The Letter Black

Dear Diary,

It is December 9th, 2011 and there is snow on the ground outside of our house. We’re home for Christmas and I cannot believe it’s only about 2 weeks away! This year has been one of the craziest years we’ve had in a while. This spring we got to tour with Brian “Head” Welch, Decyfer Down and The Wedding. By the summer, we finally got into a bus like we’d been wishing and praying for for the past few years. We did so many amazing summer festivals this year too. My goodness, were some of them HOT!!! Anyone who went to Cornerstone this year deserves a metal because it was 110 degrees, sunny and humid. And there were many others that we’re just as hot. But you know what, that’s what festival season is all about. Crazy weather, crazy conditions, crazy fans and crazy music. Matt, Mark and I even got to bring out some of our family for short trips this summer. And one of our dogs got to tour with us for a while too which was nice.

In August, Mark and I flew out to LA to do a photo shoot for a branch of Affliction called “Remetee”. It was pretty sweet to see the Affliction Headquarters building. They designed it to be as rock and roll as their clothes. That was a fun trip cause while we were in Cali, we stopped by Diamond Bar, California to go to the Whosoevers Friday Nights church service. We got to do some worship at the beginning of their service and it was a blast.

Throughout the Fall, we did more shows including a trip to Canada for a Billy Graham event. It was AWESOME. Finally got to meet Lacey of Flyleaf which was nice. The show itself was great, except when Mark rolled and fractured his ankle on stage. But there were about 10,000 people watching so needless to say, the show went on. He didn’t even realize the amount of pain until after the show was over and the adrenaline wore off. He had to wear a medical “boot” for 6 weeks, lol! Fortunately, he healed up just in time for our 4th year in Germany trip that we left for at the very end of October! We were smart enough this time to plan 3 days of sightseeing in Paris before doing the shows in Germany. What a fun trip! Got to see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Statue of Liberty (yes there’s one in Paris too), some spots where they shot parts of the movie “Inception”, and tons more. Then we took a bullet train to Germany and rocked and rolled for the ever-amazing German crowd. Gotta love the European trips.

Thats where our touring came to a stop this year. HERE’S THE BIG NEWS… The show on October 30th was our last show that we’ll be doing this year. We’ve all decided to take a much needed break from touring starting in November because Mark and I are thrilled to be expecting our first child, due to arrive this winter!!! We toured as long as we could while I was pregnant and now, we’re focusing on getting ready for our son. But we aren’t just focusing on him, we’re also focusing on making the most of this time home by writing for the new record! We’ve been writing all year, but now Mark is going to start a weekly video blog of some of the writing sessions and post it to Facebook, Twitter, and all that stuff. We’ll be writing up a storm for a few months and then we’ll be going into the studio to record our Sophomore record.

So there’s going to be lots of new stuff happening in 2012 personally and professionally. I’m going to be posting updates about everything through this blog and Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, ReverbNation, and YouTube. Don’t forget to request us at Festivals for 2012. See you at a show in the Spring!!!

Yours Truly,
Sarah

(35) Dear Diary,

So the tour is going great! It’s day 15 on the “Over My Head Tour” and we’re in Dallas Texas. So far we’ve been in several places in South Carolina and Tennessee, then we hit Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and now we’re in Texas for several shows. Up next we’re headed to Oklahoma, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. We’re about half way through now. As of tomorrow, we’ll have 15 more days on the tour and I’m kinda sad about that.

We’ve been having a blast at the shows with the crowds and of course tons of fun with the bands. Everyone in Brian “Head” Welch’s band is awesome to hang with… especially cause at the end of their set, I get to come out and scream with Brian in the song “Blind”. Getting to tour with Decyfer Down again is great. This is the first time we’ve actually toured with The Wedding and those guys are crazy and a blast. This may be one of my favorite tours as far as bands go. Love every single person on this tour!

We’ve been enjoying the weather too. I feel like we’ve cheated Spring and went right to Summer. When we left Pennsylvania, there was snow on the ground and now its 93 degrees in Dallas. Mark and I have been jogging 2 to 3 miles a day and I’m already working on my tan because of the warm weather. It’s so funny cause our legs get tanned and our feet stay pale so I have to wear sandals all summer to even out. Anywho, I’m going to go set up merch and get ready for Meet and Greet and the show.

