Mom spent the morning putting the finishing touches on my outfit. She was a little bossier than normal (I didn't realize how tedious or time consuming it was to sew items on by hand), so Dad stepped in to provide some much needed relief and took Mace and I to the train park. When we got back home Dad's plan succeeded and Macie and I were so exhausted that we both took naps. I slept for almost 3 hours, giving Mom plenty of time to finish her masterpiece.
Awake and ready to get going Mom helped me get ready. After half an hour of tattooing (my whole upper body was covered) we straightened my hair (my request, so I could look like Axel), and got dressed.
I think the finished product was worth all the time and effort:
I absolutely LOVED my denim vest that Mom made, and was so excited that it paid homage to lots of my favorite "rock out" bands.
I threw up the horns in anticipation of the big night of rock and roll I had ahead of me.
Aunt Hayley arrived at our house ready for a fun night with Macie, but secretly I think Macie wanted to come rock out with the rest of us...
After sitting in traffic for almost 2 hours we finally made it to the venue, and we couldn't have been more excited!
Dad and I proudly walked hand in hand to the gates, signing along with the music coming from inside.
Inside I met up with my friend Bella and her family, glad to have fun friends to rock out with!
We purchased lawn seats so that we had the freedom to run around, dance, and play, and boy was that a smart idea! Bella and I exhausted ourselves out dancin' and twirlin' our glow sticks to the beat.
We came up with some pretty sweet dance moves...
The live sound was amazing, and I loved all the entertainment.
After impressing people with moves, it was time for intermission.
I was a little disappointed, I was not ready to slow down just yet!
Mom and Bella's Mom (Miss Jackie) sat and chatted while I watched Bella play with her Dad's phone. She showed me a game with some birds on it, so I asked Dad if I could give it a go- suddenly I was hooked. The two of us played angry birds through the entire intermission (It took me a while to get the hang of it, but Bella was a master!)
By the time Journey came to the stage we were really ready to ROCK!
After a few songs on Dad's shoulders my legs were itchin' for some movement so I got down and showed off an eclectic mix of my favorite dance moves (Mom laughed as I even used moves from Beyonce's "single ladies")...
Rain started to come down (pretty heavily), and lightning darted across the sky, so Dad and Ben (Bella's Dad) took us down by the front to get some cover. Mom and Jackie braved the elements in the name of rock which impressed us all! Before too long, Dad and Ben had managed to talk security into letting us have seats right up in the front. We went and got Mom and Jackie, who were both glad to be out of the rain, and ecstatic to be so close!
Check it out, we were only about 6 rows back!!!
I watched, in awe, as the members of Journey played on stage.
The music sounded incredible (Dad had been a little skeptical prior to the concert since Steve Perry wasn't singing, but after the first song he was hooked; Arnel Pineda could really sing!), and all of us sang as loud as possible to the music!
Even Mom let down her guard and sang me a few lines from Open Arms (a song she apparently listened to over and over and over when she was little).
Before we knew it they had sang almost all my favorite songs and I was starting to get a little tired. Mom was bummed about the possibility of not making it till my FAVORITE song Don't Stop Believing, but then we heard it...
dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun...
It was Don't Stop Believing' and the whole place went off:
I sang to the crowd, knowing EVERY word in the whole song, and stayed strong till the end!
Mom and Dad were so excited to be able to share this experience with me. Here I am singing with Mom;
and also with Dad:
When the song was over and we finished cheering, Dad hoisted me back up on his shoulders and we headed towards the exit (Journey was getting ready for an encore, but it was late and we all agreed that our concert experience was more than we could have hoped for).
Bella and I had a BLAST and are so fortunate to have such awesome parents!
We made it back to the car shortly after 11 o'clock, and Dad made Mom take a picture of his phone to document the time, date, and weather (as you can see there is a huge lightning bolt across the sky indicating the extreme weather we braved in the name of Rock n Roll!)
After stopping at a gas station to use the restroom and grab a snack (Mom let me get WHATEVER I wanted in the whole store- without any restrictions, so I chose a two pack of large, soft, chocolate chip cookies). In the car I ate half of my snack before passing out...
My first concert experience was amazing, but left me only wanting more! Anyone up for some AC/DC action???
