what i'm listening to

when people ask me what kind of music i like, i never know quite how to explain my style.

you could use the words "indie" or "alternative" or "folk".

and people usually don't understand what that means.

i've never liked "mainstream" music.

in junior high when everyone was listening to pop and boy bands, i loved the 80's and alternative rock.

in high school when rap and top billboard hits were big, i liked punk and acoustic.

now, mainstream has really expanded and there are is so much more interesting music available.

"underground" still exists, but it's much easier to find music to really connect with.

so, let me indulge myself here.

this is a small collection of music i've been listening to the last couple of years. if you're open for it, take a listen.

you don't have to love it.

but i do.

bon iver:
from one of my very favorite albums for emma, for ever ago.
very raw and down to earth, just how i like it.

the middle east:
from australia. very thoughtful lyrics, i love their instruments, lyrics and feel.



edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros:
this speaks to my hippie wannabe side. serious dirty hippie music. i really love several of their songs. this one is fun and has so much joy.


band of horses:
i love all of their albums. they do mellow and joy so well.


the swell season:
from ireland. i love his voice, lyrics, and sound. this is a live version filmed in seattle. (by the way, lots of great music comes out of seattle.)



i could put on so much more. different songs or bands for different reasons.
but that's a feel for me and what's on repeat on my ipod.
i love music. i love listening to a song that totally speaks to me and who i am.
what are some of your faves?

 

us lately.

we've been pretty busy lately.

spending lots of time doing work, school, callings, and trips.

caleb's parents, mike and velvet, came to town a couple of weeks ago.

we drove up to st. louis to pick them up.

first, we spent some time at the arch:

we took the tiny, rocky elevators to the top.

not recommended for the claustrophobic.

it was windy that day.

did you know the arch swings when it's windy?

not recommended for acrophobic.

the view was sure nice.

after st. louis, we drove up to illinois and enjoyed the church history sites.

we went to carthage jail and nauvoo.

the temple in nauvoo is beautiful and i really love the classic style.

nauvoo had so much to see, and we only had a few hours.

we went to a few demos to see how the early saints lived.

during the week we tried to show them what springfield area has to offer.

we went to branson and enjoyed a dinner/show on the showboat:

 

i had to work, but we stayed busy during the week. then we drove them up to kansas city to catch the plane home.

on the way, we stopped at more church history sites, independence and liberty jail. caleb and i had seen them before, but they always make a good visit.

mike and velvet enjoyed their time in our part of the world. and really enjoyed andy's frozen custard. :)

the tornado that hit joplin a couple of weeks ago was devastating. joplin is only 45 minutes from us and we feel very lucky. we've been really impressed how everyone has pulled together and given of themselves to help out the community. there are so many terrible stories of death and destruction, but also many inspiring examples and miracles.

springfield has been hit in the past, but tornadoes tend to go around us. hopefully we remain lucky, especially because we don't have a good place to go if one hits us.

other random happenings:

caleb's brother, spencer, moved to area. he's living with us until he finds his own place.

caleb has been super busy with his young men/scout master calling. next week is scout camp. i just hope he doesn't come back smelling like scout camp. :)

i have a new calling teaching sunday school to the 14/15 year olds. it's intense. but it's a good learning experience for me too, and it makes me more excited about the scriptures.

work is busy and crazy as ever. we started softball and i'm the coach. haha.

well, that's some of our life lately.

hope yours is good!