We're All MAD here! SPAZZ hands, cupcakes, booze, and running...GSC Feb. 2015 PTR

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Love the girls shirts and shoes. They came out great

What an awesome experience for the girls

Ed sheeran seems like such a genuine guy. So neat girls got to meet him

He really does seem genuine and down to earth. The smile he had on his face for Savannah read so easily, you could tell he knew she was shy and he thought it was cute and everything he did made her comfortable. It was just too cool!

OK ... first you reeled me in with,
"... Leaves more money for booze and cupcakes:

LOL ... brilliant ... LOVE it!!

Then ... you tip the scales with the tale of Ed Sheeran and your girls (and - admittedly - your own) fandom for him ...

Years ago ... like three I think ... my wife and I went to see "Snow Patrol" at the Electric Factory in Philly ... Gary Lightbody gives a fantastic intro to his "bud" - some ginger dude from England ... Ed Sheeran ... and says, "give it two months, everyone will know who he is". By the time he'd finished we were awestruck and ... yep ... within two months from that concert he was (and is) everywhere!!

Pics of your daughter and her friend meeting him are priceless ... just awesome!!

So yea ... all that to say, looking forward to following along with your PTR and planning!!

Oh man, if you were reeled in with booze, cupcakes and Ed, then you have found the place to be!

Yep, we went to Taylor Swift at the beginning of 2013 and we loved her show but we walked away BLOWN out of the water by Ed and that's where it all started. He's just amazing live!

Oh good grief, I'm going to start fangirling even more if I don't shut up about it.

I LOVE the selfie where you are supposed to be all bada$$ and you are like just smiling.... like a Tweedle should! So awesome.

That concert just sounded like such an amazing experience for your girl! She will never, ever forget it. What great memories.

Only few more days of secret keeping! Woo!!!!

Just 5 more days!!! For anyone wondering, this has nothing to do with Tweedles, per say, but my Tweedle has been helping me stay strong and keep my mouth shut.

 

[AJollyHoliday]

I am so far behind in keep up with all the ladies, but I noticed that Tammie posted that you have ADR for Via Napoli with the Cupcakes at 4 PM. My family and I have ADR for 4:30 there so we will see you! We also arrive on Thursday and I plan to head right over to the expo after we get into AKL-Kidani. I will probably go by myself and me my family somewhere that way they are not bored and pushing me along. Mama has got to look around!

 

[My_Pal_Pluto]

Oh good grief, I'm going to start fangirling even more if I don't shut up about it.

WAAYYYYYY too late ... you've hit certified "fangirldom"

 

[annmarieda]

Life has been hectic... I am forever behind. Just a quick fly by to say just how amazing that must have been for your dd. That is the kind of memory that will last her entire life! How very very special!!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

So, I can now tell you about the SURPRISE!!!!!

As you know, we went to KC to see Ed Sheeran, and actually met him. What no one knew was that I had a SECOND set of tickets to see him, that I purchased months ago, for Minneapolis! We decided that if asked, this would be what she wanted for her bday, so I decided to surprise her!

This in itself was a HUGE undertaking. Understand that I DO NOT keep secrets. I'm horrible at it, in fact! I still can't believe I pulled it off!

My oldest sister lives in Minneapolis (10 hour drive from here!) and said we could stay with her, so a plan was in motion. It was funny, she asked after seeing the pics on FB, if Savannah would still be excited to see Ed again, especially after meeting him...would it be overkill? Uh, no. Not overkill, this girl would go to every single Ed Sheeran concert if she could! (uh, I would too, I guess! LOL)

So, the original plan was to wake her up at 4:30 monday morning and drive all day to MN, then go to the concert that night. As Sunday afternoon rolled around, this seemed silly. We should leave in the afternoon and drive halfway. So, after finishing up my petsits, we stopped by the house and Savannah sat in the car. She thought we were going to Kohl's! Rey and I came out and told her the surprise, she didn't believe us, she was in such shock!

I have a few video clips of it on my instagram (twoboysnmygirl) but no idea how to get one on here. Here's a picture though...she CRIED.

We got her packed up and out of the house in 30 minutes and were on the road!!

We had a lot of fun, she was so excited and we talked for hours about all the LIES that were concocted to keep this secret!

We arrived at the motel Rey had booked online and it was a DUMP. Serious dump, like we walked in and stood there for a moment and walked right out. I'm pretty careful with money and hate to throw it away, but this place was so bad, I still walked out even though it was non-refundable and headed to the closest place that didn't look as much like a dump! It had a hot tub, so we went down for a dip before getting ready for bed!

Savannah couldn't sleep and we got up pretty early and back on the road the next morning.

There was Ihop and lots of corn fields, eventually we made it to Minneapolis! We went to dinner with my sister and niece and then got ready to head to the concert.

