The Easter Beagle?

So this morning Jonathan woke up and ran to the front door of the house to find a basket that was left by...The Easter Beagle. Yes, you read that right, the Easter Beagle.

Yesterday Jonathan asked if the Easter bunny was going to give him a basket full of candy and toys. In true Rosen fashion, I turned things around and said Easter Bunny? Why the Easter Bunny? We're Jewish so the Easter bunny will not be visiting us, WE GET THE EASTER BEAGLE! I went on to explain how if you're really good and you listen to your parents, the Easter Beagle will leave a small basket full of goodies outside the front door while you sleep. Also, the Easter Beagle only will leave a basket for the youngest and the oldest in the home.

Which brings me back to the beginning of this post. Jonathan ran to the door at about 7 am and found a small basket with a bit of candy and yes, a stuffed Snoopy. My mom received a little basket with some sugar-free candies.

THANK YOU EASTER BEAGLE!

Yeah..more Wiggles. :-D

A Weekend of Wiggling...

So it all started the weekend before the shows at Amy's house. Julie and I drive down to San Diego to Amy's house for a sign making get together. Really I don't think we got much sign making done but it was a great excuse to hang out and have the kids really get reacquainted before the radical weekend we had ahead of us. The kids played Hullaballoo, a game I never heard of before that day and we sipped on iced tea and the best chicken salad I ever tasted. Then we headed home in the early evening with the kids totally wiped out. Jonathan slept in the car just long enough to regain energy to play when we arrived home.

Friday, March 9, 2007:

WAH HOO! The day started out great. We packed up the car with some snacks, the BRC (Big Red Car) backpack filled with the roses for Dorothy and water bottles since it was a HOT day. Jonathan had a Jelly sandwich and I had PB&J and we were off!

When we arrived close to the arena I called Amy as she was near where I was and we met in a parking lot and I followed her the rest of the way. Julie at that point was just about there as well. While in the car waiting to enter the parking garage, I noticed the people behind me cracking up at my WGGLMOM plates. They even took a picture of them with a camera phone.

We parked and walked up to the arena. I had a problem with my tickets and unfortunately, the tickets I sold had a problem too. That's a whole other Oprah which I'm not getting into here. I finally got in and it was amazing! The Cox arena is really a HORRIBLE venue but we were on the floor for the 1st show and Jonathan was able to hang out and dance with Zoe.

Before the show actually started they played the video message of Greg explaining his condition and showed him handing over the Yellow Skivvy to Sam. I cried. I think everyone did. However, Sam was of course great and very well received.

All the favorites were performed. Fruit Salad, Rock-A-Bye Your Bear and of course Toot Toot was the first song. The Overture was awesome with tap, ballet and Ben running into the audience. So much energy for the first minute of the show. They also did Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the Itsy Bitsy Spider. The songs Jonathan said were so the babies can enjoy the show too! He's so funny.

During Teddy Bears Day Out they had the dancers in Teddy Bear costumes that were SO ADORABLE! I just wanted to give them hugs they were so cute.

In between shows Adam joined us and we all split a Pizza. OMG! I just realized I owe Amy and Adam $5 or $6 for that still. The 2nd show that day we were in seats just 6 rows up and J and I were actually thankful for that because we got to sit and relax and watch the show.

Jonathan got his swag at that show, a RTTR (Racing to the Rainbow) backpack mainly because it's the last one they are making with Greg on it, 2 T-shirts and a cup. The Wiggles have always reasonably priced their merchandise unlike Disney where at an ice show it's impossible to afford even cotton candy which goes for $15!

The day ended with Talking to Alex the sound guy for a bit then getting to meet Sam. Sam also signed the backpack. COOL!

Saturday and Sunday, March 10-11, 2007:

We were lucky enough to have gotten to stay at the Hilton Universal which of course was right at the Amphitheatre. We left late morning and checked in with enough time for J to take a bath and me a shower. Good thing to since I needed energy already. We had 4 shows to go! Two on each Saturday and Sunday.

Once it was time we headed to the show. Dave was able to join us for all four shows. This was something we had hoped he would feel well enough for and he did. That really made the weekend that much more special.
During the first show Jonathan got to give a football we made for Sam to him. He came down to us and then showed everyone and talked very briefly about it. During the same show I think Zoe gave Murray the coolest and biggest guitar pick I have EVER seen. He even read the really cool note on the back and recognized that Zoe has been to several shows. The kids were really having a great time. Oh yeah, we were too!

Amy and family were staying at the Hilton too so after the 1st show we went back to our rooms to get a drop of rest before Wiggling again. Jonathan wore his Murray clothes to the 1st show and changed into his Sam clothes for the 2nd.

After that 2nd show we headed to the Daily Grill for dinner and then back to the hotel for the night just to start again the next day.

On Sunday Jonathan and Zoe played for a while before we headed to the shows and they headed for a drive around Los Angeles. Julie, Mandi and Jimmy were at the Sunday shows with us.

We went to the 1st show on Sunday late because Jonathan was having fun relaxing. But we only missed a little. After all, it wasn't like we hadn't seen it 4 times already. We sat in our seats which were right near Alex and enjoyed a pizza and the show.

After the show we were lucky enough to see Paul, Anthony's brother and get pictures with him. He talked to me and Julie until a worker of the place wanted to kick Julie and I out. He was so nice and actually started the conversation with us.

During all of these shows, something I haven't mentioned yet, Julie and I were collecting the bones that people brought for Wags the Dog. Jonathan and I will be donating the ones we took to the animal shelter tomorrow.

During the last show of the weekend I had floor seats. DDD, just 4 rows back. AWESOME SEATS but ended up in the FRONT ROW because there were seats open next to Julie and the kids. OH MY GOD! It was just a whole other world from there. Mandi and Jonathan and even little Jimmy danced throughout the entire show. They were on the Jumbotron screens a lot! Jonathan and Mandi were also the kids that got to give their roses to Dorothy the Dinosaur. TOO COOL!

Well to top it off, at the end of the show Jonathan was given a Guitar Pick from Murray. It was the one he used during the show. He came over to J just before he left the stage and said "you're going to need this to play your guitar" and Jonathan was so happy! The weekend was complete. The day before 2 very special friends of J also were lucky and got guitar picks. But it really was special because they were the luckiest kids in the whole wide world and The Wiggles make them feel that way during each and every show. They Rocked and so did we.

I don't know how many more years we have to be able to do this. Jonathan may decide next year that he is just over it. It can happen! I'm really going to miss all of this when he does. As a family we are grateful to The Wiggles for giving us something we can all share equally. Whether it's me singing Do the Ooby Doo while doing the dishes and repeating every word that's memorized from hearing Live Hot Potatoes in the car several thousand times or Jonathan acting like a guitar god while rockin out to Eagle Rock. We all have been affected by the music and kindness and hope it will last another year.

Keep On Wiggling!

Greg really is gone

Yesterday I was at the Wiggles website and noticed that in a new banner ad there was an animation of the new yellow, Sam. I guess even though I knew Greg was really gone I just didn't expect to see Sam animated so soon. I don't know why really.

So we have the Bindi/Wiggles show next week and that will be the first time for us seeing Sam as the Yellow Wiggle and not a Wiggly dancer. It's going to be very strange I'm sure.

Bye Greg, we wish you all the best. You will so much be missed!