The year before Las Vegas, I didn’t believe it. Upon arrival, I wouldn’t believe it. After it happened, I couldn’t believe it. I was actually going to see Céline Dion perform live. It was inconceivable to me. Being able to witness the sensational talent that is Céline Dion, was a dream I’d had for a long time. It was about to come true, or at least that’s what they told me. Before I begin I must tell you a little bit about how I became a fan of Céline Dion. When I remember the moment I became a fan, the best way I can describe it is that it was the voice that captured my attention, but it was the person behind the voice that ultimately kept it. She has, in my opinion, the most incredible voice of all time, and is able to touch so many different people with her talent. But when you dig deeper, when you look under the surface of that voice you find such an incredible story, you find inspiration, and above all you find love. As a young girl sitting on my living room floor, doing my homework, I was listening to a music awards show playing in the background. I listened to the performances as I finished up my work, looking up occasionally to see who won an award. But then, suddenly, I heard this note, a note I didn’t think was humanly possible. I instantly looked up to see a beautiful woman in a white outfit, her head thrown back, her face full of emotion, hitting the most powerful note that seemed to go on and on. Her voice sounded like home, very calming and soothing, and it reached the depths of my soul. Who was this woman, what was this song, and where could I hear more? From that moment on, I was a fan! Something in her voice spoke to me, I felt an instant, everlasting connection. For over a decade, I have been in love with this woman, supported her in her every move both personal and professional, and have continued to be mesmerized by her outstanding voice. As I discovered my first albums of hers, I simply could not believe I had gone through my nearly ten years of life and had not heard this voice before. Personally, Céline helps and has helped me through every step of life, every emotion. Through tragedy and times of great joy. When you love her, you feel the love right back. She makes it known that all of her fans are important to her, and that she appreciates all that we do. When I speak about the connection Céline has with her fans, it’s impossible for anyone to fully grasp the concept, unless you are a fan yourself. Céline was born with her heart on her sleeve, if you’re willing, she will let you in and keep you tucked inside her heart forever. Céline is an phenomenal woman, wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. Not to take away from her remarkable voice, but I would still be her fan if it were simply because of the person that she is. I would not be who I am without her inspiration, she has impacted my life in so many unexpected ways. By looking up to Céline and by having her as an inspiration has taught me a great many things. First of all, and perhaps most importantly, always believe in yourself and in your dreams. Never settle for less, and continue to climb higher when there is no place higher left to climb. Nothing is impossible. If circumstances allow, be generous and kind to others in need. And no matter what, always be true to who you are because that‘s what truly counts after all. She has and will continue to inspire the world, myself included, and there will never be another quite like Céline Dion.
So you can imagine how stunned I was in the middle of a discussion about whether or not I would be allowed to go to Cancun, Mexico with several of my classmates as a high school graduation trip, which my parents were not too keen on me taking part in (they'd seen the Dateline special about that particular destination, I had not). I said, jokingly, “Fine, take me to Vegas to see Céline and I will never mention Cancun again.” Without pause, my dad replied, “Done!” I stammered, and said, “Wh-What?” He confirmed again his initial response, he was taking me to Vegas to see Céline! I was actually going to be able to see her perform in person, live! Cancun? Who wants to go there?! I thought my chances were over the moment Céline announced she was leaving the spotlight in 2000, but my chances were just beginning.
Ashlee, my very best friend, who is so much like me sometimes I wonder if we are the same person, was who I asked to go with me on this trip. Her parents were also not allowing her to go to Cancun, but at the thought of seeing Céline Dion perform live, neither of us were the least bit concerned about going there. From the moment we arrived in Las Vegas, my eyes were constantly searching for the Colosseum. At last I saw it! First I saw the sign with big bold letters, “CELINE DION”, with a screen playing clips from the show. Then I saw, with my own eyes, the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, unbelievable! The home of Céline’s new show! Was I really there? I could not stop taking pictures and 
videotaping the beautiful site. It would be inside that Colosseum that I would see Céline perform for the first time! After we checked into our hotel the first thing we wanted to do was cross the street and see the Colosseum up close! We walked in and Céline was everywhere you looked! There were signs promoting the show, and it seemed as if every video screen was playing clips from the show. It was Céline fan heaven, for sure. Then we spotted a brightly lit sign that said, “Celine Dion” at the same time. We took off running! It was the Céline store, a place I would never leave if I had it my way! This was our first of many trips to that wonderful store, and after every visit for some reason whatever money I had on me would vanish! This was a strange phenomenon I could never quite figure out.
