We're home!!!!!!!

Tonight I couldn't be happier! I'm sitting on my couch watching tv :) I know it doesn't take much, but after traveling so much it feels so good to be relaxing at home!
We had a nice day on the tour yesterday. The cast performed at Florida State University and we were all treated to a wonderful reception afterwards. They had a wonderful spread for us including shrimp, crab claws, scallops, a huge cheese tray, fruit trays, carving station, dessert table, and unlimited wine and champagne!!! They even had an Oliver ice sculpture! This was provided for us along with many patrons of the theatre. The cast loved signing autographs and posters for all of their fans at the reception.
There was one woman who felt she had to critique the whole show! She told Chaz that his Bumble hat needed to be replaced and said it looked like paper mache and thought Zac was a former student of hers, lol! The topping of the cake was when she thought that I performed as Old Sally!!!!! Of all people she had to think Old Sally was me???!!! LOL! Needless to say we all had quite a chuckle over that ;)
We all were the last to leave(we don't get this too often so we decided to stay til they kicked us out!) We got back to the hotel around midnight hopped in bed, slept for 4 hours and got up in time for our bus to the airport. We were exhausted but too excited to care! Erin kept us very entertained during the busride with her Tweedle Dee impersonation and especially her "Leg up!". She is absolutely hysterical!!
Half of the cast flew to Atlanta together. During the flight we all started thinking about how we're going to miss each other. Sue told me she was already starting with seperation anxiety! We have become such a tight family,we started to think about how tough it will be once the tour actually ends and we all go our own ways.
Steve picked Colin and I up at the airport and we dropped him off at work before heading home. I actually got to drive for the first time in 2 1/2 months!! I never realized how much I would miss such a simple thing as driving! We pulled into the driveway and Colin raced to see Nilla. Nilla seemed to be a little confused upon seeing us, but within minutes she was giving us all sorts of loving! I was delighted to find that Brittany was home. She and Morgan went to see Legally Blonde last night, so she spent the night at home so she could see Colin and I when we got home.
After a much needed nap, I came down to find Morgan home. It was such a great feeling for us all to have dinner around our table as a family. I miss it so much!

Pembroke NC

Hi Everyone
We're in Pembroke NC and the cast performed last night at the University of North Carolina Pembroke. Quentin had all of his family come along with lots of friends from his theatre group back at home. We all went out to dinner before the show and enjoyed getting to know each other. The show went very well and all of Q's fans seemed to really enjoy it and especially enjoy watching Quentin on stage. Quentin really rose to the occasion and had a phenomenol performance! Afterwards Q's mom Gail invited us all up for some cupcakes and drinks to celebrate John's birthday. The kids who were all exhausted at dinner really came to life in the hotel room! Along with some of the Hurrah Players the boys plus Rianna did a great rendition of Mama Mia! We especially liked when Gail joined the girls from the Hurrah Players and showed us a song from their production of "Seussical"!
Today was a day off so we really enjoyed sleeping in and just relaxing. We had to pack up the bus to get ready for our new bus once we get back from break. Sue, Mikey, John, Q, Colin and i went out to dinner and toasted John's birthday. Afterward Rhiannon and Melissa invited us to their room for a little get together. Rhiannon showed us pictures of her wedding gown which were absolutely beautiful!! She's going to look gorgeous in it!!!!
Tomorrow we head to Tallahasse for a show tomorrow night and then we catch a shuttle at 4:30am to catch our flight home!!!!!!!!!!! Colin and I are so excited to get home with our family and Nilla! We are really looking forward to sleeping in our own beds!!!

Nightmare at the Laundromat!

Yesterday was quite the experience. We were all desperately need of a laundromat because the last few hotels we stayed at didn't have washers and dryers. We decided that Sue and I would take the hotel shuttle to the laundromat and wash all of the clothes, while John took the boys to their brushup rehearsal at the theatre. I could attempt to tell the story of the laundromat, but Sue told it so well in her blog that I'm going to share her version of the story with you:

