So I am very excited that I'm going-- my husband and I plan to bring our kids (then 3 and 1 year old)so that we can have family phun. But, alas, hubby and I get into a spat and I decide to take the kids to the show with my friends and he stays home. 

We arrive in Santa Fe and it is wet, cold and bleak-- perfectly in harmony with my mood. We enter the ampitheater about a half hour before show time and it is still raining. My kids are less than thrilled about the weather, but these two very sweet guys give us their second row seats because there is an overhang that will protect us from the rain and they feel bad that my kids might get wet. 

They mention that the band loves to see kids at shows and tell me that it's cool that I brought them. The instant the show starts, the rain stops, the sky clears, and I swear it warms up about ten degrees. I hold my kids in my arms and proceed to boogie down for the first set. 

After the first song of second set (Julius I'm pretty sure) I put my kids down because my arms and back were like collapsing. I promptly get yelled at by a security guard "Pick those kids up before they get stepped on" even though they are just sitting on the bench seat. Mind you, I am about ten feet away from the band at this point (falling in love with Mike, by the way, but that's another story) and I guess they must have seen or heard my plight. 

They put down their electric instruments and leave the stage for a moment. The crowd murmurs because it is obviously NOT the end of second set. Then the boys re-emerge with a collection of toy instruments. Fishman has a washboard and the rest of the band has kazoos and other toy instruments. OH MY GOD THEY ARE LOOKING RIGHT AT ME!!!

OH MY GOD TREY HAS JUST REACHED OUT HIS HAND AND INVITED MY KIDS AND I ON STAGE!!

OH MY GOD THEY REALLY MEAN IT AND WE ARE UP ON STAGE!!

OH MY GOD THEY ARE PLAYING TO US!!! OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!!

My girls are unaware of what a big deal this is, as they are barely more than infants. So while I kind of bop around, grinning like a total fool, they are goggling around at the band and then the audience. My youngest daughter, just over a year old but very small for her age, begins to dance-- I mean seriously getting down-- and the whole crowd cheers which inspires her to dance even harder. I see Trey grin at her, (he must be a great daddy 'cuz he just radiated warmth the whole time we were up there). 

The band played two or three songs with us up there before going back to electric instruments, but it seemed like an eternity. The kids are now 7 and 9 and don't really remember our fifteen minutes of fame. But when we were on tour this fall, they told all of their friends about it because at this point it has become a cherished family story. I still can't believe how nice the band was that night-- thanks guys. Our whole family loves ya!