This...is AMERICAN IDOL!

Where do I begin? Well, I guess it all began about three months ago when I got on the American Idol website to sign up for tickets to the show. As the season was winding down and we were making plans to move out the OK, I just thought it wasn't in the cards that I get to go to a taping. But then last weekend I got an e-mail saying that I could have up to 4 vouchers for a show. Ryan got one too (since I used his e-mail to sign up as well) so we got 4 for Tuesday night and 4 for Wednesday. Unfortunately Ryan was unable to get any time off work to come with me so I had to find people to go with me. On Tuesday, I went with my mom, Auntie Melanie and cousin Aubrey. (Thanks Lindsay for watching Ella!)


We had shown up to get in line (they give out more vouchers than they have seats for) at what we thought was an early enough time but we ended up getting seated at like 4:30--they start taping at 5:00 (to be live on the east coast.) I don't have any pictures because we weren't supposed to bring in any phones or cameras. We actually had pretty good seats; in the first section about half way back on the right hand side.

Now onto Wednesday. I guess I should explain a bit. Like I said before, they give out more vouchers than they have seats and since on Tuesday we were cutting it a little too close, I decided to get there about an hour and a half earlier on Wednesday. This time I was with my brother, Owen and his wife, Jules and their sis-in-law, Amy. So we're all in this line and the way they give out tickets is totally random. You could be the first one in line with the worst seat in the house. Or you could be like us and be about the 500th in line with the best seats in the house! Somehow we were given seats in the 2nd row! The only people that were in front of us were David Cook's family. That's right. Our new American Idol's family were the only ones with better seats than the four of us! Words can't even begin to describe the fun we had that night! First of all, it was just a cool concert to be at. To have 2nd row seats to Carrie Underwood, Seal, ZZ Top, George Micheal and all of the rest of the performers...not to mention the Top 12 American Idol kids...it was amazing! Then everywhere we looked...there were celebrities. Ruben Studdard sat to our left. Lori Laughlin (Aunt Becky from Full House) and her beautiful daughters were to our right. Teri Hatcher, Melinda Doolittle, Janice Dickensen, Jerry Springer, Blake Lewis. I actually went up to Blake Lewis during one of the commercial breaks and told him I had to tell me sister that I shook his hand (actually it's my bro-in-law, Mike, who has a little man crush on him but I thought that would creep him out.)
So since I had been there the night before and saw how breifly they checked your purse, I thought I'd try to sneak in my camera this time. I was really scared every time I took it out that I would get caught and kicked out but I managed to sneak a few pictures.

Here's Paula with the guy whose job it is to "pump up the audience"


The Top 12 (with the crazy stage manager in the red bandana)


This was right after David Cook won