My FIRST Joe Tweet!

August 15, 2009 at 7:28pm EST was my very first Joe McIntyre tweet. He had just finished his work on the summer tour and some of his work on his solo stuff. He was starting a vacation and let us know he was relaxing by tweeting a pic of his legs at the pool. I sent a tweet asking for a pic of his upper body in relax mode. Here is the next tweet he sent:

joeymcintyre: RT @RocksicleLover: @joeymcintyre How about a pic of the upper body in relax mode? ;) JM: ok http://twitpic.com/e1u6o

See pic below! :)

Midwest Facetime Hunting Trip - June 23 - June 28, 2009

My friends Stephanie, Angie, Nicole and I planned out a Midwest Facetime Hunting Trip for the Full Service tour. We called it that because when we were planning it and talking about asking hubbys if we could go, Nicole said "My husband goes hunting all of the time, why cant I?" The plan was:
Wednesday, June 23 - Stay the night in Detroit.

Thurdsay, June 24 - Concert in Clarkston, MI - I had 5* tickets.

Friday, June 25 - Concert in Tinley Park, IL.

Saturday, June 26 - Concert in Cincinnati, OH - I was a Let's Get This book drive volunteer

Sunday, June 27 - Concert in Indianapolis, IN - I upgraded to 5*

WEDNESDAY - HOTEL IN DEARBORN, MI - We had reservations at two different hotels in hopes of staying at the same one as the guys. We found out they were staying at the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn thanks to a girl on Twitter who decided to be nice to me and tell me. Luckily, we already had reservations there! Our friend Dawn went there to confirm and saw buses. She asked a security guy if it was NKOTB and he said yes. Then she saw Joe walking Duncan! We left my house and drove to the hotel.

We arrived in my car that had window marker all over it stating we were NKOTB fans. It was a little emabarassing to drive up to a fancy hotel like that. THEN, as we were getting our stuff out of the car onto vallet, Joe, Barrett, Griffin and Duncan were coming back from a walk to the mall. Joe looked over and we waved. He smiled back and waved or indicated he was saying hi. We got our stuff together then headed inside to check in. They came in after us as we were checking in and walked right behind us. I was literally shaking as I handed over my credit card! They stayed in the lobby area for a little bit. The hotel staff person asked me the purpose of our visit. I said a concert. They asked "Who?" I pointed at Joe (still shaking) and said "His". Joe had taken Griffin over to the elevator area and was standing there talking to Fish. We walked past again, got in and went up to our room. Once inside we freaked the eff out!!!!! Lots of jumping, squeeling and running around crazy.

We then heard from Dawn that Jon was downstairs outside so we went down and acted like we had to go to the car to get something. We walked by and he was sitting on a loveseat smoking and texting. Looked like he wanted to be left alone. We went to the mall to get lunch. On the way to the car, we saw the McIntyre family walking around again with Duncan. I swear, that dog has the SMALLEST bladder! Griffin was toddling around all by himself! So cute! After lunch we went to the indoor pool and listened to The Block while we swam and tried to tweet the band to get them to come to the pool. While at the pool, we saw Fish and also saw Jon walking back from somewhere outside. He stopped to talk to Jason (we didn't know who he was at this point) then disappeared.

After swimming, we decided to get dressed up and get some drinks in the lobby. I went outside to call my husband and my daughter and say goodnight. When I do that, I tend to talk like a baby and may even sing. I sat down where Jon had been earlier. Jason then came over and sat down right near me. I was embarassed about how I was about to say things like "Hi honey! How are you? Did you go potty today? Let's sing Twinkle Twinkle!" So, I actually got up and moved so that I could yell odd things in the phone in private.

I went back to the lobby and Joe, Barrett and Griffin came downstairs looking to go out to eat. Rob Lewis and Chris were also downstairs milling around. I went back outside to "call soemone" (total lie just so I could get my thoughts together). I received a text and started to answer it while standing in the doorway. That was until Joe and his family were walking up, then I darted into the bar. The McIntyre's left to go get dinner.

We started to get hungry so we all got in the car and drove around the mall area looking for somewhere to eat. We finally decided on Bravo and as we were heading in, just across the sidewalk was Joe and Griffin walking around outside of PF Changs. I was terrified he was going to recognize us and think we were REAL stalkers so I literally turned around and started walking back to the car. The girls talked me down and I eventually turned around again and avoided him like the plague as we walked into Bravo (although I totally peeped at them from the inside).

We finished dinner and were headed back to the hotel to have a few more drinks and I got a call that Jordan was in the lobby having a drink. We walked in and immediately saw him to the left talking with some people. I took my computer out into the lobby and while we were trying to get it to work (stupid internet connection), Ethan walked by. I yelled hi and he came over and gave me a hug and asked me if I was a Twitter friend. I said yes. We chatted about how he was going to a club and he told us to go but I explained I was lame and wanted to stay here on my computer. I told him he smelled great and he said thank you. Then Jason walked up (by now, someone told me who he was) and I said, "I know you too! I recognize you from Twitter!" Jason made a face like "OH NO!" and ran away. Ethan started CRACKING up! So much so that he ended up just laughing his way out of the hotel with Chris. Jason went over to Jordan, whispered something then walked away. We never got an explanation for it!

While in the lobby, we also saw Taylor Hicks walk in. He hung around downstairs for a while then let but his friend stayed down there. We went into the same lobby room as Jordan and drank for about a half hour to an hour with him right there. Jason was also with him. We never said hi but we did share space. ;) Honestly, we had heard he had told someone else that it was his "day off" so we didn't want to bother him, but we couldn't leave!!!! When he headed upstairs at 1am, some other girl asked him if his back was feeling better. He just said "Well... eh..." and left. We stuck around for a little bit after he left, missed Joe's famous RANDY tweet (YES, I was in the same frickin' hotel as him that night and didn't even know he sent a tweet like that) and then headed to bed.

THURSDAY - CLARKSTON, MI - The next morning, Nicole and I went to go get bagels. When we got downstairs, take a wild guess who we saw. Joe, Barrett, Griffin and Ducnan were outside.... AGAIN. Joe had a backpack on and they were all headed to their bus. Griffin was so cute and was chatting up a staff person they saw outside.

After we ate and everything, our Canadian friends, Renee, Jackie and Tegan showed up downstairs. We had called them the night before to tell them the guys were in our hotel. We told them to get their butts here and stay with us and join the fun! They left late at night and got to Dearborn very late. They said they had come at 3:30am to see us and saw Jon outside. They started following him and said "Don't run away!" and he just said "Its my day off." End of convo. They were truly bummed. Especially the girl who was supposed to stand next to him during pictures!

In front of the hotel, one bus had pulled up outside and was sitting idling. The Canadians said Joe was on the bus. We chatted for a bit (we met these girls on Ning and they were going to be in our 5* group at DTE), then Joe came outside. A group of about 4 other girls started walking towards him and he said "Wait, I'll be right back." I wasn't going anywhere!!! He's coming back???? So I stood there longer even though my friends had gone to get the car and were gonna be PISSED when they found out what had happened. He came back and said "Ok, come here" to the girls. We went too. He took pics with them. They were gonna hold the camera themselves, but he said "No no no, lets do this the right way" and had someone else take the pics. He chatted up with a little guy who was under 5 and then it was my turn. I had my "I still love Joe" shirt on and he looked at it and said "Awww!" I said I was going to be at the meet and greet later so he'd see it again. We posed and took the pic. He finished with the Canadians and then got back on the bus and left. I got in my car, with some angry Joe girls, and headed to the venue.

It was crappy weather in line for the 5*. It rained and trees were dropping stuff on us too. But we did have umbrellas. We got assigned Group K and headed to the picnic area and the rain finally let up. We had hot dogs and hamburgers with chips. It was cool because I knew a lot of girls from the community boards.

While we were there, we found out (via Twitter) that Donnie was stuck on a plane. They wouldn't let him off until the lightning stopped. We didn't think it was possible for him to make it. The Donnie girls were heartbroken.

A few mintues later, the band came up to the picnic area to say hi. I grabbed Renee and walked right up to Rob Lewis and I introduced Renee as the girl with the "breakfast idea". He was happy to meet her and so I went to say hi to Chris (the drummer). I gave him a hug and I said I saw him earlier at our hotel an dhe said "Oh, YOUR hotel?" and smiled. I went to talk to Ethan, hugged him, and said I was the girl he laughed at the night before. He said, "Oh, you're the one who knew Jason" and started laughing AGAIN. I said yes. He said that was hilarious and he's never seen Jason act like that. "It was so funny!" I tried to tell him to apologize to Jason or tell me why it was funny, but he just kept laughing. I went over to Fish and told him I had seen him all over the hotel. He looked surprised and said "Oh really?" Then the rest of the VIP area came over to chat with the band, so I walked away.

Then, we started getting tweets that Michael Jackson had died. At first we didn't believe it, but later got confirmation. That was crazy. Very weird. Especially considering where we were and what we were doing. I left the VIP area and talked to Nicole for a bit. On my way back, Rob was leaving the VIP area while on the phone and was saying "I want a downlaod of Man in the Mirror".

Finally, I heard screaming. I was still outside the 5* party and saw the guys walking up to the meet and greet area. I got a glimpse of Danny, Jordan and Joe. No Donnie. :( So the meet and greets started with Donnie still missing. Suddenly right around Group H, there was a very loud roar of applause. DONNIE HAD MADE IT!

We got called into line and waited for our turn. The girls in front of us came out squeeling. I knew one of them, Vanessa, who said one of the girls in her group had just made out with Donnie! Oh my! We headed inside. I was last in line. I went right for Joe, said "I'm Heather". He said "Hi Heather," opened up his arms, read my shirt, smiled and nodded in recognition and hugged me. He immediately slid me into position to get our pictures taken. I felt someone behind me so I started to duck down a little. Joe pulled me up and said "No, don't do that". "Sorry", I said. He said "It makes the picture look funny." After the first pic had been taken, I started to move and he held tight. Somehow I had forgotten I got ANOTHER pic! lol! Stephanie was on the other side of Joe and was squeezing his side. She asked him if he was ticklish. He said "Actually, I'm not." Then I said, "All guys say that."

When the pics were done, I said thank you again and told him I would see him later because I was doing the Cincy book drive. "Oh really? Cool!" he said. Then I went and hugged Jon and gave him the gift Nicole had given me to give to him. He said "Aww, thank you! Thanks!" very appreciatively. I went over and hugged Danny then and waited for Donnie. While waiting, I said to Danny "I just have to do this," and I felt his bicep. It was firm, but not as LARGE as I expected (probably due to his small stature). I finally hugged Donnie and said "I'm so glad you made it." He said "Thanks". As we were walking out, Jordan was reading Renee's shirt. It was an awesome shirt that was a play on the "I'm thinking of someone..." games. He was smiling a huge smile as he read each line. As I walked by, I said "Its long!" and kept walking. He continued to focus on reading the shirt and I figured I'd get a hug from him in Noblesville (where I was posing as a Jordan girl).

I went back to the party and went over to Ethan again and got my pic taken. In the first one he was laughing at me because I said "At least I know I can make you laugh!" Then we got a good smiling one.

As we were standing there, I noticed a guy in a van starring at me. I wasn't the only one who noticed it too. All the girls saw this guy just STARRING. We were joking we should go over and flirt and get in the back of the van, cause you know he had something to do with the guys. We really should have, because just then, the guys left meet and greet and got in the van! Donnie stayed behind to meet up with the groups A-G who had missed meeting him.

When we were all done, we went to our seats. I had 2nd row!!!! They were amazing seats! Almost dead center but slightly over to the left which was great becuase that was where Joe stood a lot! Approx 4 or 5 times, Joe looked at me and smiled BIG! He could see my shirt, so I'm pretty sure he recognized me from earlier. Also, during Step By Step, there was a part where he rubbed up along his microphone stand sensually and I SWEAR he looked right at me while doing it TWICE! *THUD* I also got some looks from Danny and Jordan, but nothing really from Jon or Donnie. The guys also did an amazing tribute to Michael Jackson. Rob played Man In The Mirror and the crowd sang along. Then the guys came out and sang "I'll Be There". It was very touching. Lots of tears. After the concert was over we drove to Lansing to spend the night.

FRIDAY - CHICAGO, IL - In the early afternoon, we started our trip to Chicago. We got there and I entered early so I could take some things to the Ta-Ta Tailgate. I dropped my items off and turned to see Barret, Griffin and Duncan walking toward the buses. Ethan also came around. I said hi again and he laughed again and gave me a big kiss on the cheek and hugged me. He was so sweaty I think my ear actually suctioned to his face, so when he pulled away I felt a pull and my ear actually hurt! LOL! Gross and embarassing.

I saw a lot of girls I knew from Michigan that evening and was able to chat and say hi to so many people form the online community. The Canadians also had gone to Chicago so we were able to talk to them a little bit too! It was great! We had seats in Row N on the aisle. They were very good! The show was awesome (of course) and at the end I held up a sign that had the "Let's Get This" logo. At one point Joe pointed right in my direction and smiled. I thought he was pointing at me, but when I turned around, the girl behind me was giddy and said he pointed to her. I was disappointed. But then during Hangin Tough I was DETERMINED to be seen. I stood on my chair and held up the sign again. Joe pointed at me and smiled and I pointed back. To be sure he was pointing at me, I blew a kiss to him. He then blew one back! AHHHH! An air kiss from Joe Mac during a concert!!!

After the concert, we said goodbye to the Canadians and were on our way to Cincy. The idea was to stay at the same hotel as the guys again if possible. We stopped at a rest stop and met some girls who were trying to follow them too. We traded cell #s and went on our way.

SATURDAY - CINCINNATI, OH - Still driving, we later (WAY early in the AM) got a call from the same girls and they said they were following a bus. We were geeked. We also saw a bus and passed it but kept track of it in the rear view mirror. The girls called and said they followed the bus to a Holiday Inn. That seemed incredibly hard to believe. We still followed their directions and went there (and lost the other bus in the process). We didn't get there until 6:00am. We saw a few tour buses, and we saw one of the guys from the crew, but the guys busses weren't there. We were disappointed but figured we'd just go to our hotel that we had already paid for downtown. We went and there was only one bed for 4 of us. It sucked but we were so tired. I slept on the bed (passed out) and the other girls argued and decided they wanted to go to a different hotel. We stayed until noon when we then checked out to stay some place else in Cincy for the next night, but we couldn't check in until 3:00.

We went to check out the venue and saw a nice but busy waterpark next door. It was INCREDIBLY hot! We also ate. I had to get ready and be at the venue by 4:30 for the book drive but we still weren't checked in. I started freaking out and was so upset. I got my make up on in the lobby bathroom. I started crying then. I was a mess. I needed sleep so badly and couldn't imagine meeting Joe in this shape, which just made me cry harder! I continued getting ready and we FINALLY got in the room. I had enough time to drop my stuff off and change then go downstairs to wait for valet. While waiting there was another girl who was going to the book drive. She offered to drive so I went with her. Her name was Allie and she was from Kentucky and was super sweet (and pregnant!).

We got there and waited around. It was so frickin' hot that day!!!!! Iowa came to get us and walked us over to Joe who was standing waiting for us in the shade, wearing his yellow shoes, while scraping the nail polish off of his finger nails. He smiled and said hi and gave us all hugs. I held up my "Let's Get This" logo sign from the night before and said "Remember me?" He said "Hey - that was you?" and gave me a hug (and no, I didn't believe he actually remembered me, but nice that he said that!). I stood next to him while he explained where we would be setting up and what we would be doing. He also made sure to tell us to stay in the shade since it was so hot. They said they would have only 2 bucket stops and I spoke up and suggested they add one more to the VIP area. I explained when we were in VIP in Detroit, none of us wanted to leave to donate books. Iowa said she thought there was a bucket over there already. Then he said "So they should be taken care of." He also said he and his family had been at the water park earlier in the day and had fun. (Should have gone there when we had the chance! Shirtless Joe! Ugh!) He told us that the Chicago book drive got 1300 books. He also said that for Detroit they didn't get as many as they had hoped and many had gotten wet from the rain. He said more that I don't remember because he kept making eye contact with me and those blue eyes were STUNNING!!!!!! Then we got together for a group pic that was taken with his phone. After he kept starring at it trying to make sure it was ok, trying to decide if he should take a 2nd. Finally he said it was good. Before he left, a bunch of people started giving him stuff as gifts. I had a bracelet that I had bought with the intention to give it to him that said "Let's Get This"on it, but decided not to give it to him because of the rush of girls. The last girl (Carolyn) gave him some nail polish remover and said it was because of something that had been said by him previously (although he didn't remember what she was referring to). He looked at his nails and said, "Yeah, I've been thinking about it and am trying to decide if I should take a break from the polish or not." I blurted out "Take a break!" and then kind of tried to cower and hide (not very well) while he and everyone else turned and looked at me. Then another girl said "Well, maybe just use a different color..." I felt like an idiot.

