Seacrest OUT!

For anyone who might care, tonight is the series grand finale of American Idol!  I haven't watched the show the last few years, but I'm tuning in for the 3-part finale this week and it's bringing back all kinds of memories...

• Celebrating (watching on the tiny TV in my OBU dorm room) as KELLY CLARKSON was crowned the first winner in 2002!
• Seeing From Justin to Kelly in theaters with Megs, Rach, and Holly Dei! lol
• Pizza and brownies on the couch at my parents' house, watching (Seasons 2-5) with the fam and Aunt Charlene and the Myricks - always fun!
• Me and Rach taking turns dialing the number to vote for Clay in the finale over and over and always getting a busy signal... #riggedforRuben #claikenfan
• Making "Clay is our AmerAiken Idol" posters for the AI Season 2 concert with Rach, Julie, and Megan Elizabeth!! lol
• Jumping up and down with excitement when Dad showed me the newspaper article about Simon Cowell signing on to stay another three seasons! :)
• Taking pre-Tuesday night dinner cheesy pictures with Rach and Josh and Wes singing with our fake American Idol microphone! lol
• Talking to Josh about how we should drive to Texas and audition! lol
• Being psyched about having someone from Oklahoma when Carrie Underwood auditioned!
• Sooo many burned CDs that I still love - Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, David Archuleta, Adam Lambert, David Cook, Kris Allen, Jennifer Hudson, Katherine McPhee, Latoya London, Fantasia Barrino, Ruben Studdard, Nikki McKibbin, Justin Guarini, Tamyra Gray, William Hung, Mandisa, Colton Dixon, Phillip Phillips, Danny Gokey, Bo Bice, Diana Degarmo, etc. Love it all.
• Me, Mom, and Rach being in shock when Daughtry was sent home early!
• Being so excited for J-Hudson when Dreamgirls came out, when she won the Oscar, and when she became the WW spokeswoman! :)
• LB and Malo-riah mocking me for owning Clay's book and being such a super-fan! lol (I also have Simon's book, and yes, I read them both!)
• Laughing at Paula's awkward speech to precious David Archuleta about him being so cute she wanted to squish him up and hang him from her rear view mirror! lol #crazysauce
• Liking Steven Tyler much better than expected after Simon left... laughing at his crazy comments and fashion choices. :)
• Watching Phillip Phillips sing Home live for the first time during the finale that year, then hearing it over and over as the theme song for the 2012 Olympics!
• Being defriended by a superChristian on FB for being happy about Ellen as the new judge! lol
• Feeling extreme annoyance at the faux-competition between Kara and "bikini girl."
• Having to finally call it quits when they chose Mariah and Nicki Minaj as judges.
• Getting sucked back in a couple times this year thanks to it being on the TVs at Planet Fitness and Kelly Clarkson coming back in as a guest judge!

Lots of fun memories... from my first summer after high school to my OBU dorm room back home to 9121 then moving to my apartment in Tulsa and finally my house in Jenks, (coming back to MWC every once in a while and watching it at Mom and Dad's new house... which is now Rach and Josh's house. lol) A lot of great moments and great songs, with plenty of burned CDs and iPod playlists to remember them by! I hope a lot of the past winners and near-winners come back tonight... and Simon, because the show would never have become a hit without him!! Cheesy as it can all be, I may just get nostalgic and tear up when I hear it for the final time tonight... "Seacrest, OUT!" :)