The day of the show, June 14, 2003 - I didn’t feel well at all. I had a horrible headache and I was extremely tired. It was only my third day in Las Vegas, and I had already realized why they call it the city that never sleeps. It also didn’t help that the previous night Ashlee and I had gotten accidentally drunk. How do you get accidentally drunk? I’ll tell you. We both really wanted an Eiffel Tower glass at the Paris hotel, and you could only get one with a margarita, so my mom ordered us both virgin, emphasis on the virgin, margaritas. After receiving the so-called virgin margaritas, we went back to the hotel room. About an hour later, my mom came back to the room to check on us, and apparently we were bouncing off the walls, giggling nonstop, and had somehow flooded the bathroom. They were not virgin margaritas. Oops. Which is why the following morning, both Ashlee and I did not feel well at all. It didn’t help that during the day we went to the Hoover Dam, it was really hot and the heat seemed to bounce off the cement and on to us. So here we were, exhausted, seemingly hung over, before one of the most amazing nights of our lives. I remember being partially unconscious on the bed thinking, “Why do I have to feel like this now?" Once we arrived at the Colosseum, the adrenaline took over. I wasn’t feeling a thing, except pure excitement! We were looking around trying to take it all in, and we hadn’t even walked past the entrance yet! When you walk in, the first thing you see is a huge Chrysler emblem and several pictures of Céline! My dad went over and bought a water with the A New Day… logo on it for both Ashlee and I, and came back to give it to us. We wouldn’t open it, it was sacred Céline water - you understand! So he bought another one that we could actually drink. Then Ashlee and I spotted glasses with the A New day… logo on them. We had to have one! We asked if we could get virgin daiquiris, and we emphasized the word virgin! I got a strawberry one and Ashlee got a pina colada. This time, the bartender listened. I think. Neither of us drank very much of it, we were too excited!
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Ashlee and I had on our black shirts and headbands that we had decorated on graduation night with rhinestones to spell out Céline’s name, also on the back it said, “Las Vegas, 2003”. We were fanatics and everyone knew it. An usher said she liked our outfits. Thanks to those outfits we met Christine. I remember she was short, with short black hair, and a warm smile that lit up her face. We met her in the bathroom of all places! Ashlee and I were waiting on my mom when a nice lady looked up from washing her hands. She joked, “It’s too bad you guys aren’t fans!” She introduced herself to be Christine, the Colosseum’s Assistant House Manager. We thought it was so cool to meet her. We told her we were both named Ashley, and to just call us the Ashleys, everyone does! We told her we were from Indiana, and this was our high school graduation trip! My mom came out and had joined in the conversation by then. Christine said she was originally from Illinois, and she was very excited to meet us! We showed her our tickets, and asked if they were good seats. She said “Oh yes! These are right in the action!” We were thrilled! She asked us to be sure to find her after the show to give her our review. We then walked out of the bathroom, I ran up to my dad and explained to him who we had just met! My mom went up to Christine shortly after, by herself, and asked her if there was any way possible to meet Céline. This is something I would never, ever ask. Christine informed my mom of what I already knew, Céline leaves for home almost immediately after the show to go home to her son. All meetings are set up prior to the show. Christine then came back to us a little later and began introducing us to all the ushers one by one explaining we were the "Ashleys from Indiana" and we were there for our high school graduation! We talked to her some more, she told us that being in management is a very good job and to possibly consider it. An usher later on asked us if she could take us upstairs to our seats, we joked as if we were offended, “We are in the third row, dead center, on the floor!” It was funny. Christine ended up kindly showing us to our seats. When I walked into the Colosseum, it was so amazing! I was really, actually there - or was I? We went to our seats, third row, dead center, we could not believe our eyes! We were so close, closer than I'd ever imagined! There was a couple beside Ashlee and they were laughing at our reaction - our jaws to the floor. Literally, our mouths were hanging open! We kept saying, “Oh my God! Céline is going to be right there on those stairs!” We could not fathom how close the stage was to the audience, it had looked much further away on TV. Christine talked to us some more, laughing at our excitement. We told her she may want call an ambulance right now, or at the very least put one on stand by in case we were to pass out! She found us to be quite entertaining, but eventually had to get back to work. She told us to enjoy the show!
