Long Live the Lanai.

{i am so embarrassed for posting this so late. can moving and lack of photos count as an excuse?}
I know I brag a ton and over and over again about the Lanai Crew. 

But when something like this is just so great and we are all still such good friends, 

its hard not to talk about. 

Two years ago during the Lanai Summer of Dreams '09 

The gang and I made a trip out to LA to see Coldplay in concert. 

After the show and the trip we all said that we would make the trip out again after  for their next album/tour. {yes, we were already planned years ahead of time}
So when Mylo Xyloto was released earlier this year, emails began flying about coordinating round two of Coldplay in LA.
Only two of the original six lanai friends could make it this year, but we still had a blast!

Amy and Allie landed on Thursday night, we spent the night chatting and catching up and keeping Allie up way past her east coast bedtime.

Friday was spent giving them a grand tour of some LA spots.
Including trying to find celebrities in Bel Air

 roaming Rodeo Drive {which I may or may not have run down the street in hopes of seeing a celebrity when I saw a bunch of people snapping photos to only found out it was a group of high school students taking pictures of a fancy car.}

 Farmers Market for lunch and the Grove.

We sat for lunch for easily over two hours, people watching but more importantly just talking. When you are separated for months/ a year from these girls, you need LOTS of time to talk about life.

next stop: Griffith Observatory

one of my favorite spots to see all of LA and give the girls a good view of the Hollywood sign.

and finally...the concert!
Coldplay seriously does not disappoint.

T. Hope was suppose to join us for the weekend but bagged out for the concert, allowing Brittany to join along with us!

{excuse the poor iphone photo quality, and our embarrassment to ask for another one}

Coldplay knows how to put on an amazing production of a show.
This year they handed out bracelets at the gate and we were prompted to put them on before the show began.

During different parts of the show our bracelets would turn on and coordinate with the song.

Seeing the bowl filled with these colors was phenomenal.
We fist pumped our way through that concert!

And then enjoyed sitting in the parking lot of 40 mins...

Part TWO of this reunion weekend coming soon...
{photos via Allie. thanks AJB for doing a great job!}

double the Robyn.

As mentioned previously, when I was in Sacramento, I was on a strict time frame to get me home.

I had accidentally overbooked myself that weekend with the wedding on Friday night 

and tickets to the Robyn concert on Saturday night. 

Im obsessed with Robyn.

She makes me want to dance. 

She helps me get over boys. 

Perfect Combo. 

And when Taylor told me he was going, I couldnt pass up on the chance to dance alongside Taylor to some Robyn jams. 

I got back from Sac Town just in time to change and get me on a shuttle bus to the Hollywood Bowl. 

The bowl was packed. The beats were great and the lights helped us rage all night long.

Rebbie, Taylor and I even snuck down to some better seats which made the show so much better. 

Robyn always puts on a good show and Im always completely carried away with her lyrics and dance moves. 

The show got even better by running into Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser. 

(my dad and I are a little obsessed with the show)

I grabbed his arm, "Are you BOB!?" 

I have no shame. 

However, as Tay and I had both just attended our THIRD Robyn concert, we both agreed we were done with her shows {for now} until she comes up with a new setlist, new songs. 

Then about three days later, Taylor sends me this screenshot:

MTV performance of Robyn. 

Halloween.

Secret Location. 

Free tickets. 

Admits TWO. 

Screw what we said earlier. COUNT ME IN. 

We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into but I thought this sounded too awesome to pass up. 

Turns out the "secret location" was the biggest Halloween party pretty much in the entire country. The West Hollywood Carnaval. 

And Taylor and I had just scored free tickets to be front row at the Robyn concert. Located at the heart of the carnaval. 

Seeing Robyn so up close and personal make the show about 100x's better. 

Those dance moves kill! 

You can watch her performance here. 

Look for Taylor and I at the side of the stage. 

We braved the carnaval crowd for a bit. It was crazy. Like the most people I had ever seen. If you know anything about WeHo, you know it was a little scary and yet awesome. 

Halloween is in my top three favorite holidays {followed closely after my birthday and Christmas}

Its all about dressing up in clothes you cant get away with any other time of the year, and {now that Im older} all about dancing and partying. Some of my favorite things. 

Combine that with an awesome Robyn concert, my hippie costume, and hanging out with Taylor. 

pretty fun night!

I loved Halloween and I love Robyn concerts.

But I think I will take a break now that I have been to four...

my AAT weekend.

As evidenced here, I have been dubbed being an All-American.

