Anyway, we started this summer of RIGHT back in May - with a trip to Atlanta to see our very favorite band. I'm sure by now, everyone knows I'm talking about Zac Brown Band! As a reward for all of his hard work this year in school, Aidan got to tag along with me and Andy! We were all super excited!
Before the show, we joined the Zamily (Best fan club EVER) Tailgate and made TONS of new friends. Check out this crazy group!
Awesome food, friends, and FUN!
Aidan got to hang with his ztick peep. The stick peeps are a Zamily tradition, giving those of us that can't make it to every show a way to be there! The peeps have been everywhere! A fellow Zamily member made Aidan and I peeps a few months ago (thanks Terri), but this was the first time that Aidan saw his peep in "person."
We got to hang with our buddy Shila, whom we met back in February at Sonia Leigh's show at Criminal Records in Atlanta. Awesome!
Aidan bonded instantly with fellow zamily member, Amy. I think it took them about 30 seconds to be best buds!
Aidan and Carole hit it off quickly too!
The amazing Carole brought several hundred glow sticks to pass out to everyone to crack during "Free," and Aidan was all about passing them out to everyone in the parking lot. We gave him a cup for donations to Camp Southern Ground and he and his dad made their way around the parking lot, passing out glow sticks, talking to people about the camp, and collecting donations for CSG.
I think around $150 was raised, and went in the giant CSG dream jar at the show!
Aidan got plenty of play time too! His daddy was awfully proud of this moment…;)
We claimed some prime real estate on the lawn at Lakewood, and got ready for an awesome show! We were joined on the lawn by some fellow Zamily members - Sharon, Jeff, Kathy, Dale, Amy, Susan - thanks for hanging with us! We had such a great time!
Aidan and Alana, enjoying the show!
Aidan and I went exploring between sets and found the Camp Southern Ground booth! Executive Director, Jean Peck, was at the booth, and she was thrilled to finally meet Aidan! We had fun taking pictures - thanks, Jean, for sharing the photos with me!
We are BIG supporters of Camp Southern Ground (see the "paying if forward" tab to read all about our awesome little monkeys!) In fact, we are already planning our next family project to raise money for CSG at the Southern Ground Music and Food Festival in Charleston, SC this October. Stay tuned…
The show, as always, was AMAZING! If you haven't seen Zac Brown Band live yet, you are missing out!
After the show, we got the one and only Coy Bowles to sign a copy of his children's book, "Amy Giggles: Laugh Out Loud" for Aidan. Thanks Coy!
What an AWESOME day! The ride home was rather quiet in the back seat!
So that was our big summer kick off party! We had a great time and made lots of new friends. In fact, do you guys remember our new friend Amy??
Well, she was our Secret Elf for the Zamily Christmas in July gift exchange. She gave us the most perfect and thoughtful gift, and I just had to share.
We are most definitely NOT your average family, and there is NEVER a dull moment! PERFECT! Thanks Amy, we LOVE it!
And finally, I would like to give a huge thank you to Kathy O'Toole, for taking such amazing pictures and allowing me to share them on the blog. Kathy took most of the photos in this blog post, and she did a wonderful job! Thanks again, Kathy!
Much love,
Allie
