The Way You Make Me Feel

Everything about this picture makes me happy!! ❤  Tate took it for us, hence the low and slanted, artsy angle.  The Betsy Johnson sparkly boots and pink crystal headband are actually mine... but Rach provided the sequin jackets Melissa and I are wearing, and the gold sequin skirt Karli has on!  Just for the group photo, I wanted Chet to have some sequins too, so Karli mentioned that she had an old hat he could wear.  Chet: "The leprechaun hat!?" lolol  Anyway, it all brings me lots of joy!

Thanks to Victoria covering my last court hearing, I was able to be in Tulsa around 4:30.  Tate and Parker were cute and entertaining, as usual, and we grabbed an early dinner at Mission BBQ (new to Tulsa).  The smoked turkey, green beans, cheesy potatoes, mac n cheese, chicken, etc. did not disappoint.  Everyone loved their food, and they gave us free samples of a few things - the caramel apple cobbler would be worth a second trip all by itself!

It probably helped that Chet and Teresa knew Justin, one of the guys working there.  Yay for this group pic with the Disney crew... we'll be there in less than 3 weeks!

Presh Parker Elizabeth was in a fun mood! ❤

This was take #1 by Tate, and it also makes me happy... kids are the best! lol

Girls pic - photo by Chet!  Thanks again to Rach for all the sequins!!  They were flashy and fun, but too hazardous to wear often. lol  The minute I got there, I hugged Parker and the sequins caught her hair and messed up her perfect braids... eek... they really do catch on everything!

The people in front of us let Chet borrow the sequin glove for this pic - hahaha, I love it!

The musical itself was great - Rach and I (along with our very entertaining friend and carpool buddy, Mark) listened to Michael Jackson's HISTORY (Greatest Hits) album through much of my sophomore and junior year at CHA.  So many of our drives and from to school were spent with the freaking Earth Song, Tabloid Junkie, History, Black or White, Remember the Time, Billie Jean, This Time Around, They Don't Care About Us, etc.  There are also cousin memories with the song from Free Willy, memories with Mom talking about his Off the Wall album, the fantastic Thriller dance scene from 13 Going on 30, and flashbacks to Undercover Brother whenever I hear the first notes of Beat It. lol  Needless to say, this musical brought back tons of memories for me, and I ended up texting with Rach about it all for a while!

The young kid who played Jackson 5 Michael was very impressive, as was the man playing adult Michael -- he nailed the epic dance moves, singing, awkward mannerisms, and breathy voice!  What they did with the beginning of Thriller was intense and made me see it differently (with kid Michael singing a slow version of that first verse as he's visibly afraid of their abusive dad who becomes the twitchy wolf from Thriller)... then there was a bright flash of light and they moved into the well-known version with full lights and costumes and dancing, but that beginning shook me up for a minute!

My personal favorite song was They Don't Care About Us...
"But if Martin Luther was livin', he WOULDN'T LET THIS BE, no, noooo!"
Clap, clap -- pause, pause -- clap, clap. lol 

It's powerful and poignant - anyway, that was their final song just before the intermission, then Man in the Mirror was the actual final song - both very well done!

         

Sneaking in one picture at the end when it was too late for anyone to care or kick me out! lol

Top pic = the Wilsons with Paul and Stephanie - they all have season tickets for the Tulsa PAC shows!  *Side note: Paul is a big OSU fan and has seen all my pics at the games, so he naturally assumed I'm a big fan and started talking to me about the coaching and certain players, and I was getting a little cracked up at how little I know about all that.  Bottom pic = them cleaning after literally everyone but our group had left the theater! lol

We stayed back for a minute to get a group photo with Denist Gary and his daughter, Emma!  (Melissa actually sat with them through the second half as they had closer seats that were better for her eyes.)

Anyway, I'm grateful Bill had zero interest in this, and thanks so much to the Wilson fam for letting me join them on this one - a really fun day all around!!  And now it's time for me to buckle down and do some actual court reporter work.

In closing,

You are not alone;

I am here with you.

Though we're far apart,

You're always in my heart.
And you are not alone.

Lol another fav MJ song that they didn't include in the musical! ❤