Yours Truly,
Sarah

So we’re back home for a few more days before we head off on this spring tour. We actually just got back from Knoxville, Tennessee. We were in the studio with our dear friend/producer, Travis Wyrick at Lakeside Studios. We did 3 new songs and I cannot wait to get them all out. Throughout the course of this year we’re releasing 3 mini-CD’s that are going to be full of our singles, remixes, music videos and even some songs that just never been released to the public. But they’re going to be exclusive!! The first EP came out TODAY!!! Its called “Hanging on by a Thread Sessions, Volume 1″. You can only buy the “mini-CD” from us at shows or on iTunes, plus we’re going to have a limited supply, so the early bird gets the worm.

Anywho, I’m getting pretty excited about kicking this spring tour off. We’re going out with Brian “Head” Welch, Decyfer Down, and The Wedding. Its from the end of March through the beginning of May. Then changing into summer, we’ll be diving into festival season which is my favorite time of year. Then before we know it, fall will be here as well as another tour. Then it’ll be Christmas again. Haha… but I’m getting ahead of myself. For now I’m focusing on relaxing and enjoying being home for these next few days before this spring tour!

Ok, go download the EP from iTunes right now and tell everyone you know to go buy it too. See you at the shows!

Yours Truly,
Sarah

(33) Dear Diary,

Fire with Fire music video just came out yesterday! So excited because its my favorite video we’ve done so far. It was the hottest one too! Go figure. We shot the video in Houston Texas, in August, in an old warehouse without A/C, with fire. HOT HOT HOT. It was worth it though cause, like I said, its my favorite. Everyone needs to go check it out and tell me which one is your favorite. We’ve done 4 music video’s in our career, although one of them was done before we even got signed to T&N. That one was called “Stand”. The others were “Hanging on by a Thread”, “Believe”, and then of course, “Fire with Fire”. And there are talks of another one, but its top secret.

You can check out the new video at http://www.vevo.com/watch/the-letter-black/fire-with-fire/USTN11100023

Let us know what you think!

Yours Truly,
Sarah

(32) Dear Diary,

I can’t believe its 2011 already. 2010 flew by so fast! After all the summer festivals, we shot our music videos to Believe and Fire with Fire and we’ve already released Believe since then. I can’t wait to release F w/ F… it’s my favorite music video that we’ve shot so far in our careers.

Last fall, we were crazy busy. We headlined our own tour in September and then went on tour with Seventh Day Slumber and KJ52 in October and November. During that time, we also went to Germany and Canada (where I ran into Leiv Shrieber!) and a cruise to the Bahamas for more shows. Then we had shows into mid-December, then we’ve had off since then.

Christmas was great! We actually had time to shop this year, which was nice. It was nice having off afterward too. Time off has been great and much needed, but next week we do have a benefit show in LA for Chi from the Def Tones and we can’t wait to rock out again. The fund raiser is to raise money to help with hospital bills and to raise awareness for his situation. The shows gonna be great. After that we have a show at a festival in AZ before we head back home for a few weeks to prep for the new year of touring.

This years gonna be crazy busy too. We’re going on tour in the spring, then have festival season in the summer, then probably another tour in the fall. Before I know it, it’ll be 2012!! Hopefully by then we’ll have a bus to help make touring easier. All things are possible with God, so we’re believing it for the bus .

Yours Truly,
Sarah

(31) Dear Diary,

It’s been a while! We’ve been super busy doing all the festivals and normal shows. We’ve been going to the south a ton! All summer has been great actually. This year we’ve done more festivals than any other year. Our fall is looking pretty busy too. Especially looking forward to September cause we’re headlining a tour and Children 18:3 and Write this Down are gonna be on the tour too. Its going to be a ton of fun. Then in October and November it looks like we’re going to be touring some more, including a Germany run with Disciple and Demon Hunter in the end of October and a cruise called “Shiprocked” in early November.

