Why is Lizzy smiling so?

She is about to see Taylor Swift in concert.



People show their excitement different ways. Lizzy and her friend Jessie definitely fall in the screaming fan girl category. Zoey and Mia are more understated.

Mia and Jessie are also sisters and conveniently I'm good friends with their mom Beth who also came on this adventure. We splurged a bit an stayed at the Marriott right by the Staples center.

You don't just go to a Taylor Swift concert, you prepare. The girls spent three days, making banners and deciding what to wear. This banner is fabric--so it can be sneakily tucked in a purse and double sided. The other side read:

Which for those who don't listen to Taylor Swift everyday (like we do in our house) is a line from the song "Long Live." The girls decided rather than wearing Taylor Swift T-shirts they would go dressed as Taylor Swift. I was surprised when they told me this and thought, "How original." Apparently 10,000 other girls got the memo. I have never seen so many sundresses and cowboy boots, as well as glittery dresses and blond wigs. Lizzy's hair is naturally curly and perfect and she had the supreme compliment from other concertgoers who said, "You know you actually look like Taylor Swift." Like Taylor they all wrote a number 13 on their hands and song lyrics on their arms.


Since one reversible banner was not enough. Zoey and Mia made a shimmery one.


And Lizzy and Jessie made another glittery one. One fortunate thing was our seats were against a wall so we could raise our banners high. This was the first concert where I could sing a long with every song. (As you may have guessed Lizzy often chooses what music we listen to.) The concert was a far cry from the concerts I went to as a teenager--think muddy hillside at Parkwest. It was more like going to a Broadway show, with elaborate sets, costumes and dancers. One of the reasons I've stopped going to concerts (in addition to the exorbitant price of tickets) is that over and over again I have been disenchanted by the performers egos and the inevitable profanity and vulgarity spewed from their mouths. It was so refreshing to go to a concert that was completely family friendly. And Taylor was so lovely and gracious and energetic--I have no idea how she keeps up that enthusiasm. After just one night of singing and dancing you can see the girls were a little tuckered out.


But this is the image that pops in my head whenever Lizzy and Zoey talk about the trip.