Okay, I know I told you in the last post that Missy and I would be on a mission to find a laundry. Little did I know what a mission it would be. I am sorry to tell you that we found one. Boy-Oh-Boy did we! Of course it wasn't easy. We asked the hotel shuttle driver to bring us to what we thought was a good laundry. She took the scenic route instead of following the directions we gave her. When we finally found the place it was closed. We thought thank goodness because we did not like the look of it. Of course we did not give up looking for another and luckily, I thought at the time....I have a back up plan ( having been a girl scout.) I had an address for another laundry that I looked up on mapquest. When we finally found it the shuttle driver was afraid to let us out.....(with good reason.) This place made the other place look like a palace. Just glancing in our instincts told us it was not a good place to be. But being the good Mom's we are, we were really determined to get the laundry done at any cost. The first clue that made us think maybe we were better off with dirty clothes and no undies was the sign that read: "Only the attendant can call 911." As a former cop, I have to say this was a very interesting sign to read, let just say the hackles were raised up on my neck. Undeterred we forged on and proceeded to put our clothes in the dirtiest washer machines we ever saw at $4.00 a wash no less. Hey, dirt doesn't come cheap! Then we began to read the rest of the signs: "No Drugs because Mr. Lyle will prosecute." "Drinking allowed only with shoes and shirts on." (We speculated pants were not needed.) "Patrons must stay inside." Then Missy noticed there was actually a bar in the laundrymat and decided this place was so disgusting we needed a cold beer to get us through it. I tried to protest but she would not take no for an answer. Rochester ladies are tough! Since I am not a beer drinker, I was hoping she was talking about one of the small nip bottles, but she insisted that in this place we needed a pint each. Since this would be my second beer in about twenty years (I won't say who made me drink my first on this tour but you can probably guess) I figured she was right...in this place I needed it. So we proceed to sit at this brown picnic type table and drink our beers as the people in the place looked at us like we were from MARS. Missy asked me if I was trained in self-defense and I told her I use to be but wasn't sure I could still lift my legs high enough. Then we strategized our defense plan should we need it. She suggested fingers in eyes and I suggested breaking the beer bottles if necessary and using them as weapon. If only I had my piece! Oh, the fun we were having! It just doesn't get any more glamorous then this! Then Missy gets up to check on her wash and I notice we have company at the table....not just any company but the brown,disgusting, cochroach kind moving across the table and blending in with the color. As I quickly jump up and grab our beers....God knows we really need them now, I notice another one crawling on the floor...sorry to be so disgusting but this story needs to be told so I don't have nightmares. Needless to say there was no more sitting for the next hour and we stood tap dancing (better than Andrew) in front of our washers and dryers. Thank goodness the dryers got so hot that our fingers burned touching the clothes. We figured nothing alive was coming out of the dryer. The shuttle driver agreed to come back for us....we think cause she wanted to make sure we were still alive. When she came back she told us her boss said "Don't tell me you left those ladies at THAT laundrymat." I can tell you we were so happy to see her and be out of that place we tipped her very well. I have to say the Mom's went above and beyond today to give their little stars clean laundry. Goodnight and pleasant dreams......I am trying not to itch just thinking about this. I think I have PTS from it......Can't wait to do laundry at my own house on Monday. I think I am going to kiss the washer and dryer!

After this wonderful experience, we headed off to the theatre where they were holding rehearsals for the understudies. It was so much fun to see everyone in different characters. Mikey was understudying Oliver and was remarkable!! We were so proud of him. This was his first rehearsal as Oliver and he was a natural at it. You would've thought he'd been doing the role all along! (Don't worry Q, we know you're the original and we love you!) All of the understudies did a fantastic job! Erin was terrific as Nancy, as was Jenn as Dodger, Will as Fagin, Ashley as Bet. We even got a taste of Matt singing One Boy and he was great!

Once rehearsal was over we grabbed a bite to eat before the show. I was tempted to skip the show and try to get into the Rascal Flatts concert which was playing on the same campus. We watched all of their trucks roll in and I was dying to see it. Oh well, being the awesome mom I am I went into the theatre and watched Oliver for the 28th time! LOL!


Oh I forgot to mention that the boys felt like big shots yesterday during school. They were given a board room at the hotel to do their tutoring, so of course I had to go in and take pictures. I think Colin's going to throw my camera out the window by the time we finish this tour! LOL!

Off to Pembroke NC next :) 3 days til we're home for layoff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We arrived in Columbia SC around 5pm. We were delighted when we got off the bus and felt the warm and sunny weather!! After getting settled in our rooms we went out to discover the town. We found a nice steakhouse where we enjoyed a nice dinner. It's so funny because we never even think about what we're wearing when heading out. I was still in my tshirt and comfy capris with no makeup! I started to feel funny about how underdressed I was til I looked across the table to see John in his Flying J's tshirt, lol! Flying J's is a truck stop which we frequent during our bus trips. We decided that we had to have a tshirt when we made a stop at the Flying J's in Ohio. We decided that Flying J's should be our sponsor, lol! So after checking out John's shirt I realized that I had nothing to be embarassed about, lol!

