The Weekend - Justin Timberlake Concert & Mother’s Day

Whew, where to even begin?  We just had a very busy three days, and I’m excited to recap it all for you on this Monday!

Friday I had back-to-back-to-back obligations so I was on the go most of the day.  Olivia and I dropped Jacob off at school at 7:30 AM and then she and I headed straight to her school for Muffins with Mom.  We had breakfast together and then she presented me with several handmade gifts, this one being my very favorite:

Lol.  I laughed so hard when I read all of her answers and this just let me know that I must be rocking this new position of stay-at-home-mom because – aaaallll the cooking and cleaning.  And, “Olivia go to the bathroom!” – I have no idea where that came from!  That is not something that I have to say often.  Now if she had said, “Olivia, go get dressed!” I would have completely understood that because she hears that about 11,000 times every single morning when it’s time to get ready.  #TheStruggleIsVERYReal

After Muffins with Mom, I ran a couple of errands – gas, Lowe’s to get some paint (I have a painting project coming up soon that I can’t wait to share!), – and then I had a doctor’s appointment.  After my appointment I had just enough time to run home, eat lunch, get caught up on a couple of things, and then it was time to head to Jacob’s school for Parents’ Day. 

His school does Parents’ Day instead of Muffins with Mom/Donuts with Dad because school isn’t in session during June around Father’s Day.  Instead, they just knock it all out at once at the end of the school year!  The kids served us chocolate chip cookies and drinks, we watched a presentation of the kids all saying why they love their parents, and then they presented us with the sweetest hand-drawn portraits and some questions they answered about us.  Love love love.

We were able to leave school a few minutes early and avoid the car line which was PERFECT, because we had to rush home to get ready for… JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE!  WOOP WOOP! 

My MIL came over shortly after we got home and then B and I headed out for a fun evening alone.  Naturally, ATL traffic was horrid (there’s just no way around it) but we somehow managed to get to the venue a whole hour and a half before the opening band started which gave us just enough time to grab a couple of hot dogs and beers for dinner.  After we ate, we met up with Adrienne because she and her friend were sitting just a few rows behind us! 

We headed to our seats around 7:30 PM and listened to the DJ that was doing the pre-show.  He did a great job of playing some old-school JT  and NSYNC songs along with some other fun songs from the early 2000’s to get the crowd hyped up, and then around 8 the opening band came out.  The opening band was the Shadowboxers who I had never heard of, but they were pretty good and I might have to check out some of their music on Amazon to see what I think.  They are pretty boy band-esque but with a little more of an edge and a few of their songs were pretty catchy!

Also, some old wrestler came out on stage before JT and everyone was cheering.  His name was Ric Flair (I had to Google it because I couldn't even remember his name) but the crowd went wild.  I had no clue who he even was!  Lol.

JT came out a little after 9 and I was so excited I could hardly stand it!!  Our seats were really great – we were in the lower level in the 11th row of the seats and we were right smack in the middle of the arena so we had a perfect view of all three of his stages.  JT used the main stage at the end of the arena, but his stage extended all the way to the other end of the arena and he ended up being out in the middle of the arena the most often, so we had a great view!  It would have been neat to be on the floor for this concert ONLY to have a chance to touch his hand (yep, I’m just a 15-year old girl at heart – haha), but I actually preferred sitting in the seats for this one so we could see him at all times and see everything else that was going on.  His show literally uses the entire arena side to side, floor to ceiling and there was always SO much going on and so much to see (lights, curtains, props, videos, etc.), so I loved being right in the middle and up away from the stage a bit to take it all in. 

This was my third time seeing him and this was by far my favorite of his concerts that I’ve been to.  It was just phenomenal.  He did a good mix of all of his old stuff and new stuff and he did a couple of montages that were great, too.  The majority of the show was really loud and used the full band, but about midway through they set up a campfire scene complete with a real fire at one of the stages in the middle of the arena, and he and a few of his backup singer sat around the camp fire and sang acoustic.  The backup singers sang Fleetwood Mac, John Denver, and The Beatles.  It was pretty great!  They also sang Happy Birthday to one of the Tennessee Kids, and then toward the end of the show everyone brought out their lighters AKA phones (haha) and Justin sang Until the End of Time. 

And then I melted right into a puddle. 