Ashlee and I had on our black shirts and headbands that we had decorated on graduation night with rhinestones to spell out Céline’s name, also on the back it said, “Las Vegas, 2003”. We were fanatics and everyone knew it. An usher said she liked our outfits. Thanks to those outfits we met Christine. I remember she was short, with short black hair, and a warm smile that lit up her face. We met her in the bathroom of all places! Ashlee and I were waiting on my mom when a nice lady looked up from washing her hands. She joked, “It’s too bad you guys aren’t fans!” She introduced herself to be Christine, the Colosseum’s Assistant House Manager. We thought it was so cool to meet her. We told her we were both named Ashley, and to just call us the Ashleys, everyone does! We told her we were from Indiana, and this was our high school graduation trip! My mom came out and had joined in the conversation by then. Christine said she was originally from Illinois, and she was very excited to meet us! We showed her our tickets, and asked if they were good seats. She said “Oh yes! These are right in the action!” We were thrilled! She asked us to be sure to find her after the show to give her our review. We then walked out of the bathroom, I ran up to my dad and explained to him who we had just met! My mom went up to Christine shortly after, by herself, and asked her if there was any way possible to meet Céline. This is something I would never, ever ask. Christine informed my mom of what I already knew, Céline leaves for home almost immediately after the show to go home to her son. All meetings are set up prior to the show. Christine then came back to us a little later and began introducing us to all the ushers one by one explaining we were the "Ashleys from Indiana" and we were there for our high school graduation! We talked to her some more, she told us that being in management is a very good job and to possibly consider it. An usher later on asked us if she could take us upstairs to our seats, we joked as if we were offended, “We are in the third row, dead center, on the floor!” It was funny. Christine ended up kindly showing us to our seats. When I walked into the Colosseum, it was so amazing! I was really, actually there - or was I? We went to our seats, third row, dead center, we could not believe our eyes! We were so close, closer than I'd ever imagined! There was a couple beside Ashlee and they were laughing at our reaction - our jaws to the floor. Literally, our mouths were hanging open! We kept saying, “Oh my God! Céline is going to be right there on those stairs!” We could not fathom how close the stage was to the audience, it had looked much further away on TV. Christine talked to us some more, laughing at our excitement. We told her she may want call an ambulance right now, or at the very least put one on stand by in case we were to pass out! She found us to be quite entertaining, but eventually had to get back to work. She told us to enjoy the show! I sat there in my seat trying desperately to take it all in. This was my first time seeing Céline live, it may be the only time, so I was trying to remember everything. I was trying to prepare myself for who was about to perform on the stage right in front of me. I thought to myself, remember this night - it may never happen again. I almost didn’t want the show to begin, because the sooner it began the sooner it would be over. Of course, on the other hand I was waiting for someone to jump out from behind me saying, "Gotcha! Oh, we totally had you!"
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The video screen on the stage shows people in the audience before the show. There was a guy a few rows behind us that was doing this invisible string trick with his lip. It was funny! Later on, he fell to the floor to dodge the camera! Also, the camera guy kept zooming in on all the woman’s cleavage! The camera did zoom on my dad, mom, and me. I just waved and smiled, I was in a daze!
