Okay...it really happened. I really saw Hanson live in concert... I still can't believe it.

The day started out well, then was clouded with doubt, then ended on the highest note imaginable.

Austin has been sick so I stayed home with him while Amanda (my fellow concert goer) was at work. We thought we would get to leave by 12 or 1 but we had to wait for someone to become available to watch Austin, so we didn't end up leaving until about 2. That's when the pre-concert walk started. I was a teeny bit bummed about not getting to do that, but I was just SO thankful to get to go to this concert finally!

In case you don't know, the tour is called "The Walk Around the World Tour" and before each performance, the band and fans take a one mile barefoot walk to benefit AIDS and other charitable causes (like medicines for mothers) in Africa. The band started the barefoot walks to raise awareness after they visited Africa and saw the poverty of AIDS stricken areas firsthand. They have been raising money for children who have no shoes and partnered with TOMS shoes to help give thousands of pairs of shoes to these children. They have said that they think so many people see the problems in Africa and are overwhelmed and think they can't do anything to help, so they thought "Why don't we start with something simple?" They also have a coffee table book and CD set coming out to benefit these charities soon.

Back to the story...we got to the venue around 3 PM. The guys had been outside just before we got there, which was like, "Aww man," but whatever. I walked to the front of the line while Amanda held our spot to see how many people were in front of us and there were only about 100 I would guess. While I was checking that out I was able to peek in a window and see Hanson doing their sound check which got me really wired.

The concert was at Wildhorse Saloon in downtown Nashville. We were in line by the patio of Hard Rock Cafe which is about 2 or 3 doors down. We ended up in line almost directly behind the last people in line from the walk, which was really good. We were the end of the line only for a short time. I was so glad we got there when we did because the line ended up going down 2nd Avenue and turning down Broadway all the way in front of the Hard Rock Cafe. I don't know where it went after that, but that was the last place I saw it stretching to during my last bathroom break at Hard Rock (we had a really great location for getting food and taking bathroom breaks).

The doors were supposed to open at 6, but a guy from the Wildhorse came by a little before that and said they would open at 7 (you could hear the fans groan). They ended up opening about 6:30. Amanda and I had parked about 2 blocks away and only brought our debit cards, cash, and my camera with us and locked everything else in the trunk. As the line started to go in, a lady at the door yelled for everyone to have their IDs ready. *Panic Attack!* I knew that the place allowed anyone over 18 until after 11 PM when they began serving at the bars, but I never thought to grab my ID! Well, there was no time to go back to the car, so I just kept going through the line and hoped for the best. The guy taking my ticket asked me if I had my ID, I said no, he asked if I was underage, I laughed and said no, and he said, "You are for tonight!" and grabbed my hands and marked them with big permanent marker X's. I was so relieved! I am 23, and I definitely was not going to choose to start drinking on this night! We hurried to the front of the stage area. We ended up about four people deep from the front, which was fantastic! I tried going to the merchandise table beforehand, but the attendants (from Wildhorse) were very slow getting everything set up (even though they had opened late) and the first girls in line bought about a million items. I decided to return to my spot before I lost it and try afterwards.

Well, no one took the stage until 8 PM. That was a lot of waiting. Fortunately, the fans that were staking their claims near us were really nice and we all chatted for the duration of the wait and during the breaks between bands (there were 2 intro acts). For the most part the fans were very courteous, no smashing into each other or trying to push their ways to the front, which was nice. The first band (8 PM) was called Everyone Else and had a punk/pop rock vibe. I enjoyed their performance a lot. The Veronica's (8:45 PM) were next and they really rocked it out (they were a bit harder rock with a smidge of screaming thrown in). I liked them for the most part, but they got a little crazy toward the end of their set. Their drummer was insane though. He would be wailing on the drums and his sticks would fly up to the ceiling and back without him missing a beat.

Hanson didn't take the stage until about 9:45 PM. The changes between bands took forever b/c everyone had their own equipment and instruments to clear out and rearrange. When they came out, the room that had surrounded those of us near the front shrunk considerably, but I never felt too crowded. I was so close to the stage it was unreal. My camera was frustrating me b/c it didn't have the same zoom I did. The pictures look like I was further away than I was, even though most of them look really close.

