The family that rocks together...

...is the coolest, most fun and, obviously, the happiest family around! We took the children to their first concert last night: The Sounds, Paramore and No Doubt. We thought it was an appropriate way to mark C's turning 9 months old. It was also the day before J and T's 10th anniversary (not to be confused with their 5th wedding anniversary, which isn't until next weekend). The venue, Shoreline Amphitheater, was deceptively ginormous. To hear a venue that can seat over 22,000 people (which is how many were there last night) described as intimate seems like a joke, especially to a couple of Portlanders. But it was surprisingly cozy for an outdoor "arena." And not being able to see the stage didn't bother us at all...for the first two acts. T thought, that since we had already seen No Doubt when they co-headlined with Blink-182 in 2004 (with great seats), that it wouldn't be a big deal if we couldn't see the stage or had to leave early, making it the perfect trial run for B and C. But once the band started it became obvious that we were missing out on a large element of the fun by being as far away as humanly possible while still actually being at the concert. No Doubt is one of the highest energy shows we've ever seen and the antics of the band is half the fun; and now they've added a flashy element to the show that just didn't translate very well to the video screens.

None of that mattered to B or C since they were asleep, snuggled into a sling and a wrap respectively, by the time the headliners took the stage. Well, that's not entirely true...B did manage to stay awake for about three or four songs, but most of that time was actually spent on a trip to the port-a-potty (smart girl, really, that is the best time to go since the lines are the shortest). For the most part both kids had a great time, playing on the blanket and enjoying the special family time. B danced her little heart out to The Sounds (none of us were much impressed by Paramore) and made friends with everyone around us. She just may have been playing up the cute a bit for her audience, but she was subtle so we can't say for sure. We made it to almost the very end, we heard two more songs as we walked to the car, so we think the outing was a rockin' success!

dinner at Pluto's before the show
enjoying the opening acts
(attack of the adorable children!)
(the cool kids)
(looking for the moon)
(nice and cozy)
No Doubt takes the stage & they're sleeping!
The End.