Last Fall Emily and Alix start talking to be about going to the Taylor Swift Concert. Tickets were going on sale soon. I suspect because Taylor wasn't coming to Utah and traveling to another state would be necessary, they really wanted me and Alix's mom to come with them.
Social media suspected tickets would be outrageous. I informed Emily that there is a lot of other things I would rather do with $500 than go to a Taylor Swift concert but if she wants to be that stupid with her money that go ahead and try.
For days the girls planned their 'black friday' approach to getting these tickets. I was at work that day and still having little interest was mostly left out of the loop. Their final decision was to try for Vegas and then L.A. in the summer and include Jane and Alix's sister Reese and make it a moms and daughters adventure. I also added it needed to be affordable.
Oh the joyful texts I received at work when Sami was able to get tickets for Vegas and they were just over $100 each. How could I say no to such happiness so I begrudgingly told them I was in.
Once in a while I would sarcastically mention how "excited" for the concert. Both of my girls would respon, "Mom, I know so many people who would give anything for your ticket. You should be more grateful we are 'letting' you come with us."
I finally consented that I would give Taylor a chance and listen to all of her albums. As I listened to more than her radio songs I discovered I liked more and more of her songs. My favorite became and still is Willow. I also devoted a weekend to try to become a swifty. This involved a lot of you tube videos and interviews and I even watched her documentary. My conclusion: I've come to admire Taylor Swift. The feminist in me loves that she is a powerful woman who isn't going to be controlled by stupid men. She devoted to her fans and a good example of showing her beauty and confidence without compromising her standards. Taylor is so talented and seeks to develop her skills through hard work. I still don't like a lot of her songs overplayed on the radio but I will count myself in as a Swifty?
So off drove to Vegas for our Swifty weekend.
First stop was to check in to the Hotel. A huge part of the experience was picking the outfit designed around an era. Jane chose Speak Now and Emily Lover. I told them I was going as a supportive mom but in the end they convinced me to embrace my favorite era which was evermore which is where Willow my favorite song resides.
Alix and Emily wanted to go somewhere cool for dinner but most social media places were 21 and older. It took some searching but we decided on "The Rainforest cafe" on the strip.
We gave ourselves plenty of time to make it to the Allegient stadium. These girls didn't want to miss a moment of the concert experience.
The concert was so amazing. Taylor knows how to deliver what her fans want! Being with my girls being part of the energy in the stadium made it all worth it!!!
She had like a million costume changes during the concert. All of them very epic Here are our favorite outfits we found off of the web.
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| I loved that she performed "the Man" in a sequin suit jacket |
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| Her cape and dress from Willow reminded me of her music video |
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| The Ball gown from the song Enchanted was what little girls are made from |
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| How could we not mention this outfit from Reputation! |
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| Her outfit while singing midnights and Bejeweled had us all bejeweled. |
Getting out of the stadium was a nightmare as 60k plus funneled over the overpass but these girls were still on fire and didn't seem to mind the crowds.
Our motel was close to the Las Vegas sign and there was rumor it was lit up in all her era colors. It was not but was a fun picture anyway.
6 exhausted Swifties finally back to the Hotel.
No rest for the weary though! Jane follows some donut shop on instagram and had it all planned out for us try them out on the next morning. The line was way long (thanks social media) but they felt it was worth the wait to get these boutique donuts including one with Taylor Swift's picture.
We took a quick trip out to the colored rocks for some more pictures and then headed home.
We hit major bridge construction in Mesquite adding an additional 3 hours to our drive home. We laughed at a car load of boys trying to flirt with our carload of girls and then because we were going a whopping 4 miles an hour Emily was dared to go run up the side of the interstate. The pressure was on and Emily was resisting until I sincerely said "Yeah I don't think its a good idea." I should have known that bit of reverse psychology would work as well as it did and soon Emily was sprinting out a head of us. Watching Emily take off is a happy memory I think all of us will remember. The best part was that watching her stop and make friends with a car of fun ladies a few cars a head of us.