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Then all of a sudden I heard the sound of glass breaking, then I saw a video of Céline walking down stairs on the larger than life LED screen. I thought it was so cruel to show a video of her, for someone as overwhelmed as I was who’d only ever seen her on TV, trying to figure out when the video ended and when it was finally, really, actually her. But then she appeared, and I thought I would die. My mouth dropped open, I actually had to reach up to close it this time. Ashlee and I grabbed on to each other, pretty much embracing each other! It sure looked like her, walking slowly towards me, singing, “Nature Boy”. She walked up to center stage, so close to me. The spotlight made her eyes sparkle. I stopped breathing for a moment, my dad later telling me I leaned forward and said, “Is she real?” She was so beautiful. Even if when I imagined this moment, I imagined her long brown hair, when in fact she had short blonde hair, she still looked amazing. She was very tan, or maybe she looked tanner because of her hair. She was very short, she had always seemed so tall on TV. When the lights hit her face even her eye shadow sparkled. When I realized I was close enough to see her eye shadow, I gasped. I swung my arms out to grab both my mom and Ashlee for dear life as she came even closer to us! Ashlee was just as far gone as I was. She couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t breathe. I was so overwhelmed to be the presence of someone who I had looked up to all of my life, that I just sat there frozen, completely silent, in total awe. I had known for over a year that I would see her perform, but never once did I fully believe the reality, well in all honesty it still wasn't fully sinking in. When her first song came to an end, Ashlee and I transformed from complete silence/hypnotic stare to wild screaming/clapping! Then Céline immediately began, “The Power of Love”, and I came halfway out of my trance and sang along. My parents later telling me I was singing a bit loudly, but I sounded great so they felt no need to stop me. It all seemed to go by so quickly, just as I had predicted. She sang her first few songs: “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”, “Because You Loved Me”, and “To Love You More”. Was I actually seeing and hearing her perform these songs, the songs I had grown up listening to? Then she stopped to look at the audience, who was applauding her, she was right in front of me. She was smiling and was genuinely touched by the love from the audience. I tapped Ashlee on the shoulder and told her (as we had planned before) that as soon as it gets quiet we’re going to yell to Céline that we love her. Something inside me said this was the moment, so as soon as the applause died down we yelled in perfect unison, and at the top of our lungs, “We love you Céline!!!!!” I think I also threw my hands into the air. In the moment before we called out to her, I was scared, excited, and my stomach was going crazy, and I don't think I would have actually done it had I fully believed she was real. What if Ashlee chickened out and didn’t yell with me? What if I tried to yell and nothing came out? But we both did it just as we had planned to, and rather loudly, but neither of us imagined what would happen next. She immediately, without pause, looked down at the both of us and smiled so big. Before Ashlee and I had time to react to that, she looked us both directly in the eyes, which made me feel like I was going to pass out! When Céline looks into your eyes, she looks at you with such intensity. The expression, “the eyes are the windows to the soul” takes one a whole new meaning. After making eye contact with the both of us, she responded, “I love you too!” as genuine as ever. My head started spinning, and according to my mom - my entire body went completely limp. That's 
when it finally hit me, I was there - Céline Dion was there - this was happening. She was real! The whole moment seemed to freeze in time and proceed in slow motion. Céline Dion had just spoken to us. They were the first words she spoke all night, and they were to us. Then my head collapsed on my mom’s shoulder, I was gasping for air. Almost as if I were hyperventilating, I had no control. My mom was asking me if I was ok, she thought I was crying, then she thought I was laughing, but then she realized that I was simply trying to breathe! I was covering my face with my hands, making it impossible to inhale any oxygen! My whole body was shaking, and I never remember being this overwhelmed in my life. I then realized Ashlee’s head was leaning against my shoulder, and she was having difficulty breathing and shaking uncontrollably as well. That must have been a sight! Once I started to breathe again, and my vision returned to normal, I looked up at Céline. She was still looking at us, her head tilted with ours, while laughing at our reaction! Then I started laughing as I lifted up my head, and so did Ashlee. We both looked at each other, then back at Céline, all of us laughing so hard. Céline waited for a moment to make sure we were ok, and then continued with the show saying, “We’re on tonight!!! Don’t you just love Las Vegas on a Saturday night?!” That is a moment I will never forget, my first encounter with Céline. She had spoken to Ashlee and I, words that meant so very much to us. .