We got there super early so we had ice cream while waiting. Makes perfect sense, right???

opening act, Rudimental

They actually let me take my zoom lens in, so I was excited about that. It was still a bit dark for my lens, but I still got some shots that I liked. Ed was just as fabulous the 2nd time and sang some different songs, one being a favorite of ours that he rarely ever sings.

Afterwards we decided to wait and see if we could meet him again. Greedy after meeting him just 2 weeks prior? Maybe, but look at THIS PERSISTENCE: (see Savannah on the left?)

It was FREEZING, but we persisted. Unfortunately, Ed had gone to sleep immediately after the concert (in that bus there, no doubt) so we didn't get to see him. We knew it was a longshot and still had a blast, even waiting in the cold with all the other fans.

The next day, after nearly no sleep, we hit the zoo and lunch before heading back home. It was nice seeing my sister! (I think I'm going to hit my limit on images here, let me see...)

they have a conservatory there as well and I got a million pretty shots of green stuffs!

It was the BEST birthday surprise! She was so happy and we had a great time together, just mother & daughter...and Ed!

 

[Tinker326]

Awww................ LOVE!!!

What a great surprise! I'm so proud of you for pulling it off and keeping your secret!

Also, great pictures as always!

 

[ARmom30]

That was a fabulous surprise! Too bad y'all couldn't meet him again after the concert. Maybe next time...

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Awww................ LOVE!!!

What a great surprise! I'm so proud of you for pulling it off and keeping your secret!

Also, great pictures as always!

It was soooo awesome!! She's still talking about it and how her whole summer was a string of LIES concocted by me.

I still can't believe I pulled it off. She said looking back and EVERYONE in the house was acting funny for about a week beforehand but she didn't really know why or have any clue. You have to see the video! That means you have to make an instagram account. I'm gonna keep pushing, ya know.

Oh, I have some wardrobe comments to make to you, I will text you though...but not this morning since you are running a race!

That was a fabulous surprise! Too bad y'all couldn't meet him again after the concert. Maybe next time...

Haha, you get US. There will most definitely be a next time! He'll be back in 2015 and we plan to roadtrip to a few concerts at least!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

So busy with Ed Sheeran updates, I never did a running update!

Two days before our surprise trip, Dallas & I ran the Mustache Dash 5K! I was signed up for the 10K, but I've had a little tweaky feeling in my achilles, have only run 4 miles all summer long, and looked at the course map and it was ALL hills. Like ALL. So, I made the executive decision to not injure myself a month out from Half training and just have fun! It's a mustache dash!

This also gave me a chance to try out part of our Tweedle costume! The red skirt and rainbow leggins will be part of our tweedle costume for the Enchanted 10K. They were fantastic, but I had no doubt!

Tweedle...a side note to you though, I have a black shirt that is identical to our yellow shirts and I wore it for a 5 mile run this morning. It rode up like crazy??? I'm only telling you so you can prepare yourself, and possibly yours won't ride up, but mine did. It's deal-able for a 10K and we'll look damn cute, but thought you should know!

Dallas & I before the race-

I look all serious, but I couldn't smile or the mustache would start peeling off!

My favorite picture of the day, however, is this one:

The race was hilly and I swear (again, I do this at all races) that they measured wrong b/c I PR'd by a minute! 30:33 which is FAR faster than my normal training 5K time...but I'll take it!

Dallas PR'd as well, so it was a fun morning for us.

We are exactly a month out from OFFICIAL training, btw! I'm going to follow Galloway's plan this year instead of making my own like that year. I don't run intervals usually, but I want to follow his suggestion for mileage. Training starts October 21st!

Tweedle, instead of bothering you with a text, the other wardrobe thing I wanted to tell you was to maybe try some compression socks? I wore mine this morning and it really helped with that tight achilles I have been having. Maybe it would help you too?

That's all I got today folks! Fall has arrived and after enjoying 5 miles running in it this morning, I will probably spend the afternoon working in the yard. Hope you all are getting beautiful fall weather too!

 

[Trentmom]

What an awesome mom you are!! What a cool surprise for Savannah

Those rainbow leggins are adorable. Love all mustache touches.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

I love your little Ed mini surprise trip!!! I love to have mother/daughter trips!! You looked like you had a blast and I agree ---- you're a fangirl --- just admit it and be done with it!!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

What an awesome mom you are!! What a cool surprise for Savannah

Those rainbow leggins are adorable. Love all mustache touches.

Thanks!!

I love your little Ed mini surprise trip!!! I love to have mother/daughter trips!! You looked like you had a blast and I agree ---- you're a fangirl --- just admit it and be done with it!!!

Yep, it's true. I'm totally a fangirl. It's hard though b/c it's SAVANNAH'S THING, so I have to reign it in a bit so she can not feel like I'm taking her interests away from her.

but yeah...I am.