The book drive went well. We collected almost 900 books in the heat. The concert was amazing once again. When the guys ran back from Single in the crowd, I got a high five from Jon and Joe. That night, we stayed in Cincinnati... THANK GOD!

Donnie headed to a club in downtown Cincinnati that night, so was right down the street from us. After the concert, I tweeted what had happened at the book drive with the nail polish and the comment I made. Some people thought I was insane and said they couldn't believe I had said what I did. I FELT HORRIBLE. Remember, at this point, I've still only had 2.5 hours of sleep in a 38 hour time frame. I started crying again while the other girls argued about who got to take a shower first. I decided to take a walk outside to calm down. I ended up walking down to the club and peeked into the window and saw Donnie up on stage doing his thang! I also saw a Michigan girl, Julie, outside. I headed back just in time. Apparently Donnie left just minutes after I did. I got back and FINALLY got some sleep.

SUNDAY - INDIANAPOLIS, IN - We drove from Cincy to Indy in the early afternoon after sleeping in! Whew! Angie and I both had 5* for this show. I was posing as a Jordan-girl in my group. But I had a mission to apologize to Joe for the nail polish comment. Again, it was hot so this time I wore a dress to stay cool AND look cute! The Indy 5* was awesome! Seemed like it lasted forever! We walked in and Joe was walking towards us yelling something at a girl who was leaving. We had no idea what he was talking about - something like "Well, you didn't say anything so how would I know?" But that just gave us extra seconds to look at him! I went right over to Jordan who was lifting up his shirt a little bit. I said "Woo! Are you taking off your shirt???" He hugged me and said, "No, my pants!" I said, "Woo hoo! Even better!" Then other girls came up for a hug.

I headed over to Joe. I looked him straight in the eye and said "I was the blabber mouth from the book drive yesterday and I just wanted to apologize for telling you to take off your nail polish." He said, "What? Don't worry about it! Other girls have said the same thing to me." And I said, "I know, but I just felt bad about it. There are some girls who do like it." At this point, they were yelling for pictures so I started walking towards Jordan. Joe had his hand on me and was following me - I think he thought I was going to stand next to him for pics. I could see out of the corner of my eye that the 'real' Joe girls were just waiting for him to come back for pictures. He said again, "Don't worry about it." And I said, "Thanks." and ran to Jordan quickly. Jordan said something like "Oooooo" during the 1st pic (to the point that I thought he was probably going to have a goofy face in the pic) and then said something else during the 2nd pic but I was too busy listening to Joe yell "Sweaty balls" to hear Jordan.

So after the pics, I said thanks to Jordan and went back over to Joe, shaking terribly and took off my "Let's Get This" bracelet to give it to him. The security was trying to get us out, but I went to Joe and I handed the bracelet over and he gently took it while I said, "I know this may be silly, but I just want to give this to you." He looked at it and said "This is cool. Thank you. Now, were you the girl who gave me the nail polish remover yesterday?" I said, "No, that was another girl. I was the one who told you I thought you should take a break from it." He said, "Well, don't worry about it at all. Its all ok." And I said thanks and was shooed out by security.

Again, we had Row N for the concert. I was finally starting to get a little tired of going to the concerts every night. I sat down through two songs... I'm not gonna say whose, but lets just say Joe wasn't on stage. I ran over to Donnie's mini-stage during Single and got a high five. At the end of the show, I held up a sign that said "The Rocksicle makes me Hotsicle". Joe looked over at one point, pointed in my direction and pumped his arm as if to say "YES". I felt like it was me he was looking at, but I'm still not 100% certain. As Renee says, if you aren't sure, then the answer is YES, he WAS looking at ME! :)

That night we went to a Waffle House, but no one came. We just had fun on our own with our new found friends who worked there!

The next day we ended our amazing journey and returned to real life. But we had an amazing time posing as true groupies for a bit. We MAY just have to do that again!