The show was incredible. It was so overwhelming that I remember the show in flashes most of the time, but then there are moments when I hear a song she performed and it takes me to that night. I remember her flying during “The First Time Ever I Saw You Face”, and having to lean back in my seat to see her as she flew all the way to the ceiling barefoot! Hearing her sing “I Surrender” was breathtaking, I love that song, and the note she held at the end was beyond belief, sending shivers up my spine and giving me full on goosebumps. Then hearing her sing in French, “Je T’aime Encore” was such a touching moment. I loved how the translation in English was projected onto a scroll behind her. During “Love Can Move Mountains”, a dancer (whom I would later know as, Elijah Brown) walked in the row in front of us and his jacket swept across my face! During every applause Céline smiled at us with such appreciation. I could not clap hard enough or scream loud enough! My dad was yelling, “Woo!” every time like he was at a rock concert! Ashlee and I were dancing like crazy! We knew all the dance moves that had been on her television special for this show, and we weren’t afraid to dance along! During “I Drove All Night” Ashlee and were on our feet going wild - Céline looked at us again and winked and smiled at us because we knew all the moves! When we realized she was looking at us and winking at us, we turned towards each other at the same time and screamed! We probably looked ridiculous, I’m sure. When we turned back towards the stage, sure enough Céline was laughing at us! Then later on in the song, Céline looked directly into my eyes with such intensity and for what seemed like a long time. She was still singing while looking at me. I paused, told myself to smile, do something! But I couldn’t move. I think I managed to give her a little smile, but who knows? I later regretted not doing much of anything in that moment, but I think in some way she knew what I wanted to say. All throughout the show other fans were calling out to Céline, saying that they love her in both English and French. She would sometimes say “Me too,” but most of the time she didn’t answer at all. Selfishly, I must admit, I thought that made our moment a little bit more special. Once I heard the first few notes of “My Heart Will Go On”, I knew the end was near. Céline sang that song with more emotion and passion than ever, and everyone in the audience felt it. When she pounded her chest, you could hear it clear as day! When the song ended she hummed the last few notes, and she was right in front of me! The crowd instantly rose to their feet, including me, I could not have clapped harder for this amazing performer! She was deeply touched. She kept putting her hand on her heart, smiling, her eyes full of tears. She glanced at our row several times, I think we must have been the loudest! The applause lasted for quite a while, when it finished, Céline paused still visibly touched and said, “Thank you so much!” while still glancing at our row. I did not want this night to end and I was trying to take in every moment. She performed the final song of the night, “What a Wonderful World”, and then the show was over. Céline didn’t want to leave the stage, just as she had not wanted to get off the kitchen table as a child. She was smiling and waving, Ashlee and I yelled, “Je t’aime, Céline!” Her eyes darted in every direction as if she was trying to remember every face in the audience. Before she was even off the stage, someone was yelling, “Ashleys!!” Neither Ashlee or I heard her at first, still captured by the presence of Céline, but my mom tapped me on the shoulder, and I looked to see Christine at the end of our row. She yelled, “Come find me before you leave!” We yelled back, “Ok!” Then we looked back up at the stage as Céline was walking off, still waving and smiling. Then as we said our bittersweet goodbye to Céline, our minds shifted, what did Christine want to see us for? Our minds wondered at all the possibilities. Once all of the performers were offstage and the credits were rolling, Ashlee and I peeled ourselves out of our seats and made our way to the aisle.
.As soon as we reached the aisle an usher came up to us. He said, “I’m supposed to come get you, my boss wants to see you.” He began talking to us, I think he asked us how we liked the show as he escorted us out personally. But Ashlee and I were too busy trying to figure out what Christine wanted to see us for. Finally we reached the doors and our usher took us out to Christine and another manager. Christine gave both of us packages with the A New Day… logo on it. Our mouths dropped open! Christine said they had been given out on opening night! We were so thrilled, we hugged them both and kept saying, “Thank you!” over and over again. Christine then gave us each her business card. She told us that if we were ever able to return to Las Vegas to see Céline again, to give her a call in advance and she would see what she could do as far as a meet and greet with Céline. We were speechless. We had only met this wonderful lady a couple of hours ago, and she was being so kind and generous to us. We hugged and thanked her again, although not much was coming out of our mouths but gasps. Before we left she said, “You never know who you’ll meet in the bathroom!” Ashlee and I, along with my parents, then made our way back into the casino. We just stood there for a while. My mom had to use the restroom, so while we were waiting on her, Ashlee and I opened our packages. There was the program, a bookmark, a “One Heart” CD, a bottle of her new fragrance (which was missing from Ashlee’s package), a little note from Céline welcoming you to the show and thanking you for being there, and there was a little black box with a silver string wrapped around it in a bow - it was a silver, very heavy Chrysler key chain. Wow!
