One of my favorite days

This past Saturday was one of my favorite days in Athens, ever!
We started the day in the morning at J & J Flea Market.
If you have never been and you live in Athens, you MUST go. It is a great cultural experience. 60-70% of stuff there is junk, but the Hispanic people have great produce and ethnic foods and every now and then you find a great treasure. I think pretty much everyone that went came away with at least one great thing.
Natalie found an awesome necklace.
Josh found his spring and summer staple-nopales, aka prickly pear cactus fronds.
Marie found a cool antique ring and her favorite childhood candy.
Dawan found her favorite running shoes that have been discontinued-and they were brand new.
Sarah found an early 1900s edition of The Last of the Mohicans.
Nate found the weirdest fingernail clippers in the shape of a fish. Don't worry, he'll be sanitzing those first.
And David and I found an awesome, huge mirror for $2. Look for pictures to come of its makeover.

I'm not quite sure what I'm doing with my hands here.
I tend to talk a lot with my hands, so this is a pretty normal gesture for me.

After perusing the isles, we headed to the Mexican food stand where Josh and Natalie introduced us to my favorite new drink, aguas frescas. It's basically fresh fruit, sugar, water and ice. The mango is the best!

After J & J we all headed home to get ready for our next activity. Singing in front of a room of other people!

Dinner began at six.


Thanks to the hard work of Dawan and some lovely volunteers, the meal was wonderful - especially the dessert! Yum!

We decided to pose for some pictures with two of our favorite people on the planet . . .

Joseph

and Natalie!

me and my love in our matching black

my big bro was kind enough to make the trip to hear us sing!

Once dinner was over, the show began.

Joseph and Dawan played host and hostess.


We had lots of great performances.

One of my favorite was from this man who we met the week before. He decided to do an impromptu performance, and it was wonderful.


Next, Miles and Ashlyn's friend Shelby dazzled us with a tabletop tap performance . . .


. . . accompanied by Ashlyn on the kazoo. I'm pretty sure she played "The Pink Panther Theme" and "The Final Countdown" by Europe. Loved it!


After the tapping, we were honored by a dance number set to 'NSYNC's "I Want You Back", choreographed by Emilee Davis.

I originally thought that Joseph was wearing underwear on his head, but when I asked him on Sunday, I was quickly corrected - it was a t-shirt sleeve.

Daniel and Emilee had a great time.

After our look back at 1999, Justin gave us a little John Mayer to enjoy.


Then it was our turn. I was a little nervous. I do not normally sing in front of more than maybe a couple of friends or my family. We performed "Anyone Else But You" from Juno. I'm not sure why i'm clasping my hands. It kind of looks like praying. I think it was the nervousness. Despite my qualms, it turned out to be lots of fun! Thanks Mom, the guitar sounded wonderful!




The next act was by far the best of the night. Joseph decided early on that he wanted to perform a number with a band. He made it very clear that only high-quality musicians would be considered. He ended up with a great band. Joseph called the band "Tickle Me Emo" - there is a wonderful story behind the name, oh how I love Joseph!
Miles played the drums. Brice played bass guitar, a guy Joseph met in the library played lead guitar and Joseph, of course took vocals. They performed "Creep" by Radiohead. It was really, really good.
I think if there had been a prize, they definitely would have taken it!

Joseph in his "emo" duds

The last performance of the night was by our dear friend Josh. He decided to serenade his Natalie with a twang-tastic performance of "I'm Gonna Love You Forever". He went above and beyond with his costume.

Once the show was over, Justin was kind enough to share his skills with David and Josh. I think they're hooked.


We all pitched in to clean up and take down the decorations and then headed home. Josh, Natalie and Dawan came back to our place.

I don't really have a good explanation for the next set of pictures. It was late, Dawan brought Easter candy.

The end. Great day!