Doesn't that deserve a kiss from Joe? - April 4, 2009

After my October concert, I needed more. Just after the concert I learned that if you got special tickets, you could do a meet and greet with the guys!!! SERIOUSLY????? If I shell out enough cash, I can meet these guys? No sneaking in hotel rooms? Or bus stalking? Just money? Oh I wanted in on this!!! Luckily, the guys announced they were going to do more concerts in the Spring. I talked to my friend about the VIP tickets. Unfortunately they were pricey - $375! But to meet the guys? I could handle that! Isn't that why I had a job? To do things I wanted?

We bought the tickets three days after they went on sale. This was before they sold out in minutes! Around that time, I also discovered newkidsnetwork.ning.com. I studied up on other people's 5* experiences. I learned not to expect anything. ANYTHING I was able to get would be wonderful! I also found several other girls to be in my group so that there weren't too many of one 'type' of girl. We had trouble finding Danny girls, so there were 3 Joe girls, but we were ready to share.

I also decided I needed a catchy shirt! I decided on one, bought it and was all ready. THEN the Michigan State Basketball team made it into the Final Four! The game was going to played DURING my meet and greet! I was gonna miss this huge game! :( I was ok with that. I knew this meet and greet was a great opportunity. So I decided to make it work for me. I made a green shirt that said "I'm missing MSU in the Final Four to be here" on the front. And on the back it said "Doesn't that deserve a kiss from Joe?" I also got my hair done the day of the concert so that I looked as good as can be (although once it was done, I decided not to do that again. My hair was too poofy!)

My friend Stephanie and I drove to Grand Rapids to the Van Andel Arena. We met up with our preformed group, but two of our girls decided to back out since they were way ahead in line and wanted to stay there. We were left with only 7 of us: Nicole, Dawn, Stefnie, Virginia, Jamie, Stephanie and me, but those 7 were so AWESOME! I was so happy to meet them all and thrilled our group was so nice! Nicole saw a friend of hers from online. She went over to talk to them and there were 3 of them without a group! 2 Danny girls and 1 Donnie girl! Perfect! We had 2 Donnie girls already, but everyone was willing to share the love. :)

We were assigned to Group "I" and went upstairs. There was lots of food left. Basically it was chips/bread and dips and it was perfect to settle the stomach a little (you know me and my nervous eating). They also had free wine and beer, bu the wine went FAST! No problem, I'm happier with my beer anyway! I only had one, just to calm the nerves. We also got our tickets and found out we were in row H, which isn't bad since I bought my tickets on the third day of sales!

Girls started screaming and we saw the guys came up the stairs and slip into the VIP area and we got a brief sneak peek of them! I was fairly nervous as soon as I saw them since they all looked so short (and I'm 5'11" in heels)! We stood around waiting, trying to stay calm, while getting tiny sneak peeks through the cracks in the curtain, until they called our group.

I was first in line to walk in. We walked in and all of the guys were busy messing with their phones or looking at stuff. Jordan was the only one paying attention (and he was standing next to Joe) so I went straight to him and gave him a hug, said "Thank you" and quickly showed him the front of my shirt and he smiled.

Then I turned and grabbed Joe (whose back was still to the group) and said "Look, this is all for you!" and I showed him the front of the shirt, then turned around so he could read the back. He smiled and then he gave me a kiss on the right cheek and hugged me! He was all scruffy when he kissed me! I was kinda surprised, but I did not mind ONE BIT!!! LOL!

More girls came up for their Joe hugs, so I left and went to hug Jon, who was engaged in conversation with Nicole. I hated to interrupt but did anyway to get a hug. He was SOOOO skinny! They all were! I said "Thank you" and he said "Sure. Its nice to meet you." That was when I realized I hadn't said my name ONCE since we walked in (on my "to do" list for next time).

They yelled for pictures, so I went running back to Joe and we put our arms around each other and he said "So, wait a minute. Did you go to MSU?" I said "Yeah" and he said "That's like sacrilegious" and I said "Yeah" (I have amazing conversation skills as you can tell). Right before we were getting our pics taken, Joe saw my friend Steph's shirt and said "Full Service Station?" and she yelled "Yah, Joe! It's all for you!" and he said "Can you make a deposit?". Well then! Then we got our picture taken (which turned out fabulous!).

