I am a concert addict, so I've had time to perfect my post-concert ritual. After an exhausting evening of belting out songs and dancing along, I like to head back to the hotel. I like to snuggle up in bed and flip through my photos and videos from the evening before letting the ringing in my ears rock me to sleep.
Not this time. Since we were doing back-to-back concerts, we wanted to get to the next city as quickly as possible. After the concert in Vancouver wrapped up, the girls and I piled into the car and popped in our Big Time Summer Tour CD.
On the list of things I've done to see my favorite boy bands, starting a short road trip at 11 o'clock at night is one of the more reasonable things!
While I drove, Ash and I sang and chatted while Cortney slept. The drive wasn't as bad as I had feared. As exhausted as I was, the trip went by quickly. We checked into the hotel shortly after 2 o'clock in the morning. Sleep followed shortly after.
The boys were playing at the Puyallup Fair on Sept 17, 2012. We woke up after what felt like driving all night, and headed down for breakfast. At breakfast, we met a pair of best friends and their moms. They were also going to the concert that night, and had a couple of questions about the M&G. Their excitement was so contagious! We discussed who was a fan of which boy - everyone has a favorite. After breakfast, we headed back to the room to get ready and head to the fair. After wandering around the fairgrouds, it was time for our second M&G in two days.
The M&G in Puyallup was much larger than the one in Vancouver. We started the process of lining up and waiting. While waiting we met two new friends! A second Ashley, a bride-to-be, and her maid-of-honor, Andrea. We were all front row for the soundcheck. Seated directly behind us - and covered in home-made buttons - were the young girls and their moms from the hotel. Being a Kendall girl, Ashley commented on the adorable Kendall button. Next thing we knew, the girls were giving us their buttons. We insisted that they keep their buttons, but they weren't taking no for an answer. Unfortunately Cort didn't get a button because they didn't have an extra Logan button. It was too cute! Don't fear, Cortney did end up with a button. The next morning, one of the girls brought a handful of extra buttons to our hotel room to give to Ashley.
Once the button exchanging fun was over, it wasn't long before the boys came out. Carlos, Logan, James and Kendall - in that order, needless to say - answered questions in between singing Windows Down and If I Ruled the World. There were a couple of highlights for this soundcheck. The first was a young girl who asked Carlos how his dog, Sydney, was. Carlos' face lit up. It was such a sweet moment! Carlos replied that Sydney was good, and on her way back to California on the bus. He asked James how Fox was, who was backstage in his kennel. Kendall mentioned that the only way James can leave Fox alone is if James leaves Fox with peanut butter. The boys also discussed Logan's pet dragon, Bernard, who was on vacation. (Those boys make me laugh!)
The second moment came from a little girl who stepped out into the walkway. Kendall spotted her, and couldn't ignore her. She asked if she could sing happy birthday. Carlos asked, "You want to sing happy birthday to us?" And she replied with, "No! To Logan!" Carlos jumped down from the stage and held the microphone out so that she could sing. She also had a card for Logan, who jumped down next to Carlos. Logan took the card, and picked up the little girl. He gave her a big hug, and I believe he gave her a kiss. It was the sweetest, most adorable moment!
During a moment of pure silliness, Carlos started singing the Bananas in Pyjamas theme song. Bananas in pyjamas are coming down the stairs, bananas in pyjamas are coming down in pair. Ashley and Cort started singing along, which Carlos noticed. They were the only ones who knew what he was talking about, and he thanked them for helping him out. At some point, and I can't remember why, James said "And no, I won't take my shirt off." Kendall chimed in, "But you can Google it! There's probably tons of shirtless photos of all of us." Silly boy, of course there is.
After the silliness was over, it was time for photos. Prior to both M&Gs, I had been toying with the idea of asking the boys to pose a specific way or simply be silly. I've seen some really great (and really hilarious) photos. The boys seem to do anything they are asked to do, but I chickened out. It always feels so rushed! Next time. Next tour I'll gather up the courage and ask! For now, I'm just happy being next to the boys.
