Taylor Swift

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!