So until all those logistics were set and final, we still hadn’t surprised the girls with the news yet. On October 21, 2024, we decided to share the exciting news and it brought all of us girls to tears. Now that the word was out, we continued with the planning, like booked a hotel in Morgantown since we had to drive part of the way on Halloween night, immediately after trick or treating ended. Luckily, we had lots of candy to make the time go by. We were going to the first show in Indy on November 1 so woke up bright and early on that Friday to drive the rest of the way to ensure we didn’t feel rushed. When we arrived at our hotel, it was nothing short of magical. It was a Marriott property and like many cities prior, Indy knew they had to make all the fans (and Taylor!) feel extra welcome so the hospitality was at an all time high. The hotel staff handed out bracelets upon arrival, had a few photo ops sprinkled around the hotel and even Taylor-themed drinks at their restaurant. We changed quickly because we didn’t want to miss a second of simply taking it all in. For example, even walking into the stadium, we snagged a picture with a couple members of the Indy police force who also were sporting dozens of friendship bracelets. We walked in the minute the doors opened, took in all of our surroundings, the fun outfits, the nice older girls who swapped bracelets with my girls, the great seats Mike had secured for us and so much more. It felt like a dream. Capri sat with me for the first hour and a half and then we switched, and Ava came to sit with me so the girls could experience the show from both sides of the stadium. It felt like time stood still but it still went by too fast. 

We still talk about it to this day how incredible it was from the anticipation to being in that moment to being able to relive that moment. Ava even wrote this poem about six months later so just validated that it was all completely worth it. The next morning we woke up, still covered in face glitter and made the long nine hour drive home in one day and the girls, understandably, slept for a good portion of it.

Meanwhile, back at home, Papa and Noah were working on their fun rendition of “Show me the way to go home” from Jaws so everyone was happy that weekend. 🙂

One of my favorite things about being a mom, is that one of my main tasks is to make the memories our kids will remember forever (no pressure or anything) and hopefully, tell their kids one day and their kids will tell their kids and so on. When Taylor Swift announced she was going on tour in 2022, I had a strong pull that we would have to get the girls there since we are a big Taylor Swift household. As much as I wanted to go, I knew that if I went without them, I would never hear the end of it. Plus, I always look back on my first big live concert of NKOTB that I went to with my dad and sister, Annie. I knew my dad had the same feeling at the time and knew how extra magical it would be to see the experience through his children’s eyes. Thanks to my dedicated husband who looked on stub hub just about every day for almost two years, he made it happen in the ninth hour and at literally the last domestic stop of her entire almost two-year tour in Indianapolis before heading to Canada. I would casually ask Mike every few months for an update of, “any tickets opening up” and get a “nope, no movement” until one day in September of 2024, he changed his search to two pairs of tickets and finally said, “I think we can make this work.” He found two seats on one side at the front of the Lucas Oil Stadium and two more seats directly on the other side of the stadium so we could each sit with one of the girls. The only thing is we would have to leave Noah back home so enter his best bud, Papa. I called my dad and asked if he might like to fly to Maryland to hang with Noah for the weekend while we drove to The Eras Tour in Indy and he said I think that might just work. (cont’d in part two)…