I heart Rock Band

Last night we had our annual summer BBQ (also meet Luci party). After spending the entire day preparing (Luci was super-fussy, so I was only able to do things in 5 minute spurts) and shopping (I also heart Costco and my mom for braving the crowds with me), I was exhausted by the time 6pm arrived.

NOTE TO SELF: Stop planning parties on days that Ian works, so that I can actually not be completely responsible for planning/prepping!

Anyways, very few people showed up. Which turned out to be ok, but I'll admit I was dissapointed. I know - it's summer, everyone is busy. I totally understand. I will say - it felt pretty weird without my favourite girls there - Alison was camping, Heidi had family in town, and Karmen... I don't know where Karm was!

It turned out to be a couples party, after all, except for Andre, but he left early. We had Dave & Elaine and Lee and Andy, and Don and his lovely wife came later. After chilling outside and eating mucho BBQ'd hot dogs, pasta salad (thanks Elaine), drumsticks (thanks Andre) and Kettle corn (OH MY GOD thank you Lee!), once the kids were safely in bed we couldn't resist all piling into the living room for an hour or 4 of Rock Band.

So. Much. Fun. If you haven't tried this game, I highly recommend it. Ian and I are actually going to be holding monthly Rock Band parties. Stay Tuned.

I will admit, when Ian bought this game a few months ago, I was skeptical. I had played (and enjoyed) Guitar Hero, but for me, the luster had worn off after a few weeks. I feared the same would occur with Rock Band...

I was so wrong. Turns out, I LOVE to drum. And - even though my voice is awful, I can easily keep the pitch (thank you, 4 years of musicianship classes), and now I love to sing too. Ian still loves to play the guitar, so we have ourselves a nice little band. Did I mention the kids love to play as well? Although it will never replace formal music lessons in our house, I will admit that the drumming helps them learn to keep the beat, and the singing helps them with pitch recognition. Also, it's pretty damn adorable.

All in all, fun for the whole family. Last night was especially fun, considering our guests: Elaine is unafraid to get crazy on vocals (love it), Lee is a singer/songwriter and also unafraid to go crazy with the cheezwiz, Andy is a notorious musician in Calgary with crazy skills on vocals and guitar and he was picking up the drums pretty damn well too. Ian is a psycho-guitarist/drummer (it amazes me, he plays circles around all of us musician types), and Dave and I were our normal reserved-yet-enthusiastic selves.

The best part was when Cohen got out of bed to sing Blitzkreig Bop for everyone (for everyone! my little shy one!) and achieved 99% - one of the highest scores of the evening.

Anyways, we had a great time, and still managed to be in bed by midnight (ok, 12:30, Ian and I couldn't resist doing a few extra songs on our own once everyone left). I was smart and cleaned up before we went to bed, so today I'm enjoying the post-party bliss - relaxing on the couch, nursing a lot, and eating leftovers.

Here's a few shots of the kids rocking out a while ago: