Summer 2009

Since this summer has been the best of my life (not to mention my last one as a kid), I've decided to write about all of the major events so that I'll never forget them. Sure, I'll always remember them happening, but I want to have something to look back on and vividly be able to remember. Because, if you know me, you know how horrible my memory truly is.

June 8th, 2009 - June 13th, 2009
The first week of summer.
Monday started a three day softball camp for girls grades 5-7. The first two days were extremely hot and sunny and I got sunburn for the third time in my life. On Tuesday, though, I got a text from a friend asking if I had any tickets to the game (Penguins). I said no but gave him my dad's phone number who then, I guess, gave him someone else's number who got them tickets. Then he needed a place to stay. So, my parents let him and his super sweet friend (who was from Detroit, but that's besides the point) stay at our house. Now, if you know my parents and you know who this guy is, then you'll understand how big of a deal this was. Plus, I rarely get to see him because he only comes home once a year and we're both so busy with our different sports, so it was really nice to spend a little time together.
Tuesday night the Penguins forced a Game 7 to be played on Friday June the 12th. And we won. It was probably the most amazing sporting event I've ever seen. I was so happy I almost cried. I don't need to write much about that because I have it on video.

June 25th, 2009 - July 4th, 2009
Vacation.
We had over 20 people staying in the house all week. My family is completely nuts but I love them to death. The time flew by while we were there but it was definitely one of the best trips yet. Kate and I actually spent a lot of time with the rest of our cousins and became closer with Lauren and Katie.

July 6th, 2009
The Days Difference and Plain White Ts concert.
This started my 'concert season'. After buying our tickets the night before, me, Gretchen, Kate, Lauren, and my mother all set out for the Mr. Smalls Theater located in Millvale, PA, just outside of Pittsburgh. The place was extremely small; it was an old church converted into a stage, open floor, and bar. We got there at exactly 6 o'clock, which is when the doors opened, and were surprised that we had managed to get second row right by the mic stand on the right of the stage. We were honestly extremely happy for that. We took shifts going to get shirts and kept our spot. Then, by some miracle, the girl in the front row by us finally went to look for her friends and left a spot big enough for the four of us. So, we ended up with front row 'seats'.
Days Difference opened the night and they were fantastic. At this point, it had been eight months that I had been talking to them, so I was excited to finally see them in person. Jeremy and Micah kept singing to us the entire set and we got to touch both of their hands at least once. I don't think Jeremy's eyes left Kate's face for over half the set.
The next band to play was called Company of Thieves. They were okay. We weren't really interested in them. Part way through their set, I spotted Jeremiah and Micah and went to ask them when they'd be meeting people because when I had talked to Jon the day before all he told me was that it'd be after their set at the merch table. But Jeremiah said that security was freaking out and they would have to wait until the entire show was over. He also said they were meeting people outside during Company of Thieves but security wouldn't let anyone back in unless they bought another ticket. So we decided to wait.
The Plain White Ts were one of the best bands I have ever seen live. I only knew a handful of songs but I still had the time of my life. It was definitely one of my favorite all time performances. Oh, and did I mention the three pranks? During one of Tom's solos, Mike came out with a trumpet and wasn't even on key. Then Jeremy and Jon came out dressed as shirtless ninjas during Take Me Away. And finally, the guys of Company of Thieves came out and did a dance to 1, 2, 3, 4. The on-stage chemistry between all the bands and band members was phenomenal.
Since we glimpsed the Plain White Ts setlist, we knew what their last song was going to be. So, Gretchen and I made our way out of the crowd and to the back where my mom was sitting in the bar. We were gushing about how thankful we were that she had agreed to bring us when I spotted Jeremy, Jeremiah, Jonathan, and Micah standing in front of their merch table just watching the show. So, Gretchen and I wandered over, but I didn't want to seem like a stalker and forced her to leave them alone to watch their friends in peace. When the last chorus of the song came on, they walked RIGHT in front of us. We stood there with our mouths open for a few seconds then ran after them. We were the first people in line to meet them, got hugs, and introduced ourselves. By the time I got to Jeremiah and Jon, girls were swarming in from all directions. But what I thought was really cool was that as soon as I told Jeremiah and Jon that my name was Liz they knew who I was! So, we got pictures and had to force our way out of the crowd. I felt really bad for the guys, but they were so sweet to everyone about everything.

July 13th, 2009 - July 15th, 2009
Basketball Camp.
This year was nuts. Our skit got first place for the first time ever and learning it was a great experience for the team. We did the 'Kayla Zaken Dance'. Our team has gotten so close these past four years and it shows on the court. We're better than we've ever been.

July 17th, 2009
The All Time Low, We the Kings, Cartel, and Days Difference Concert
This was my second concert of the summer and second one in less than two weeks. I didn't really know much about All Time Low, We the Kings, or Cartel, but I wanted to see Days Difference again. So, me and my best friend, Alex, went. She had gotten her ticket the day before off of someone who was going to go but couldn't. I had bought mine a few days before but it couldn't be shipped in time so I had to get it from the box office. We didn't realize that the box office opened at the same time as the gates. But Alex was in line and said she would get us the best spot she possibly could. She made good on her promise. She actually ran down the lawn with an umbrella and got us second row spots. I got there as quickly as I could, but still managed to piss a few people off as I shoved my way to my friend.
I noticed Jeremiah sitting under a canopy about an hour before the show was going to start and swore he was staring at me. When I looked over again a few minutes later, he was still staring in our direction so I waved. And he waved back. So, he was staring at me. Which was pretty damn awesome. Then, when Micah, Jeremy, and Jon joined him, they were staring again and Jeremiah was saying something, pointing and smiling. But I didn't wave again.
Half an hour before the concert even started, it rained. Not just rained, it poured. We were completely soaked in minutes. This was made more pleasant, though, because Alex Gaskarth decided to have a 'dance party' and 'DJ' with his iPod. My friend Alex and I managed to become friends with three girls next to us from Ohio during this time. The one girl who was with them kept shouting "PLAY LADY GAGA!" and I kept thinking "I hope he plays Just Dance". So, when he announced that he was going to place one more song and then paused before saying, "How about some Lady Gaga?", the girl next to us started practically hyperventilating. It was really funny. But then Just Dance started playing and Alex and I screamed and started yelling the words at the top of our lungs.
As soon as Days Difference took the stage, the rain stopped; no lie. They were great again. About half way through their set, though, just after Falling Into You, Jeremy reached his hand out for the first time. And chaos followed. All the people behind us pushed forward and the barricade snapped, causing everyone to fall forward. I managed to stay kind of upright but Alex went falling down on top of someone in the front row. Apparently, the girl's elbow went into Alex's stomach and she started to feel sick. The expressions on the guys' faces were priceless, though. Micah's eyes were so wide and when we made eye contact I mouthed 'This is nuts' and he started to laugh. Jeremy is in denial that it was his fault the barricade snapped and was very upset when I blamed it on him a few weeks later. The finished the set, though, and it was great. Security and Alex continued to freak out on the crowd when they kept trying to push forward, but other than that, everything went smoothly.
Cartel was next and Alex and I had left the second row to take a seat on the lawn in the very back. We only knew two of their songs and they were kind of boring to watch. They sounded great live, but they didn't really interact with the crowd. We saw an Escalade and since Alex is in love with Cadillacs, I told her to go jump on it. Only later did we find out that Days Difference was inside returning from a trip to Chick-a-fila.
We the Kings were fantastic. Alex and I stood up at the back of the crowd to watch them. My favorite part? "Let's get naked! Not, naked so I'll get arrested, but, naked naked."
I can't even begin to describe how good All Time Low was. There was only one mosh pit, but it was right by where Alex and I were standing. This was the first one I'd ever seen so I was a little scared. My favorite parts of All Time Low's set were: the conversations between Jack and Alex, Remembering Sunday, and when Alex got pissed at the sound guys and made everyone got riot around the sound tent since he was allowed to 'start' anything that would knock over the new barricade.
As All Time Low was finishing their last song, I glanced to my left and saw turquoise pants through the thin trees. I nudged Alex and said, "There they are." Her eyes went wide so I asked, "Do you want to go now?" and she nodded her and head jumped up so fast I hardly had time to react before she was ripping the poncho we were sitting on out from under me. We speed walked up the grass hill and ran right into Jon, Jeremiah, and Jeremy. Alex actually squealed and said, "Oh my God, they're right there! What do we do?" I shrugged and walked up to Jon and had a wonderful conversation with him as we walked up the hill and out of the Amphitheater. We got pictures and he signed the shirt I had bought then Alex saw Jeremy and ran up to him yelling, "Oh my God, you're beautiful! Can I get a picture with you?" to which he responded with a hug and a, "Awe, thank you. Of course!" Then I talked to him about losing Micah and cell phones breaking before I got him to sign my shirt and take a picture. I was about to walk over to Jeremiah when I spotted Micah standing all by himself so I went and talked to him for a little while. My mom saw the picture of the two of us and swears we'd make the best couple ever. Then I got a quick picture with Jeremiah and got him to sign my shirt, too, before leaving because there were a crowd of girls waiting to talk to him.