I LOVE that song.  It’s probably my all-time favorite JT song.  So good.  Sigh.

He ended the show with Can’t Stop the Feeling, and people were still dancing like crazy all the way until the end!

A couple of fun facts – B and I are 40 and 36 respectively and we looked like some of the youngest people there.  The overwhelming majority of the crowd was probably mid-thirties to early-forties and beyond.  Also, there were just as many dudes there as ladies and every single one of them looked like they were loving it just as much as the ladies were… even the super-old gray-haired dudes.  And finally, my aunt texted me before the game to let me know that my cousin (who works for the University of Georgia football team) had been responsible for getting a package of UGA goodies together for JT and his crew because they had been in contact and had requested some.  #GoDawgs!  #JTHasExcellentTaste  #ButWeAlreadyKnewThat

The evening was just perfect and it was everything that I had hoped for, and I went home feeling warm and fuzzy.  B and I had a long drive home and didn’t get in the bed until almost 2 AM Friday night, but it was worth it!  And if you want to see some of the action, follow me on Instagram!  I recorded some of the concert in my stories and I saved them in my "Live Music" highlight so they will be out there permanently!  

Saturday we didn’t get out of bed until after 9 AM.  Miraculously the kids didn’t get out of bed until 8 and then they played quietly while B and I stayed in bed a little longer.  We had a late breakfast of homemade waffles and then I finally got around to cleaning out the kids’ cup/plate cabinet.  It was still chock-full of sippy cups, bibs, and other baby things, so I was able to get rid of a lot of old stuff. 

Here is the before:

And here is the after:

Doesn’t look like a huge difference by looking at the pictures, but it’s significantly better.  And I love it!

I was still recovering from the late night, so the rest of the day was spent out in the back yard.  I lounged around in the sun and read my book while the kids played in the sprinkler, and then we all headed in during the late afternoon to get ready for church.  Olivia requested a mani and pedi and she wanted to use her pink AND purple polish, so we did. 

Both kids were little angels at church and then the four of us headed to our favorite Mexican place for tacos and margs per Jacob’s request.  He went an entire month at school without getting a yellow or red light, so we told him he could pick dinner and dessert one evening as a little treat, and he wanted Mexican and Dairy Queen Blizzards.  Haha.

So after Mexican we were off to DQ!  B and I got ours to go since we were so stuffed, and then we headed home.  We finally got our American flag back up!  Nothing says summer like an American flag on the front porch!  And then B and I busted our Blizzards out after the kids went to bed while we watched our movie.  We watched Bad Moms and I thought it was really funny.  Between the margarita, all of the sunshine, and the lack of sleep from the night before, I was exhausted and I fell asleep and missed the last 20 minutes, so I re-watched the last few minutes Sunday evening.  Now we just need to see Bad Moms Christmas!  :o)

B had the kids up early Mother’s Day morning and he let me sleep in.  I went downstairs a little after 8 and they had made me the sweetest little cardboard cutout flower.  B had cut all of the pieces out, the kids had colored them, and then they taped gift cards for several of my favorite stores on the back so I can go shopping.  So, so sweet!

I made a Chocolate Éclair Cake while B ran to get donuts from our favorite local donut shop, and then after breakfast we all lounged around until it was time to go to my mother-in-law and step father-in-law’s house for Mother’s Day Lunch.

My step-FIL had grilled chicken (one of my favorites – his is SO good) and they had a bunch of other fixins – grilled potatoes, broccoli, black eyed peas, carrots, and garlic biscuits – and then we had my Chocolate Éclair Cake for dessert. 

After lunch the kids played outside again, but it was HOT – like 94 degrees hot – so we spent the rest of the afternoon inside.  My parents are at the beach this week so they weren’t around for Sunday dinner.  Instead, we made a pizza for dinner so I didn’t have to cook and then we spent a quiet evening at home doing sidewalk chalk, watering the plants, and relaxing. 

I am so, so thankful for another wonderful weekend and I’m even more thankful for the people who always make it so special.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekends!  Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mommies out there… mommies of human babies, mommies of fur babies, mommies of angel babies, and those who are mommies in their hearts.  Love to all of you!

Don't forget to link up with Heather, Johannah, and myself... just grab our new graphic and link up below!

*Linking up with B Loved Boston for Weekending and HoHo Runs for Weekly Wrap.

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