VEGAS Full Service

About a month ago I made plans to fly to Vegas to see the New Kids on the Block one last time on their Full Service Tour. It was the best idea ever! I even convinced my friend Michelle to come along for the trip.

We flew into Vegas on Saturday (July 11th) the day of the show. Michelle and I got in around 1pm and headed to our hotel, The Orleans, for a little pool time before the show. Hanging out at the pool was a ton of fun but too damn hot. We're talking 107 degrees hot! It was still nice to hang out in a little sun, read and relax. 

We headed back up to the room so I could get ready for the show (Michelle didn't go to the show she stayed at the hotel relaxing - she is pregnant after all). I hopped in a cab and headed over to the Palms. While I waited for the doors to open I gambled a little and won $25 bucks that I quickly put back into my wallet. I went to the Pearl and dropped off my children's books for the book drive (check out http://letsgetthis.org/ - Joey McIntyre's foundation to collect books for children). I hit up the merchandise booth and picked up a keychain. Then I met up with some girls from twitter who also flew in to see the guys. I grabbed a glass of champagne and headed to my seat. I was on the third level but the venue was small so the seats were still good. I think almost everyone in the venue was from some place else. The girl to my left was from B.C. Canada and the two girls to my right were from California. They were all really nice girls and it was great to be sitting next to awesome people!

The Jabbawockeez came on first. I was so glad that I made it early to see them. They are AMAZING! BEST. DANCE. CREW. EVER! If you haven't seen them you really should. They put on a great show and they really dance their asses off! In between their set and NKOTB I went out and met them and got their autographs. They are so sweet and humble. I'm glad I met them. Here's a little video of their performance:

This time there was no Jesse McCartney, not really sure why but I was fine with that. We didn't have to wait until the MAIN EVENT!

The lights dimmed and the energy in there was UNBELIEVABLE! Everyone was so excited. They started the show with the song Full Service. Everything is pretty much the same as the Auburn, WA show which didn't even matter because they put on a great show! You would think going to a show back-to-back would be boring but crowds are so different from city to city. One difference was they played the Michael Jackson Tribute they have been doing for some cities on the tour. Here's a link to the tribute http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjHEf63LIzo. The band was playing Man in the Mirror and the whole crowd started singing along.

Top 5 Performances/Moments:

1. ONE SONG - This is a bonus song on the extended version of their album The Block. During this song confetti goes off and beach balls come out and it is such an awesome party atmosphere.
2. Single - For days I was wondering how they were going to make this work in the venue. . They still came out into the crowd. I couldn't see all the boys but it was still awesome. Donnie was pretty close to me. Not close enough to touch but closer than I ever thought I would ever get to him. Danny was in with a group of people drinking a beer. They all seemed to be having a blast being out with the fans.
3. Step by Step - This time around Joey forgot the words which was hilarious. Donnie asked Danny to sing and he was all I don't know the words and Jon Knight actually sang when no one else was singing. Trust me that is a VERY BIG DEAL. The crowd went crazy and the boys were so happy about it. It was great!
4. Hangin' Tough - Even though this was the last time I would hear it live it was still awesome! It's always a good note to end on!
5. Stare at You - I love this song and I love hearing it live. I called my friend Sarah so she could hear it. It was nice to share a little bit of the show with a fellow Blockhead!

So the show ends and it is bittersweet. I'm super excited that I was able to fly to Vegas to see them again but also super sad because the tour is winding down and who knows what the future holds. I don't let this get me down too long because I am still in Vegas and whose to say I won't run into some of them somewhere in the Palms? I texted Michelle and asked her to meet me at the Palms. We hang out and gamble for awhile. I see Ethan and Chris hanging out talking to New Kids fans. Michelle and I grab some food at the food court and then we run into some of my twitter girls and they were saying Donnie, Joey and possibly Danny were up in the Playboy Club hanging out. I probably should have paid to go up there...but I'm cheap. My feet were hurting and I was tired so we took a cab back to our hotel. We hung out there and gambled a little and then headed up to bed. I'm laying in bed reading people's tweets and I find out that Donnie Wahlberg was STILL at the Palms. He had left the Playboy Club and was playing high stakes poker. I dressed so quickly you would have thought I was Clark Kent. I woke Michelle up to let her know I was headed back to the Palms. I ran downstairs and caught a cab. I thought if there was any chance I might get some kind of FACETIME with Donnie I had to go, I HAD TO!

