Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood Concert September 16, 2014

Here was my view on Friday night

Let me back up a little to tell you just how I ended up so close to Garth Brooks!  My sister Kate received two Garth Brooks tickets for her birthday from her boyfriend.  He decided he wasn’t as into the concert as I would be so she took me instead of him.  Garth was doing two concerts on Friday night and our tickets were for the 6pm show.  We arrived at the Rosemont and went upstairs to find our section (210).  We found it pretty quickly and gave our tickets to the usher standing in our area.  He told us we were in the front of our section, which would be a pretty good view.  While we were standing  there with him, he was telling us that there would be two encores and we should leave once Garth leaves the first time to avoid the crowds and traffic (um why would we want to leave early!?) a different man dressed in all black wearing some sort of badge came up and slipped two tickets into the usher’s hands and told us the tickets were for us.  We were very confused and as the man walked away the usher informed us that we just received front row seats!  We called after the man and said what is this for!? All he would say is that they were for us and we should enjoy ourselves.  The usher told us to go down to the first level and we would be shown where to go.  We looked at each other in shock and hurried downstairs.  We had to go through a couple of ushers before we made it to the front row.  We were in so much shock we were both shaking, but of course we managed to get a picture of us and the stage.

As we got settled in our new seats, we heard people around us talking and soon we figured out that the first three rows were filled with people who had been gifted tickets once they arrived.  Turns out that Garth doesn’t sell his first three rows of seats.  He gives tickets to his employees and they go around beforehand and hand out tickets randomly!  I thought that was pretty cool of him because he could probably charge a few hundred for those seats and instead he gives them away.  While we were waiting we also learned that because we were in the 1^st row, we’d be able to approach the stage!  As soon as the opening act came out (Karyn Rochelle) all of us looked at each other and then jumped up and proceeded to spend the whole concert dancing and singing up at the edge of the stage.

Of course I loved hearing all of GB’s classics, but one of the highlights for me was when Tricia Yearwood arrived on stage.  I have very fond memories of my mom singing her songs and their singing sounded very much alike.  When she came out, I swear she smiled straight at me and Kate and waved.  Then when she played our favorite song from when we were kids (She’s in Love with the Boy circa 1991) we freaked out!  Actually we used to call it the ‘Katie and Tommy Song’.  If you are familiar with it, Trisha sings about a young couple named Katie and Tommy.  We used to sing this at the top of our lungs and laugh because my sister Katie had a boy Tom in her class and we thought the song should be about them.

Garth was so full of energy and we knew most every song he played which was a plus.  Even though we were picked at random, I was surprised to see that all the people in the front were singing all the lyrics to his songs.  I think it shows what a legend Garth is.  His songs date back into the 90’s and people of many ages still know all the words.  He said something to this effect at one point and was trying to tell us a story about the ‘talk show host with suspenders and big glasses.’ Kate yelled out ‘Larry King!’ and Garth said oh yeah Larry and told the rest of the story.  We also heard later on from some people we knew at the concert that we kept showing up on the jumbo screen.  Lord knows what we looked like screaming, singing, and dancing our hearts out, but being at the front just makes you feel way more involved.   Kate said it best, we are spoiled now and can’t imagine being anywhere but the front row at a concert from here on out.  So thank you Garth for spoiling us and here’s to being in the right place at the right time!

Volunteering at the 2013 Cookie Rally January 8, 2013

My friend Hollice sent an email last week asking who wanted to attend a volunteer event at the AllState this past weekend.  When she mentioned it was through One Brick and it was for the Girl Scout Cookie Rally I couldn’t say no.  She picked me up on Saturday afternoon and we drove to Rosemont.  There was a Wolves game at 4pm, but families and troops could come starting at 2pm to get in the spirit of cookie selling!

When we got there we were given t-shirts {that are inspirational} and told that there was some down time before the volunteering started.  Apparently we were going to help set up some of the Girl Scout’s booths, but they were so prepared {just like their motto!} that they didn’t need as much help as originally planned.  Since we had time, Hollice and I made our way around the arena to check out the different booths and activities for the girls.  We came upon this adorable backdrop and of course I made Hollice take my picture and then coaxed her into her own picture.  I’m just a bit photo obsessed.

 

There were activities for all different ages: Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, and Cadettes.  Then we came to an area that covered the history of the Girl Scouts.  We didn’t have a lot of time to linger, but I did manage to snap a photo of the vintage cookie boxes.  I wish I could have captured a picture of the girls dressed in uniforms from throughout the different years, but again we were short on time.  We made our way up to the t-shirt area.  Girls and their families started pouring through the doors and we started handing out t-shirts so everyone could be in the Girl Scout Cookie spirit.  That includes dads and brothers too!  The whole thing made me extremely nostalgic for the days when I was a Girl Scout.  I was remembering all the fun things we did as a troop.  Definitely a fun trip down memory lane for me.  Oh and it was also nice to be able to lend a hand at the same time.

I’ll leave you with a picture of the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Law.  I made Hollice test me and I almost got the whole promise correct.  I only left out ‘at all times’ in the third line!