Got out for a round of real (ball) golf on Canada day. Weather cooperated, which was nice since the greens sure weren’t. The good news is that thanks to some really great chipping lessons and tips, and a night of practicing chipping at the park, my chipping game is really coming along. I think eating lots of chips has also helped

The Monday after Canada day, we took off up to Edmonton to see Green Day. **spoiler alert**.The Green day concert was absolutely wicked. They play for 2 hrs and 15 minutes and I loved every minute of it and was sad when it was over. Billie Joe was so full energy spraying the crowd with water, faking orgasms, bringing people up on stage to sing-you can read the full review of the Vancouver show (same as Edmonton) here. Not sure if it was the acoustics or the band or both, but their pitch was spot the entire show of singing and screaming. They started by playing their entire new album, 21st Century Breakdown. We bought that album a while back and I just couldn’t get into it. Then I saw it live and loved it! Actually, I’m listening to it right now. After playing the whole album they went old school and played songs from Dookie and Good Riddance. As with Offspring, I expected them to be out of their prime and I was so wrong. I’d say that they are completely in their prime and if you get the chance to see them on this tour you should definitely go . I’m so glad we went with the floor tickets. Jeff and I are venturing to say that was one of our favorite concerts ever. Edmonton is a bit of a dive downtown but we stayed at the Westin (which nice and we used Hotwire for the first time), caught dinner at a pub before the show and then spent the next day at West Edmonton mall.

Upon our return from Edmonton we were in full swing of Stampede here in Calgary. Managed to catch a few pancake breakfasts (probably an unhealthy amount), take in our favorite event of Cattle penning, saw sheep herding for the first time,  and took in the chuckwagon races and grandstand show. They were advertising an “all new” grandstand show this year and I’d agree that it was new and way better than past years. They have cut down the amount the singing and dancing from the Young Canadians and have added an edgy comedian and way more action. It’s more like a cirque de soleil now instead of a bad Vegas musical. And they definitely did not cheap out on the fireworks this year. As I was watching them I was wishing I had an extra eye  like the Simpson’s fish.

-I learned that chipping is the biggest flaw in my game. I’m a powerhouse.
-Susan learned a ton since she’s an amazing listener and is a sponge when it comes to golf. I could see her game improving right in front of my eyes as we played.
-My dad learned that he shouldn’t try to compete with someone 25 years younger than him.
-Jeff learned that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and he’s pretty sure what side of the family my competitive nature comes from. Jeff put on a golfing clinic and blew us all out of the water (although I will say he got off to a slow start and was losing to my dad at one point.)

We all went for lunch at the Paradise Canyon clubhouse (a very nice course, and we pretended that we golfed there) and then over to Cathy’s daughter’s place for a quick visit. It was great to finally meet Kristy and her partner Scott as I’ve heard so much about Christy over the years and how similar we are. They have a gorgeous new showhome in LA and are expecting in the fall – Congrats!

Then, off to Cathy and Albert’s to sit in the backyard and enjoy the gorgeous weather that apparently LA gets and we don’t. Here’s a pic from their lovely yard:

In the backyard at Cathy & Albert's

The train

Susan & Lindsay at Bridge Valley

Thanks for the fabulous day!