Some things you want your kids to experience because you remember them as being really spectacular!  I've found however that many times as an adult these come as disapointments and tend to taint the perfectly preserved memories of childhood.  When I heard that "Sesame Street Live" was coming to town, I wondered whether this would be one of those cases?  Willing to take the risk, I immediately purchased 3 tickets, second row, to "123 Imagine with Elmo".

Axel is a Sesame addict and although he would retain no memory or joy from the experience (he's only 1 for goodness sake), I figured it would be a night well spent.

Yesterday was the big day and mid morning I got a call that my brother Andy was coming for a surprise visit.  Perfect!  He was an even bigger Sesame fan than I was!  I sacrificed my ticket, sent him in my place, and couldn't have been more happy to do so!

With the bag packed, child care instructions given and camera ready, I dropped Jahred, Axel and Andy off at the door.  Nearly bounding for the entrance, I thought Andy might knock some kids over!

Two things were great about this situation: Andy got the experience Sesame LIVE 20 years after our first time as kids, and I got to preserve my flawless recollection of childhood wonder.

An hour and 45 minutes later they called to say it was over.  Bounding once again to the car, I heard the rave reviews.  The seats were AWESOME, Axel was covered in streamers that blew off the stage, they had resisted purchasing an over-priced fiber-optic piece of crap and most of all, Axel sat motionless in complete awe for the entire performance!

No better satisfaction for a mother to know that an evening was meticulously planned and enjoyed.

On a less fabulous day like today, I have already stopped a tantrum by using 50 cents worth of tape to repair a 2 cent paper towel.

You never know what's coming down the shoot.

...Axel finally looked at the camera.  He seems annoyed at having to turn from the action. Photos are courtesy of Andy who snapped 51 fabulous pictures of the show and 1 fuzzy shot of Axel.