Playlist for Kenny Loggins

So one of the great traditions of my new town is the fantastic Fourth of July celebration it puts on. (Sorry, Arlington Heights, Frontier Days is great, but I think Lake Forest and Lake Bluff do the Fourth of July much better).

Each year, they have a great musical talent perform at Deerpath Park followed immediately by fireworks so big you feel like you could reach out and pull them out of the sky with your bare hands. (NOTE: Do not try this. Fireworks are very dangerous. I've known people who were involved in a freak fireworks accident. You don't want to be in their shoes. Trust me.)

Last year, Rick Springfield played. This year, it's Kenny Loggins. That's right. Kenny Loggins of Loggins & Messina, for those of you of a certain age, and the guy who sang the theme songs to Caddyshack, Footloose (the original), and Top Gun, for those of you in my generation. Previous concerts have included The Village People, KC & the Sunshine Band, Eddie Money, and others. Completely awesome. I know. The entire community comes out for this event. It's like a night at Ravinia with people bringing picnics and wine, although you can purchase food from Lovell's, if you'd prefer.

I don't know if Kenny Loggins reads Little Merry Sunshine or not (but if not, why the Hell not?), but I thought I'd take it upon myself to create his play list for him. These are the songs I'd love to hear. He can perform others too, but at a minimum, I hope he sings these songs. No need to thank me. It was a labor of love.

For the First Time


Footloose (the original will always be the best)


Danger Zone (By the way, what are the odds we could have the hottest guys from LFPD and LFFD playing sand volleyball shirtless while Kenny Loggins sings this? I'll pick the players and no, I don't need anyone else's opinion. I'm fully qualified to make this decision.)

This is It


I'm Alright (because everybody needs a little Caddy Shack)


Meet Me Halfway


Return to Pooh Corner (I prefer this to the original, House at Pooh Corner. He must sing this because who doesn't love Winnie the Pooh and all this song represents?)


Forever


The Real Thing


I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)


Rainbow Connection (The only thing better than Kenny Loggins singing this would be Kermit joining him to sing it.)


Danny's Song 


Finally, for his encore, he should perform Conviction of the Heart. 

Because I'm so easy going and not controlling at all, Kenny can feel free to do these songs in any order he wishes. I would encourage him not to do all the mushy love songs together because I may just end up in tears. Honestly, I'd forgotten how many wonderful love songs he'd written. But Conviction of the Heart should be last.

Of course, if you received this blog post via email, take a stroll onto the inter webs and watch all the videos. It's worth an hour of your workday. It's the 3rd of July, the day before a holiday. You're probably not doing anything anyway.

Oh My God, We're Moving!?!

This is Betsey, of Betsey and Ross, Little Merry Sunshine's cats.

Ross and I just learned that we're moving to some place called "Lake Bluff." We don't know where this place is, but we don't like it.

Frankly, we're happy here in Arlington Heights. We've been here for 11 years and we have no need to change. We've spent a lot of time marking our territory to insure all the neighborhood animals knew who was boss. Do you know how long it takes to mark a whole house? It's hard work. And we're 15. When we moved to Arlington Heights, we were 4, and had tons of energy. Now, we're senior citizens who like to lounge around all day.

We have to find new hiding places. We've got great spots all over the house. Under the bed. In the closet behind the towels. Under the bathroom sink. Behind the sofa. In the rocking chair. Behind the piano. In the pantry. And many more that Mom doesn't know about. And now we have to find new hiding spots.

Is this "Lake Bluff" place even on a bluff with a view of a lake or it is just a bunch of false advertising like the "heights" in Arlington Heights? When we moved here, we thought we were moving to the top of the world, but we're not. We're on the middle of the flatlands. It's nothing like our home in Alexandria, Virginia. Out there, it was hilly. In Arlington Heights, it's just flat for as far as the eye can see. We hope this "Lake Bluff" place lives up to its name.

Another reason we don't want to move is because our vet is just down the road a piece about 10 minutes away. Ross sees the doctor frequently because he's got diabetes and cancer and I have to get my thyroid checked periodically. We love our doctors, Drs. Kinnavy and Guedet, at March Animal Hospital. Everyone at their office knows and loves us and we love them. We're practically celebrities over there. What if we have an emergency and we have to get to the vet quickly?

We like our neighbors. Carol and Courtney, Louise, Don, and Roxanne. They're all friendly to us. Carol comes over to play with us sometimes when Mom is gone. We even like our grandma. She remembered to feed us tonight when Mom forgot. Ross has to eat and then get his insulin shot on schedule. Who will feed us if Mom is out and forgets to come home?

That's it. We're not moving. Mom didn't ask us if we wanted to move and we have legitimate reasons for wanting to stay put. We're not going anywhere. Period.



This is Ross.

Betsey doesn't speak for me. She's being silly. No, we weren't asked for our opinion, but it sounds like our new house is beautiful and we're going wherever Mom goes. Period. As for Mom forgetting to feed us tonight, she remembered when she walked in the door just 5 minutes after her normal time, but her mom had already done it. When it was time, Mom gave me my insulin. Mom always remembers or gets us fed, so it'll all be okay. She takes excellent care of us and if I'm not worried about getting to our favorite vet when we need to, considering I'm the one with the biggest health challenges, then Betsey should chill out.

I'm excited about our new home. New hiding places. And I hear we can see a lake from our bedroom. Mom says our house is also very high up. New friends. It's gonna be great!

Pillow Fight!

I LOVE this! I love this because it proves that kids (of all ages) don't need fancy, expensive toys to have a great time. It's creative, fun, an excellent solution to cabin fever, and gets everyone outside for some (much needed) exercise.

When was the last time you had a pillow fight? I think it's high time I had one and may get motivated to organize my friends for one.



Thanks to my good friend who sent me the video. Don't worry, I'll invite you to the pillow fight!