Last fall when I heard that Taylor Swift was planning a world tour for her "Speak Now" album, I announced to the hubby that I would be going to a concert if there was one within driving distance of our house. If there wasn't one within driving distance, I would formulate a plan to get to one somehow. Well, thankfully for me, when the tour dates came out, Salt Lake City was listed as a tour stop! Next came the SEVERAL MONTHS of waiting for the tickets to go on sale. I mean MONTHS! I joined the T-Swift fan club in hopes to get a heads up on when these suckers would go on sale. Back at the beginning of April 2011, I got the email I'd been waiting for. The tickets were going on sale (for the end of September concert!) but gosh darn it they were being released during G2's story time and I had heard these things sell out fast (like 15-20 minutes fast and sometimes within 5-10 minutes) so I had to make the executive decision to forgo G2's brain stimulating activity for the day. So, here I was, a 30-something year old lady perched at my computer waiting like a 14 year old girl for the tickets to go on sale.
Making a sign for the concert. She did such a great job!
There I sat, sweating, waiting to purchase my tickets. FINALLY....13 minutes after the tickets officially went on sale.....I was the proud owner of T-Swift tickets (this whole process takes 4-ever between setting up accounts for this and that and paying and yikes! this was hard work!). I ended up with three tickets....one for me, one for G1 (who is also a big T-Swift fan!), and one for a friend I had wrangled into going with me for support (I mean, what if T Swift wanted me to sing with her on stage...who was going to stay with G1???) And yes, the concert sold out MEGA fast so I felt crazy lucky to have gotten these tickets!
Another sign. This one said "This little Sagittarius would be Enchanted to Meet you"
Taylor & G2 are both Sag's and Enchanted is the name of one of T-Swifts songs.
Pretty clever little sign if you ask me!
G1 was not entirely excited about these tickets. When she (at my prompting) would tell people we were going they would be excited and she would smile but in her mind, a T-Swift concert was going to be akin to Taylor standing on some risers in the cafeteria. That is what her concerts look like. I mean, being that close to Taylor would be cool but it's not terribly exciting. I, on the other hand, was flipping out with excitement. I had never really been to a big sell out fast kind of concert and I had heard Taylor is one of the best performers ever. About 6 weeks before the concert Taylor released a video that kind of summed up what her concert was like, I showed G1 this video. Her response---"THAT is what we are going to!?!?!?!" And so her excitement began! This is not a risers in the school cafeteria experience!!!
Before we went into the arena. Mega fan excitement outside. G1 was a little overwhelmed by it after a while and I was nervous the concert was going to be too much for her.
The day of the concert was kind of stressful for me and my high anxiety self...I was worried about flat tires and not making it to the concert, was the ticketless entry really going to work, what if the concert was oversold and I didn't really have a seat and the list goes on and on..... Plus, how would I explain all the above to my super excited 7 yr old? This is also why I needed another adult with me....to calm me down.
She held a sign up during the entire concert.
Once we were inside the doors, all my anxiety melted away. G1 was SOOOO pumped up and the atmosphere was just electric. In the moments before Taylor appeared on stage, I thought G1 (ok, and myself) were just going to burst with excitement. People are screaming (all 15,000 of us!) and jumping and flashing their signs and taking pictures. Oh yeah, we were joining in. I think my friend thought I was crazy but she was pretty prepared for me to act like a 14 year old so I don't think she was overly surprised. I think I would have held back a little but practically ALL the other Mom's were jumping around and acting crazy right along with me! The only two people I saw sitting down were the Dad and Grandpa who had brought 4 little girls to the concert. But eventually, even that Dad was joining in.
G1 held up her various signs depending on the "mood of the song"....that is what she told me.
The concert was AMAZING! Taylor lived up to every expectation we had! Various sets, many costume changes, 5-6 different guitars she played (along with a ukulele and a grand piano!), acrobatics, ballet, tons of dancers, fireworks, and TONS of energy from Taylor. G1 and I sang every word to every song, held up our signs, smiled so hard, and just had the best time together. Our seats were pretty high up yet the HUGE screens made it seem like we were very close.
Yes, even I had a sign! The glitter slowly feel off throughout the night but boy oh boy
these were SPARKLY!
You can just see in her face that she loves when she is doing!
Love. Love. Love her.