July 25th, 2009
the Jonas Brothers, Honor Society, Jordan Sparks, and the Wonder Girls Concert
After becoming so close to Days Difference, my love for the Jonas Brothers was starting to fade. I was still really excited for this concert and everything and I still do like the Jonas Brothers, just not like before. We got there about 20 minutes before the show was scheduled to start and went straight to our seats, which were really good. All the opening acts did really good. Well, the Wonder Girls only did one song and they kind of freaked me out with trying to teach us the dance, so I hardly paid any attention to them. That was also when I fell completely in love with Honor Society because they were awesome and they waved 'Let's Go Pens' towels. The Jonas Brothers were really good, again, but everything was a little too over the top for me. I was disappointed because they didn't interact with their fans as well as they used to. Actually, they really didn't interact with the audience at all. But I got really good pictures this year.

August 1st, 2009
The Clarks Concert
I went to the Fayette County Fair and got to see the Clarks. They were really amazing live and it astounds me that they aren't famous anywhere except Pittsburgh.

August 14th, 2009
the Blink 182, Fall Out Boy, and Panic at the Disco Concert
We left Alex's house around 2:45 because Julie was late, as usual. We got to Post Gazette Pavillion a little before 4. We tailgated with the rest of the people there until around 5 and then set off to get in line. The gates opened at 5:30 and we had to sneak Alex's camera in down her pants. As soon as we got in, we went to the merch booth and got shirts. Then we went and claimed our spot on the lawn.
A band called Chester French opened and they were good but kind of weird. Then Panic at the Disco came on and they did really good. A shoe went flying through the seats area and the leader singer was singing the lyrics then went 'oh, look, a shoe!' and kept singing; it was really funny. During Fall Out Boy's set was when things started to get crazy. Our friend Shannon met up with us after their first song but left shortly after. As soon as she left, a mosh pit started to our left. Alex and I were the only ones in our group who had ever seen one before, but everyone was still pretty shaken up by it. Alyssa had actually had surgery on her head the day before and couldn't get hit there. Someone threw a shoe out of the mosh pit but it came back a few seconds later and hit Alex right in the face. She was okay, though, it was just pretty hilarious after we got over the shock of it. After that calmed down, Fall Out Boy played Don't Stop Believing and then it was time for Blink 182.
I swear, we were the only area in the whole place that had mosh pits. We asked Shannon and she said that there weren't any by her. They went on during Blink's entire set and it got old really fast. I really don't understand the point. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm there to watch the show, not try to beat the shit out of someone. We had one that would start up to the right of us then one that would start up to the left of us. They went on during the whole show pretty much, one at a time. During one, my friend Laura had someone get slammed into her, knocking her and I both to the ground since she fell into me. I knew this was bad as soon as it happened because we had been getting shoved all night and Laura was getting extremely pissed. I've never seen her that mad in my entire life and we've known each other for 12 years. I was still on the ground because people were getting shoved all around me but I saw Laura started to go into the mosh pit while Alex was yelling at her to stop. Well, according to the guy who hit her first, she punched him in the head. Then he went to hit her back but this huge guy started screaming, "Dude, you can't hit a girl!" Then they started yelling at each other while our group (which now consisted of the five of us and six other boys around our age) stood there in shock. Laura had a look on her face that clearly said 'I'm going to kill someone'. We asked her if she was okay and she simply said, "I lost my shoe." Before all Hell broke loose, we had everyone around us searching desperately for her flip flop by cell phone light. Finally, one of the boys we made friends with found it and we all breathed a sigh of relief. The rest of the concert passed smoothly, with the occasional mosh pit going on, but we managed to stay out of the action by standing in the middle of the boys we met.
Mosh pits aside, Blink 182 kicked ass. They were so good live. If I wasn't so close at All Time Low and didn't meet Days Difference afterwards, this would've been my favorite concert ever. Blink was just so fun to watch. I was really happy with the experience. Oh, and I fell down a hill when we were leaving the Post Gazette.

That was my summer in a nutshell. I might be editing this later. I got really tired of typing as soon as I got done talking about the Plain White Ts concert.