Drama at the Stadium of Fire....

I absolutely love the Fourth of July! I also know how unfun it is to have kids stay up late and be rocked off of their schedule, so it's been a good four years since we've stayed up to watch fireworks let alone go anywhere special to observe them. Well, this year, after talking to a neighbor who swore her two year old did great at the Stadium of Fire last year, I got brave and found last minute tickets on KSL.com to go see the exciting event a few days before the holiday. FIREWORKS + AMERICAN IDOL'S AlUMN, CARRIE UNDERWOOD....

Could it get any better?!

In my eyes, it was the opportunity of a lifetime, and Chris and I decided it was well worth chancing that our kids would actually sit still (a very rare thing) and behave well (huge risk given that the show didn't start until an hour past their 7:00 bedtime!).

The Hansens stake out a spot each year outside of the stadium. They have a picnic and watch the fireworks, so we stopped by on our way in to the big show. In case you can't tell, the kiddos are quite popular with the aunties and uncles (Top right: Chris' sisters Bethany and Sarah - Bottom Middle: Uncle Zach)

Then we were OFF to the stadium!...

BUT... not without an accident first. Little P tripped and fell just before reaching the gates and skinned his poor knee. The kid was HYSTERICAL all the way to our seats. Poor guy! I would have been too...I think the blood and the immediate swelled goose egg freaked him out all the more...

While Chris was off to find a bandaid, I, with my arms full of Emmie, purse and camera, my hand holding screaming P, scoot the 3 of us in through the crowded audience to the middle of our bench row.

Relieved to have made it, & feeling sorry for my little guy who was still in hysterics, I turned to comfort him when not thirty seconds after I sit down this nice lady:

{white shirt below)

whips around out of nowhere and very curtly says, "Will you get her FOOT OFF of me?!"

Whaaahut!?

I look down, and Emmie's (sitting on my lap) sandal is barely hanging over the back of her CLIP ON CHAIR, her toe lightly resting on the woman's back.

(The way that she said it you would have thought that we had just thrown up on her & believe me later in the night I was almost wishing one of my kids WOULD heave all over her crisp, white shirt...)

Uhhh.. Seriously?! I just sat down, lady -GIVE ME A BREAK!

Shocked, I muttered a "sorry" and that we were just getting situated....

Nevermind that I'm comforting my hysterical, bleeding three year old, and that we'd only been sitting there SERIOUSLY for 30 seconds when she freaked on me AND had she waited another minute or so for me to assess the fact that her clip on seats that they brought were cutting a good three inches (before they sat back in them) into my very little leg room to begin with!!!

UMMMM, I'm thinking you're the one guilty of invading MY space, woman!!

So for the next ten minutes that Chris was gone, she kept throwing me these nasty looks over her shoulder and huffing and puffing and rolling her eyes in sideways glances - to the point that it angered me so much I was fighting back tears. (we weren't even doing anything!)

I TOTALLY get being bugged by some kid kicking your seat or touching you for 5 or more minutes when you've paid money for something, but GIVE US A CHANCE! We had just sat down! I'm always that mom afraid that my kids are going to drive the people surrounding us crazy & that is why we never attempt things like this. & the one time we finally do, of course we had to have the wicked witch of the west in front of us.

I HATE RUDE PEOPLE!!!!

So for the entire show, I was on edge trying to make sure that no one touched Queenie's chair. I don't know why, I should have let them kick away! Seriously! They were the ones invading our leg space to begin with and were lucky that they had 5'1 ME sitting behind them opposed to my 6'1 husband who is twice my weight because HE wouldn't have fit behind their stupid egocentric chairs. I was sitting sideways and was completely squashed! I was afraid to relax my legs the entire time!

DEEP BREATHES

I am not normally a grudge carrying person at all or someone that takes things personally... I am pretty good at letting things just run off my back....but one thing I don't tolerate well are MEAN PEOPLE!!!

CAN YOU TELL!??! :)

Well, I wasn't going to let her completely ruin my one shot at Carrie Underwood LIVE and watching my kids enjoy fireworks for their first time (their ears stuffed with earplugs). So despite the reminder that some people are incredibly rude, insensitive and completely tactless, I did still manage to enjoy the show! Thank goodness. Carrie Underwood was amazing and tacked on an incredible rendition of 'How Great Thou Art' to the end of 'Jesus Take the Wheel'. Being such big American Idol fans made it all the more exciting for us to be there. WE LOVE her! (yes - even Chris who professes to hate every other female singer!)

The kids were sooo good & P said of the fireworks that he liked them, but that they were too long and too loud...he was really tired and told me several times that he just wanted to go to bed. But all in all he was a trooper. Even the NICE lady behind us kept commenting on how good the kids were. We need more people like that in the world! What a contrast to the woman in front of me!

What I learned in all of this was just to trust my mommy instincts. Events like that are too stressful with tiny kids. We won't be doing it again next year. But for Carrie Underwood, this year it was worth it even with the worse possible person sitting in front of us! :)