But lately, we’ve been equally busy. A few weeks ago we shot two music videos in two days. They were awesome! I can’t wait till they get released. We shot them in Houston, Texas. After those two shoots we had a couple of days off before some more shows. We went to the Galleria Mall to kill some time before heading to Alabama. Well the mall was awesome, but the mall security outside was not so great. When we got back out to our van and trailer everything seemed normal until I got in the back to put my bags away. I noticed my backpack wasn’t in its normal spot and I asked the guys if they moved it… they didn’t. By then the guys were getting in too and I noticed my make-up case was opened and overturned. All the blankets were thrown around and Slagle’s book bag was missing too. We then knew exactly what had happened. Someone broke in and stole a ton of stuff. They stole my new camera, Slagle’s Ipad, the band’s Flip Camcorder & cash, both mine and Slagle’s wallet’s, my Bible (they took my whole book bag and I don’t think they knew it was in there) and a ton of other stuff. All together, we lost over $5,000 worth of stuff that day. Needless to say, we upgraded our security system in the van and trailer. LOL.

We were all upset at first, of course, but then we were just happy to be safe and unharmed. I can’t imagine what would have happened if one of us had stopped back at the van for whatever reason and they were in there still. That could’ve been really bad. Things like this make me want to learn self-defense. We really think that Satan was trying to get us to doubt our faith and trust in God, which is HILARIOUS. If he thinks that we’re that easily swayed, he’s got another thing coming. I just keep thinking about the book of Job in the Bible and how God let Satan test Job because God knew how faithful Job was. I mean Job was a successful guy and he lost his home, money, land, reputation, and his kids were even killed. And yet, he never turned his back on God. In turn God replaced everything he lost in even more abundance than what Job originally had. So the stuff that was stolen from us seems like nothing. Its just stuff. It can be replaced. I was the most upset about my Bible though because it was the only thing that had sentimental value to me. Mark bought it for me years ago before we even started dating and it had all my notes in it and a special note from my mom. That was the hardest for me because that stuff cannot be replaced. But you know how good God is? I got a call from the Huston Police Department saying they found my Bible. They must have flipped through and seen a bulletin from my home church and called them to get my number. Ironically, thats the only thing of ours that they’ve recovered and its the one thing I was most upset about. Plus they said they arrested the guys who did it, which is kinda nice to know.

So anyhow, we left Houston and played a few shows before headed home to Pennsylvania for a few days break. During that time we were busy upgrading security in the van and trailer and trying to replace some stuff that was stolen. Got to see the family too which is just the BEST! Being on the road makes you realize how important family is. We even have a new addition expected to arrive in February which I’m stoked for! I love my nieces and nephews and am happy to have another soon. After a few days home, we left for another run to Texas and New Mexico for some festivals. And now we’re back home after a 32 hour drive. LOL. Longest drive of my LIFE!! We leave tomorrow night for New York City for another Photo shoot for Revolver Magazine. But for now I’m going to prep for the shoot by eating a pint of Ben & Jerry’s “Half Baked”. Is it sad that I’ve been addicted to it for over a year??

Yours Truly,
Sarah

(30) Dear Diary,

So we left Tulsa and Danny after a few days and headed out to Texas to on of our favorite festivals of the entire year, Rock The Desert. This year was our second year and it was just as great as last year… maybe even better! We played Friday, August 6th, and Saturday, August 7th. Friday was cool cause we didn’t go on until 12:15 or so at night! WAY past my bedtime. LOL.. It was really weird because it felt like we didn’t do anything all day and just as we started winding down and getting tired, we had to go set up and play a show. We did get to catch up with our pals in Skillet and Decyfer Down though which was really nice! We love all those guys and gals. But anyhow, the show actually turned out to be really sweet! The crowd was AWESOME! Thats one of the reasons we love Rock The Desert so much… the crowds are pretty much unbeatable. There were so many people with our shirts on in the crowd too which is cool to see while your on stage. All in all, the Friday went pretty great. We finished up, packed up, and had our wonderful “runner” (person who drives us around) take us to the hotel for the night. We ordered pizza from a shop and got lucky cause it was about 7 minutes till close time. Sorry pizza man.

