One Final Wiggle!

Austin and I took Madi to see The Wiggles at Hard Rock Live. We met up with Alicia and her family, who had never been to a live Wiggles show before. We took Emily when she was three, so it was fun for us to be able to take Madi at the same age to see them as well!

When we took Emily (way back in 2007--wow!), the yellow Wiggle, Greg, had just left the group for medical reasons. He was the lead singer and my favorite, and we were used to seeing him on all the shows and videos. When they toured, the yellow Wiggle was Sam, who was great, but let's face it, he was no Greg. :) Emily didn't notice the difference at the concert, but she definitely did with the shows...she would look away and raise hell when Sam was on instead of Greg! We didn't watch the show much after that, but I recently started playing the old DVDs for Madi, and she loved them. So I was ecstatic (not exaggerating--I need to get out more) when I found out Greg was rejoining the group and doing one final tour before he, Jeff (purple), and Murray (red) were retiring! We bought tickets right away but didn't tell Madi about it until a couple of weeks before. I'm not sure who was more excited when they drove out on stage in the Big Red Car, us or Madi...but I know I teared up just like I did when we took Emily. :)

They were a little older and a little grayer, but still awesome! I love how they banter back and forth and laugh at themselves, when they make jokes or mistakes that only the adults would get. They were definitely enjoying giving Jeff (purple Wiggle) a hard time about his  new "Jon Bon Jovi" hair cut. :)

This picture is hard to see who they are, but this is the new group of Wiggles. Anthony is the only original one, he will continue to be the blue Wiggle. The purple Wiggle will be Lachlan, the red Wiggle will be Simon, and for the first time, there will be a girl in the lineup--Emma will be the yellow Wiggle! They performed a couple of songs during this show, and their shirts said "In Training" :)

Ansley and Madi having fun during the show...

The Wiggles are so great about interacting with the kids in the audience. They read aloud every sign that people in the audience are holding up--every single sign! They also come in to the audience to collect the dog bones that people have brought for Wags, or the roses for Dorothy the Dinosaur. They take their time and pose for pictures and chats with the special needs kids (speaking of which, there was a teenage boy with Down Syndrome dancing in the aisle and singing all the words. My heart melted and Alicia and I were a all choked up and crying...and he had on a green shirt that said "I'm the 5th Wiggle." So sweet!). The purple Wiggle Jeff came to get Ansley's roses and the picture she colored for Dorothy, and Madi even got to give him a high five! I don't think the girls knew quite what to think, but they knew it was a big deal!

We had lots of fun singing and dancing and laughing, and we really are going to miss this talented group of guys! They have been such a big part of both of our girls' childhoods, it's hard to imagine not going to see them live again! But I'm so glad we got to go and give a proper farewell to Greg, Jeff, and Murray...complete with a standing ovation!

One last thing...I couldn't write this post and not go back to find the pictures of chunky little Emily at three years old, ready for her Wiggles concert. So stinking adorable! Time has gone way too fast!