So off to the Palms I went. I get there and find the girls and they are waiting outside where Donnie is playing poker. He finally leaves the poker area. He talks to a person in a wheelchair and as he's looking up we make eye contact, I put out my hand and he gives me a high 5. His bodyguard walked him down the hallway and around the corner. We didn't follow him all the way down the hallway. They turned around and as he was walking back we made eye contact again. He smiled at me put out his arm and pulled me into a hug. He gave me a hug and a kiss and then his body guard was rushing him along. It was a GREAT moment and worth coming back to the Palms at 3:30am! I've been wanting to have some kind of interaction with him for SO LONG! It was AMAZING! I wish that his body guard (Earl - he's so scary) would have allowed pictures, I didn't even try.

My last show of the tour couldn't have ended any better! The whole night was so amazing I can't believe it even happened to me.

I {HEART} NKOTB FOREVER! I {HEART} DONNIE FOREVER!

I leave you with a little video of Donnie getting is Michael Jackson on.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcsiWgSnZqI

NKOTB Full Service Tour

I don't know if you know this but the New Kids on the Block got back together and went on tour. Oh yes they did. I may have mentioned going to see them in November of last year with my Favorite girls - Lisa, Katie, Kerry and Laura. We had a blast!

Now the boys are on a summer tour, the Full Service Tour. And yep, I had to go again. I HAD see them one more time before they went back to being not a group. This time I went with Lisa and MJV. 

We had a blast. The concert was at the White River Amphitheater. The Jabbawockeez and Jesse McCartney opened for them. We missed the Jabbawockeez performance sadly (we were even there for the start - BEER GARDEN). As we were walking to our seats we ran into members of the NKOTB band which was awesome! They are all really nice guys and were willing to chat with us crazy New Kids fans.

Ethan (the bassist) and Chris (the drummer)

Rob Lewis keyboardist and musical director (so sweet and so talented).

Chris the drummer. He's awesome!

We finally went to our seats and watched part of Jesse McCartney's performance. It was ok. He's pretty cute but I really just wanted him to get off the stage so my boys could come on and rock the joint...

AND ROCK IT THEY DID!

The show was different than last time around which is good. It had a different kind of atmosphere. There was less nostalgia in the air and more of everyone just happy and excited they were here again performing.  It was an amazing night!

TOP 5 Song Performances:

1. Full Service - They didn't sing this song on the first leg of the tour. It is done with New Edition. I mean really New Edition + New Kids, my 12 yr old self nearly blew a gasket.
2. Single - During this song they come out to the crowd and performed the song. It was awesome to be that close to them. They came out to the crowd on the first leg of the tour but we were not that close.
3. Stare At You - I love this song. And yes, I can stare at them forever!
4. 5 Brothers & A Million Sisters - Joey McIntyre wrote this song for New Kids fans. It was awesome to hear it live. 
5. Hangin' Tough - You can't go wrong with Hangin' Tough. The song is awesome! This was the close out song of the show. Though I was sad that it was ending it was nice that it went out with a bang.

Highlight of the night: At one point during the show the song ended and the guys were standing on stage when there were tons and tons of Thank You signs held up. The guys were speechless. They were overwhelmed with the sentiment. Donnie said we were making it hard for them to forget this show. AMAZING moment!

I had a GREAT, AWESOME, FANTASTIC time at the show. It was great to hang out with Lisa and Mike dancing and singing. It made me so excited for this coming weekend and my trip to Vegas for another performance of theirs. I can't wait!

Here's a few pictures from the show. Happy viewing!

Donnie brought up two girls for Cover Girl

Donnie wanting us to get LOUDER!

I love there Mad Men outfits.

