Group 1 Crew

Group 1 Crew.  Their sound was very upbeat and energetic, sort of hip hop, rap, rock and soul.  One of their quotes "Nobody's born a rock star.  Nobody's born famous.  It's just normal people who've done amazing things....Everyone has that possibility."  I really enjoyed a song called "Walking on the Stars"

I mentioned that we were on the floor at the end of the row, we were also by the sound booth (that controls the lights and sound etc.)  Being that far back wasn't as loud as I thought it would be, I'm glad we were not in the middle or front on the floor because that would be extremely loud.  Anyways Group 1 Crew was the first band to listen to on Saturday.  Karlee and I at the same time noticed that we were right next to them, I mean close enough we could of touched them or accidentally tripped them if my foot was too far out.  They were getting ready to run on the stage.  We got very excited and thought how cool it was to notice and be that close.  I turned the camera on real quick and tried to get pictures of them as they ran up to the stage.  Later in the day Karlee was able to get their autograph.

SATURDAY

Saturday was filled with more excitement.  There was Chad Eastham who was the translator on guys-what they say and what they mean.  He talked about dating and not dating and just being friends.  At first I wasn't sure where he was going with some of what he was saying but soon I relaxed and was okay with his message to the girls.  NOT TO HAVE BOYFRIENDS JUST BE YOUR AGE AND NOT WORRY ABOUT THE LOVE THING AND ALL THAT.

Then there was Jenna Lucado Bishop (Max Lucado's daughter)  She was a passionate speaker and really expressed hope to the girls.  Kathryn McCormick was new to the Revolve team.  She is a dancer, was on the show So You Think You Can Dance?  Her quote "Pray the impossible andone day you will look back and surprise yourself because you will realize there is no such thing."  She shared her inspirational story.  To always have a dream and go for it because anything possible.

Jamie Grace was one of Karlee's favorites.  Jamie is a speaker, musician and actress.  At 11 she was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome.  She had a very inspriational story to share.  I love her quote "I don't really like roller coasters-so not my thing.  However, sometimes life has a way of feeling like a roller coaster with its ups and downs.  But I've decided that whether I'm going up or down...I'm so staying on this ride."
Karlee said she thought she was very real and down to earth, very cute and bubbly personality.  Jamie had posted a song that she sung on You Tube and was discovered by Toby Mac and is currently working on music with him.

The Drama team did a skit on suicide, it was intense but expressed in such a good way on the level that the girls could understand.  All of their skits were worth paying attention too. 

All of the messages were amazing so full of hope.  Throughout the whole event they really sent the message out about being who you are and knowing that is enough.  I loved how Kathryn talked about how important it is to communicate to your parents.  That was a topic that Karlee and I have been working on.  Kathryn expressed that no matter what you might have to say or the reaction you may get that it will be alright in the end because your parents love and God loves you.  The other message I hope Karlee heard loud and clear was about not having a boyfriend, not being ready or need to be ready right now with all the ups and downs and learning that goes on in a relationship until you are much older.  The importance of being the age you are now and not trying to be anything else but that.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Now we are ready to head to  the US Airways Center to attend the first session of the Revolve Tour.  Our Prince William got us this far and now he's working again to get us to the event.  We turn towards the center and start looking for parking.  I wanted to get close and not in a parking garage.  We spot a little parking lot that is right there close to the center.  We got excited when we noticed that all we had to do was pay the 10 bucks, park and then walk to the door.

the view from our seats on the floor

found our seats on the floor

Karlee is waiting patiently for the event to start

The event started off with the drama team doing a skit.  It was about being yourself and not worrying about wearing the "jeans" or having this or that.  Just being yourself and knowing that is enough.  God created each and every person for a purpose and he has a plan for all of us.  God loves us just the way we are.  The drama team was awesome.  They really put on some great heart felt intense skits that we at the level of the teens and should really help them relate to them. 

Then there were some words spoken from other speakers and then the long awaited musical guest that made everyone scream as loud as they could.  Britt Nicole came out on stage and Karlee screamed with delight! She loves Britt Nicole's music.

Photo Journey

I finally uploaded photos from the weekend.  Let me bring you up to speed with photos from Friday, and Fountain Hills.