The next morning, we slept in SOOO long! We must have needed to catch up on our sleep cause we never sleep in as late as we did. When we woke up, it was noon already! We didn’t go to sleep till after 3 am too, so that didn’t help, but still… I think our body’s were trying to get us to chill. LOL. So we woke up and packed up and headed out to Rock The Desert again for round 2. We went to the sponsor tent to meet some cool people and then chilled some more in catering. I got to escape for a little while to talk to my baby sister on her birthday. I was pretty sad that I couldn’t be there to celebrate with her. She turned 17! I can’t believe it. We have plans to celebrate when we get home, even if it is over a week late. After I talked with her, we ate dinner then changed and headed out to soundcheck. Did that, then rocked it out at 7:30pm I believe. We closed out the stage again so the crowd was sweet. When we got done we signed and took pics with all the awesome people. The line was SOOO long! I can’t believe people waited, but I’m happy they did. Its so nice to meet everyone. Once we were done with that we pretty much just packed up and headed to the hotel for bed. Ordered pizza again first though.

Woke up and drove through the day to Dallas. We stopped and grabbed Cracker Barrel for a treat. It was so nice. We got to the hotel later that night by about 9pm and crashed. On Monday, we got up and packed for our fly-date to Washington. For the first time in a long time, the entire flying experience went quickly and smoothly. It was almost too perfect! I kept waiting for a huge disaster, but nothing happened. It was really nice. Usually the lines are long, or the seating is messed up so we cant sit together, or they lose our baggage, or the flights delayed, or something. But none of that happened. It was fantastic. We landed in Seattle and got picked up by 2 lovely ladies working with the University we played at. They took us to Red Robin (AWESOME) and then we headed to the hotel for the night. Woke up the next morning and got ready for the day. We got picked up by some other cool people from the church and we grabbed lunch, went to a music store, and Radio Shack, then headed to the venue for soundcheck. Guys set up gear, Matt and I set up merch and we sound checked and were done by a decent time. Dinner was fabulous. This guy made us a 3 course meal and served it plate by plate to us. It was SOO good! Then we got ready for the show and rocked it out. The crowd was great there too! Everyone was so nice! The whole fly-date went totally smooth, which is weird for a fly-date, but I’m not complaining!

We headed back to the hotel that night and got there at almost 1 am and we had to get up at 3:30 am for our ride to the airport at 4 am. Needless to say, we hit the snooze button until about 5 minutes till 4 am, rolled out of bed and hit the road. We checked in and flew out of Seattle by 7 am and landed back in Dallas mid-afternoon. We hit the ground running, and immediately headed toward our next show in Kentucky. The show was on Saturday, August 14th, but we got hotel rooms in Bowling Green the Thursday and Friday to relax there before coming out to the actual festival. We got to the festival on Saturday and set up merch. We played SUPER early compared to last week at Rock the Desert. We went on at 10 am, but even though it was early, the crowd was great! I got hit in the face by Marks guitar onstage too, which was cool. Haha… Good times. It was SO hot that day too and I almost blacked out for the first time ever. Even the boys got dizzy onstage. Someone else from another band had to get hooked up to an IV. LOL… It was one of the hottest festivals to date. All in all though, it went great! We even got to catch Mercy Me at the end of the night before bed.

Sunday morning, we woke up and drove 5 hours to Indiana for our show that evening. Everyone there was SO nice too! Its been great lately as far as meeting tons of great people. We even had 2 of our most loyal fans at that show. You two know who you are! You guys rock and thanks for being so supportive. The show itself was really good too. Someone won a car, and you could pay a dollar per hit to destroy another car. Again, all in all, another great day.

That evening, we drove through the night to get back home for a few days. Thats where we are now. I’m sitting at my kitchen table. Its been great seeing all of our family and our dog, Rocker. We don’t leave till Friday morning so we’re just going to enjoy time home doing nothing while we’re here. Now I’m going to go eat some Chicken Parm and spaghetti while laying on my couch watching movies. Oh yeah, and catch up on the laundry. LOL

Yours Truly,
Sarah

(29) Dear Diary,

So it’s 2:00 am here in Tulsa. I’m dead tired and my eyes are burning, but I can’t sleep. It’s so annoying. We have a few days off in between festivals, so we’re crashing at Danny’s house (our manager). We kinda took over the house and it looks like our luggage exploded everywhere. LOL. But anyway, I figure since I can’t sleep, I may as well do some much needed updating in here.

