Take a Break With Newtons

Don't you just love the summer months? Summer came early to Colorado after a very snowy early spring. I've been enjoying the low humidity, moderate temperatures, and beautiful sunsets that this summer weather has been sharing with us this season. The nice weather also makes this a very busy time of the year for me in my already busy life.

  

I've been enjoying decorating our new home, and having a front yard and backyard lawn for the first time in my life! Taking care of our gardens can be time-consuming, but my husband and I love it.  Planting flowers and herbs, and mowing, weeding and watering the lawn, are all good exercise.

 My weekdays are super busy as I'm caring for my infant granddaughter every Monday through Friday, as well as doing fill-in babysitting for my grandsons. I'm also on a few committees and participate in leisure clubs that take place in our community.  On most weekends I get out my trekking poles...

..

....and hike on the wonderful miles of scenic trails in my neighborhood and nearby vicinity!

On weekends my husband and I hike, bike ride, swim in the community pool, and enjoy barbecues!

I've also been enjoying new, deliciously unique cookies from Newtons, specifically, Fruit Thins Banana Drizzled with Dark Fudge and Fruit Thins Coconut Drizzled with Dark Fudge! They are made with real fruit, with 8g of whole grains per 31g serving, and dark fudge. I was always a fan of Fig Newtons cookies my entire life, and this new line of cookies by Newtons are another way to enjoy the flavor of fresh fruit. They taste as good as homemade cookies, or even better as I don't have to put on a hot oven to bake them.

They are thin, crisp and full of delicious flavor! The dark fudge swirl topping on each cookie adds just the right touch of sweetness and indulgence.

Some busy mornings, when I am on the run, a few Newtons Fruit Thins are a very quick and satisfying breakfast. Since they are made with real fruit and whole grains I feel they can be part of a healthy meal.

Other times, especially after a long hike, I enjoy coming home and sitting on my house's shady veranda for a while, where I put my feet up and...

... have an espresso and a couple of Newtons Fruit Thins cookies as a treat.

I think they are the perfect afternoon "pick me up" or dessert for any time. I'd love for you to try them, and let me know what you think!

Visit newtonscookies.com to take a look at all the new Fruit Flavors and also get access to great tips!

* Full disclosure: I was provided with packages of both Newtons Fruit Thins Banana Drizzled with Dark Fudge and Newtons Fruit Thins Coconut with Drizzled Dark Fudge for this review and will be compensated for this post by Newtons and Blogher.  My opinions are all my own and were not influenced in any way by Newtons or Blogher.

Josh Groban at Red Rocks Amphitheatre

I know you all must be tired of hearing about my month-long "double 30" birthday celebrations, so I promise this will be the last post on that subject! This was also my last birthday treat. My husband surprised me with tickets to see Josh Groban perform at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre on July7th.! I have been a long time fan of his, but this was my first time seeing him perform live, and I was also very excited to see him in the beautiful outdoor Red Rocks.

As you can see by this long-distance photo I took from the I-470 highway heading north, the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre is nestled between two giant rock formations in the Rocky Mountain foothills near Morrison, Colorado. For over 70 years it has been known for its acoustically perfect sound.  It has hosted a large array of legendary music groups such as the Beatles, Elvis, U2 and opera stars

Driving into the park one passes the most remarkable giant red rock formations.

This is the ramp leading up to the seats from the south parking lot. 

The view of the stage that we had from our seats. The amphitheater holds a little over 9,000 people in assigned seats.

Red Rock Amphitheatre is located 15 west of the city of Denver, which we could see in the distance from our seats, by using a zoom lens.

It was a beautiful evening the night of the concert. There was even a rainbow in the distance for awhile! Josh was performing with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and they opened the program with some delightful orchestral medleys. (This collage and all photos in this post can be enlarge for easier viewing by clicking on them once and then clicking on them again for an even larger view.)

This was the second time Josh Groban performed at Red Rocks, and there was palpable excitement when he came on stage! Josh also has his own troupe of very talented international musicians that tour with him, as you can see in this photo.

He sang hits from his new album "All That Echoes," as well as older favorites

To see and hear two of my favorite songs from the night, go to this link on my Mille Fiori Favoriti facebook page to listen to "Starry Starry Night" and his final song, "You Raise Me Up."

The final song was a very touching moment for me, as "You Raise Me Up" was the song I danced to with my son at his wedding, and it always touches my heart to hear it. He and my daughter-in-law celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary recently. Unfortunately, I was not blessed with a good singing voice, so you'll have to excuse my very out of tune "sing-along" if you do listen to that video.

It was a fantastic night, and one I'll always remember!  Josh is very engaging and funny, and his operatic voice is so pure and beautiful. If you ever have a chance to see him perform live I think you'll enjoy his concert as much as I did!

"Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul" --  author unknown

You can also find me on 

Instagram Twitter Facebook 
Pinterest