Karlee, Suzanne, and me

yummy!

silly girl on a turtle

Fountain Hills & Gelato

Karlee wanted to jam out to the radio but I asked her to keep it down enough so that I could hear Prince Williams voice.  We arrive at Suzanne's in Scottsdale around 2pm.  Suzanne greeted us and we relaxed and chatted for a little while then we decided to do something before we headed to the event in the evening.  She drove us out to Fountain Hills.  Its a beautiful community and it has a very pretty park.  The park has a little lake like/pond with beautiful green grass around it and a nice little play ground for kids.  Then above the park are shops and boutiques to walk around in.  In the middle of this body of water is a fountain that shoots up high into the air.  It shoots up on the hour for 15 minutes.  We parked in the parking lot and watched it for a few minutes.  We noticed that there was something going on up above by the shops, a bunch of white tents were up with lots of vendors.  We decided to go check it out for a bit.  We browsed a little bit and then Suzanne asked us if we wanted a gelato  We didn't know what that was but we thought we would try it.

Gelato is Italy’s version of ice cream, with three major differences.

First, gelato has significantly less butterfat than ice cream. Gelato is less solidly frozen than ice cream and melts in the mouth faster.

Second, gelato has a much higher density than ice cream. Ice cream is produced by mixing cream, milk and sugar, then adding air. Manufacturers add air to ice cream because it nearly doubles the quantity of their product. But, it cuts their quality in half. No air is added to gelato. The result is a higher quality dessert with a richer, creamier taste.

Third, gelato is served slightly warmer than ice cream. While both gelato and ice cream are served well below the freezing temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, gelato is served 10 to 15 degrees warmer than ice cream. Because it is less solidly frozen, gelato’s taste is further enhanced as it melts in the mouth.

 

Gelato!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a little bit of chocolate hazelnut and cherry vanilla on a cone, Karlee had a waffle cone with cherry vanilla and Suzanne had a cone with peach.  It is so different but so very very yummy! We enjoyed our treat.

Graced with little angels

I soon began to get a little worked up and nervous about the upcoming trip. Where would we stay?  Money for gas and parking.  I don't know my way around Phoenix.  I don't like driving in traffic and freeways especially when I'm not sure where to go.  I tried hard at telling myself that God would work out all the details.

Soon it all started to come together.  Micah has an aunt that lives in Scottsdale. I called her up and before I could complete my question she said of course you will stay with us and that was that.  Micah and I went to our Thursday night care group and at the end of the evening I asked for prayer regarding my trip to Phoenix, traveling and finding where I needed to go.  At the end a friend of mine spoke up and asked me if I wanted to borrow her GPS navigation system.  I had never used one but she assured me that it was real easy and would be very helpful.  She named it Prince William.  So with Prince William in my hands I was ready to find my way there.

The morning of our departure my Dad (who had been visiting with us for a week now) took me to Sams to fill up my tank. (which by the way I made it to, around and from Phoenix with only my dad filling it on Friday morning)

The last thing was money for snacks, parking and whatever else we may need/want.  My mom had placed a $100.00 in my account in El Paso.  (on Sunday we had 20 bucks left that would get us a pretzel in Anthem and a drink, we made the whole weekend on just the 100 from my mom)

With hugs and kisses and prayer and our new little friend Prince William, we were ready to go and start our weekend.

The Announcement

I was so excited after receiving the phone call about winning the tickets to the Revolve Tour.  I couldn't wait to see Karlee and tell her, in fact I wanted to go get her out of school.  I managed to wait all day then I get a call and its Karlee asking me if I would pick her up, normally she walks homes.  I jumped to the opportunity to have a few minutes by ourselves so I could announce to her what we would be doing in a few weeks.  Before going to pick her up I text her and told her that I would see her in a few minutes and that I had a surprise for her.  As soon as she got in the van, not even out of the parking lot of the school I shouted out the news.  She was so excited she screamed.  Her whole face lite up with happiness and excitement and then she leaned over and hugged me and was just consumed with excitement.  I loved watching every moment, while keeping my eyes on the road of course.  By the end of the day anyone that Karlee and I held close in our life knew about the special event and all the excitement.

I said a silent prayer later that day thanking God so much for his answer to my prayer and asked him to prepare our hearts for the event and the weekend alone together.