See how close the big screens made us feel!
She is there in the spotlight...small. There were two additional large screens
on each side of the stage so we had a super clear view from our seats.
If you are still reading, you are very dedicated to my gushings of love for Taylor. But today, I watched an interview on Regis and Kelly (should I admit that I found out about this interview because I am signed up for the "Taylor Swift newsfeed" on my Facebook account????). In it, Taylor is asked about being a role model for young girls. She responds with (and I'm not quoting but it's fairly close) that she totally gets that young girls look up to her and that she thinks it is important to make conscientious good decisions about her actions, what she wears, and what she says because she will potentially be impacting many young girls lives. I mean, how can you NOT love this girl? In a world where positive pop culture influences are extremely rare (and I'm the helicopter parent who shields my kiddos from a lot of stuff).....there is Taylor....who is thinking about this kind of stuff. Plus, I like her music so for me....it is a win-win.
Taylor playing the grand piano....W's favorite song I must add!
I know this post was heavy on the pics....but I have a lot more (plus some videos I can share) if you are still interested--hahaha!!!! I really could ramble on and on about what an awesome night G1 and I had together. I am predicting another T-Swift concert tour in 2013 (13 is T-Swizzles favorite number)....and you can bet I will be hoping for another show close enough for me to drive to...I mean another show so I can share another magical night with my daughter (and I also have two other little Swifties at home) so this could turn into a family event!
A lot of our friends are not native to this area....I'm not really sure how we happen to hang out with mostly transplants but that seems to be the case. My point in saying this is that it seems like a lot of the natives around here have "toys." Lots and lots of them. ATV's, dirt bikes, snow machines, and usually a combo of winter and summer toys.....you get my point. Well, W has became tight with a Little Guy who is from a family of natives. They are really great and we have enjoyed getting to know them. Tonight, they took us out on one of their dirt bikes. It is small (it's the 5 year olds bike!) and all of us had a blast cruising around the field. G1 was very serious when she said she really thinks we should get a couple of these for our family. I guess our kids are officially natives.......but not sure the mountain biking Dad around here will let that happen! G2 is walking around calling himself "motorcycle man." And even cautious little W had a blast!
Loved how the helmet squished his little cheeks together!
He hopped right on and was ready to go...
but he is holding on for dear life!
Taking a spin before soccer practice.
She was pretty darn proud of herself for riding the bike!
Since the boys are best buddies, have many of the same interests, and many of the same friends/friends that are siblings, we decided to have a joint birthday party while we could still get away with it! Plus, we had a fire station birthday party package and how do you decide who gets to have that as "their" party??? The week has been all over the place weather wise with heat, rain, thunderstorms, and wind. Plus, there is always the chance of snow around here. The fire station had assured me that the party would go on regardless of the weather, but I was still stressed out hoping for the best. Well, Saturday arrived and although there was some wind, the sky was clear blue and the temperature was absolutely perfect! We had SUCH a fun time at the birthday party. I am not sure how we can ever top this party because it was over the top perfect and so very unique.
a Sparky the fire dog bounce house---
the kids are excited from the get go!
Fire station tour
checking out the equipment and learning
a little about fire fighting gear
Not just sitting in the truck---these boys are GOING FOR A RIDE!
Over the top excitement here!!!
Practicing with the fire hose
This is possibly the party attendee who was most
excited about the ride in the fire truck.
Next most excited party attendee??? My husband.
Every kiddo got a ride in the fire truck.
Complete with sirens and flashing lights
After watching me do fun runs and races over the past couple years, G1 asked if there was a chance she could run in a race with me. I was so excited to take my girl out for a run! I was so proud of G1 because I could tell she really wanted to stop but she persevered and only took two very short walking breaks near the end of the race.
So proud of her for running the 2.5K without
any "practice" besides dance, soccer, and the normal running around kids do.
Perfect distance for a first race.