I’ll start with the nice break we had at home. It was the longest time we’ve spent home since mid-April. I believe it was 11 days straight, which was very nice. Its funny, cause most people leave home for summer vacation, but we do the opposite… we go back home. It was nice to see our families and not each other for a while. We all love each other, of course, but like my dad used to say, “How can I miss ya, if you won’t go away?” And of course, he was right. By the end of the break, we were all ready to get back together and venture out again. But back to the time spent home… It was fabulous. Mark and I spent time with our families, and the guys spent time with each of theirs and their significant others. The days were filled with friends, families, cook-outs, swimming, lounging around on pajama day, late night campfires, and Red-Box movie nights. We did have to do some work too, like some stuff in the studio, house work, yard work, things like that, but it wasn’t too bad. Mostly fun and relaxing. We gave my little sister her birthday gift right before we left since we aren’t going to be there on her actual birthday. She’s turning 17 on August 7th. Ahhhh!!! When did that happen?? She’s going to be a senior in High School for goodness sakes! I feel like a parent wishing she would just stop it! But I guess that’s what happens… Mark and I certainly aren’t getting any younger either! We’ve both found our first grey hairs already. That’s depressing. LOL. We’re only in our 20’s. Life is so funny… I remember when I was younger, I thought that when you were in your 20’s you were like a mature adult, 30’s were getting up there, 40’s were pretty old, and 50’s + were just ancient! LOL. Now I’m thinking that you’re not old until about 70 or 80 depending on how you act.

Anyway, I’m just rambling. Back to what’s been happening… After our break at home was over, we started back with a bang! We left Thursday morning, July 29th, at 8 am and drove from Pennsylvania to Kentucky for a show that night. We drove a total of 8 ½ hours, then got to the venue and set up right away. It was kinda cool, cause we were the last concert the venue was ever hosting. So we rocked it out for the last time. Evidently they are still going to be putting on events, but at a different location. Anyhow, after we got done playing, we packed up our stuff and immediately left for our next gig which was in Texas. It was a 17 ½ hour drive! We drove straight through the night, straight through the morning, and arrived late afternoon Friday to close out an outdoor festival that night. We got there and again, hit the ground running. Speaking of the ground, there were some really weird spiky things all over the ground there in Texas. They were really annoying cause they’d stick in the bottom of your shoes and poke your feet. I had to change into some heavy duty boots, and they still stuck into the bottom of the shoes. Stupid spiky things. Blah Blah Blah… anyway, we set up, grabbed dinner, watched some of the other bands, and tried to stay out of the heat as much as possible since it was about 100 degrees outside. We were supposed to go on at 10:40pm Friday night, but the whole schedule kinda went out the window and we didn’t end up going onstage until 12:15 am. We were SO tired at this point. I remember feeling like I was drugged or something cause when I was head banging, I could barely keep my balance. LOL. It was pretty funny. But it was a great show with a great crowd. Very responsive!

Once the show was over, we hurriedly packed up and rolled out for our next show near Oklahoma City. We ended up leaving around 2 am for our 8 hour drive. By this time we were all so wiped from the non-stop schedule, but we didn’t have a choice to rest cause we didn’t have time. We had to be at the festival near Oklahoma City by morning so that we could set up and sell merch all day. So we drove all through the night again, got there, and once again, hit the ground running. Set up all our stuff in 110 degree temperatures and then finally had a chance to relax for a little while. This was Saturday, July 31st. It was near record breaking temperatures, and was miserable! Everyone was sweating and gross. We ate lunch inside in the A/C though and then headed to the hotel to shower and clean up for the show. We were all really gross cause we hadn’t showered since we left home and that was the 3rd consecutive day we’d set up and played in the hot, dirty festival setting. So we got our luggage and the runners (who were very nice) took us to our hotel. Unfortunately, I grabbed the wrong bag, so we had to call the runner back and ask her to take me back to the trailer to get the correct bag, which she did. By the time she came back, and we went to the festival to get it, then we drove back, I’d lost about an hour of rest time. Had to cancel my much needed nap, but oh well. Just showered right when I got back and then got ready to head back to the festival. We got back in time for dinner and then we just chilled till we went on. We were supposed to go on at 7:40 pm, but once again, the whole schedule went out the window. We ended up waiting to go on all night and I can’t remember if we started at 11:15 pm or ended at 11:15 pm, but either way, it was WAY later than anyone anticipated. Once again, I was so tired that I felt all discombobulated on stage when I would head bang. Very weird feeling. I’m sure very entertaining to watch too. LOL.

After that show though, we got to actually sleep in a real bed in a hotel room. Mark and I got our own room and the Matt, Mat, and Ryan got their own room. It was nice to catch up on sleep, even though we didn’t actually hit the sack ’till a little after 2 I believe. Anyway we totally slept in and then drove straight to Tulsa when we woke up. We have off until next Thursday, so we’re staying at Danny’s the whole time. Sunday afternoon, once we arrived, we put on our swimming gear and boat hats and went on a boat on the lake with a friend of Danny’s. It was a lot of fun! It was so beautiful too. We even saw a rainbow. It’s so funny how God can speak to you SO clearly sometimes. You just have to be listening. When I saw that rainbow over the sparkling river, God spoke into my heart and told me plain as day “Everything will be ok. I have a plan for you and I am in control. Do not worry, because everything will be ok”. Its so funny, because Mark and I have been praying over the band and trusting in Gods plan even though we can’t see it and we’ve been asking for strength and guidance and faith. It was so relieving to hear the God of the universe tell me personally that everything’s going to be ok. It makes me realize that all of my plans are in vain, all of my worries are useless, and all of my questions are just distractions. Life its so much simpler when you take it day by day, since God’s in control of everything anyway. Its hard to remember, even though His ways are not my ways and His thoughts are not my thoughts, He promises to give me hope and a future, and I am trusting that promise with everything I am.

Well that was my wonderful, peaceful Sunday. Monday, we chilled at the house, then went to the store to pick up groceries and stuff for these few days. Came back and hung out at the house. Danny’s little daughter hung out with us for a little while so we went and grabbed some ice-cream with her. Went back to the house and put on a movie, then went to bed. We woke up today and went to Wal-mart to return something, then went to a few clothing stores and then hit up the Tulsa mall. Found some sweet rings that are ginormous and awesome. For dinner, we all went to a Pizza and arcade place with Danny’s daughter cause she likes it and it looked pretty fun to us too. And it was fun. There was so much to do… bowling, mini-golf, bumper cars, games, food, go-carts, etc. It was great! Then we grabbed snow cones on the way home. I got Chocolate and Pink Champaign mixed. Talk about DELICIOUS. Then sat around chatting while watching America’s Got Talent. Then the guys took over the T.V. and played video games the rest of the night. I ended up going to the bedroom where I am now around 11 pm to try and go to sleep but as I mentioned before, I haven’t been able to do that despite the fact that I am VERY tired. Mark came in from playing video games around 1:30 am and I attempted falling asleep again thinking laying with him would help, but it didn’t this time. So by 2:00 am, I rolled over and began writing this. I can’t believe it’s 3:45 am now. How in the world did it take that long to write this?? Ok, I think I’m tired enough to fall asleep now. Goodnight.

Yours Truly,
Sarah

(28) Dear Diary,

Last Thursday, July 16th, we packed up and headed out for Maryland. We left Thursday night around midnight for the 6 hour drive. We got about 20 minutes out from where the show was and parked in a gas station parking lot to sleep the rest of the night… or morning I guess. Slagle’s cousin lives near there, so he met up with us at that gas station around 10 am. He hitched a ride with us and ended up coming back with us to PA.

We arrived at the camp and it was HOT! It was mid-90’s and the “feels-like” temp. was 105 degrees, plus high humidity. Yuck. But the camp was pretty sweet. There were a bunch of cabins and a few large catering halls. We set up in one of those halls. It was pretty cool too because usually we get a green room to put our stuff in and get ready in, but that day we got an entire cabin to ourselves. It was sweet.

So we unloaded the trailer and began setting the stage and merch up. At noon, we got a lunch break. We took our food to our cabin and ate in the A/C. After that, we went back to the hall and set up the stage and merch and sound-checked. We finally finished by 3pm and were all drenched in sweat by then. So we all kinda split up. Mark and I went to the cabin for the A/C, while Slagle, Matt, Ryan and Slagles cousin (Steven) went out to check out the camp.

