OMG! It's Taylor Swift!!!!!

My letter to Taylor Swift went viral. A fellow heart mom connected us with Ford Field and got us special parking and attention. Then my aunt and cousins were on a mission to give Izzy the chance to meet Taylor Swift.  A friend of theirs picked up the cause. She found a friend who had a friend and CaChing! Izzy's dreams were coming true!!!!!! Thank you Aunt Mary, Evonne, Gail, Susan, Kristina, Sarah, Ameera, and everyone else who helped this happen.

It is late and I am exhausted, so this will be mostly pictures.

First, one of the local news stations covered the story. They came to our house after school (did I mention it was the first day of school?).

First day of 7th grade for Phineas!

First day of 5th grade for Izzy! She made it two hours before she was too tired to stay.

Anyway, Channel 7 News came to our house to share the story. Izzy thought it was because of the blog post. She had no idea that her pictures were touring the internet with people from all over doing everything in their power to get her the chance to meet Taylor Swift.

As we were driving to the show, I received the email we had been waiting for: Taylor Swift agreed to meet us!!!!!!! We didn't tell Izzy because we wanted it to be a surprise. Izzy was happy, but feeling miserable in the car. Phin was complaining that we had to listen to Taylor Swift on the way to the show when we were going to hear her music all night long, but Izzy's smile through the pain made the music important.

 Then we saw the trucks for the tour and  Izzy got geeked out completely!!!!!!

We arrived at Ford Field and they had a parking spot set aside for us! Talk about amazing.

We got to the doors of Ford Field about 4:55. We couldn't get in until 5:00 and Izzy was jumping out of her skin with excitement as we waited.

 There was a delay because of sound check, so we didn't get in until 5:15, but we had to be at the Ford Field offices by 5:30 for our meet and greet. That meant we booked upstairs to get a quick snack, then back to the Ford Field offices (we had bought the pre-concert dinner that went from 5-7pm). Anyway, Izzy still didn't know why we were in the offices and not eating dinner as planned. She was getting antsy waiting for her surprise. She didn't feel it was going to be worth the wait, especially since she wanted more of the yummy nachos she tasted for dinner. We goofed around with pictures to try and occupy her.

Everyone in the offices thought it was crazy that Izzy was the only one who didn't realize we were all there to meet Taylor Swift in person. Then, Sarah (who was amazing) came out with bracelets for all of us that said: Taylor Swift Meet & Greet. Izzy read that and was confused. In this first video, you can tell she was not understanding fully what was going on.

A couple seconds later, it really hit Izzy that she was going to meet Taylor Swift. Izzy was speechless. Floored. We have never, ever seen her this way. She freaked out completely.

From there, we had to wait. At 6pm, we went down to the basement. Once there, we waited outside the dressing room for a long time. No cameras were allowed, so we don't have real evidence, but Izzy was completely freaking out. She wanted to leave because she was so incredibly scared (good thing we didn't tell her earlier or she would not made the car ride downtown). We had to talk her down several times. She even said: "My dream is becoming reality and my reality is becoming a dream. I don't know if I can handle that." And it didn't like she was going to be able to handle it.

Finally, we went back. The parlor area was fantastic. There were costume cases and places to sit. Izzy was immediately drawn to a sparkly, rainbow jacket. We stood in line again to go behind a curtain, where Taylor Swift was standing. Yikes!!!!!

Then we went into this little photo booth area. Taylor immediately gave each of us hugs. She took one look at Phineas and said "That is the best hair I have seen in a long time." Phineas was freaking out and not going near Taylor and not talking to her. She said "He hates me." I told her "no; he's just nervous." She then turned back to Izzy, looked at Izzy's dress and commented on how much she liked it and Izzy's necklace. Izzy was still speechless. I didn't know Izzy could become speechless, but she was. Then Taylor talked to Izzy about how difficult coming to shows is and how she is happy Izzy could make it, then complemented Izzy's shoes and Izzy became Izzy again. We then took a picture with all of us and Taylor Swift! Taylor gave Phin another hug, asked him to stand next to her, but he was too nervous. The picture was taken. She thanked us for coming. We thanked her for meeting with us. And that was that. Taylor Swift was wonderfully nice and considerate. She took time to make the moment special for both kids.

Got this picture emailed Wednesday morning so we can post!

A moment never to be forgotten. Dreams really do come true!!!!

We each received autographed photos and Izzy held hers above her head as we drove her through the halls of Ford Field. She was ecstatic!

From there, we went back to the food. We had 15 minutes to grab dinner before the show. When we got to our seats, a camera was in the spot for Izzy's wheelchair.

But, everyone at Ford Field was wonderful. And soon we had new seats that were actually better because all 4 of us were together (instead of Dale and Phin in the row in front of Izzy and I).

Izzy was not happy waiting through the opening acts. She even asked to go home (it was 1.5 hours after bed time). We made her wait and she was so happy that she stayed!

Still waiting for Taylor Swift to perform.

Chocolate dippin' dots made things happier!

Izzy was just a tad excited when it appeared that Taylor would be taking the stage!

 

  

This is when Izzy realizes Taylor Swift is directly in front of her singing!

 

 

Izzy was having so much fun and so animated that the woman working in our section for Ford Field gave Izzy a tour book. When she wakes up Wednesday, Izzy wants to read it. 

This guy had so much fun! He loved the concert. And remember how I said he didn't listen to Taylor Swift's music on the way to the show. On the way home, he did!

Taking a break. The show was exhausting.

Izzy didn't have anything left to dance or stand, so Daddy picked her up to see.

 

Izzy was beyond exhausted at this point. She couldn't move. She was in pain--legs, chest, and tummy. She didn't want to leave though because just listening was enough. Finally, another 10 minutes passed and she couldn't stay any longer.

We left before the show ended. As we were heading to the car, another person who worked for Ford Field saw us and asked if Izzy got a shirt for the night. We said no, and Ford Field got her a Taylor Swift shirt! Evonne got Phin a key chain that he put on his backpack as soon as we got home tonight.

All I can say is that this was the most amazing night ever. Ever. Dreams do come true. Thank you to everyone who made this dream a reality!!!

Bucket list item checked off!