I was at first the All-American Teen, but then got demoted to being a Tween.

Something I can not refute as it is clearly evidenced many, many times. 

This weekend solidified (as if we need it) that I am still the All-American Tween. 

Friday night started off with the NKOTBSB concert with my sister Laura.

I would like to tell you that I didnt drop a lot of money for this concert, that I didnt scream in excitement throughout the whole show or that I absolutely did not jump up and down at the surprise reunion of Kevin Richardson with BSB.

But you all know that would be false.
it was the

best.concert.ever. 

I loved every second of that 2.5 hour concert! 

There is something about attractive boys singing and synchronized dance moves that just make me swoon. 

It didnt matter that they are all in their 30s and 40s or that they are all has-beens. 

After the first 10 minutes I turned to Laura and screamed "This is the best thing I have ever seen!!"

I danced the entire time.

I screamed when NKOTB lifted their shirts to reveal some very chiseled abs.

I wondered how I had forgotten that Nick Carter was so hot 

and why I was never more in love with Jordan Knight.

I ran to catch a closer glimpse of Nick as he walked down the aisle next to our section and pushed my way through just so I could touch Brian Littrell's arm.

I screamed like I was fourteen. 

And dont think I was the only one, my 30 and prego sister Laura was dancing and screaming right alongside me.

We had so much fun dancing and singing throughout our nostalgic filled night.

And yes, boy bands will always be my #1 music and I cant stop listening to all NKOTBSB songs this week and am planning on buying a shirt online. 

long live NKOTBSB

After celebrating the tween in me, I got to celebrate America's birthday with family and friends. 

I lounged by the pool all morning with the kiddies.

And then went to the Hollywood Bowl with one of my besties Lillie and her family. 

remember how i said we ALWAYS match. yup. we have the same sunglasses and didnt even know it.
We enjoyed some great food

danced to some Hall n Oats 

and enjoyed some fireworks. 

loved the weekend.

love living up to my title as All-American Tween.

BTW
my newest obsession. dont turn out the lights.

we dance to the beat.

For some reason I have experienced a lot of heartbreak recently.
Apparently I think its fun or something. Ok, really its not. But it happens and it sucks.
Luckily this time around, thanks to Taylor, I have been able to spin songs from Robyn non-stop to get me through it. Not only can I dance like woah to every single one of her jams but I feel like I can relate to every single song. 

in an effort to not be super dramatic i will not share said lyrics, but know there are SO many good lines and i love singing and dancing to these songs and they make me feel so better. 

With all of this being said, going to a Robyn concert could not have come at a better time!!

Taylor told me about the show about a month ago, and to honor him I knew I had to go.
Coincidentally I also just cashed in all of my coins from my piggy bank and I pretty much had the saved the amount of the ticket price, so I felt like I was going for free! 

I was able to talk one of my favorite people from my ward, Mindy Scott, who loved Robyn back in the day to accompany me to the concert. 

The concert was so great, and we experienced some great moments.

We head out to the concert and I knew it was at LA Live in downtown, but I wasnt sure of the exact location. When Mindy and I were looking for the venue we passed a large group of men hanging out outside. After we passed them Mindy said "I think the show is going to be back there, I saw a guy with an 'I heart Robyn' sticker on." I thought to myself, thats strange, why would all of these guys be outside the Robyn concert? Well lets just say that none of them were straight....
Not expecting that at all. 

We walked into the show and we were definitely outnumbered!! There were way more men there than women. Mindy predicted 80% guys to 20% girls.  I thought it was going to be filled with pop loving teeny boppers like myself. Nope. gay men that love getting down to Robyn's beats. The outlandish things that Mindy and I saw, we were just dying! It made the show that much better.
Point proven here. this guy just loved dancing by himself and taking that shirt off.

My favorite moment during the show was when after witnessing two guys kissing in front of me, one turned and stared at me and said "You are so beautiful." and repeated that about three times while waving his arms around my face. He was gay and drunk, but I will still accept that as a great compliment. 

do you notice litttttle robyn in the background? i swear we were close to the stage.

I was a little disappointed in the show only because she played a lot of songs I didnt know--and I consider myself quite the fan. 

However, we scored an awesome upclose view of the stage.

And I just cant stay still during those beats! I danced and sang my little heart out!

the music. the lyrics. Robyn's awesome dance moves. the outlandish crowd and a night out with Mindy was just what I needed. A great night and an amazing concert.
I love me some Robyn.

 Just a little taste of the concert:
although not nearly as good as being there in person.

Dancing On My Own:

Hang With Me: