Things are getting exciting!!!

Today, the cast did a run through of Act 1 in costume. It was so exciting to see everyone in costume, with lights and sound. It's amazing how quickly this show came together. I can't even begin to tell you all how proud I am of Colin and how happy I am that our family made the decision to allow Colin to do this. I can honestly say that I have never seen Colin so happy! He is enjoying every minute of this and loves all of the other castmembers. This is such an incredible opportunity and we both are so appreciative that we have been given this chance.

The boys have been squeezing in time with their tutor, Kevin, doing schoolwork. Kevin has been wonderful with the boys. He makes sure that they get all of the time needed for school and also makes sure that they have time to be kids. He's great about getting them outside to run off some of their energy during dinner break : ) Kevin's worked on several tours and is teaching the boys not only in the regular school subjects, but also the rules of theatre. Colin's especially impressed that Kevin tutored on the set of I Carly!

Tomorrow is a full dress rehearsal, Saturday will be a preview and Sunday they will do a run through which will be taped for commercials which will be shown in each city they are performing in. We leave Monday for Fresno and opening night is Tuesday!!!

We've both really enjoyed getting to know all of the people we are traveling with. It is so incredible to watch the people that we have gotten to know turn into their character(s) on stage! They are truly an amazingly talented group! I'm so thrilled that Colin has these people to look up to and learn from.

We haven't done any sightseeing here, but are hoping to do so once we hit some of the more populated areas. Sue, John(the other parents), and I all get along real well and are having a great time together. I feel so fortunate that I am traveling with the two of them. I know our families will stay close forever after this tour!

I'll keep you all posted within the next couple of days!
Thanks so much for checking in : )
Missy

We're in California!

Hi Everyone
We flew into Los Angeles California yesterday. Needless to say, after getting up at 3:15am to catch a cab to JFK, taking a 6 hour flight, 1 hour busride to San Bernadino, checking into the hotel,fitting 3 hours of schooling in, and doing a WalMart run, we were exhausted! It's definitely different here than NY. In NYC you could walk to just about any kind of store or restaurant. There was a Starbucks on every block. Here in San Bernadino it's almost as desolate as Gananda!! The good news is that you can buy box wine at WalMart ;) After such a long day, the other parents and I really enjoyed our boxed wine! lol! Colin konked out as soon as his head hit the pillow and I wasn't too far behind!
Colin was thrilled to finally be on the tour bus. I think it made him realize that this is really happening. Everyone will have their own row on the bus that they can make their own and they're turning the back of the bus into a classroom so that most of the tutoring can be done on the bus.
We got up this morning and had time to enjoy the pool before having to go to the theatre for tutoring and tech rehearsals. Tech rehearsal are very tedious and long
(1-10pm) but it was so exciting for Colin.

Hi all, We're all settled in our hotel in Newark NJ. Now we are really learning what life on the road is going to be like. Living out of our suitcase and eating out or ordering in! Tomorrow is the last rehearsal in NYC! I can't believe how quickly the 3 weeks went! The show really seems to be coming together and I am so excited for when we can actually see it! We can't go into the rehearsal room because its so small, so we can only hear some of the singing from the hallway. Now that the other parents and I have gotten to know the cast, we are really looking forward to watching them all get into their character(or in some cases characters)on stage. Colin had his interview yesterday (I've added it to the blog) and also has been very good about doing his homework at night. He is truly loving this whole experience and hasn't complained once about the long days. Well that's about it for tonight. There really isn't a whole lot to report! Missy

Well our time in NY is winding down. Tonight will be our last night at the apt. Tomorrow night we head to Newark NJ to spend our last few nights in a hotel. Then we have to learn the whole train transportation thing! lol! Luckily John and Quentin have been staying at the same hotel, so we'll just follow them around! They've got it down pat by now.

The boys started school with the tutor yesterday. They need a minimum of 15 hours a week of school. Colin will be following Gananda's curriculum so he can go right into the classroom in March.

I went to Macy's today to waste some time while Colin was in school. I just can't get over how huge all of these stores are!! I got my workout today just walking around. NYC just amazes me. I always look out the window of the bus on the way to rehearsal each morning and watch all of the people outside. Everyone is in a rush. I always wonder where they are going and what their story is. Some young professionals dressed to a T, some barely dressed at all, homeless people begging for money, performers doing just about everything in the street to get money(including playing the guitar in their underwear!), people of just about every nationality, it's just crazy! I have to admit it was definitely an experience "living" in NY for 3 weeks!

Tomorrow Colin will be doing an interview with a Binghamton radio station. I'm hoping to videotape it again : )

School started in Gananda today. Morgan had a good first day of school and had her first volleyball scrimmage. I really miss my friends at work. It's strange to think that everyone is back to the school routine while we are roaming the country! We'll be back in that routine soon enough, so we need to enjoy this as much as possible. I doubt we'll ever have an opportunity like this again!

Missy

Great last day with Morgan and Steve!

Today we headed out to Coney Island. We've never been there so we thought we'd go and check it out. Morgan went on the Cyclone(it's a 75year old rollercoaster) and Colin and I decided to watch, lol! She absolutely loved it and said she didn't touch the seat for the majority of the ride! We walked around a little more and then Morgan and Colin had fun on the bumper cars. Before leaving we made sure to stop by the world famous Nathan's for hotdogs.(For our Syracuse friends, I prefer Heid's!) After we walked around Coney island we headed for the beach. We headed back to the beach at Rockaway (Thanks Sue and Mike!) and had a nice relaxing rest of the day. Morgan and Colin had a blast with the boogey boards on the ocean waves! We were in the mood for seafood and asked Sue what restaurant she would recommend. She pointed us in the direction of the Wharf Restaurant which was exactly what we wanted. It was a casual restaurant right on the water. We sat outside and saw the sunset over the NYC skyline, it was beautiful! We got back to the apt and we had to find time for me to give Morgan her manicure and pedicure for back to school ; ) I'm going to miss her so much, we had such a great time together!! Morgan and Steve leave tomorrow and we won't see them til the Binghamton show on Oct 19th. It's going to be tough, but I am so thankful for the wonderful friends we have made. We'll help each other through it all and make sure we enjoy every city we visit. Please be sure to keep in touch! Missy