Wednesday, June 1, 2011

a suddenly super saturday



saturday was really boring. like, pity party on a holiday weekend bc your husband is working all day and you're stuck at Chuck E. Cheese at a really awkward bday party kind of boring. like, letting the kids have a bag of chips and play in the van because there's nothing else to do boring.

I totally understand the quote about "if you're borED, then you must be borING" or whatever. and I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a hole lot of fun.

but all the boredom changed in a second.

Back story: when they announced that Taylor Swift was coming to Omaha many months ago, the radio stations gave out a bunch of free tickets. So we listened like every hour of every day to try win. and we didn't. And then last week, the week she was here, they did it again. So we figured out which stations to listen to at which times and tried once again to win. and failed. Lillian was SUPER bummed because she doesn't understand the fact that thousands of people are doing the same thing we are. So, just because we call, doesn't mean we actually win. And no, we aren't just going to blow tons of money to get tickets for you to see her in person.

long story short: Steve called and said there were $25 tickets for Taylor Swift online and I should buy some and take Lillian. It was almost 7:30. The concert had already started, but T.S. didn't come out til 8:30.

SO, I bought the tickets! It was one of the most spontaneous things I've done ever. That may surprise some of you because you know that PLANS are almost non-existent in my life. But there is a huge difference between go-with-the flow and spontaneous. I'm not very spontaneous, because that leans a little to far toward FUN, and I just admitted that I"m not very fun. :)

ok, so, the second I click purchase, Steve called and said he had two free tickets! ARGH! so, then we had four tickets, but not together. So I rack my brain trying to think of anyone close that would want to go for free! I called my friend Tara but she didn't answer. And then I was like, wow. I don't really think any of my other friends would LOVE to see her as much as us. except Mel. :) So I called my sister Melinda this was our conversation:

MEL, what are you doing RIGHT NOW?

um, well, (hum and haw)

GET IN YOUR CAR! RIGHT NOW! wanna see Taylor Swift?

WHAT? YES! wait, what the heck? how? seriously?

YES! START DRIVING RIGHT NOW! (she lives an hour away)

um...ok? what? this is awesome! are you serious?

YES! I have to go. Hurry up! she's on in an hour! I'll meet you there! I'll call you later to talk about parking! Gotta go! OH! and find a friend to come with you, but leave NOW!

ok, so I was kinda freaking out. But I was also trying to make it a surprise for Lillian, so being really secretive and hurrying like crazy. Plus, I had to stop at FedEx and pick up the tickets.

So when i finally find shoes for all the kids and convince them that I'm not crazy for taking them downtown when it's almost bedtime, we head out to get the tickets.

{note to the FedEx people: I (don't really) apologize for letting my kids run around like crazy people all over your store. I was trying to make a point that you should not help the crabby old single man at the other end of the store having issues with his photographs before you take 5 seconds to grab the package of a lady in a hurry with 3 children in tow. it just makes sense to help me first. next time I buy concert tickets when the concert has already started, I hope you'll have the sense to help me first.}

while we're in the van I call Mel back and talk a few details about parking (yay for being the Hilton's parking manager's wife!) and meniton something about the Qwest Center. Lillian had been trying to guess where we were going earlier (wicked??? to visit Steph and Nic's baby??? and a few other really cute guesses) but when she heard me say Qwest Center she FFFFFRRRRRRREEEEEAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKEEEEEEDDDDD.

and being the sweetie that she is, she refused to say it out loud because Brielle would be sad about not going. (oh, forgot to mention that none of Mel's friends could come, so Josiah got to go with his auntie, and Brielle got a daddy date.) So Lillian is going totally crazy, and thankfully restrained a bit by her seatbelt, or I don't know WHAT would have happened! It was so fun to witness that, even if it was mostly from my rearview mirror. :)

ok, so we finally got there and parked and RAN across the street and got there right in the middle of her first song. By the time we got to our seats she was ready to start her second song, and it was pretty incredible to watch Lillian sit there with a perma-smile on her face, taking it all in. I was trying to explain to her how many people would be there, but there's no way to describe walking into an arena full of screaming fans. it was so fun.

because it was all so last minute, I didn't have time to look for my camera, because of course I didn't know where it was. (I'm a loser-of-all-things-important.) So I don't have any picutres from MY camera, but thanks to Google images, here are a few shots of this concert:




ok, this part was awesome. that glitter stuff made it all the way to us, and Lillian spent the whole song collecting them and shoving them in my pocket so we could save them.


and there she is in all her sparkly dress glory (one of about a million sparkly dresses). her arm didn't look that hairy from our seats though. :) but we could tell she had something written on it.

a
this last one was so fun. She got in her little balcony and flew over the whole audience. She was directly above us at one point, which was cool, but probably not as cool as seeing her face to face. I felt like I could have touched the bottom of her balcony if I jumped high enough. very cool.

and another great thing? she wasn't off key, ever, not even once during the whole show. And usually I find myself cringing just a bit when she sings live. she must be getting better at that part. :) and no, she wasn't lip syncing.

so anyway, Lillian and I had a great time, and Josiah and Mel had a great time too. It was VERY late by the time we got home, but definitely worth the 50 bucks for all those tickets, not to mention the memories.

maybe I should try that spontaneous thing a bit more often... :)

3 comments:

Unknown said...

SO jealous you got to see her!! And so proud of you for being spontaneous!!! What a great memory for Lillian and Josiah!

Leo & Eli's Mommy said...

So fun! Way to go Mom! :)

Alyssa said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this story! What GREAT memories! How awesome!