Go Fish

I'll bet you thought I was going to write about a card game that you've played before. Well, that's not even close!

We had the awesome privilege of meeting the group "Go Fish." We now have a family member who is a semi-famous singer with this group. He made his on stage debut in the great city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota on February 17th. He's now local famous (that means we know about his fame and so do you because you're reading this).

Who is he?

How did he get on stage?

Can I get his autograph?

Matt Price is his name and he is the 14 year old phenom who placed a wish with the Make-A-Wish foundation. His request was to sing on stage with the Go Fish Guys.

Make-A-Wish contacted the Go Fish Guys and they graciously agreed to meet Matt. They did more than just meet him. They allowed Matt and his family to attend their sound check before the concert in Sioux Falls.

We had an incredible evening talking with the guys, watching them prepare for their show and even helping a little! The kids assisted Jamie as he blew up the beach balls used in their show.

Matt's autograph is available for those who wish! We don't charge for autographs in honor of the Go Fish Guys who like us are happy to share two things - a signature and the fact that we love Jesus.


Here is Laura's recap of the trip in case you haven't seen it yet:

A Disclaimer - kleenex may be warranted for this section. We accept no responsibility for tears spilled. Don't even think about contacting your lawyer if you cry during this section!

Make-A-Wish rented 2 vans for us, one accessible van for Vicki and another mini van as we would not all fit into one. I drove the "other " van with the 4 boys in it. They were thrilled because there was a DVD player in the ceiling. The wheelchair van did not have it's own DVD player but our wish granter had lent us her own with 2 screens, so Vicki got one and Rachel the other. That sure does help the time go faster.

Our first stop was in Mankato where our long time PCA, Ashley, goes to school. We got to visit her apartment and have lunch with her. She was amazed how small her apartment seemed when all 9 of us were in it!! She sent us off excited to hear we would swing back through Mankato on our way home and share our stories with her.

We had 3 rooms booked for us right across the hall from the pool at our hotel. There was a bouquet of balloons, cheese puffs and an arrangement of candy bars waiting for Matt in his room. The pool had a smaller slide which kept the boys going, and a hot tub for us all to relax in.

We swam some more the day of the concert and watched "Enchanted" on pay per view while we waited for time to pass for the next activity. The restaurant next to the hotel brought Matt's favorite meal, spaghetti, for us with a virgin strawberry daiquiri for him and huge, delicious desserts for us all. We waited to dress for the concert until after the meal, thankfully!!

We were picked up in a limo bus with a wheelchair lift and whisked off to the Sioux Falls Convention Center. We went in and sat in some chairs waiting for "the guys." Jamie came over in jeans and a tee shirt. My same children who have been SO EXCITED to meet the Go Fish Guys all of a sudden shyly said,"Hi." They looked like every day guys, and... they are!! Thankfully they are all dads too so they weren't too stunned when Tim jumped up from his seat and hugged Andy around the legs (they are all pretty tall) and started crawling through Jamie's legs!

They took time to sign each of the kid's Snazzy shirts. Then we took a group photo.

We talked about Matt's wish to be on stage with them and that Victoria's favorite Go Fish song is 'You're My Little Girl.' They don't usually do that song on this tour, but decided that would be a good one for Matt to join them on. Scott told Jamie that a glow stick might be a great mic for Matt. :)

We got to watch as they did their sound check and chatted some more with Jamie as he blew up the beach balls for the performance. They even do some of their own grunt work!!

The concert was GREAT!! They are very good performers but also really try to make connections with the audience, waving to many of the kids and later coming out and giving high fives during one of their songs. The most demonstrative of our kids was Rachel who screamed with delight through most of the show.

Then it was Matt's cue. He and the Sioux Falls director of Make-A-Wish went back stage. Jamie talked about how this was a special night. He told how Make-A-Wish had contacted their manager about a 14 year old boy, Matthew, who could wish for anything in the world, and his wish was to be on stage with the Go Fish Guys. It showed in their actions that it meant a lot to them too. Jamie invited Matt to join them in singing Victoria's favorite song since 3 part harmony is good, but 4 part is better. Matt was a little tentative as he walked on stage and stood between Jamie and Andy. Jason made a comment that he likes Matthew because he has hair. (Andy and Jamie have both shaved their heads). Matt used his glow stick to sing with "the guys." Andy waved to Victoria as they sang and Matt mainly stared in awe at Jamie during the verse but then did join in for the chorus. When the song was finished, the audience gave Matt a standing ovation. Matt waved to the crowd, and Mom and Dad cried.

After the show, some of the concert goers would stop Matt and say "Hey, aren't you the singer with the Go Fish Guys? Way to go!" It was very cool. He told me he had been nervous before the show. I assured him that the guys probably were too. His other comment to me was, "Mom,I got to stand next to Jamie."

We hated to leave, but there was a huge line for other fans to have items signed and get to say hi to the group. We went back to our hotel and ate the left overs from our spaghetti lunch. They had given us enough for 2 meals.

Matt had not slept well the night before, but slept very well after the concert. The next morning we all got up, went to breakfast in the hotel lobby,went swimming, and then finally had to tell Matt he had to get out of bed at 11 because we had to check out!!

Make-A-Wish had arranged for us to go to a butterfly house in Sioux Falls, but Matt was not interested and we were anxious to head home. Unfortunately, we did not include the little boys in that decision and they were very disappointed when they realized we were not going there. We were in Mankato and they told me in no uncertain terms to GO BACK!! Sorry boys.

The road was rather scary as we drove on I-90 and saw about 2 dozen cars in the ditch. The wind was blowing straight across the road and there were big patches of ice. I was glad we did not have our full size van as the mini vans did not seem to catch the wind nearly as much.

We have some video of Matt's debut from back stage and Scott is putting together a movie of our trip, but for now you will have to see the photos we have. (No videos or pics will be posted here to respect the copyright of the Go Fish Guys).

We are very thankful to Make-A-Wish and the Go Fish Guys for making Matt's wish come true. Thank you for all of you who prayed for us. It was a very special trip.