Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my 26th birthday. Your present to me can be hanging in their through the first half of this stream of consciousness. Your party favor will be seeing the fun photos at the end!

Two months ago it was a Saturday morning and Taylor's cell phone rang. He was talking vaguely and I kind of thought he was talking to our friend, Kate, but I couldn't decipher what it was in regards to. (As it turns out, Kate was in on the secret birthday plan and had called to tell Taylor that tickets had just gone on sale.) A little while later he had me stand in front of the computer monitor and said, "Happy Birthday!" On the screen was a video advertisement for the Soul2Soul 2007 tour. I SQUEALED with delight! I clapped my hands! I hugged and smooched my husband! This would be the dreamiest birthday ever.

And so it seems that the whole story of Monday should be entirely dreamlike. And I've contemplated posting just the dreamy parts. But I've thought a lot about this whole blogging business, and I think if we don't all tell the honest to goodness truth, we are all a bunch of fakey-pants and what the heck is the point of that? So I'll tell you the whole, true story. It started out as a normal Monday. Took a walk with Blaine, cleaned the guest bedroom at Grandma's house. Blaine was a bit whinier than usual, but it wasn't so bad. Went to a meeting for work. Everything was still fine. But then I came home and something snapped. Blaine was being whiny to a level that I couldn't cope with. I have one child who is almost never whiny. So yes, I am pathetic. But I just couldn't get a grip. Thus began tantrum #1. "I can't take this! I can't be in this apartment! This day sucks!" Exit Anne. Taylor doesn't get upset about almost anything. But if there's one thing that makes him crazy, it's his TREMENDOUSLY BLESSED wife acting like her life is tragic and terrible. Re-enter Anne. Taylor: "Well, aren't you excited about the concert?" And logical Anne was saying to herself, "Of course I am! This is such a treat--Taylor is so amazing! Why in the H-E-doublehockeysticks am I having a nervous breakdown and ruining this special day?!" But the out-of-control Anne was seriously struggling to get it together. We talked. I breathed. I apologized. Tantrum over. I went to get ready. I stood in front of my closet and felt it mounting again. The tantrum had taken too much time and we needed to hurry. But NOTHING in that closet would work. Nothing! Yep, felt it mounting...here it was coming...there it was--nervous breakdown #2. Throwing shirts everywhere. Freaking out. Hyper-ventilating. (Do you all think I'm exaggerating to make this an interesting story? I'm not. I'm really this crazy.) I settled on my white Target v-neck cable knit sweater. Still in a fragile state, we drove to Grandma's neighborhood to drop Blaine off with our friends. I ran into Grandma's house to retrieve my camisole from her laundry room. Sweater off, cami on, sweater back on. In that process I had stretched out the sweater. "Stupid target clothes!" Nervous breakdown #2, part B. "Taylor, can we please stop at home on our way? I have to change again!" At this point I wonder if Taylor was regretting giving me such a generous birthday present. I also wonder if he was regretting becoming my lawfully wedded husband. He didn't say a word. Drove to our apartment. I changed. And off we went, with some tension headache Excedrin that had been necessitated by NB#1 and NB#2. "I just couldn't find the right outfit!" I whined. "What's the right outfit?" my ever-patient husband replied. "Well, when you go to a Tim and Faith concert, you should look like a cute cowgirl!" "Well, sweetie, you don't have anything like that. You would have needed to plan ahead for that." It would be OK though. I was calming down. Stop at the Sinclair station for gas. Taylor pumps the gas then runs inside. What was he doing? He runs back to the car with...a straw cowgirl hat for his wife! He put it on my head and said, "Now you look hot!" And off we went. I spent the 45 minute drive to Salt Lake City apologizing and evaluating what the heck my problem was. And apologizing some more. The night wasn't ruined. I could get it together and make the night wonderful. That is what I did.

We parked the car and ran up to Costa Vida to share a pork salad and a coke before the show. We were late, but knew there was an opening act. Then we walked from the Gateway (the big outdoor mall where we ate) to the Energy Solutions Arena (much more of a mouthful than "Delta Center"). As we walked across the street we saw the whole TimandFaith entourage-- semi after semi and bus after bus--all parked outside the arena. We went in and found our seats at the PERFECT time. The opening act had just finished and Faith was coming up through the stage singing "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol. (I know, didn't see that coming--but it sounded awesome.) Tim came up through the stage next and joined in. I squealed and clapped my hands and smiled at my dreamilicious husband. I couldn't believe we got to see them live! And it was such a production! Heaven help me if I didn't have tears in my eyes and goosebumps! It was practically a spiritual experience! The whole night was incredible. INCREDIBLE. They started together, and then Tim disappeared while Faith performed. You can see in this picture how great the stage is. They move all around and face everyone at different times so there's not a bad seat in the house.

