Concert in Cinci

Hey, hey…it’s Wednesday.

Between our busy weekend and the time change, I feel like I’m still recovering!

Today, I’m sharing about our weekend trip to Cincinnati filled with a stop at IKEA, the kids’ first concert, and good food and fun.

Hadley loves country singer Bailey Zimmerman. Last summer, Travis texted me that he got tickets for the BZ concert in Cinci in March. We decided to hold off telling Hadley about the concert until closer to time.

A couple of months ago, she had to make the choice about traveling with her volleyball team this past weekend or going to the concert. Well, she didn’t know she’d have to make a choice…haha…but when we told her about the concert, she was so excited. Travis was able to snag a fourth ticket, so Hayden could come too.

After her “room refresh,” I had a couple of things to return to IKEA, so we held on to them until this past weekend knowing that would be a good time to make the returns.

Hayden had a friend’s birthday party on Sunday, so we knew we’d have to get up and head back on Sunday…so we decided to spend most of the day Saturday in Cinci.

We left our house around 11:00, and drove to West Chester, OH to go to IKEA. We got there around 1:00, and ate at Panera before heading into IKEA.

I love IKEA, and I wish there was one closer. Since we don’t go very often, I do like to walk the whole store to look at designs and see what they have.

So, Travis went and did the returns while the kids and I started walking around.

We’d also hoped to pick up the last piece for her room, but it wasn’t in stock. I’d checked the IKEA app before we made the trip, but I’d hoped we’d luck into the cabinet, but we were making the trip anyway. I actually got a text alert that it will be in stock soon, so maybe we can get it delivered if that’s still what we want to do.

It was nice to see it (the one on the left) in person.

Anyway, we made a few small purchases, and then we headed to the hotel.

We stayed in downtown Cinci near the concert venue. We had a pretty view out the window.

Right as we arrived at the hotel, the UK/Tennessee basketball game was starting, so we just hung out and watched the game in our room.

Then, we walked a few blocks to the Yard House for dinner before walking to the Andrew J. Brady Music Center for the concert.

It was a short and pretty walk!

There were two opening acts before Bailey Zimmerman. We caught the last couple of songs of Brandon Wisham before Josh Ross took the stage. We actually knew a couple of his songs, and he was so good. I bet he will be big time soon! He’s got a Morgan Wallen/Eric Church vibe to him.

Trav took our pic in between sets.

….and then it was time for BZ to perform. This is the “Religiously” tour, and that, of course, was his first song.

We all had a really great time (even though no picture proof that Travis and Hayden were with us…haha), and it was a fun venue.

I really liked his closing message as he encouraged the audience :

• You don’t get anywhere without working your a$$ off.
• You have to believe in yourself before others can believe in you.
• God is good all the time.

He was finished performing around 11:00, and we started the walk back to the hotel. The hotel had a market open 24/7, and the kids were hungry, so we picked up a few snacks before bed.

Shew! The time change….we did sleep until around 8:00, and the kids slept longer. We didn’t want to rush them, but we wanted to get home by 12:30 or so.

We did make a pit stop at a bakery, Paris Baguette Pastry Cafe, that we’d walked past on the way to the concert. You pick up a tray and tongs, and could pick up whatever pastries you want to buy.

This was our load:

(I chose the chocolate crossiant…and a coffee!)

…their desserts looked delish too.

We got in the car and headed home.

Overall, I think Bailey Zimmerman was the perfect first concert for the kids since we all enjoy his music. I know they’ll remember it.

My first concert was Billy Joel. I was supposed to see him in 1994, but the concert was postponed until the next year because his wife, Christie Brinkley, was in a helicopter crash. He rescheduled the concert, so he could be with her while she recovered. I hadn’t thought about that concert memory in a long time!

What was your first concert?