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We went back up to the casino. We were standing near the Colosseum, almost not wanting to leave. Someone brushed up against my shoulder and when I looked up at him, he smiled down at me. I instantly found his face familiar, he was one of the dancers in the show (whom I would later know to be Don Bellamy)! I pointed him out to Ashlee, and we both grabbed our programs and my dad’s pen in record time! We caught him and another dancer I recognized at the elevators. We asked them politely if they wouldn’t mind signing our programs. They looked stunned and shocked that we had even asked, replying that they were flattered and would love to sign our programs for us. I realized later on that the dancers I was meeting were Don Bellamy and Kelby Brown, I recognized
them best from the “I Wish” number in the show! Kelby, who had platinum blonde hair like Céline at the time, asked us if we enjoyed the show! We nodded our heads and smiled really big! I said, “Yes, but we couldn’t breathe!” He reached his hands out in concern and asked, “Oh my God! Why couldn’t you breathe?” We laughed, and I informed him that we were literally breath taken by Céline! “Because Céline was in front of us!” He totally understood, realizing how big of fans we were. Both Kelby and Don signed our programs next to their pictures in the book. Kelby asked us the all-important question of whether or not we could see his blonde hair during the show, we said we could, we were in the third row after all! He was excited, explaining that his blonde hair was very much new! He asked how it looked, and we both told him it looked great! Ashlee told him he looked hot! He was so excited talking to us - jumping up and down, smiling, clapping his hands! While standing there, several other dancers came up and signed our books, many of them just passed it around, some even asking us permission to sign it! One guy had to use Ashlee’s back to sign. We recognized the male dancer who had flown with Céline that night, we went up to him to ask if he would sign our book. At first he and his friends thought we wanted to sell him a program! He said he was ready to say, “Hello? I’m in the show!” It was funny! We also spotted the girl who was in the swing during “If I Could”, she kindly signed our programs as well. We saw another dancer leaning against the wall, he seemed very shy and I don’t think he could speak English very well. But after some impressive sign language, he kindly signed our programs as well. They all seemed to be just as excited to meet us as we were to meet them. One guy even missed his elevator to sign our programs, telling his friends he would catch up later. They were all so kind, and it meant so much to us. We said our goodbyes and eventually made our way back to the hotel.
them best from the “I Wish” number in the show! Kelby, who had platinum blonde hair like Céline at the time, asked us if we enjoyed the show! We nodded our heads and smiled really big! I said, “Yes, but we couldn’t breathe!” He reached his hands out in concern and asked, “Oh my God! Why couldn’t you breathe?” We laughed, and I informed him that we were literally breath taken by Céline! “Because Céline was in front of us!” He totally understood, realizing how big of fans we were. Both Kelby and Don signed our programs next to their pictures in the book. Kelby asked us the all-important question of whether or not we could see his blonde hair during the show, we said we could, we were in the third row after all! He was excited, explaining that his blonde hair was very much new! He asked how it looked, and we both told him it looked great! Ashlee told him he looked hot! He was so excited talking to us - jumping up and down, smiling, clapping his hands! While standing there, several other dancers came up and signed our books, many of them just passed it around, some even asking us permission to sign it! One guy had to use Ashlee’s back to sign. We recognized the male dancer who had flown with Céline that night, we went up to him to ask if he would sign our book. At first he and his friends thought we wanted to sell him a program! He said he was ready to say, “Hello? I’m in the show!” It was funny! We also spotted the girl who was in the swing during “If I Could”, she kindly signed our programs as well. We saw another dancer leaning against the wall, he seemed very shy and I don’t think he could speak English very well. But after some impressive sign language, he kindly signed our programs as well. They all seemed to be just as excited to meet us as we were to meet them. One guy even missed his elevator to sign our programs, telling his friends he would catch up later. They were all so kind, and it meant so much to us. We said our goodbyes and eventually made our way back to the hotel. .
Ashlee and I were in a trance, and so physically and emotionally drained from pure excitement. I didn’t want the night to end. We returned to our hotel room. I laid down, or collapsed rather, on the bed hugging my opening night package from Christine. And Ashlee fell asleep on 
her program full of the dancers’ signatures on the other bed. My mom said, “Ashlee you’re going to wrinkle your program.” She jolted upwards, and moved it over so she would be sure not to damage it in any way, shape, or form. My parents went to get us Subway, because we had barely eaten all day. We took a shower, ate our Subway, and then fell asleep immediately with the whole night replaying in our heads. The next day we woke up with my mom asking, “Who loves you?” We both came out of our deep sleeps replying in unison, “Céline…”.
That day, the last day of our vacation in Las Vegas. I was still in a trance. I kept replaying the incredible moment when Céline had spoken to us. I wasn’t worth much that day. We made our final trip to the Céline store. I remember buying another t-shirt and a candle after my dad loaned me some money. It was sad, and we didn’t want to leave, although we were lucky enough to be bringing all of these wonderful memories home. We wanted a picture with Christine, but we were unable to find her. But we did see our usher again outside the Colosseum during a show. We posed for a picture with him. We returned home to Indiana in our Céline shirts and pajamas. A flight attendant asked me if I had seen her show as I was walking onto the plane. I came out of my sleep/trance and smiled saying, “Yes!” She asked how it was. The whole show flashed through my mind again and the moment when Céline said she loved us too, “Awesome!!!!!”
