Tim McGraw

So as many probably already know, Justin and I are big Tim McGraw fans. But what you most likely didn't know, is that Justin is his #1 Fan! I swear, I should get him a TShirt and I am pretty sure Justin would wear it proudly. So when we found out that Tim was going on tour, Justin jumped at the chance of getting tickets in STL...oh and Columbia, MO. Our good friend at Mizzou has some great connections, and was able to snag us 4th row seats at what turned out to be one of the best nights of our lives. February 25, 2010 proved to be an amazing night and one that I will never forget.

As parents of a 17month old, we don't get a lot of time for just the two of us...so I had been looking forward to the extra time to talk and catch up on the way to Columbia...so with Hudsen dropped of at my parents house for the night, we hit the road....And spent the entire hour and half talking about Hudsen :)

We were able to arrive early enough to really scope out our seat situation and we honestly felt like celebrities. There was the main stage, and then a long runway in the middle jetting out to the crowd. We were 4th row, and seats 3 and 4 off the runway (here we could definitely see the potential of touching Mr. McGraw if the opportunity presented itself). About 5 minutes after we sat down, 2 tall and skinny super models sat down in front of us...and immediately crushed my dreams of getting any attention or eye contact from Tim. I mean, these girls were dressed to break up his marriage with Faith...I, on the other hand, had opted to wear the cliche plaid shirt...which didn't hold a candle to one of the girls painted on tank tops, but I am a mother and have adjusted to roll I now play, and the example I need to set for my daughter....although, rewind back into my early/mid 20's...my concert wear may have been a little bit more revealing.

The opening band was great - although I have no clue what there name was...but they got the ball rolling and really set the tone for what was in store. Next up was Lady Antebellum...who I knew I already liked, but found out I LOVED! They were amazing performers and so animated and I feel like I really got to know them. The male lead singer and Justin definitely exchanged a hello....that's right... I think he pointed at Justin, and Justin returned the point with a salute. It was cute. I really got in the spirit of things and started taking pictures with my phone...as we were told NO CAMERAS. I quickly found out that we could have snuck one in, as EVERYONE had cameras, even the BIG ones with the huge lenses. My blackberry phone camera has never been very good, and Justin's isn't much better - which we soon found out, as all of our pictures look blurry and abstract - but this wasn't going to get the Backsmeyers down. In fact, I still probably took 50 pictures....one of which features the back of my husbands head next to Tim McGraw (see below).

9:30pm....FINALLY, Tim shows his face and hits the stage with a bang and 'Real Good Man!' (one of our favorite songs) I thought I was going to cry...but would fight back the tears until at least a few songs in. I'll be honest, Tim did not look his best. He announced that he had 2 weeks left of filming a movie (with Gwyneth Paltrow), so he was not able to shave the massive beard that he must be sporting for the flick. He also looked rather trim - so perhaps the roll didn't call for a hunky, muscular, clean cut guy that we all know and love. He didn't waste any time working the stage though- and this got us both very excited! There where a few times where he reached out and highfived groups of fans. And during his 3rd song he made his way over to our side, and this is where it all went in slow motion. Justin had positioned himself early in the seat closer to the stage...which I was fine with, as he is clearly the bigger fan. So as I saw Tim making his way down our side of the center stage....I had a feeling this was going to be Justin's big chance to 'meet' his idol. He slapped probably 50 hands on his way towards us, and I kid you not....all of a sudden, it felt like a spot light was shinning on Justin and Tim. Tim, paused, and intentionally reached over a couple of people, and gave Justin the most manly of handshakes you could ever imagine. It was as if he was looking for someone to connect with and be his Best Friend for the night....and Tim McGraw found that in Justin! Ha! Seriously, I started crying after he passed and was congratulating Justin as if he had just been elected President. I know this was so special for Justin, and he would never admit it, nor would he blab on and on like I have here....but it was incredible - and I am just so grateful that my husband got to shake hands and 'meet' one of the people he admires most in the world. I don't think many people get to do that in their lifetime. Take me for example....am I ever going to meet Reese Witherspoon? or Jennifer Aniston? No probably not...at least not here in Wildwood, MO.

