Mob Mentality

Oh, hey world....what's up?

Just kickin it here on the chair at 12:49 a.m., head swirling with at least 4 posts, none of which are anything exciting; and thinking about the presents I need to wrap, the cookies I need to frost, the kitchen I need to clean up and the sleep I SHOULD be getting.

Our adorable friends Chad and Erin (hi Erin, how are you?) just left after they surprised us with a visit.  It was a fantastical and lovely evening just chatting, laughing and hanging out.  I loved every minute of it, even if I got NOTHING accomplished.  See, I'm lazy like that anyway...I probably wouldn't have done anything anyway.  At least this way, I was having enjoyable conversation.

But, what I'm really here to talk about is how my plans for the day were thrown off rather early, all because of a little random excursion we took today.

You've all seen the youtube video of the people doing the Halleluia Chorus flash mob at that mall foodcourt right?  It was great.  Random people just stood up out of nowhere and began singing, while unsuspecting patrons looked on in bemusement.  It was quiet, sedate, lovely.

Well, someone here in AZ decided that a flashmob was in order at the Scottsdale Fashion Square.  Unfortunately, they thought telling every single person in the Tri-State area (which I know doesn't apply to us in Az, but I loved the reference, so just DEAL) was a good idea.  Which, I am inclined to DISAGREE with.  If by flashmob they meant frighteningly overfilling a small space with anxious sopranos and creating a literal MOB of egos...then yes, they succeeded.

Jere thought it would be fun to go.  Get our halleluia on, if you will.  So, because I'm me, we were rushing around trying to get out the door.  Max was a vision of put togetherness.  Maggie looked like we picked her up out of a dumpster (though still cute) and I just looked puffy.  BUT, we headed for the land of the rich and snooty.  The traffic was horrible, because as I mentioned, apparently everyone on the PLANET was trying to get there to participate.  We finally got into a parking garage, NO PARKING.  Jere was getting stressed, he was ready to give up and go home.  But hells to the NO.  We did NOT just make all this effort, waste this gas to NOT get in there and sing us a song.  So, Julie offered to pay for valet, she let us out and we hustled our booties up the "alligator" (which is totally what Max calls the escalators) and into the mall.  As we neared the foodcourt the decibal levels increased exponentially.  I don't quite know HOW to explain the sight.  There were people standing shoulder to shoulder on all three levels, along the railings, squished throughout the entire food court, etc.  It was LOUD and INSANE!!  And yet, in spite of the sheer VOLUME of people, we still totally ran into a family we know really well, a girl I hadn't seen in at least 10 years, my music director for Oliver, a friend from shows, AND my highschool choir director.

So, Noon hits and there is no blare of the organ, the music doesn't start.  APPARENTLY the jackholes pre-empted the stated time and sang at 11:45.  WTF?  There were A LOT of people none to pleased with this.  Have I mentioned a MOB?  And after a few minutes of wondering and confusion....the foodcourt erupted again in song.  Which is a good thing, because I'm fairly sure there would have been a revolt of epic proportions and Paradise Bakery would have been taken down in the stampede.

There we stood with 2000 of our "closest friends" singing the Halleluia Chorus from the Messiah.  I won't lie....it was really cool.

I'm glad we went.  And I especially love that after it was over, I was carrying Maggie and she was fully humming the chorus (she's never heard it before).  I'm realizing more and more...she's a SHARP tac that one.  She learns music REALLY quickly.  I WISH you all could hear her rousing rendition of Angels We Have heard on High.  She belts that bad boy out with all the moving vocal parts on teh Gloria, and she' on pitch too.  Unfortunately, she saves her vocal skills for mostly US.  Though, Chad and Erin DID get to hear her best rendition of it ever tonight.

Us crazy kids, out to sing with the masses.

What's with my crazy eyes?  I don't know.

These pics so do NOT do justice to the volume of people that were crowded in there.

Our grand adventure culminated in a lunch out at the Olive Garden, in which many breadsticks were consumed, soup was eaten, stomachs were filled, AND  Maggie wrote her name for the first time.  No really, WROTE her name.  You know she's THREE right?  I might have shed a wee tear, which is a little embarassing, but I just couldn't believe she did it.

Maggie figured out how to write an A the other day.  So, I asked her to draw one for her Daddy.  Then, I asked her to draw an M, which she totally did. I was intrigued now, so I asked her to draw an I...she did.  So finally I cautiously asked for an E.  She drew them all and they were right, well the E was backwards and had an extra arm, but she knew the gist.  So, I asked her if she wanted to write her whole name.  I wrote it out for her and Jere worked with her on tracing it first and then writing it out herself.

I think this shall forever be one of my FAVORITE pictures ever.  She worked diligently on it and then totally and cmopletely, on her own wrote out her name, followed by Max's.  You guys, I seriously had NO IDEA the things she can do.  Since I've mentioned I'm a lazy parent and don't sit and work with her on this stuff.  It was awesome.  And you had better believe that I TOTALLY saved that menu and it's going in her baby book.

After we were all sufficiently full, we rolled ourselves home and got absolutely NOTHING accomplished.

All in all, a GREAT day!

Now, for your viewing pleasure, a look at the MOB we sang in today.  Just know the crowd went out on all sides.  And, we sound pretty dang GREAT!

Halleluia forever and ever,

Allyson