The Taylor Swift Fearless Conccert

Yesterday I had the chance to take Hannah to her very first concert in Salt Lake City!! I bought tickets months ago and thanks to the Taylor Swift fan club we got a pre-sale number to get tickets early. I bought 2 pairs of tickets and sold one set. Those 2 tickets that I sold paid for our seats last night! I knew we were going to have good seats since we were on the 27th row of the floor but little did I know how good they were.
Our afternoon started at 3 pm when we left for the concert that started at 7 that night. We were to Salt Lake by 3:40 and got an awesome parking spot that we didn't have to pay for. Getting there early pays off!! We walked over by all of her tour trucks and the fancy buses that were lining the street. Hannah took a few pictures and then we met a guy from the crew that showed us which bus was Taylor's and the other one that was Kellie Pickler's. Of course they were down by the arena, but Hannah still took a picture.
After that we went and found the Olive Garden. It was a short walk and needless to say we didn't eat all that much b/c Han was so excited to get back to the arena. Most of our food was to go and in a bag to be dropped off back in the car.
We got our sign when we dropped off the food and went over to where KBull-93 was set up! I tried my darnest to get backstage passes, but to no avail. Hannah did get a shirt since we were there for her birthday. Off to the concert we went.

I got a little sad when we walked up to the doors to get in b/c there was a sign there that said Kelly Pickler was sick, so she would not be performing that night. I really wanted to see her in person rockin' about those red high heels of hers, but maybe another week. I got Hannah passed the t-shirt people since they were $25 each. A little too much for even this mom to spend on a shirt. Hannah was so excited to be in the arena and see how close we were going to be! The floor seats we got were AWESOME! We both got our bracelets that let everyone know that we were on the floor. Now granted we were on the 27th row but Hannah knew no different. We took pictures by the stage and just took it all in.

The opening band was good. They played 5 or 6 songs and were good, but it was about that time that I noticed that there was a smaller stage right by where we were sitting. I am such a shy person, but last night I wasn't. I walked right over to the security guy and asked him if Taylor was going to sing right there. He said that's why he was there!! Holy Cow she was going to be less than 5 feet from us!
About 15 minutes before Taylor came on this really tall guy walks out and is talking to all the sound people and some girls wanted to get a picture with him. Hummm.....must be Taylor's dad! Yep it was, so once again I get up the nerve and go talk to him and ask him when Taylor is going to sing back here. He told me all the details and even where to stand so Hannah could see and not get squashed. Her dad is so nice!! Then to top it all off he gave me 2 of the pics that Taylor uses to play her guitar!!
A few short minutes later I notice a lady walk by...HELLO!! It was Taylor's Mom!!! I marched Hannah right on over to meet this lady who has such an awesome daughter. It was so nice to thank her for her daughter and that my own daughter is inspired to develop her own talent in music. All she wants is a sparkling guitar and lessons to play it this year for her birthday. She was so amazing and even let us take a picture with us too!!

The concert finally got started and it was the BEST one that I have been to in a very long time. I almost feel bad for Hannah b/c she is getting so spoiled with her first concert. I am not sure that any other concert will ever live up to this one!!
Taylor made her way down to sing in the back part of the arena and we were waiting. She was so close when she walked by I could have touched her. Hannah had her poster all ready for Taylor to read and she did. Sang right to Hannah for a few lines of her songs. It was so neat to see her take the time to say hi to all the little girls there at her concert. When Taylor was starting to walk back up front she actually missed Hannah. I said...Taylor it's her birthday! and sure enough she walked back and gave Hannah a hug and said Happy Birthday! She was so excited that she would come back and give her a hug. Hannah was on cloud nine!!

The rest of the concert flew by and before we knew it the concert was coming to a close. I took a picture of Hannah with the stage in the background and then I heard a "I'll take a picture of both of you!" and it was Taylor's Dad! So our last 2 pictures of the concert are Hannah and I together, but it was Taylor's Dad who took them!!
The whole day was my 'Best Day' with my daughter. I can't wait for the other girls to get bigger so we can all be concert buddies together. I can't believe that my baby girl will be 6 on Saturday! Where have the years gone. I hope she had a 'Best Day' too with me.
Here is a link with all the other pictures that we got during the night! --> Taylor Fearless Concert Pictures

Hannah's Spring Program

Hannah did a great job at her spring program. Here are a few clips from it! The first is her square dancing. What a riot! Their theme today was the Cowboy way and it was full of country stuff. Hannah fit right in with her boots that she wore today. The second one is of Hannah singing the Fifty Nifty United States. It is her favorite song and loves to tell anyone who will listen all 50 states (they are in alphabetical order too!!) She has impressed more than one college boy at baseball games this year. Heart breaker in the making with 50 states!! :-)

I still can't believe that she is almost done with kindergarten. Where has the year gone? I am just amazed at how much she has grown since that first day we took her up to Challenger. Not really sure of school or even trusting teachers, but seeing her today at school and Ruby on Tuesday really made this school year worth it. All those long nights at work all paid off today to see both of my girls so happy and so confident in what they are doing. They really have learned a ton and have grown so much.





The bonus video....the first song that they sang today!

Ruby's Preschool Program

Ruby had her spring program today at school. She was so cute and so excited to see us there along with her grandma and grandpa! I was really suprized that she knew as many songs as she did with only going to school for a few short months. Here are a few of the short videos from the day. I am so proud of Ruby and all the hard work that she does at school. I love you my Ruby Jo.

