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On our way.....

Less than 19 hours away.......

This will be our third time on the Bandito Tour, and I cannot wait
to hear Chlorine live this time!!

What a great bday present to see......

TOP (again) with Bear Hands in NC.  Even though this will be our third time seeing them on the Bandito Tour and the girls already met them, we are so excited. 

They are finally going to play my favorite song, Chlorine live, and I cannot wait!

Waiting for June..........

So close but yet so far away....

Even though we are literally seeing them in concert three times in less than 8 months, cannot wait to see them perform at the AMAs tonight........

Third time is a charm............

What do you get when you have a super fun mom, two amazing teen girls, and great tickets to a 5SOS concert?  AN AMAZING TIME IS WHAT YOU HAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We were fortunate enough to get to see 5SOS twice in Atlanta, once just last month, and we took a quick trip to Charlotte, NC, this week to see them again.  This was absolutely the greatest performance by them I have seen and quite possibly the greatest concert I have ever been to.  This band of Aussie lads are taking the world by storm these days.  They are hugely talented with their musical abilities.

A little about the trip.  We spent the day in Charlotte, NC looking for any signs of the band or their tour bus and just hanging out.  We may have inadvertently been in and/or around the neighborhood and area that a few of the most popular Youtubers and Viners live by accident as well.

Our hotel room was also amazing, three beds, kitchenette, the works!  The concert was Wednesday so needless to say, Tuesday, not a lot of sleep happened we were just too excited.

We learned a while back the sooner you arrive to the concert location, the better, so we got to the venue at the PNC music pavilion at 1 p.m. even though the concert started at 7:30.  It paid off though, and there were already a lot of other people there before us.  The Charlotte PNC has the capacity for almost 19,000 but there were more like 20,000 people, mostly teen girls, at the event.

We heard on the security radio that the band was about to pull into the pavilion parking lot and that they were arriving in black SUVs so we started running for their private entrance and sure enough, ten minutes later, they drove past us.  No one knew this but us.  We took pics and waved and even though their windows were fairly blackened out, we could see through, the girls said they were laughing and waving as they drove by us.  I did not see that because I was distracted by the massively large tattooed bodyguard's arm which was all I could see.

Anyhoo, after that, we got to hear 5SOS do multiple sound checks, and we were part of a private acoustic session with the opening band, Hey Violet (I will get to them later because they are also amazing!), and both my girls got to talk to the band and take pictures.  I was chatting it up with the mom of the two sisters in the band, and I got my pic with her.  I love her, she is also an actress, singer, songwriter, and etc.  I enjoyed talking to her.

So back to what I was saying.  All of that waiting proved to be a wise thing to do.  The sound check, the private acoustic with meet and greet with Hey Violet, and a few local Youtubers were also there.  A small band named Cardfall (two cute brothers) were also performing and giving out autographs.  C16 and A14 actually just hung out with them and talked while I was chatting it up with other people.  Mostly greenie moms that had never been to a concert and had no idea what to expect.  Poor things!!!!

By this point, it is around 5:30, the parking lot is filled with cars, sweaty concert-goers, the local radio station is blasting music and getting pics, and the local news is there.  Did I mention that it was pouring down raining, thundering, and lightening?  There was that too!  By the time they opened the gates for everyone to head in, everyone was completely drenched.  I am talking dripping wet!!  Black runny mascara, soaking wet hair, clothes, and shoes.  The rain did stop but that did not last long.  It started raining again for about half of the concert but everyone was committed to see 5SOS rain or shine (except maybe a few parents).  We were under the cover so it was all good for us.

I have to say that the Charlotte concert-goers were about 100 times louder than the crowds in Atlanta were.  There were a few times that I could not tell if I was actually still hearing screams or if they were still screaming!  A woman in front of me was sitting chatting on Facebook the entire time to some guy named Bubba, HA!  She was telling him how much she wished she was at home watching TV than at the concert.  There was also a mom beside me but I scared her off by singing too loudly. HA HA!  She switched spots with her daughter.  What can I say, I love 5SOS!  If you can't stand the noise, don't go to the concert.  I went to have fun and let loose, not chat on Facebook and gawk at everyone.

Now for a few pics.

PNC Charlotte.  Our seats were upfront under the cover on the right side.  Great seats!

Calum-great vocals and guitar!

Michael Clifford-This kid can play the guitar like no other.  He is phenomenal!

Luke, according to my girls, the perfect one!

Luke and Ashton.  I love, love, love Ashton!

Killing it!

Oh no, it is over!  

Trying to leave the stage.

Meet Hey Violet!  This is a three girl, one boy band.  They are extremely talented.  They all play instruments and sing.  They were so gracious with their time before the show and performed like pros.  They have been opening for a few big names all over the world.  Check them out on twitter, iTunes, Facebook, instagram, and Tumblr.

Rena Lovelis, Miranda Miller, Nia Lovelis, and Casey Moreta.

We had the best time this week heading out for a mini-vacation and doing all of these fun things.  My girls definitely deserved this, and so did I!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Making memories that will last a lifetime!

Mystery of History Volume 4, lesson 2.

The 13 colonies.

Love, love, love the Mystery of History!

First off, a colony is a piece of land under political control of another country.  The controlling country is usually very far away as is the case with England and the American colonies.