I can't even begin to describe the fun I had. Eleven years in the making--I finally made it to a Hanson concert! Their music has grown and evolved so much over the years and I've always enjoyed the way they do their own thing with their own sound. Never a CD that didn't give the ultimate thank you to God and have spiritual connotations in the lyrics, even though they don't overtly proclaim their Christianity. Yes, they played MMMBop (and I thought the room was going to come apart), but they also played some of the great new songs from their most recent album (The Walk) and some new songs they haven't recorded yet (some are on the coffee table book companion CD). They did an acapella number, some acoustic songs, switched out instruments several times (Zac played every instrument-drums, piano, acoustic guitar, jimbe, etc.; Taylor played the drums once which confused everyone, but he was pretty good!; Isaac stuck to guitar/acoustic guitar, but he it is his expertise!)

They did an encore of 2 songs after their 'last' number--when no one moved after they left the stage and the crowd started chanting "HANSON! HANSON!" Taylor jumped on top of his baby grand (topped with two keyboards) and said, "I guess you want us to play another song, huh?!" To the answer of screaming fans. At the real end of the concert, all three climbed up on the drums and did a back flip off of them. Entertaining, but not so much as when they tried to help each other get up while laughing so hard they could hardly get up themselves.

Afterwards (12:30 PM) I tried the merch. table again, but they were out of smalls in everything. The shirt I had really wanted wasn't there anyway, so I decided I'd splurge on the shipping cost later. We got home about 1 AM and I went almost straight to sleep (I knew if I started telling Josh about it, I'd never get to sleep).

During the concert I got a lot of video/photos on my camera and phone but I had to stop and let myself enjoy it. It was so surreal, like I was watching them on TV or video (which is the closest I've come to live in eleven years), but I had to tell myself it was real--I was really an arm's reach away from the most amazing musicians of the music that has shaped my musical views for more than a decade!

I did almost get squished once toward the end when they went by the front rows touching hands but everyone in my row (if you could call it that) and in front of me stopped short so nobody got killed by the people behind us.

If I start feeling bummed, I'm just going to play one of my videos on my phone or look at my pictures and feel better. I had a 'dream come true' (not trying to be cheesy). I had wanted to go to a concert from the beginning (1997) and never had an opportunity or the means until now. My husband is the best husband ever (this was his birthday present to me)--and he knows it.

So on a recent visit home, DH (dear hubby) and I were asked the inevitable question, "When are you guys going to have kids?"

First of all--We both want kids--a load of them as a matter of fact. However, we are not in the prime time in our lives for children. If we were surprised we would be nervous but happy. I know our families would be there for us too. We are currently living in a friend's house in their finished garage. We are so thankful for the place to stay but we have to have our own place before we have kids. We are also trying to be available for God to lead us wherever he wants us and that's how we ended up living 5-6 hours away from home. We want our families to be a big part of our children's lives like they were in ours. It takes a village (or a big family) to raise a child.

It's really hard for me to not want to start our family despite all these things. My friends are starting to have kids and it's hard to be the only one at work who doesn't have kids. Also, you see people who are not fit to be parents with children and think something must be cosmically wrong.

But back to the "Pre-Baby Bucket List". We were talking with a trusted friend the other day who also served God abroad (really abroad--Bangladesh!) with her husband. She didn't ask the dreaded question, but when it was brought up she said we had plenty of time and that they hadn't had their first child until they'd been married five years. She supported us and it was just so refreshing. I mean our families don't bug us about kids but I know they want us to have them ASAP.

Anyway, after talking with this lady, I decided to make my pre-baby time more productive by doing things I can't do (or can't do easily) after having kids. Recently, DH got me tickets to a concert to see my favorite band of all time and I'd been saying it was a check off of my 'bucket list' (things to do before you "kick the bucket"). So these two ideas came together in what is now my "Pre-Baby Bucket List".

Here is the first draft:

Go to a Hanson concert [bonus goals: meet, get autographs, take pictures] (this is almost checked off, I got the tickets yesterday)

Visit a foreign country (Europe would be the most awesome, but I'll settle for Canada)

Make a difference in as many of my students' lives as possible (I'm a Pre-K teacher)

Be able to run/jog a few miles

Learn to play: piano, drums, guitar

Write a song/Record a song

Draw or take a photograph of something breathtaking

Take an overnight or all day scrapping class

Get 'published' on Xanga or Momaroo blogs

Get a pedicure/manicure [bonus goal: have a spa day]

These are all things I've never done. I know some are not grandiose, but that means they're attainable. I don't want to make every goal so huge I am not meeting any of them or I'll just get bummed out. I'm sure I'll add more later.

So what about you? Do you have or want to make a bucket list? What would you put on yours? It doesn't have to be a 'pre-baby' one. It could just be a before you kick the bucket one or before you do [insert goal here] list. Let me know what you think!