Rock Band!

Drew's cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles were recently in town for summer vacation. Priceless memories were created as we jumped right into "vacation mode" with them and played on the beach, ate out way too much, visited theme parks, stayed up late, slept in late, etc.

But my favorite memory, by FAR...was ROCK BAND!!!!!!

Let me explain. And I'm going to assume here that most of my readers are more like me and have a limited knowledge of 12 yr old boys and the things that are cool to them. Drew's oldest cousin is 12 yrs old. His most cherished possession right now is his PS3. This stands for Play Station 3. It's a gaming system (like Atari or the old Nintendo, not the Nintendo Wii system that seems to be able to see you and read your mind...creepy). This PS3 is not limited to gaming only - no sir - it plays DVDs, allows you to surf the internet, and I think with the right upgrades, it can wash your car, too.

Rock Band is a game that you can play on PS3. After my nephew unloaded an amazing assortment of instruments from the trunk of the car, he introduced us to the sensation that is ROCK BAND. After a few practice runs, where all the adults were learning what they were supposed to do (and realizing how old and uncoordinated they all were), I was privileged to sit front row for a LIVE concert featuring Drew's Uncle Wes on the bass guitar, Uncle Rob on drums, and my one-and-only as lead vocals for Bon Jovi's "Wanted: Dead or Alive".

Let me tell you (and I mean no disrespect to my very talented husband and both brothers-in-law), there's nothing funnier or more entertaining than watching a bunch of men (who are relatively quiet and reserved) drop their guard and belt out a few 80's rock ballads. Also funny, watching a 12 yr old have to plead for the adults to give him his game back.

I wasn't sure how much of this was even understandable to Drew. It all just sounded like a bunch of noise, and I know that he wasn't grasping the concept of the game itself. But I realized a little later that he understood the basic premise. For days after our concert, every time someone counted to three, he'd drop whatever he was doing, strike a pose like he was holding an air guitar and start singing, "ROCK BAND, ROCK BAND, Oh Oh Oh, ROCK BAND!!!!!!!!"

Perhaps not the most appropriate entertainment for a three year old, I know...But pretty darn funny.

Here's to fun, spontaneous summer memories. Hope you're creating some great ones with your family and friends.