I Live To Hear Another Day

Daughter and I survived our trip to see the Jonas Brothers. I honestly have to say that I've never heard anything so loud in my life. We've seen Hannah Montana in concert, and I've also been to many Nascar races without ear plugs. But this, my friends, was far more loud than those two combined. Just imagine over 20,000 screaming girls if you will ;) For a split second, I thought that I was never going to hear again. But thankfully, all is well today and the constant hummmmmmmmmm has disappeared.

I won't really go into too much detail because I am sure to bore everyone. We had great seats on the floor, 14 rows back. Of course anytime one of the boys came near us (there was also a walkway on each end, so at times we were a mere 3 seats away from them), the whole row squished on top of us for just a slight chance to touch one of them.Ugh. So seats on the floor? A definite mistake. When I went to buy them, it gave me seats in the lower level first and I got rid of them. I was thinking along the wrong lines- I was forgetting I was taking a 6 year old and not an adult. So for about 3 1/2 hours, we stood on our feet, and I held her the majority of the time because she couldn't have seen otherwise.

My arms hurt.

Some may say I'm crazy, or may say that you hate the Jonas Brothers, etc etc. Truthfully, I am glad that I can do things like this for my kids,and with my kids. Music has always been something that I love, and I hope that that passion is passed on to my kids. Music kept me going on many occasions in my teenage years, there are so many songs that I have identified with through my life. I can only hope that music is something that my kids love too, because it can be a great outlet. So as long as I think that what they like is appropriate, I'm more than glad to take them, regardless of personal opinion. I also have to say that I am a fan of talent. It seems like a lot of people these days make it based on so many other things. So to see a group of boys who sing, write, and play their own stuff is refreshing. There's nothing wrong with "just" being able to sing, but it's nice to see people who can play a guitar, and a piano, and drums, etc.

So what if my ticket collection ranges from the likes of Aerosmith to DMB to the Jonas Brothers? ;) I still remember in high school when my dad, the preacher, took me and a boyfriend to see Aerosmith because I was totally loving them. He didn't support the cursing, or the people in front of us getting high (lol) but he took me, for me. I remember that. What's important to me is having a great time,just like it was important to him, for me. When I was a teenager, I swore to myself that I would let my kids do whatever they wanted and that I was going to be a totally cool parent. Of course I'm nowhere near as easy going as I thought I would be, but anytime I can be the cool mom that I planned on being, I hope to do so. Sometimes, I feel much older than 27. Last night was a good example of that, but it didn't stop me from dancing and singing along, because I want to show daughter that having fun is possible no matter how "old" you are.

This little mini trip wraps up our summer travels. Looking back, we've definitely had an adventurous time over the last couple of months. From normal vacations, to my disastrous Bahamas trip, to our failed attempt at going to WV. I can only say that I am glad to end the summer on a high travel note instead of a low one. Sometimes I prefer not to go out in style, thanks.

Now we move into school mode on Monday, and then a few visits- my parents are coming for husbands birthday in September, and at the end of September is my girls cruise. Mother in law is bringing my best girl down with her, and we will take off to Miami the next day. Son did just fine here with husband while we were gone last night and so that makes me feel soooo much better about leaving him. He's been known to cry for me for hours at times, just when I'm making a trip to the store. So I'm hoping that a successful time away from me last night, coupled with the fact that he's been asking for mamaw, will mean that he's going to be fine without me for 5 days. Goodness knows I need a break and I'm excited for some girl time!! The ocean and beach soothe me, and the Caribbean sea is like a drug- I can't get enough of that beautiful blue water :)

With that, I will leave you with just a few pictures from our travels..

Daughter- in the car when our trip began:


A typical drive in Florida- long, flat, and sometimes rainy ;)

Tampa- or part of it:

Daughter, modeling her concert attire

Jordin Sparks from American Idol- she did a really great opening act, I was surprised and impressed!She looked great too!

A couple of concert shots- the second one being when they came out on a crane type thing and doused the entire lower level audience with foam and water. Personally I thought it was cool (and funny in a smart ass type way)- especially since they are boys and there are most likely a lot of girls in that audience that spent hours on their hair and makeup ;)




And finally, if you want even just a taste of what my eardrums were subject to last night, then view this and imagine it 100000000x more loud ;) It's at about the 1 minute mark where they are finally seen, and already singing. In person you could kind of hear it, on my camera it's so loud that you don't hear anything but screams. Whew.

I came, I saw, I conquered.