Taylor Swift & M

(yes, I took the above pic at the concert - off of the big screen)
So, all M has ever wanted - all she's ever really asked for - was to see Taylor Swift in concert. Taylor Swift has come to SLC for a few years now, but her concerts are always sold out in minutes, or we don't have the money to buy the tickets. This year, however, I was determined to get M to the concert. I joined the Taylor Swift fan club just to get the promo code to buy the tickets before they went on sale to the general public.
Well, ticket day came for the fans and guess what - I got online - HOWEVER, they sold out in less than 2 minutes and I wasn't lucky enough to get tickets. UGH!!
So we called the radio station at every contest. We visited locations where tickets were being given out and no luck...no luck at all.
From September 2012 to May 2013, we tried and tried to win tickets but we were very unsuccessful. M was very sad. Her heart was broken time and time again over not getting these coveted tickets.

The RED tour was quickly approaching and something had to be done. So, I started scouring KSL's online classified section. There were lots of tickets for sale but people were asking outrageous amounts of money for them. They had every right to - this gal is in demand and her concert was sold out - but I couldn't afford any of those tickets. I even put up a post that I'd trade a wedding cake for tickets!! Then one day I found a post. It had been up for 10 minutes. It had 144 views. I figured the tickets were gone, but it was worth the try. I contacted the man - made an offer - and long story short - WAH-LAH - TICKETS!!!!

Sweet M had no idea what had just gone down!! Two weeks before the concert, I was able to secure tickets - EEEK! I was so excited and I knew M would be as well, but how to tell her? Well, the Friday night BEFORE the concert we found out about a Daddy/Daughter Taylor Swift Dance. They would be giving away 3 sets of tickets, so Tim took M. Of course with every drawing of tickets - when her name wasn't called - M would sob. Her heart was so broken - she wanted to go so bad. So, Tim called me and told me to bring the tickets to the dance. He talked to the DJ and they agreed to call M's name over the speakers and present her with her tickets. So that's what I did.
I showed up at the dance and handed the tickets to the DJ. Then, right before the final drawing of the night he said (holding up the tickets for all the little screaming girls to see) "Before we do the last drawing, I would like to present these tickets to a very special girl. A young lady that listens to the radio every day and has been trying to win tickets for the past few months. Where is M?" - M was right in front of him - toe to toe. Her hand shot up and she jumped up and down and the DJ said "Do you like Taylor Swift?" and she said "YES!" and he asked "What's your favorite song?" and she said "TROUBLE!!" and he said "Well, M, here are 2 tickets to the show tomorrow night for you and your mom to go and have a special night together" - M had the biggest smile.... she took the tickets....ran to me....and started CRYING!!
WHOA - not the reaction I expected. She just cried and cried.
She said "I've been waiting for this my whole life and I know it's because of you that I get to go - thank you thank you thank you" then she just hugged me and hugged me. It was so sweet that Tim and I wanted to cry too.

So, she got the tickets and she was happy!
As we were leaving the dance, we saw the stage crew trucks....

M and I spent Saturday as a special mommy daughter day...

we went to dinner and to dessert and then to the concert!

 A little Dairy Queen blizzard before the concert...M in her Taylor t-shirt, with her Taylor back pack and bracelet!!! (thank you Grandma S)

They had posters of Taylor outside of Energy Solutions Arena - we HAD to get a picture!!

 Our seats weren't terrible. Not the best - but hey we were in the building with one of M's favorite singers!! We had a great view of the stage too!

 One of M's favorite songs is "Love Story" - and while walking around the halls, we saw costumes from Taylor's videos. We found the "Love Story" dress and M had to have a pic!! It's a pretty dress and Ms Swift is a tiny little thing!!

 Here we are...waiting on the concert to start!! So excited!

 Taylor takes the stage and M starts crying again. Poor thing - she was so overwhelmed with excitement that I think the only way she knew how to handle it was to let the tears flow. However, after the initial song was done (with the exception of Taylor singing "love Story" later), M was all screams and smiles along with 25,000 other pre-teen girls!

Ms. Taylor put on a great show -she is a real entertainer. New costumes with each song, new stage set up. She even had a stage that lifted and spun so that people on the upper level would be eye to eye with her. WOW - super cool!

 We danced and sang along to every song...

M even got a glow stick to wave around! (I'm sure she'll treasure it for as long as she can!)

The concert was great - we had an awesome time - and on the way home we played Taylor Swift songs as loud as we could with the windows rolled down! 

I'm so glad that I was able to spend this time with M and that I was able to secure tickets for her. I loved watching her face light up - I loved watching her sing and dance - I loved the pure awe and wonder in her eyes as Taylor Swift sang and danced on that stage. It was pure - it was priceless and I never want to forget it.