This is Ruby singing one of her favorite songs.


Here is Ruby trying to scare away the monsters. Wait for the awesome face!!

Hanging Baskets

Today I did one more project for the outside of the house. I guess this whole garden thing is kicking in and it really is fun to play in the dirt. Today I tried my hand at these hanging baskets with flowers in them. They were $25 a piece at Home Depot, so I tried them for cheaper. My baskets and liners were $2 each, so total so far is $8.00. The dirt and flowers today were $20, so my total was $28!! What a savings and I made 4 baskets instead of only getting one for the same price. Here are my baskets......

fun in the sun

Today it was really nice weather for us in Utah. I got the girls out in the sprinklers for a little cool off time. It didn't last for very long but they had a good time while it lasted.

My flowers.....

Well my flowers have all bloomed and have died and I am just now getting the pictures on the blog. They turned out rather well and I was proud my little bulbs. Too bad I won't get to see them next year.

Earthworms in the Garden?

So, tonight was quite the night. Alicia went to work this evening and I guess earlier, before I got home from work, Ruby had fallen on a pole that went into her mouth and she was hurt pretty badly and was crying when I got home. She pretty much cried for about 2 hours straight, despite my efforts to calm her down, so I decided to do the manly thing and go outside to get away. :)

I decided since I needed to mow the lawn anyway, I may as well get it out and get started. Since we have 1/3 of an acre of land there, it is quite the tedious task. I didn't get a picture of the grass, but in some places it was probably about 2 feet tall. I was excited to mow because we "wood chipped" the trees last week and I could now mow a part of our lawn that we haven't seen in almost 4 months.

So off I went, but before I tell you what happened, I have to premise it with something the girls have been doing lately.

The girls love Earthworms.

That's right. Earthworms. In fact it reminded of me when I was in Kindergarten at Helen Marie Smith in Las Vegas. At the end of the playground was a gutter where as children we would find earthworms and throw them at the girls. I mean, what better way to spend recess right?

Anyway, I have been weeding recently to prep the yard a little and make the landscaping look a little better. For the past two weeks in doing this, I have unearthed a ton of earthworms (some about a dime thick and about 6-10 inches long, probably some of the biggest I have ever seen). The girls fight over them and each want their own to take to the flower garden to bury in the ground so they can live. But before doing so, they have to play with them for an unknown amount of time, and to be honest I am not 100% sure how many ever actually make it to the garden.

So as I was mowing this evening, I almost ran over a snake. Yup, a snake. It was similar to the one I saw last year but much smaller by about a foot. So as it slid across the grass to escape the jaws of my lawn mower, I actually ventured a small effort to catch it. Catch it I did, and what happened next I had no idea would happen.

The girls were giddy with excitement. They were across the yard, and I held up my prize to let them see. They began showering me with screams and accolades and ran through the tall part of the grass to see what they proceeded to explain to each other was the biggest earthworm Daddy had ever unearthed. :)

Hannah finally in seeing it up close noticed that it was indeed a snake, and Ruby caught on as well, so they all got to touch the snake and Hannah got the camera to take some pictures. Poor Katy was struggling running through the grass since some of it was as tall as her, but when she finally made it her eyes lit up and she began to get so excited and wanted to hold the "Earthworm". I let her touch it, but she was so sad that daddy wouldn't give it to her and let her bury it in the garden. I think she probably cried for about 20 minutes!

I still didn't get through to her that what we had found was a snake, and though she really could have held it since it was perfectly harmless, it was still rather big and probably would have escaped very easily. I threw it in the ditch to be rid of it for the time being and the girls watched in wander for some time while I continued to mow.

While the other girls went inside, Katy went and grabbed a small stroller for her dolls and followed me around the sidewalk mimicking me. Every time I pushed, pulled, or turned the lawn mower, she amazingly did the exact same thing with her stroller. So it was fun spending the rest of the evening with her "helping" daddy with the mowing. I mean if you look at the sidewalk, there are no weeds or anything, so she did a great job!

Oh what a night!

Maybe I should...

Write a book. Seems like I am always having life happen around me and sometimes I cry or laugh or just shake my head. The things they didn't tell me before I had kids. Sounds like a great title to me.

Today's chapter is all about Mother's Day gifts.

No this is not a gift from the 2 legged children, but the four legged kind that is covered with fur. Shadow is one of the twins that came into our lives when we got rid of the dogs. I guess that Shadow wanted to get in on the whole Mother's Day celebration because she got me a gift. I stumbled upon my gift when I came home from getting Hannah from school. She was at the door like she always is when I get home and this time she had a little friend. Yes, a little furry friend with a tail!!! A mouse. Happy Mother's day!! She was so proud and of course I have arms full of groceries that are dethawing by the moment, so I don't have time to stop her from promptly picking up the mouse and running inside!!! AHHHH!!! Gifts are good but not in the house. So I manage to get the groceries way, since I didn't want everything to melt on me. I was in luck since she was just in the dining room sitting under the table with her prize. I am so squarmish around mice alive or dead, so this was not a good thing for me. Then because I walk into the room, Shadow feels the need to show off and start playing with the thing!! All I could find was a rake for the yard. I have no idea where the broom is, so i shoo her out of the house and rake the dead thing out of the house. So the present still sits there by my front door waiting for Steve to deal with it when he gets home. At least this is a story that I can laugh at for Mother's Day. Just one more of life's lessons as a mom that they didn't tell me about before I had kids.