The stage is also like a giant digital screen--shows all kinds of graphics, words, pictures, etc. So cool. Faith is a serious hottie. She wore this sparkly outfit and looked great. Honestly, can I look like this hot at almost 40? She sang lots of her great new stuff, plus greaties like "This Kiss," "Breathe," "Cry," "The Secret of Life," "Take Another Little Piece of My Heart," and "Wild One." Let's talk about TALENT people. This woman can BELT it out! Such a fabulous live performer!
Cute faith said that she and Tim love coming to SLC because the crowd is so friendly. As she was singing everyone would cheer and wave and she would smile and wave at individuals--really connecting with her fans. She said "thank you so much!" after every song and curtsied. How cute is she? (I was watching her thinking, "I'll bet Faith Hill doesn't throw tantrums and treat her husband like crap! I need to be more like Faith!")

Wouldn't we all just love to have these seats down in front?! Faith and Tim are so great about getting right in there and touching all the hands they can. So fan-friendly.

After Faith sang, Tim joined her again. They sat on chairs, back to back, and they put down this huge circular screen that looked like a giant mosquito net. Super cool. They sang "Angry All the Time" and "Like We Never Loved at All." Then Faith disappeared and Tim went to town. (And the crowd went nuts!) Oh man! Tim McGraw, you are one sexy man! And while we're on the subject, here's what I have to say. Tim and Faith are two of the sexiest humans on this earth. They seriously work it. But what I love is that all of their songs--their whole show--is so clean. You could totally take your ten-year-old to this show (just bring ear plugs). I love that, you know? And that's what makes them so loveable-not just that they are great performers, but that they are so in love and so faithful to each other. Wahoo for them! Tim sang so much great stuff. The thing is, when you have a million greatest hits and a bunch of fab new songs as well, you just have a killer lineup!
Yes, Tim wore this white shirt with nothing underneath. It was unbuttoned way low and he had chains around his neck. Yes, chains. And he had on the tightest jeans ever worn by a male. (Any other man on the planet dresses like that and I want to vomit, but Tim is absolutely cool enough and hot enough to pull it off!) Top it all off with the classic black cowboy hat and you've got one good lookin' man.
Check this out! Tim took time to pose for a picture with me! Tim sounds fabulous live. And he is SUCH a performer. He opened with "Space Cowboy" (by the Steve Miller Band) and sang tons of great old ones like "Indian Outlaw," "Something Like That," "For a Little While," and "Everywhere." He also sang a lot of his new stuff, which I am loving. "When the Stars Go Blue," "The Cowboy in Me," "Last Dollar (Fly Away)"-(speaking of which, his cute daughters sing in the end of that song, which is so darling-have you heard it?), "Live Like You Were Dying," "Real Good Man"--so many great songs! Tim also took a minute to pose for a picture with me and Taylor--again, so great with his fans!
So after Tim sang for a while, Faith reappeared in such a pretty dress-black and long and feminine-and they sang a bunch of duets. This, for me, was the pinnacle of the concert. They sang "Shotgun Rider"-a new one on Tim's new CD- which I LOVED. They both played the gee-tar on that one, which was fun to see. Then they sang "It's Your Love." This is probably my favorite duet of theirs and the first song I ever heard by either of them, as a matter of fact. For those of you who have been to either a Cropper or Hall family talent show, you've heard Taylor and I sing this. So it's a tender one. :) After they sang that one, they hugged, as pictured below.Come ON! Is this not the best job ever?! Singing with your gorgeous spouse for tens of thousands of adoring fans (who each paid a premium to be there)? Sign me up for this life! Of course we all cheered like mad after they sang a few more things and disappeared, so they came back up through the center of the stage and sang one last song--"I Need You"--their newest. They were sitting together like this. (I KNOW!) "I Need You" has some unique lyrics, but I LOVE it. It was beautiful and then they smooched it up at the end. It was hot. So that's it--that's my review of Soul2Soul 2007. I highly recommend it to all of you. I also highly recommend not having nervous breakdowns over ridiculous, stupid stuff. And I also highly recommend being nice to your husband. Especially when he does amazing things like taking you to your dream concert looking like a cute cowgirl.