GIRL GETAWAY

It is not easy to plan a vacation with Heidi. We are both pretty busy and the boys have a crazy schedule. I honestly couldn't believe it when this trip to Phoenix actually got on the calendar. Heidi's high school girlfriends had wanted to take a 40 year birthday trip to Phoenix and then Taylor Swift's first concert of her tour ended up being right around the same time as that trip, so we were able to make it work that Heidi stayed in Arizona after her weekend with friends and then I would pick her up on May 7th, for our half of the trip. Basically, magic.

The first night was Sunday and we started off our trip of delicious food eating on the patio of the hotel that Brent and I stayed at years ago. It really is a hidden gem. The food is great and no one is there. Heidi and I surprised no one when we ordered the same thing and liked it the same amount.

Our first full day we got up and had a great breakfast in our hotel. I really loved the hotel breakfasts. We spent the bulk of the day shopping at the outlet malls, pulling off shenanigans like trying on every single item of clothing that Banana had for sale and then actually buying them online because they were way cheaper online. On our way home we stopped off on a whim at this place called Perfect Pear Bistro and it was so good. Pears should be in all foods including tacos and quesadillas. A fact I didn't realize until I ate there.

We were pretty tired, but we knew if we didn't force ourselves go out and enjoy the pool we would not ever make it to the pool for the trip so we trucked down there. It was difficult not to hate being with Heidi since I was insanely jealous of her swimsuit. However, thanks to our years of friendship and understanding I was able to move past my jealousy and have fun. It was such a beautiful desert night. I am so glad we didn't just take a nap like I wanted to.

After our swim we were past dinner time, but still wanted a treat so we tried the old classic Sugar Bowl and had treats. They were fine, but they weren't as good as the old timey decor that charmed us both. After dinner we walked around a bit and burned off some ice cream.

The next morning after enjoying the most delicious breakfast potatoes of our lives at the hotel we went over the mall and got us some tickets to the movie I Feel Pretty. It was the perfect distraction from my insane excitement of the upcoming concert. I honestly could barely stand the fact that we were seeing Taylor that night. It was too much. After lunch at the perfectly posh The Henry we went back to the hotel for a nap, but I didn't sleep a wink. I was too worked up.

I didn't want to be late to the stadium, but the traffic was insane. My phone took us on some side streets that were apparently faster than the freeway, but it still took us too long. Thankfully, we had left with enough time so we didn't feel too stressed out. When we got there we couldn't believe how big the stadium was. Neither of us had ever been to a place so big. We walked around and took some pictures before we realized we were too excited and we just had to get in.

A little over a week prior to the concert I had looked online to see what seats were available because Ashley and I were still trying to sell two extra tickets and I spotted the low price for front row floor seats and I could not believe how cheap they were. I had just spent as much to see Justin so my idea of how much tickets should cost had changed. However, I didn't want to go and buy even more tickets, making me have to sell the ones I currently had. I called Ashley and she suggested that I call Ticketmaster and see if they let you upgrade your tickets. And guess what? They do. So I went ahead and moved us up to the front on the floor. Not gonna lie, It made the whole thing like 50% more exciting as we went in and walked our little selves to the front. When we actually got to our seats, we were kind of overwhelmed with how close we were and how big it all was. Taylor was going to be SO close we were pretty excited. Before the show started we even saw Mama Swift!

Oh my gosh when she first came out I was so emotional. I was kind of ridiculous. I love her so much and she was right there! Unfortunately with the way they had the stage set up, sometimes we couldn't see Taylor, and that was a bummer. But when she did come our way she was so crazy close to us I could barely believe it! The whole thing was amazing, but what entertained me the most was how adorable and happy she was. She is such an outstanding performer and she basically put on the best production I have ever seen. It made me so excited to see it again with Stella.

We had a pretty annoying dad sitting behind us and and he kept pushing his daughters in front of us and out in the aisle. I was quite annoyed because I worked hard for those seats. Then at the end there was this larger than life guy trying to stand in front of me to take videos and I was so annoyed with him. I guess most people just let you do whatever, but not me buddy! I was sad that we had to have that confrontation with other people. But honestly, I don't think about it much now, I just remember the magic of it all.

We were in no hurry to get out of the venue after the show, and we knew we would be stuck in traffic forever so we walked over to this restaurant area since we hadn't had time for dinner before the concert. We just picked a random place and we were the last people to get any food. Our waitress was the craziest waitress I have ever had. She swore like a sailor and she just kept complaining about everyone else that night. I was just nice to her, because I was half scared and half entertained by her. By the time we were finally done we made our way to our car and hotel.

It was about 1 AM by the time we got home and Heidi crashed right away, but I was too  worked up. I found three pictures of us in other people's Instagram posts that are fun because they give you and idea of where we were sitting.

When I woke up to my alarm 3 hours later, I felt terrible. I definitely was a little sick and topping that with my exhaustion I think I felt the closest I've ever felt to hungover in my life. Neither of us could even stomach any of the food at the breakfast buffet. We just got in the car and left for the airport. We got all the way to the car rental when I realized we had forgotten to get gas. So thankfully we had enough time to do that. I was just so out of it and dazed. There were a lot of people at the airport with Taylor stuff on and I talked to one girl and she told us that she was chosen as one of the lucky like 30 people to meet Taylor after the show. I never have believed that anyone actually meets her, so it was fun to talk to her and get the scoop. I tried not to get my hopes up for Denver, but it was impossible.

Heidi flew home from Salt Lake and that was the end of our trip. When I thought about how long it had been since we had traveled just the two of us, I realized that we had never been on a trip without our kids or husbands. 20 years of being BFFs and we had never gone somewhere alone, so it was long overdue. It was a great time and I'm so glad I shared it all with Heidi.