I gave Joe another hug and I said, "Hey, if you get a chance, you should announce if MSU wins". He said "Yeah, but don't you have TiVo?". I said (as I stared into his blue eyes), "Yeah, but I need to know the moment of the win!". They were shooing us out and Stephanie grabbed a hug from Joe. I couldn't resist and stole ONE MORE HUG after her! Then he said "Isn't the game starting, like, right now?" and ask I walked out, I looked at him, pouted and said "Yeah".

Our group got together afterwards and freaked out. We LOVED our 5* experience with them! I missed out on hugging Donnie, but I was ok with that. My fave is Joe and there were 3 girls trying to get to Donnie. It was fine with me - I'll just hug him next time! We all realized that none of us saw Danny. The girls we had added to our group last minute had gotten all of his time! That was fine with me. They had given him an airbrushed shirt of his mom and him. He LOVED it! He took a solo picture with them and he ended up wearing that shirt not only later that night but throughout the rest of the tour and he still wears it at breast cancer fundraising events! Way to go Sabrina!

Before the concert began, I was going to the concession stand to get a soda. I was walking out and a girl said "I love your shirt. I'm missing the game too." I looked at her and said "Did you go to East Lansing High School?" She said, "Uh, yes." I said "You're AMY! I played basketball with you when we were in elementary school!" YES FOLKS... IT WAS @MSUAMY1!!!!!!! I asked Amy if she lived in Michigan and she said she was in town visiting and came to the concert with someone. She acted all disinterested! NOW THAT I KNOW HER BETTER.... AMY? WERE YOU LYING?? LOL!!! We parted ways and didn't talk to each other again until I spotted her in a Tony's Assistant video!

Stephanie and I eventually got to our seats. Just after the lights went down to start the concert, I got a text. "MSU WINS!" I was soooo happy! That was one of the coolest moments ever! The concert was awesome (of course)! I actually felt more calm than I did at the last one - I was able to actually enjoy the music rather than freak out that the New Kids were back! Donnie mentioned the MSU win right away and again later. Joe mentioned it later too. They wore MSU jerseys at the end and were adorable.

Our group met up afterwards and went out to the buses after the show. Donnie made the rounds and I got to see him up close, but I wasn't close enough for a hand shake. Maybe in the summer.... ;)

My return to NKOTB! - October 25, 2008

The day after my last New Kids on the Block in 1991, I got my first boyfriend. That was also the day I also got over NKOTB. Over the years after that, I had seen Joe, Jordan and Donnie in entertainment here and there. I was happy to see them and giggled a little bit remembering my love for them, but overall I really hadn't followed their careers or been incredibly interested in them.

I did go to one of Joe's solo concerts in Chicago in 2004. He had always been my favorite and it was just a mile or two from where I lived. They were promoting it so much on my radio station and it was cheap so I decided to go all by myself to check it out. I admit, I walked into that show without a camera or a phone thinking this would just be something to pass the time on a Thursday night. But when he got on stage, I found myself squeeling and smiling from ear to ear! It was an amazing, intimate show. I cursed myself for a while afterwards for not having a camera with me! My friend yelled at me for not calling her while I was there so she could hear him! I ran out and bought his solo CD after that (One Too Many) and listened to it every day. But, he kind of disappeared from music after that, so I stopped paying attention to him.

Fast forward to Spring 2008 when I start to hear mumblings about an NKOTB reunion. Inside, I think "REALLY? That would be cool, IF they were any good!" I had not seen serveral of them for years and wasn't sure if they looked fat and bald or what. I also didn't know if they could still sing. My questions are answered the day my brother emails me the link to the YouTube video of Summertime. He makes fun of the "Its On" text Donnie sends so I know he is definitely still anti-NKOTB. I watch the video and am STUNNED to see how amazing all of the guys look. I mean, have they aged at all???? Not only do they look good, but they can sing! And its a good song! I'm fully impressed! But I still avoid jumping on the band wagon. It had been 12 years since I truly cared about NKOTB. Liking NKOTB was hard enough the first time. Everyone made fun of me! I didn't feel the need to go through that again, but I definitely respected the guys for the work they were doing now.

I hear from a friend that NKOTB is planning a tour. They will be making a stop in Detroit and she has decided to go. She asks if I want her to buy me a ticket. No. I don't. There is a piece of me that wants to jump up and scream "YES! Let's try to get the front row!!", but again, I have so many other friends (including this girl's husband) who are anti-NKOTB and I just don't want to be the uncool kid again. I say no and avoid any NKOTB mumblings I hear.