We had a lot of time to kill since we didn’t play until 11 pm! So we just killed time. The whole evening was a blur but the highlights were dinner, the boys tipping over a canoe into the lake and getting totally soaked, and basketball with the kids. And of course, the show itself. It was really sweet cause the camp did worship and a short message and then took a little break to give us time to get ready for the show. We filled the room with fog and set up and all that stuff. We went on around 11 pm and the kids were great! Although someone got a concussion from the mosh pit I guess. But he was alright.

By the time we packed up and headed home, it was almost 2 am. Slagle and Ryan drove through the night and we got home at 8:45 am. The boys all went home and Mark and I hurried up and got showered and ready to go to the State Theatre where we had to be at by 10 am. We were guest judges for “Uniontown’s got Talent” so we were there from 10 till 2 pm. By the time we finally got home, we were SO tired. We crashed and watched movies all night. It was like a nice date night for us.

Anyhow, we have until July 27th to chill and get some stuff done that we’ve got to do. I’m going to go enjoy life without the stresses of the road for a little bit. I’m also working on a new hobby… art in the form of sketching/drawing. Its a great release. Fun fun fun.

Yours Truly,
Sarah

(27) Dear Diary,

The show last friday, July 9th in Ohio, was a really fun one. My mother-in-law Sandi, sister Jenny, brother Reed and his wife Laura all came out. Plus there was a great crowd! We got there around 11 am and of course, it was pouring rain outside. So we just waited it out and chilled inside until it calmed down. When it finally stopped, we were like, “go, go, go!” We unloaded it really quickly so we didn’t get caught in the rain again. For some reason, it seemed like a very relaxed day. The whole afternoon wasn’t rushed, we just leisurely set up. It was fantastic! The show itself was amazing too. Everyone was into it and singing along. I got to meet a few special girls. One struggles with “cutting”, but she said she was going to stop. She was so bad that they almost had to amputate her arm. Praise God she’s trying to turn her life around! She’s such a beautiful person. I love meeting people for that reason!

After that show was over we drove overnight to the next show which was in Indiana. I was born in Indiana so it was nice to see familiar land. Corn, corn, and more corn. I’ll admit… I’m kinda a country girl at heart. Not like a hick, country girl, but a girl that enjoys the fresh air, wide open spaces, horse riding and playing with dogs in the dirt kinda girl. LOL. Keep it a secret though cause I don’t know how rock-n-roll that is. HAHA just kidding. I don’t really care, cause its who I am. Anyway the Indiana show went smooth and we left to head home Saturday night when it was over.

We were driving all night and were about an hour and a half away from home, I believe about 4:30 am, when we stopped to get gas and stuff. Well, we had to take a small road and somehow we ended up getting a flat tire. LOL. I was sleeping in the back so I’m not exactly sure what happened. But we had a spare tire so it wasn’t too big of an ordeal. Although we did gain a crowd somehow. There were a few people who came out to see if they could help which was nice… A few others just came out for the show I believe. We were in a sketchy area cause one of the guys offered us some weed. Yeah… we said no thanks. LOL So then we got out of there as quickly as possible.

Anyway we got home at about 6:30 am and crashed. Fell sound asleep till about noon. Then we got up and got ready to go see some family. Mark and I went to dinner and a movie with Sandi, Jenny, and Reed and Laura. We went to The Olive Garden (yummy) and then went to see Despicable Me. It was AWESOME!!! I’d totally go see it again in the theaters. Maybe we’ll go this week with the guys.

Today we’ve just been relaxing… Marks been working in the studio in our basement and I went out to lunch with Jenny. We have the next 2 weeks off pretty much. Only 1 show which is this Friday night in Maryland until July 27th. Its awesome! We’re going to fully enjoy a normal life for a short little bit. Starting July 27th we wont be back home until December 20th or so, except maybe a day or two here or there. Yeah… thats like 5 months. So we’re planning on fully enjoying these next 2 weeks home. Ok, going to go watch a movie with my gorgeous husband and our dog Rocker, whom I’ve missed a ton!

Yours Truly,
Sarah