Imagination Movers Concert--AMAZING!

So today was the big day! We got up at the crack of dawn (actually, it was before that) and made the almost 4 hour drive to Houston. Evidently 59 is not as exciting as 1-20--there weren't as many big trucks for Dakin to look at, but with a little help from Little Einsteins, we made it there in an excellent mood.

Since we had a little extra time, we popped into the Hard Rock Cafe for some lunch. Dakin was pretty pumped about this--he kept saying 'sit table! sit table!'. The Cafe was full of children all headed for the same show we were!After we ate, we went next door to the concert and avoided the long line (wheelchair=membership has its benefits). The wonderful theater manager, who made everything so easy for us by working with us on handicapped seats, gave us our special tickets and we got in line to sign in for the Meet and Greet. And then, on strict mandate from Nana, who bankrolled this whole trip and therefore must be obeyed, we bought everything in sight. 2 shirts, a scribble stick, wobble goggles...the whole shebang.We got into our seats and got settled. They had seated us in front of a GIANT speaker, so I was a little apprehensive as to how Dakin would take it. I was expecting a DEFCON 1 meltdown, but he actually took the noise of the concert well!

The opening act was Choo Choo Soul. They were great!

And then the Movers! See how close we were? Big Dakin was sitting right next to those stairs. The Movers spent the whole concert going up and down them. Dave was closest to us, and saw Dakin from the stage. He came over to the stairs and played his bass for a minute right in front of Dakin, and then a minute later came down and interact with him. Nina and Scott also made a point to stop and touch Dakin on the arm and interact too!YAY! Warehouse Mouse, Dakin's favorite! The only Mover I got a good shot of was Dave, probably because he was like 15 feet from us.

Dakin was SO excited by Eddie the Monster showing up!!!

The concert was GREAT! Their music is so infectiously fun...we really enjoyed it. You can see in the lower right the small-child mosh pit that had begun to form...glad we were away from that!! And right after the concert, Dave did something very sweet--we were headed to the Meet and Greet when he comes back out and hops down on the floor right in front of us to give a tiny girl some stickers, telling her mom he saw her holding her hands over her ears the entire concert. I guess he felt bad and wanted to make it up to her with stickers. It was very sweet. After the concert, we had tickets to the Meet and Greet. This was the most stressful thing for Dakin--there were lots of kids in close proximity yelling. That didn't go well, but he got over it. The Movers came in and sang two songs. This pic is Dave showing Rich his guitar pick that he had lost.

After the songs we had the photo op. It was so great to meet these guys and Nina--they were wonderful with Dakin. I think Dakin was a little overwhelmed by everything, but he did manage to answer with a 'yeah' when Dave asked him if he had had fun. He also gave Scott kisses, which I didn't see but Daddy did. Rich told Daddy that Dakin is special and kept saying how beautiful he is (to which I should have replied 'of course he is. He's my kid.' :) )

And then we headed home. It took 5.5 hours because we managed somehow to go the wrong way and then we got a flat tire. Thankfully Daddy is a stud and took care of it in a jiffy.

Dakin did amazingly well with this whole thing. He ate (which he NEVER does when we go on big car trips), he handled the noise well and he was in just a great mood the whole day--well, until the flat tire, when he started with 'Go home. Go bed.' He hadn't had a nap, though, so that' understandable. :) FIFTEEN hours he was awake!!

We have waited three months for this concert, and it was so worth it. If you aren't familiar with the Imagination Movers, check them out. Their music is delightful--I absolutely love it. And we learned today that not only are they seriously musically talented, they are wonderful people too. I don't think I will ever forget them coming down the stairs to interact with Dakin. It will be a very sweet memory for us. A truly perfect day.

The pics from the Meet and Greet aren't up yet, but we will post them when they are!!