Doing dishes one day, I have the radio on and this song comes on. I think the idea of the song is kind of weird.... a girl goes to a club alone and this guy wants to be her boyfriend for just one song? What a PLAYER! But I do really like the sound of the song. I wonder if its Backstreet Boys. Did they do a reunion too? Then, the song ends and they announce it was NKOTB's song "Single". WHAT? Really? Again, I am floored by how much I like the song and try to shake it off. But I can't shake it now. My curiosity has been peaked.

I contact my girlfriend and ask for details on the concert. I call my other friend, who I know from high school and the end of our mutual NKOTB & Joe love. I tell her that I think I want tickets for the concert for my October birthday. She is shocked but is open to the idea. She never turns down a good concert opportunity. So, we buy the tickets. Ok, I think. I'll go to the concert and check it out. That'll be it. Nothing more. I bought the CD from iTunes (therefore getting all of the songs available) so I would know the songs at the concert. I am even more impressed now. I love every single song on the CD. ALL of them! I'm still keeping my cool about the concert, but I'm definitely looking forward to hearing these songs live in concert.

The day finally comes. Early in the day on October 25, 2008 I am at a football party with my old high school friends (a big college rivalry game - MSU vs UofM - was on that day). This party includes the boyfriend I started dating the day after my last NKOTB concert. I kept it a secret from all of them why I have to leave early from the party. No way was I telling them I was headed to a New Kids concert! They'd laugh me out of the house! So I sneak out and go get my friend.

We get to the Palace of Auburn Hills and as soon as we walk in, I realize we made the right choice by coming! There are girls every where in vintage NKOTB shirts, neon, with crimped hair and high bangs. It was like a costume party! It was AWESOME! It was like they were celebrating our lives from back in the day! It was amazing to be surrounded by so many people who shared the same history as me! I was starting to get excited!

We take our seats and are impressed with how good they are! We are looking straight on to the stage and are just a few rows up from the floor! Then the girl in front of us points to a black covered block on the left. She tells us it is a piano and that the guys come out to that stage for a few songs. WHA??? We are pretty close to this stage (about 20 rows away)! For not being sure if we even wanted to go, we are thrilled with our seats! The opening act begins. Its Natasha Bedingfield. She is pretty good, but I can't wait until the New Kids come on.

The Palace goes dark and the screen starts with "15 years ago.... they walked away... They're back". I have chills EVERYWHERE! And then the New Kids on the Block take the stage. All of a sudden, I am 14 years old again! I start screaming at the top of my lungs and jump up and down. What happened to me? I was supposed to stay calm! I was supposed to not care! I WAS SUPPOSED TO REMAIN SANE! Yet here I am! I have lost my mind! Again! The concert continues, and so does my screaming. By the end of the concert I am sweaty, hoarse, and on the top of the world. The New Kids on the Block are back! And so am I! And so my crazy journey begins....

Welcome to my show!

This past year of crazy NKOTB antics and experiences has been amazing! Honestly, things that I only dreamt of as a 14 & 15 year old have come true! And now it actually feels as though my experiences are surpassing any dreams I may have had as a young teen, so I figured it is time that I save all of these stories in one place and share them with others who know about this wonderful journey!

Several of the blogs I will post are already written and have just been sitting in my "draft email" box so that I had it documented SOMEWHERE! So the dates will all have December dates, but it covers some of 2008 and all of 2009.

Another warning: I am a full-fledged JOE GIRL. No doubt about it. And I have been since 1989. So while I will mention my run-ins with the other guys, my focus will absolutely be on Joe! So if you read my blog from start to finish, my may be Joe-d out... or you MAY become a Joe-vert! :) Either way, I hope you EN-JOEY it! ha ha ha

I hope you all enjoy all of what you read here and can smile as you think about your own amazing NKOTB moments. While we all have our own experiences, the thrills of living out childhood dreams is a shared feeling. These 5 men have given us so much over the years, and it just keeps getting better. I will never be able to thank them enough. If any of you guys EVER read this, please know you have made our lives fuller and happier. If I thanked you every day of my life, it still would not encompass my appreciation for you and what you have done.

Much Love Always,
Heather (aka, RocksicleLover)