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When we returned home we had graduation and birthday parties, and Ashlee went to Florida with her family. But while that whirlwind was going on, I was contemplating a plan to make a video to send to Christine to thank her for all she had done for us. A card just didn't seem like enough. Ashlee agreed and we got to work as soon as we had the time! When we were finally able to get together to make our video, it was towards the end of July, but neither of us had forgotten that amazing night. It was still replaying in our heads. We dressed exactly as we had the night of the show, in our decorated shirts and headbands. I hit the record button, and we thought of everybody we needed to thank at the Colosseum. From the ushers, to the dancers, from Christine, to of course Céline! We told them a little about our trip and of course the moment when Céline said she loved us too. We told them how much we loved the show, we were so gooberish and silly, but above all we were ourselves. We also made sure to throw in a few “I love you Céline!”s just in case she might ever see our video too, it was a long shot but you never know. We made sure to thoroughly thank Christine for her kindness, and that we would never, ever forget it or her. I had the video edited and ready to send by the beginning of August. I included a music video of all of the Céline-related things we did to “I Drove All Night”, as well as a video of our entire trip to “Viva Las Vegas”! It took a little over a month for Christine to call. Ashlee and I had left a message on her answering machine asking her if she had received it and to give us a call. A couple days after I had received the signature from the registered package, the cell phone rang! It was September 4th, around 8:00pm. My cat, Biff was sick and I was nursing him back to health. When the phone rang, my mom looked up at me and said, “Christine?” I bolted towards the phone, and quickly answered it. Sure enough it was Christine!
.
- "Hello?"
- "Hello, this is Christine, the Colosseum at Caesars Palace’s assistant house manager, is this Ashley?"
- "Yes, hi!"
- "I wanted to call and let you know that I received your tape…"
- "You did, wow!"
- "… yes, and it’s such a wonderful video, we all love it. The usher’s name is Ray." (She told me this because in our video we couldn’t remember his name, and we wanted to thank him as well.)
- "Ray? Oh, we couldn’t remember."
- "Yes, and he’s on a leave of absence right now, but I’ll make sure he gets to see it when he returns. But I wanted to call and let you know that we received your tape and I’m planning to show it to my staff, and the dancers tonight because you thanked them as well!"
- "Oh my God! Thank you so much! I'm so happy you liked it!"
- [laughs] "Yes, and I’m also making a copy for Céline to see as well!"
- OH MY GOD! [I drop to the floor.]
- "Hello, this is Christine, the Colosseum at Caesars Palace’s assistant house manager, is this Ashley?"
- "Yes, hi!"
- "I wanted to call and let you know that I received your tape…"
- "You did, wow!"
- "… yes, and it’s such a wonderful video, we all love it. The usher’s name is Ray." (She told me this because in our video we couldn’t remember his name, and we wanted to thank him as well.)
- "Ray? Oh, we couldn’t remember."
- "Yes, and he’s on a leave of absence right now, but I’ll make sure he gets to see it when he returns. But I wanted to call and let you know that we received your tape and I’m planning to show it to my staff, and the dancers tonight because you thanked them as well!"
- "Oh my God! Thank you so much! I'm so happy you liked it!"
- [laughs] "Yes, and I’m also making a copy for Céline to see as well!"
- OH MY GOD! [I drop to the floor.]
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The cell phone dies. My mom is jumping up and down, dying to know why I was freaking out. I was still on the floor gasping for air, “She’s…she’s...gonna…give a c-c-copy to Céline!”
.
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[Cell phone rings.]
.
.
- "Hello?"
- "Yes, Ashley?"
- "Yes, I’m sorry my cell phone died!
- "Yes, Ashley?"
- "Yes, I’m sorry my cell phone died!
- That’s okay. But yes, I’m going to send a copy to Céline’s executives to make sure she gets to see it too!"
- "Oh, wow! Thank you so much for showing it to Céline!" [gasps]
- "Oh, no problem! [laughs] You mentioned her as well, so I want to be sure she sees it. Be sure to tell the other Ashlee thank you as well!"
