Saturday, did lots of lying around. Went to Jen and Tim’s place to hang out, because Stephanie had a family reunion to get to. Susan wanted to take us to Ashland to see the house she’s going to be renting! The drive took a little bit longer than we anticipated, but Susan’s house (and yard!) is adorable.

We arrived at the Cleveland Irish festival with only about a half hour left of Jackdaw’s set. We got to hear a couple of my favorites, though…their cover of the Saw Doctors’ “Hay Wrap” and the very unique Jackdaw version of “Rattlin’ Bog.” This usually includes a couple of brief covers (such as Low Rider, You Shook Me All Night Long, and even Push It, by Salt and Pepa…) and an introduction of the band members. The intro always ends with “and together we are….(insert silly band name here). I so desperately want David to say “Wyld Stallyns” one of these days. 😉

We stopped by the merch table to say hi, and then wandered around the festival a bit. We saw some cute little Irish dancers (I SO want to learn how to step dance. Do they teach adult step dancing classes?) and Jen declared that she wants to populate the earth with little Irish girls who shall dance.

After the wandering, we returned to the Celtic Thunder stage for Carbon Leaf.

Oh….I am loving Carbon Leaf SO much this weekend. They were on last Saturday night, so they played an extra-long set, complete with three encores. We stood next to a tall gentleman who is apparently Carbon Leaf’s biggest fans. He sings along with such gusto, complete with imitations of lead singer Barry’s hand gestures. Also, directly in front of the stage, there was a woman wearing a Carbon Leaf t-shirt, holding a sign that read “Carbon Leaf Fan,” and….the piece de resistance…she was wearing a button that was a tiny version of one of those LED message boards that read “Carbon Leaf.” I am not making this up.

I may be a big fan, but….wow. That’s just scary. 🙂

Now, here’s part one of my “men being cute with little kids are hot” experience of the weekend. Directly in front of me, there was the cutest little blonde girl. My favorite member of Carbon Leaf, Carter (guitar and mandolin), kept looking down at the little girl and smiling, and winking, and it was just….sigh. So freakin’ adorable. I couldn’t stand it.

Carter, by the way, is a walking case for anti-botox. (ETA: botox statement courtesy of All Things Jen(nifer). My apologies) His entire face crinkles when he smiles, and it’s incredibly sexy.

Here’s Carter:

(many thanks to Blue Ridge Laughing for the photo)

These guys are incredible. Wonderfully talented, and they just look like they’re having so much fun every time they play. It’s amazing. Guitarist Terry is the happiest guy on earth. Jordan rocks the bass (not to mention Jen’s world…ahem…). And Carter…well, you all know how I feel about him. 😉 Plus, I just love the mandolin.

Stay tuned for part three: drunken Jackdaw boys, part 2 of “men being cute with little kids are hot,” more Carbon Leaf, and a long-ass drive home.