We made it back just in time for Rhiannon's surprise engagement party. Rhiannon(who plays Nancy) got engaged over the weekend in Binghamton and some of the castmembers planned a party for her. She was totally surprised when she got there(Zach offered his room for the party). The room was decorated with pink balloons and rose petals were thrown on the beds. They had a nice spread of appetizers and drinks. It's amazing how these things can come together so quickly on the road!

We're all so excited for Rhiannon and her fiance Brendan! We all got to know Brendon during the NYC rehearsals and also the shows which he has come to cheer Rhiannon on. They're a wonderful couple and I'm sure they'll have a fantastic marriage!

Finally in Binghamton!!!

I can't even begin to describe how happy Colin and I were to see Steve and the girls and everyone that came down for the shows in Binghamton! It definitely gave us both a boost to be with family and friends!! Steve, Morgan, and Lexa were there waiting for us when the bus pulled up :) Colin ran off the bus right into Steve's arms. He was so excited!! I was obviously thrilled too! I hugged Morgan forever, and she even let me, lol! The poor thing has a sprained ankle and bad cold, but didn't complain at all about it.
Cici and her friends spent the night Saturday. They were absolutely hysterical!! We hung out in their room for a bit and then they talked me into going out for one drink. The main reason I went was to protect some of the castmembers who I knew were going to be at the bar from them, lol! We didn't even leave the hotel and there was Joy rubbing the hotel security guard's head and asking for him to handcuff her, haha! When we got to the bar we bumped into Alaggio, Will, and Matt. The ladies were all over them and Will and Alaggio looked a little scared, haha! Matt, however held his own even when Joy tried to convince him to swing the other way for one time, lol!!!! This was the point that I decided it was time to leave, so steve and I headed back to the hotel.

Upon waking the next morning I heard that I missed a bunch of things that night! The girls stole a fake ficus tree from one of the bars and continued to carry it bar to bar with them! They ended up bringing it back to their hotel room! They also hit a gay bar that night and were intrigued with the transvestites, haha!

Later on we met everyone at the theatre. Brittany, her boyfriend, and room mates met us in the parking lot. Britt was so excited to see the show. She made me bring her backstage so she could see Colin before he went on. Afterwards, I couldn't get to give the backstage pass. She went home with it around her neck! LOL! The girls were so proud of their little brother. Colin was thrilled with all of his family so and friends being there! They were all so supportive and all seemed to enjoy watching Colin on stage. Colin was especially excited to see his buddies Ben and Connor at the show. Many people joined us for dinner between shows, so we had a chance to get photos, and sit and chat with everyone.

Steve, Morgan, and Lexa spent the night and left bright and early this morning. I was so sad to see them go, but it definitely helped knowing that we'll be home with them all next week!!!

PS Lorraine you finally made my blog!!!!

Hi All!
We got to Owensboro KY on Thursday. The view from the theatre was absolutely beautiful, it was right on the water. Once at the theatre, we had a company meeting and were told that there were going to be a few changes coming up. First of all our male swing/dance captiain (Andrew) is going to leave the tour :( We're really going to miss him, but he decided to take another opportunity. Ashley has been appointed the new dance captain and they will be holding auditions for someone to fill in the male swing position. Next, Tyler announced that he will be leaving the tour as company manager due to his wife's pregnancy. Finally the good news was that we are getting a new tour bus when we get back from our layoff! We're all pretty excited about that. Hopefully it'll be a little more comfortable and have a bathroom that doesn't stink all of the time, lol!
We got up Friday and boarded the bus for Cleveland OH. We were thrilled when we saw that we were staying at a beautiful Hyatt in downtown Cleveland. The hotel was gorgeous and had a mall in it! Unfotunately all of the shops were closed, but it was neat walking around. We ended up going out to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe and then headed back to our rooms. We crashed on our beds, they were definitely the most comfortable beds so far! It was heaven! LOL!
Colin had a rough time getting to sleep. He was so excited to see Steve and the girls. He woke up very happy the next morning because he had a dream that he was with Steve.
Luckily in a few hours that dream turned into reality :)