 

[annmarieda]

What an awesome surprise for Savannah! She is one lucky girl to have you as a mom!

Don't you hate booking hotels that turn out to be dives? It is one reason I love Disney so much... I know I won't end up booking something and regretting it.

The mustache dash sounds like I went well despite hills! Only 4 miles this summer an your Achilles I bugging you AND you got a pr with a great time??!!?? I would say you are going to rick your phm training!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

What an awesome surprise for Savannah! She is one lucky girl to have you as a mom!

Don't you hate booking hotels that turn out to be dives? It is one reason I love Disney so much... I know I won't end up booking something and regretting it.

The mustache dash sounds like I went well despite hills! Only 4 miles this summer an your Achilles I bugging you AND you got a pr with a great time??!!?? I would say you are going to rick your phm training!

Well 4 miles is my "normal" run, I didn't mean I had only run 4 total miles, if that makes sense! I run 4 miles three times a week and really only did 5 two or three times all summer long, so I figured that doing 6.2 out of the blue when 4 is my standard might be a bit much!

 

[Tinker326]

Tweedle, you are far outshining me with your selfie taking abilities.

I took one of me and Becca at the race on Sunday and she said "mom, you are really bad at that". Out of the mouths of babes............

As for the shirt riding up problem. Well, at least with me, if it does ride up, I will still be in costume with my big fat Tweedle belly. It's all good!!! Plus it might scare everyone away and let us get to the characters much faster!!!!!

I meant to go Tweedle Bow shopping today at lunch but alas stupid work has been stupid busy and I just didn't have the time- Guess I should stop calling it stupid since it's paying for my trip! Huh?

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Tweedle, you are far outshining me with your selfie taking abilities.

I took one of me and Becca at the race on Sunday and she said "mom, you are really bad at that". Out of the mouths of babes............

As for the shirt riding up problem. Well, at least with me, if it does ride up, I will still be in costume with my big fat Tweedle belly. It's all good!!! Plus it might scare everyone away and let us get to the characters much faster!!!!!

I meant to go Tweedle Bow shopping today at lunch but alas stupid work has been stupid busy and I just didn't have the time- Guess I should stop calling it stupid since it's paying for my trip! Huh?

Tweede, just remember that I took probably 5 shots BEFORE that one where I looked like a total moron. I never get cute ones on the first try either. What will we ever do? We'll just be running around the parks taking hundreds of selfies, trying to get one to look cute.

So true about the tweedle belly! I think if I lost a little weight maybe it wouldn't ride up. I'm working on it, determined NOT to gain ten pounds training for a half this year.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I haven't read all of this PTR yet (I'm about halfway through) but I had to comment on your surprise trip! That was so cool you got to take your daughter to see Ed Sheeran again! And right on the heels of meeting him at his other concert! Wow! That is awesome! Great pictures from both concerts! You are a fun mom!

 

[annmarieda]

Well 4 miles is my "normal" run, I didn't mean I had only run 4 total miles, if that makes sense! I run 4 miles three times a week and really only did 5 two or three times all summer long, so I figured that doing 6.2 out of the blue when 4 is my standard might be a bit much!

OH! Yeah... I thought you meant you had not run much this summer. Yeah...that makes sense. Still, I think you will do awesome training for the GSC.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I haven't read all of this PTR yet (I'm about halfway through) but I had to comment on your surprise trip! That was so cool you got to take your daughter to see Ed Sheeran again! And right on the heels of meeting him at his other concert! Wow! That is awesome! Great pictures from both concerts! You are a fun mom!

Thanks Erin! I TRY HARD to be a fun mom! It's my life goal. Sometimes I try too hard.

Your trip is coming up!!!!!! I'm so excited for you!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Countdown progress:

129 days until Playlist Live Orlando!!

143 days until Glass Slipper Challenge!!!



Not a ton going on with planning right now. I did have a little excitement for the Playlist Live trip in early February. We are already doing ONE whirlwind day at MK on Friday before the Playlist Live weekend. Well, my friend (and one of the girl's moms) that is coming with us suggested that we stay an extra day on Monday and go to HP World at Universal!!!! ON HER!!!!!!

So, she's not only going to flip for a night at a Universal resort (early entry, right?) but getting us each a 1 day ticket too??? Uh...sign me up! No need to convince me!

It will mean an extra day, which means we will be home on the 11th (we are driving the 17-18 hrs) and I will be leaving out for the GCS girls weekend just 8 days later?!?! I won't even have to put the suitcase away! It's usually pretty crazy after a trip, so I'm a little concerned it will be overwhelming to do two trips so close!

Let's see, what else? I've been busy with petsitting and photo shoots but we had time to go to Celebration of Nations this weekend in our little town. This is the 5th year the college has done this parade/festival and I absolutely love it. All sorts of countries represented, it's almost like World Showcase!

Pics...