Of Toby Mac....and fun......and craziness.

Two Saturdays ago, my family and I went to the Winter Wonderslam, featuring Toby Mac, Brandon Heath, and House of Heroes.

And let me tell you: it was amazing.

It all started a few months ago, when we found out that our friends live two doors down from Mr. Ken McKeehan. Yeah, that's right-----Toby Mac's dad.
So, my brother Aiden took it upon himself to introduce himself to Mr. McKeehan. And thank goodness he did!!!!!

Fast forward to two Thursdays ago. Mom had just finished reading our history when the phone rings. Caller ID says 'Ken McKeehan.' I start to hyperventilate as Mom answers the phone. She and Mr. McKeehan talk for what seems like forever, until they finally hang up.

The boys and I practically pounce on her. She's like, "Well, Mr. McKeehan said that, if we were going to the concert, he could get us VIP passes to meet Toby."

*insert girly scream mixed with boy screams*

Originally, we weren't going to the concert {not in the budget} but once Dad found out that we would get to meet Toby Mac, he was totally on board.

I'm going to let these pictures now tell the rest of the story...with a little input from me here and there. ;)
And yes, I am breaking my rule about not showing my face....you all can just pretend not to know who I am. *giggle*

So yeah, that's us.....with Toby Mac.  To say we were excited would be the understatement of the year. Do you see Toby's hand on Aiden's shoulder?!?!? How totally cool is that? And then his scarf matches his eyes....no joke. If you care to zoom in on his eyes, you'll totally see it. (:

Well, like the picture says....this is Mr. Gabe, Toby's 'assistant.' I'm thinking he's a little more than that....considering he sang all the songs with Toby. *laugh*

{btw, I made these pictures extra large, just so you guys could have a better look}. Here's one of the opening songs.....probably Tonight or Showstopper.

Ha, my brother and I made a bet on which song Toby would play first: Tonight, or Showstopper? Aiden went for the former; I for the latter. *grumble mixed with a sigh* Of course, Toby played Tonight first. Which means I owe Aiden a soda.....how annoying is that?!?

After a few 'hard' songs {mom's quote, not mine!} Toby, Gabe, and his guitarist came out on the catwalk and played a few 'softer' songs....Hold On, Gone, and a few others I didn't recognize. But what made it totally awesome was that, instead of drums, Gabe himself became a human-beatbox. He literally, with his voice, made up the beat. *amazed face*

We really weren't as close as these photos suggest.....my mom's camera just has a pretty good zoom. =D

All the songs performed were breathtaking. Especially Funky Jesus Music. As that was played, up on the bigscreen came a cool video of other Christian artists dancing and singing along!!!! The list included Mercy Me {which was hilarious}, Barlow Girl {totally cool}, David Crowder{oh, so funny}, and Third Day {which made Mom happy}. If you care to watch, here's a pretty good version. Mind you, this is NOT MY VIDEO!!!

Okay, so this photo actually has a funny story. The one in the hat is Toby; his buddy {lol} is Brandon Heath.
A little earlier, Toby made a crack about how sick and tired he was of hearing Brandon's song, Give Me Your Eyes. He was like, "Everywhere I turn, I hear that song: in the grocery store, on my son's Ipod, on my car radio, and even on the way here, the lady who was driving us....her phone rang, and what was the ringtone? Give me your eyes, for just one second......." Toby sang the lyrics in a really obnoxious way, just to show us how annoyed he was.
And then, to top it all off, he said: "Seriously, if I hear that song one more time, I'm gonna KILL Brandon Heath!" *insert crowd laughter here*

He laughed too, then replied, "Nah, I'm just teasing. Brandon's a great guy, and I've been blessed to have him on this tour with me. "
Then, of course, out comes Brandon wearing a Toby Mac t-shirt!! The crowd starts cheering as Toby and Brandon start to sing Lose My Soul. *contented sigh* Now THAT was wonderful.

And then, way before I was ready for it to be over, Toby said goodnight and was gone. Well, being the great crowd that we were, we all stood and clapped. And clapped. And clapped. 
Finally, Toby got the hint and came back on. He and his band {Diverse City} really ended with City On Our Knees. Oh my word, that was one of the most perfect moments of my life. The whole arena was singing along with Toby.....and I really think God was pleased by our melodies that night.

So yeah, that was one of the best concerts I've ever been too. Don't worry---I have part two coming up very soon. And it's a personal favorite of mine. *wink wink*

Love you all,