- "I will!"
- "Oh, wow! Thank you so much for showing it to Céline!" [gasps]
- "Oh, no problem! [laughs] You mentioned her as well, so I want to be sure she sees it. Be sure to tell the other Ashlee thank you as well!"
- "I will!"
- "It looks like you had a great time in Vegas!"
-"Yes, we did!"
-"I'm so glad!"
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[Cell phone dies again, I run upstairs to get her business card and then run back downstairs to call her on the landline, still gasping for air both out of exhaustion and excitement.]
.
- "Hello?"
- "Hi, Christine, it’s Ashley. I’m calling you on a landline instead of a cell phone, we get horrible reception where I live."
- "Oh, that’s no problem. Thank you so much for the wonderful video, it was one of the most creative things I’ve ever seen!"
- "Hi, Christine, it’s Ashley. I’m calling you on a landline instead of a cell phone, we get horrible reception where I live."
- "Oh, that’s no problem. Thank you so much for the wonderful video, it was one of the most creative things I’ve ever seen!"
- "Oh, you’re welcome, and thank you so much for everything!"
- "Is that still what you plan to do?"
- "Yes, definitely."
- "I wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors!"
- "Thank you so much!"
- "Tell the other Ashlee thank you as well, and I’ll be sure to show it to everyone and Céline of course!"
- "Thank you!"
- "Is that still what you plan to do?"
- "Yes, definitely."
- "I wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors!"
- "Thank you so much!"
- "Tell the other Ashlee thank you as well, and I’ll be sure to show it to everyone and Céline of course!"
- "Thank you!"
- "Be sure to call me and let me know if you are able to return! We’d love to see you!"
- "I will!"
- "You have a wonderful evening."
- "You too!"
- "Bye, Ashley!"
- "Bye!"
- "I will!"
- "You have a wonderful evening."
- "You too!"
- "Bye, Ashley!"
- "Bye!"
.
After the phone call was over I was in that same trance that I was in days after seeing the show. It’s almost as if my brain has to take a long amount of time to process what has just happened. Because if it were all to sink in at once, my head might explode. I immediately called Ashlee to tell her the amazing news! I made sure she wasn’t driving, and that she was sitting down. She was the only one home, which concerned me, in case she needed CPR! After five minutes or so of ordering her to sit down and to remember to breathe, she had already half guessed what I was about to say.
.After the phone call was over I was in that same trance that I was in days after seeing the show. It’s almost as if my brain has to take a long amount of time to process what has just happened. Because if it were all to sink in at once, my head might explode. I immediately called Ashlee to tell her the amazing news! I made sure she wasn’t driving, and that she was sitting down. She was the only one home, which concerned me, in case she needed CPR! After five minutes or so of ordering her to sit down and to remember to breathe, she had already half guessed what I was about to say.
- "Did Christine call?"
- "Just sit down!"
- "Ok, ok, I’m sitting down, WHAT?!"
- "Christine just called!"
- [screams]
- "She got our tape!"
- [screams louder]
- "Tonight she’s showing it to practically everyone at the Colosseum!"
- [screams even louder]
- "And she’s giving a copy to Céline!!!!!"
- [SCREAMS] "OH MY GOD!!!!!"
- [Screams along]
- [loud thud]
- "Ashlee, are you ok?"
- [continues screaming]
- "Just sit down!"
- "Ok, ok, I’m sitting down, WHAT?!"
- "Christine just called!"
- [screams]
- "She got our tape!"
- [screams louder]
- "Tonight she’s showing it to practically everyone at the Colosseum!"
- [screams even louder]
- "And she’s giving a copy to Céline!!!!!"
- [SCREAMS] "OH MY GOD!!!!!"
- [Screams along]
- [loud thud]
- "Ashlee, are you ok?"
- [continues screaming]
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[After holding the phone away from my ear for a few moments...]
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-I'm ok, I'm ok... I broke my phone, but I'm ok...
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Long story short, Ashlee fell off her bed, hurt her butt, threw her phone, and broke her phone denting the wall. But both Ashlee and I were beyond excited that not only did Christine love our video, but she was kind enough to show it to Céline. Céline would see a video that I had created, and that we were in! And even though Ashlee and I both made complete fools of ourselves in this particular video, we knew Céline would appreciate it and also, that she loves us too.
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