg came away with a newfound respect for AC/DC. Happy Anniversary, Em!

Happy Birthdays in Harrisburg

Happy Birthday, Abbey & Tess!

Playground Fun!

The kid at heart...

Although our travels have slowed a bit in the past few months, we were hitting the road once again for the weekend. This time - destination Harrisburg to celebrate the one year birthdays of our ever-growing niece/nephew brood - Abbey & Tess. In true Smith fashion, the weekend was packed with eating, chasing babies all over the place, napping, an injury and eating once again.

The day started off with the arrivals from all the out-of-town guests - Mame and Pop from Scranton, Jen from Watertown, the Hawkinsons from DC and the Keanes from Maryland. Once everyone arrived, we grubbed for awhile then hit up the playground with the kids. As the kids tired themselves out from running from one plastic slide to another set of monkey bars, the adults grew weary as well, swinging on the swing sets and holding jump-off contests. It took awhile to convince the kids that it was time to leave he playground and get ready for Chocolate World. The adults however, were ready for nap time. After a brief nap and a few diaper changes later, we were off to Hershey Park and Chocolate World. We toured Hershey and the kids learned where chocolate comes from. A bit later, we headed to Red Robin for dinner. An hour and five hungry kids later (Meg is included in that number) we were eating and causing chaos everwhere we went. We headed back to the house for presents and birthday cake. As if watching two one year olds trying to open presents wasn't fun enough, Aidan decided to spice things up a bit. After scaling the wirey, glass-topped table, Aidan was airborn, falling backwards as the heavy glass top was coming down on him. True to form, Em rushed to his side - saving the child, but not his big toe. After close examination by eight adults with no medical background, we agreed Em would make it through he night. Family time always ends with a bang with the Smiths.

We headed back to MD later that night and recounted the "near death" experience that almost fell upon Emmett. Now, as his foot continues to heel, Em will have a constant reminder of this fun weekend....