So the Backsmeyers want to send a BIG Thank You to Tim McGraw for putting on an amazing show and I know my husband is so happy to have 'met' you! We will see you this summer in St. Louis!

PS. If Reese or Jen are reading this - Call me!

Getting Started

Only I would would start a blog and would immediately find a way to get out of writing my first blog entry! I knew I wanted to start from the beginning of 'Justin and Brittani' but I was struggling to find a way to recap our lives quickly and accurately and thinking about everything I wanted to say was truly overwhelming. I was complaining to Justin, and he offered to 'help.' About 48 hours later, he came home from work with 3 typed pages summarizing our amazing 8 years together. I must say, I was more than impressed, and have officially asked him to be a life long contributor to the 'Backsmeyer Bundle.' (That is if he doesn't run off and start his own blog!) :)

Justin's first and last blog entry...

When my wife asked me if I would like to contribute to her blog, I obliged and was happy to do so. Her idea was for me to give my perception of our lives as we know it together and of course, with our beautiful daughter. I hope one day Hudsen can read this entry when she is older and discover how her parents met and more importantly how much she was loved and appreciated.

I must admit, that it would be difficult to start without mentioning my relationship with Brittani, 'pre-Hudsen.' I had met Brit on a number of occasions. They were the typical "hey, nice to meet you" followed by a hand shake (the fist pump was not IN yet, otherwise I may have given that in an effort to let her know how cool I really was)...all the while I was thinking to myself how beautiful she was. I only saw Brittani during Christmas break, as I was home during the winter and gone during the summer. So it is hard to forget the night that Brittani and I met for what I am told was for the 3rd time, at MPO'Reilys. We talked and had a wonderful time and ended up taking the conversation over to Humphrey's and got to know eachother and exchanged a lot of laughs. Up to this point we had never said more than a few words to one another, so things were going great! Long story short, this night, on a cocktail napkin, I exchanged phone numbers with my future wife.


Soon after that night, I was making regular trips to Columbia, Mo and having so much fun visiting with her and her friends and enjoying the life of a college student. Brit always made sure to include me for special occasions especially those hosted by her sorority. I remember their 'Crush Party' inparticular. I wasn't sure I was really liked or just the flavor of the month. Then there was the time I visited to take Brit out for Valentines and that is still to this day, one of my favorite nights with her.

I could not be happier or luckier to have found such a wonderful person to call my wife. She is truly beautiful inside and out. She has supported me for so long. The years I spent playing baseball thousands of miles away and her commitment to stay together by taking weekend trips to California to visit me during the summer did not go un-noticed nor unappreciated.

As our relationship continued, I knew I wanted to spend every day with Brittani. That is when I knew that I would take the next step in asking her to marry me. It was Jan 9th, 2004, about a month in a half before I had to leave again for Spring Training, when I decided to get down on one knee. My only regret was that my proposal was not as extravagant I had imagined and I'm sure what Brittani had envisioned. My excuse though was the 'shock factor.' Never under estimate the element of surprise (my advice to you) but you know what they say about free advice??? I digress...Brittani had an idea it was coming so any thing out of the ordinary would certainly give it away. So I planned to do it after she got off work from the job from hell, otherwise known as Enterprise Rent A Car. It was a Friday night and would seem to Brittani as a normal night out. Her family agreed to par take in my plan by leaving the house for a little while as I mustered up the words to ask Brittani to spend the rest of her life with me. As I got down on one knee, I had no idea what was coming out of my mouth. Suddenly, I forgot how to put a sentence together. I was like that one chick from Miss USA Pageant...'like, such as...' But eventually it came out. As we now know, Brittani said yes, but what was so surprising and what caught me off guard was that she wouldn't make direct eye contact with the ring. I had just spent a crap ton of money on this thing, and Brittani decides to go Ray Charles on me. Finally, after the tears dried she was able to focus on what a gorgeous ring I had designed for her. Your welcome babe!!!