A big highlight of the fun run we signed up for is the raffle drawing. They give away big things like bikes (really nice bikes), Thule roof racks, iPod touch, iPod nanos, as well as simpler things like water bottles, hats, and socks (but even this stuff is always really high end and pretty nice--our friend won a $150 pair of sunglasses a couple of months ago). Well, G1 was getting a little bit bored of sitting and waiting for the raffle and even though we were pressed on time, I made her stay "just in case" either of us won something. I'm traditionally not lucky but apparently G1 is. The announcer went on and on about how great this specific prize was---a pair of custom shoe inserts that are formulated to your foot and heated by some special process. He said whoever the winner was should really give them a try and not just return them because they are incredible. Well, here is the 7 year old with her $160 pair of shoe inserts. That smile is not really one of excitement. It is her laughing because she keeps saying "shoe inserts? i wanna iPod touch!!!" Lucky for her (and maybe, if I can convince her to share, lucky for me) she does have the option to return her shoe inserts to the store in exchange for something else. I think she has her eye on some Under Armor gear and ski equipment.
Truly the best smile of the day.
Is that excitement over school?
No, pretty sure he is thrilled that I let him
sit on the counter to put his socks on.
W started his final year of pre-school and it was a bittersweet day for both him and for me. I am of course sad that he won't be around every day yet at the same time, I know there are so many things he is learning while he is away from me. For W though, his best friend from school is no longer in his class (he went to kindergarten this fall) and so he was a little nervous about who he was going to play with. I'm very thankful he has the same teacher again so that aspect of school will remain constant. I have to be very careful about crying when I send W off to school....he saw how sad I was when his Big Sis started school a few weeks ago and he was very concerned that I was not going to be OK with him being gone. For the week before he went back to school he kept asking me "are you going to miss me too much?" "should I stay home so you are not sad?" My tenderhearted little W.
An over the top smile in hopes
he can get rid of his
photo loving Mom
We celebrated W's birthday a little early since his Dad had the day off and Grandma and Grandpa D were still in town. This way we could spend the entire day partying instead of waiting until just the evening. We started off our morning just hanging around the house before heading off to a movie. We went to see the Winnie the Pooh movie which was incredibly cute and very short, but perfect for a day that was slated for a lot of activity.
Happy Birthday Little Man!!!
We then headed home for some cake, ice cream, and birthday presents. W LOVES Spiderman so we had a Spiderman theme for the day.
I said "hey, look at Mom"
He replied "I'm busy"
Next we headed off to mini-golf. The boys had never been mini golfing before and they were quite excited. G2 was pretty hilarious when hitting the ball but eventually figured it out. Of course he would accept no help.
1st time mini golfing.
He was cracking me up with his putting.
Maybe hockey is in his future?
W was also hilarious to watch mini-golf. His method of golfing was pretty much to never let it stop rolling and just keep knocking it around until it went into the hole. This technique also resembled hockey.
The Birthday Boy getting ready to putt
We had such a fun day celebrating W! Hard to believe how old is he getting!!! Happy Birthday Little Man!!!
This race marked my 5th 1/2 marathon and B's 1st 1/2 marathon. We thought running a 1/2 marathon together would be fun....and it was! But, training over the summer was not so great since with the three kiddos who cannot be left alone, we only got in two maybe three training runs together (and B had to push the two little ones which equals about 75 lbs around our very hilly neighborhood!!!!). B & I each have our own running styles which are quite opposite (B starts off fast and I usually have a stronger finish) and we were able to encourage each other at different points throughout the race. B ended up beating me by 3/10 of a second and I couldn't have been prouder of him!!! His time also got him a place on the podium in his age division! (OK, so I am proud but let me tell you if you take the tenths of a second off of our times...they are the same!)
So proud of their Dad
Another extra special thing about this race is that my parents were out to visit us so they were a great help with watching our kids and driving them along the race course to cheer us on. I kind of felt like I was in high school having my parents come and watch me run. But, I LOVED IT! Plus, it was really fun having them at the post-race party.
B is in the gray on the right near the white line.
Looking for me?? That is me waving from the left hand side of the
photo in the purple shirt. Kudos to my mom for her spectacular photo skills :)
Love you MOM!
I am sure my 1/2 marathon career is not quite yet over. There is this elusive 68 year old women whom I have ran with several times and I cannot keep up with her. Gives me hope that I can run when I am semi-elderly and a goal of someone to hopefully catch. Plus, I do like running and there is something special about going out for a long run. As for B....well, he isn't so sure if he will do one again. Training during the summer cut into his mountain biking time a bit too much. He says maybe he will do a spring 1/2 marathon sometime. I am just glad we had the opportunity to do this particular race together as it is one of my favorites.