It should be a crime to be this hot!

Jordan taking in the moment.

Joey performing Popsicle.

Jordan performing Give It To You.

Jon Knight during Single.

Danny breakdancing. He's pretty good.

It's Officially Over: HANGIN' TOUGH!

MJV & I having a BLAST!

Beijing Summer Olympics Top 10

I'm sad to say that the summer Olympics are over for another four years. The reports are saying this years Olympics were the most watched tv event ever. I can't say I disagreed. I watched coverage every day. I'm sad that they are over but there are a lot of memorable moments. Here are my top ten:

• Opening Ceremonies - by far the best I've seen in all my years of watching the Olympics. They were beautiful!

• Men’s 4x100m freestyle relay – Jason Lezak’s swim will probably go down as one of the best relay finishes ever. If you did not see it you should check it out. Lezak was a full body length behind the swimmer from France. It is amazing that he not only caught him he passed him. Plus when you read the trash talk the French were saying it makes the race even better. NBC Olympics has the video here. You will need to scroll down to find it. It is worth the watch trust me.

• Phelps 100m butterfly swim – If you watched this race you saw that at the 50m turn Phelps was in 7th place. Best thing about Phelps’ swims are his turns. He was in second place with about 15 to 20 meters left. Without his half stroke into the wall there is no way he would have won that race. Winning the race tied him with Spitz for 7 gold medals one at one Olympics. This race is also on NBC’s Olympic page.
  
  
  

• Phelps surpassing Spitz – I was very excited for Phelps to swim for 8 gold medals. Lots of people didn’t think it would be done. 36 years is a long time to hold that record. It will be interesting to see if it happens again in my lifetime.

• Dara Torres – How can you not think she is amazing? She’s 41 and had a baby in the last two years yet she still was able to come back and swim in the Olympics. Plus she showed some awesome sportsmenship when she told the judges to hold the race while a swimmer changed her suit that had ripped.

• Men’s gymnastics – They were not slated to medal in the team finals once the Hamm brothers pulled out but they pulled out a Bronze with some awesome gymnastics by two alternates. One of the alternates had tried out for the USA Gymnastics team two times before 2008.

• Woman’s gymnastic all-around – First time the American’s have gone one two for the all-around. It was a fight to the end.

• Beach Volleyball – Both the men and the woman took gold. May and Walsh have to be one of the best teams I have seen in a long time for beach volleyball. They are undefeated in 2008 and haven’t lost a tournament since August 2007. You still have one more chance to see them play as they will be coming back to try and win the AVP tournament, tune in Saturday August 30th.

• Men’s Volleyball – Their gold medal match was awesome! After the tragedy at the beginning of the Olympics it was nice to see the team win the gold medal.
  

• Closing ceremonies – China went out like they came in. The change over ceremony to London was very well done. I can’t wait for 2012!

Beijing Olympics

I don't know if you noticed but the Olympics have started. And yes I am pumped! I'm SUPER PUMPED!!!

If you didn't watch the opening ceremonies you really should. China put on a great show. Everything about it was spectactular. To quote Tim, "There are people in the boxes! People!" You will have to watch to see what I mean. I'm trying to figure out how London is going to top this in 2012. It will be tough.

I have done nothing but watch the Olympics since Friday. I can't wait for this week and the live streaming I can be doing. Watching Phelps go for his 8 medals, it is going to be awesome. He's already has one Gold and he did it in World Record time.

Happy reading!

Annual BBQ

This weekend was my mom's annual July BBQ. We had a lot of things to do to get ready for it but it is always worth it.


On the menu:
pulled pork
hamburgers
bratwursts
ribs
potato salad
baked beans
taco salad
pasta salad
green salad
watermelon
cous cous
fruit salad
ice cream cake
pie
mini ginger cupcakes
lemon bars
banana split cake


There was even more but I really can't remember everything. Man was it good. I didn't over eat like normal. It is all about pacing yourself.


We had family and friends, card playing and hillbilly horseshoes in the front yard. It was good to see everyone once again. I can't wait until next year!