A colony is formed when people from another country come in and settle the land, for example, people from all over Europe came to America to settle the land back in the day.  These people were called settlers.  These Europeans settled a total of 13 colonies between 1607 and 1732.

Here is a list of the colonies in order: Virginia 1607, Massachusetts 1620, New Hampshire 1623, Maryland 1632-1634, Connecticut 1636, Rhode Island 1636, Delaware 1638, North Carolina 1663, South Carolina 1663, New York 1664, New Jersey 1665, Pennsylvania 1681, and Georgia 1732.

These settlers did not have an easy go of it.  In fact, more than half of the settlers did not make it past the first winter in Virginia (Jamestown) or the Plymouth Colony.

Most of the colonies were named after the rulers in England at that time.  For example, Virginia gets its name from the Virgin Queen Elizabeth and Georgia is named after George II.  Massachusetts was named after a Native American Indian tribe (Massachusett).

Virginia (Jamestown)-The first English colony in the New World was founded by Captain John Smith on May 14, 1607.  A total of 104 people lived there at the time many of these people were farmers and blacksmiths.  Jamestown was known to have the best tobacco crops.  A group of African slaves were sent to Jamestown and arrived in 1619.

Massachusetts-Founded in 1620 when a group of pilgrims on the Mayflower arrived from England and created the Plymouth Colony.  Only half of the pilgrims on the journey survived.  The Mayflower Compact (a decree for a local government/rules) was conceived by the pilgrims the same year.  Chief Massasoit and his tribe of Wamapanoag Indians assisted the pilgrims in planting crops.  This was also the first Thanksgiving which was shared by the pilgrims and the Wamapanoag Indians.

New Hampshire-Founded in 1622 by Captain John Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges.  The name comes from Hampshire County in England  The colony of New Hampshire was part of Massachesetts, a royal charter in 1679.  The Pennacook and Abenaki Indians were already living in New Hampshire before the Europeans arrived.  A really important fact to know about New Hampshire is that New Hampshire was the first to claim independence from England, a full six month before the Declaration of Independence was signed.  Another interesting fact is that the first potato ever grown in the US was planted in Londonderry Common Field (NH) in 1719.

Maryland- Where tobacco was used the same as money and kids could drink beer!  Founded between 1632 and 1634 by Lord Baltimore and named for the wife of King Charles I, Henriette Maria.  Native Indians already living in Maryland at the time included the Yaocomaco, Susquehannock, Shawnee, Piscatawy, Nanticoke, Accohannock, and the Algonquin tribes.

Connecticut- Founded in 1636 by Thomas Hooker and other from the Massachusetts colony looking for more religious freedom.  Between 1636 and 1637, a war broke out between the settlers and the Pequot Indians, the Pequot War.  The Pequot Indians were pretty much wiped out.  Connecticut comes from the Mohegan Indian word Quinnehtukqut which means long river place.

Rhode Island- Roger Williams founded Rhode Island in 1636.  Williams started a rebellion against the Puritans.  Williams believed that the Indians should be paid for the land so he bought it from them.  The first slaves arrived in RI in 1774, and in 1776, Rhode Island was the first colony to renounce allegiance to Great Britain and declare its independence.

Delaware- Delaware was established in 1638 by Peter Minuit and the New Sweden Company.  Delaware is named from Lord de la Warr (Sir Thomas West) who was the first governor of the Virginia Company.  Interesting note, Dutch explorer Henry Husdon was the first to explore this area in 1609.
North Carolina- North Carolina was founded in 1653 by the Virginia colonists.  The name comes from the Latin name Carolus for Charles IX of France, King Charles I and King Charles II of England.

South Carolina- Founded in 1633 by eight English nobles with a Royal Charter from King Charles II. North Carolina and South Carolina were one colony until around 1729.

New York- It was Peter Minuit who founded New Amsterdam (New York) in 1626, and the Dutch occupied New York until 1674 when the English decided to take it from the Dutch.  They wanted the land because it was ideal for farming.  The name was changed to New York later in honor of James the Duke of York.

New Jersey- The Dutch and Swedish settled in New York and New Jersey around 1626 and called the land New Netherlands.  Around 1664, King Charles II took the New Netherlands by force and gave it to his brother, James, The Duke of York.  The Duke of York quickly discovered that the land was too big and gave part of the land away to his good friends Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret in 1664.  King Charles named his piece of land New York and New Jersey became the name of the other piece of land.  Side note, Princeton University was founded in NJ in 1746.

Pennsylvania-William Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1681 but the Swedes were actually the first to find Pennsylvania under the guidance of Peter Minuit in 1638.  Penn was looking for a place to have religious freedom for the Quakers.  There were around 638 people living in Pennsylvania at that time. The name Pennsylvania comes from the Latin word Sylvania which means forests or woodlands and Penn from William Penn's name, i.e. Penn's Forest. Ben Franklin was also in Pennsylvania.

Georgia- Three hundred and forty-five English folks led by James Oglethorpe set up shop in the Georgia Colony in 1732.  This was the last of the English Colonies to be established.  Georgia's name comes from King George II.  Georgia, the last colony founded, was founded 75 years after the first colony, Virginia, was founded.  Georgia was the only colony that forbade slavery.

Learn more:

Land of the brave info.
You can find a great chart here.
Another great site here.
Unit study, free, here.
PDF printables, amazing, here.

Still counting down the days...................