Let me start off by saying that I have the greatest friends of all times.  You know, those friends that you can call anytime, day or night, happy or sad, when you feel uplifting or like the muck in the bottom of a coffee barrel.  I am a lucky girl.  I have a few of these friends spread out across the country and I know that at any time I can call them for a good laugh, a good cry, a good swift kick in the pants or anything in between.  You girls know who you are.  

A couple of months ago one of these friends called and asks me what Girl and I was doing on a specific night - I answered "the norm, homework, swimming, dinner, bedtime routine."  Then she ask if I thought we could get away for a night and come to Louisiana - I thought she was a little off her rocker - I mean I would love to come hang out, but she was talking about it a SCHOOL NIGHT!!  That is when she told me she & her sister (my sisters from another mother - SFAM) had 2 extra tickets to the Taylor Swift concert with Girl and my name written on them!  Well, I couldn't turn her down & I started planning for our trip to see my SFAM with my Girl!  

Now, let me clarify something here -  I was a fan of Taylor Swift before the concert. Girl LOVES her & plays Taylor Swift on her IPod all the time.  I like Taylor because I hear her all the time and she appears to be a good role model. I was expecting to have a good time, I mean I WAS there with great people and this was a nice little get away for Girl and me.  I had no idea how BLOWN AWAY I would be at this concert!  This was quite honestly the best concert I have ever been to for numerous reasons.  1 - I was with my daughter and my SFAM. 2 - Girl was super EXCITED. 3 -  Taylor puts on an AMAZING concert.  I felt like I was in a fairy tale.
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On the way to the concert!!
A few things I learn about Taylor Swift: 
*Her favorite color is purple
*She loves glow in the dark
*Her favorite number is 13
*She loves bling
*She is very humble

After we entered the concert hall SFAM 2 handed Girl a different ticket and told her she had FLOOR SEATS!!  Here is my *little* girl about to go down to the floor with S to watch her very first concert ON THE FLOOR!!! 
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Girl is wearing a 'dog tag' from her Daddy
Here I am in the nose bleed section with SFAM 1 and SFAM 2 (in that order).  We had a bird's eye view of our girls - it was AMAZING!
Little Gracie was so stinkin' cute - she just wanted to know when she was going on stage to sing with Taylor.  And she was serious.
As we are sitting watching our girls, Taylor leaves the main stage, walks through the audience, grabs hands and talks to her fans all the way to the back stage.  I tried to get a picture of her grabbing S and Girl's hand but I missed – here she is grabbing other girls hands.  Anyway she grabbed S and Girl's hand and told them she loved them!  Ahhhh! Girl said she would NEVER wash her hand again!!  I’m not sure who was more excited though the girls or us moms.  We were yelling and freaking out so much that the people around us started standing up to see what was going on!!
Elegance, beauty and grace....
Towards the end of the concert she floated above her audience...
As if hanging out with my SFAM and concert wasn't awesome enough - I ran into another GREAT friend I hadn't seen in over 5 years!  This girl and I have been through A LOT together - see that little boy?  Yeah, I was there - I mean THERE when he was born.  I miss & love this family!
Girl - striking a pose after the concert showing off the lyrics on her arm, glow in the dark earrings, necklace and t-shirt!
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SO MUCH FUN!!!
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The sweet group of girls that went to the concert!
So as if the picture above isn't cute enough, sweet little Gracie wasn't thrilled with it. She said  "Hey guys, I have a GREAT idea."  We said what is it Gracie - and she prance in front of the girls and struck a pose and ask for us to retake the picture!! So we did. I love that girl! 
Everyone had a FABULOUS night.  Thanks to my SFAM for making this trip possible.  Something I found out during the concert - SFAM 2 bought the tickets for Girl and I - this is not abnormal - SFAM 2 is very generous and has a heart like no one I have ever met before.  What I didn't know was the reason behind why she did it.  SFAM 2 knew that Girl has been having a very difficult time with her daddy being gone and she wanted to do something special for Girl to help take her mind off worrying about her daddy for just one night.  When I found that out the tears started flowing - I looked down at my daughter on the floor watching Taylor Swift perform - at that moment she has her hands in the air dancing to the music.  I feel so humble to have such amazing friends.  Something my SFAM didn't know was the week before the Taylor Swift concert I was having a very hard week myself because of several disheartening things that had happened and to top it off Hubby had told me he would not be able to contact me for a few days.  The night of the concert I was on day 8 of not hearing from him.  My worry level was through the roof.  So SFAM, not only did you help take my daughters mind off of it for one night, you also took my mind off of it for one night.  Thank you for an amazing night of friendship, fun, laughter and love.  It is one night Girl and I will never forget.