Track and Field

MORNING OUTING: It was a lovely, sunny morning, so we decided to take the dogs for a little stroll on a nearby school's field. 

We were greeted with this sign as we approached the fence. 

I always find it extra cringe-worthy when a sign at a school has a grammatical error or errors. Heavy sigh.

The kids tossed a Frisbee around for a bit while the dogs and I did a couple of laps. While walking, I noticed there was a long jump pit. I called the kids over and suggested they give it a go.

Let's just say, I don't expect them to be setting any world records in the long jump any time soon.

That said, it was their first ever attempt, and it's definitely something that takes some practice! We'll be back to perfect their form. ;)

BERRY GOOD: For whatever reason this morning, at about 8:40, I decided I *needed* to make fresh strawberry shortcake for the kids for breakfast.

I still had the recipe memorized from this weekend (when I made dozens of shortcakes for Teen Feed), and so I whipped them up in no time. Two cups of flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 3/4 teaspoons of salt, sift those, then cut in about 1/3 c. of cold butter. Add a up of milk and drop the batter into 9 dollops on a cookie sheet. Bake until they're done. 

Needless to say, the kids were pretty pleased with the surprise.

YOU GOT ANOTHER THING COMING: If you follow the goings on of we here at MPA, you know go to a fair number of concerts. This week was extra special, though, because we had two events in three days. We're getting a little old for the rock-n-roll lifestyle, I gotta say. ;)

CJ can tell you about last Friday night's antics. ... 

After the release of last year's Firepower LP, the band Judas Priest begun a tour to support the album. On June 21 of this year, Judas Priest made a tour stop at ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington. My father and I went to the concert, in what was our first-ever visit to ShoWare.

The opener for the concert was famed British prog rock band Uriah Heep, nearing the fiftieth anniversary of their debut album Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble. Heep was surprisingly energetic, considering the age of most of the members (though only one original member, guitarist Mick Box, was still in the band.) After Heep finished their hour-long set, the crowd waited before Judas Priest took the stage. While gazing around the crowd, it appeared as though every aging classic rock fan in Seattle was there.

Judas Priest, as was the case with Uriah Heep, seemed to have quite a bit of energy considering their ages (this was a noticeable contrast to the rather dull Ra Ra Riot-Jimmy Eat World-Third Eye Blind concert that we had seen two days prior.) The setlist spanned nearly the band's entire discography, with cuts ranging from the band's sophomore release Sad Wings of Destiny up to their newest full-length Firepower. Some of the songs have been staples since early in the band's career (such as the song Victim of Changes), yet others are making their live debut on this tour (the most obvious examples being the songs from Firepower.) Perhaps needless to say, Priest concluded the set with some of their most famous songs, such as Breaking the Law and Living After Midnight.