Hoo, boy. I’m exhausted. Ed’s trip here was whirlwind, to say the least and has left me utterly drained.

Harry Potter was well done, with only a few things that really bothered me as far as translation from book to movie goes. We embarrassed Tim after the movie when we stood around outside of the theater arguing these points amongst ourselves. Yes, I have become a total Harry Potter nerd and I accept it.

On Sunday we made plans to go with Heidi to see (500) days of Summer, but since we were so tired and she had just run a triathlon, we decided to just hang out at the house vs. rushing around to make the movie. Afterward, we headed to No Doubt. A little tip for anyone going to the White River Ampitheatre: BUY THE VIP PARKING! It was the best $30 I have ever spent. I could have cared less about the opening acts and so we didn’t rush to get there right as doors opened (it helped that we had actual seats instead of lawn seating). We leisurely drove out to the middle of nowhere and headed to VIP parking. Not only is VIP parking paved, but it was barely a minute walk to the entrance gate. Once we got there, we peed and found out seats. We hardly had a wait for No Doubt. They were incredible. The show was beautifully done, visually stunning and the band has never sounded better. I was never a fan of Gwen Stefani as Gwen Stefani, but Gwen Stefani as lead singer of No Doubt was fantastic! They played every song you could hope to hear.

Actually, there was this beautiful moment: For the most part, this show is choreographed to the T. I’m OK with that. It’s not how most concerts I enjoy go, but I think there is definitely a place for that; just look at Madonna or Kylie Minogue. They were singing “Simple Kind of Life” and there is a line in that song that says “I always thought I’d be a mom“. Now, we, of course, know that Gwen is, in fact, a mom. Her youngest was born not too long ago (not that you can tell by looking at her abs). When she sang that line, a bunch of people cheered and you could see the look on her face go from a “performance” face to a “Yes, I am a mom and it’s awesome” face. It was brief, fleeting moment, but my favorite of the show. I like to see people be real and be affected by real things-especially when it’s spontaneous, unexpected and completely genuine.

In any case, after the amazing show, we headed back to our car (again, barely a walk) and found out that VIP parkers get preferential exit from the grounds. So while some people were barely making it back to their cars, we were half way home! Again, VIP parking, I totally recommend it.

On Monday and Tuesday, Ed and I attended his summer orientation. Whew! They try to cram a lot of info in, but it was really good. I learned a lot and Ed is so excited to go there. Just a couple more months and my little brother will live in the same city as me! It’s one of my dreams I never thought would come true!

As far as my other brother goes . . . each day is a battle. We’ve spent so much of our life creating this whole world and it’s really hard to let it go. Yesterday I was in a perfectly good and happy mood. Michael came home, I made dinner and we were watching a bit of Seinfeld (I hardly watch new TV, I am all about the shows from the good ole days). It was the episode where Jerry says that, instead of “God Bless You”, you should say “You are so good lookin’”. And then I was done. Joe always said that. I was sad and sulky the rest of the night. Michael declared I couldn’t watch anything that reminded me of Joe anymore. Ha! Good Luck with that. I’d like to see him find something.

A week from tomorrow, Michael leaves for 10 days. It will be interesting to see what happens.