I was not prepared for what was in store for me when it came down to planning the wedding. Brittani's mother, Carmen, took wedding planning as a profession. Her desire to make this wedding go on without a hitch was a success. Between the two, Brittani and her mom could not have planned a better day. The 5pm service start time was a key component. As an invited guest this allows you to move directly from the ceremony to the reception and get started on your cocktails, which is always taken to a higher level when you are at a reception. The reason is simple...everyone is in a good mood, your dancing, the food is good and most importantly....it is FREE.99!! The band was great, and if I recall...Mustang Sally was not played. That is the one wedding song that that will clear a dance floor quicker than Elaine off Seinfeld. All kidding aside we were very fortunate to have had such an amazing evening spent with our family and friends. It will always be a welcome memory.

Married life was great. We were now living together. We bought our first house a month prior to getting married in August 2005, so we were very excited about moving in! We live in Wildwood (God's Country) and couldn't be happier. Although, as the years progressed and you spend nearly every weekend at Harpo's in Chesterfield, you begin to yearn and you ask yourself 'is there anything else out there, is there something better?' Then you find out there isn't, so we continued to go to Harpo's. Nothing better than Dr. Bob on the mic, second hand smoke and seeing the same people sing the same songs every week. Those were the days!

As most of you know, we hosted what we thought to be a pretty good Christmas celebration. Of course I am referring to our Holiday Sweater parties. We had a nice 3 year run, but saw the writing on the wall. Either we get a bigger house or we put this party to bed. We choose the ladder. I have fond memories of two of them especially. One, being when my buddy Jimmy decided to come dressed as an Elf. The other when Brittani's friend, Lisa, decided to sniper us from what seemed like the rooftops, and blew our cover, as she had figured out that Brittani was pregnant. At that point, the usual questions were issued by others...drink that champagne....take this shot....all to prove Brittani was with child. So before we could even tell our parents...there we were, draped in plaid and heavy sweaters featuring everything from snowmen to reindeer's....we decided to announce that Brittani was in fact pregnant.


Brittani was a fantastic pregnant lady!! She never complained and even though she would disagree, she was absolutely beautiful. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. You always hear things about pregnant women having crazy mood swings and strange desires for certain kinds of foods. Brittani never had that or at least not until a few months in. That is when she developed her love/hate relationship with the Nestle company and there ever more popular item...the peanut M&M. Brittani would be first to admit that this would be her only vice during her pregnancy. Other than that she was a trooper.

The best day of my life was September 9, 2008. We were going to have our baby today! This day would prove to be a very long and sometimes intense as the labor process my wife had to endure was stressful. I often think about how strong she was during her time in the labor and delivery room. At one point they were giving her the epidural at the same time as her most intense contraction and I wondered how in the hell is she doing this. More than 24 hours passed since we had checked into the hospital when the Dr. made the decision that a C-Section would be the best way to go as the baby was ready and Brittani was already 10 days late. Brit and I still didn't know the sex of the baby, so as I got dressed in my scrubs and they were preparing Brit for surgery, I could not help but to get anxious, and a little nervous. My thoughts were on behalf of Brittani and of course our baby to be.

I remember the operating room being very cold and

very bright. I sat by Brittani's head while they had a very large sheet at her waist preventing us to see what was going on.

They asked Brittani if she felt anything, she said 'a little' and before we could comprehend the situation, 10 seconds later the doctor said "Here we go! The baby is coming!" I got up to take a look, shocked by how quick it was and by the time I was able to peak over the curtain the doctor was holding HER. I could not believe that I was the proud parent of a sweet little girl. Holding her for the first time was a very surreal feeling. I remember thinking, that I would and will do anything to keep her safe always. Hudsen Beal Backsmeyer was born on September 9, 2008 weighing 7lbs 14oz and measured 21.5 inches long.

As I am writing this, Hudsen is now days away from being 17months old and I could never have imagined how much fun it would be to be a parent, and what an honor it is to be the dad of such a beautiful little girl. Hudsen makes me a better man, a better husband, a better worker, a better golfer...just kidding - haha!! Most importantly, she allows me to understand what truly is important in life. To me that answer is simple. I truly believe my family and faith is the foundation of who I am. So I must end this by saying how grateful I am to have met and married my best friend and to share with her the joy of being Hudsen's parents.

Written by: Justin C. Backsmeyer