Happy Holidays to our Friends and Family

Well we are down to our final week here in Detroit. It has been a cold, snowy time but we survived. All of you reading this know that snow and cold are not favorites for me and Chris but we are actually getting used to it and now the weather in New York is just not so bad. We were so ecstatic that Lexi and Joe got to be here with us for the Christmas holiday. They spent seven days here with us and it was the BEST. We had our "little" Christmas tree in the room but "LOTS" of love. It made Christmas away from everyone a lot easier.

We have met some really nice people here in Detroit. We spent Christmas night with a family we met. It was a great time. We are creating friendships along the way that I hope will stay with us for many years to come. Here in Detroit, we visited the Henry Ford Museum. It was awesome! We really enjoyed it. It is not just an auto museum but a museum of generations and all things in it. From the evolution of cars, to the original bus that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, the original car that Kennedy was assassinated in, and the original chair that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in. It was a great experience. Its pretty incredible how much of this city is owned by the FORD family.

We also visited the Hitsville USA museum which is the history of Motown. Christopher learned so much about the beginning of the Motown empire and met several people who are long time Motown stars. We received a special tour with the cast...

We also made our way to Windsor, Canada where one of the cast members is from. He hosted a dinner there. That part of Canada is 20 minutes from our hotel. Like I said, trying to soak up the experiences and make this a life changing event for Christopher.

We have one more week and then we are headed to Pittsburgh. That is going to be a great time. We have people visiting almost every weeked to see the show. Christopher is SUPER excited. Its so special to us to share this experience as well as the show itself. You cant be disappointed with this show. I hope that more of you will attempt to make it to see this. We love company.......we miss our friends and family more than we can express.

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Holiday season. Most importantly, we pray that the new year is filled with love, happiness, health, and success for each of you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR......2008

See you next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now visiting DETROIT....until Jan 6th

This weekend was quite special to Christopher. My sisters were here to see the show and we had a great weekend talking, laughing, and sharing this experience with Christopher. My sister's cried the whole time Christopher was on stage. They were so proud !!! Ena basically couldn't believe that the kid who used to get yelled at for singing at the top of his lungs in the shower (and not sounding good) was getting a standing ovation at the end of the performance. Pretty amazing......

Detroit is good....cold, not as pretty as Minneapolis, but still working out well. We will be spending the holidays here with Joe and Alexi. Which is what we are counting down to now. Ten more days till they get here.

We are both missing everyone at home A LOT. Our next stop is Pittsburgh and there we know more family is planning to visit and that keeps him going. This tour stuff is not easy - but ...

we know its the right step for Christopher. Its the love and amazing support from our family that makes it even possible.

Funny, the other day Christopher was surrounded outside the theatre by like 25 teenage girls who were involved in a theatre program and were screaming out "we loved you Simba" "you are so cute" and me well I was just cracking up waiting.....its a weird thing to see.

Come on Chris you gotta get to bed....school tomorrow!!!!!!

Love you....and truly miss everyone.

Melissa and Christopher

The First Performance

Well Christopher had his first show tonight and he really did a great job. I have to say that it was probably the most stressful moment of my life. I have watched him prepare - rehearsing every line, movement, other people's lines, etc. and all I could think about in each step was would he do it the way he was supposed to. I didnt know - would he freeze when he saw the sold out crowd, would he sound pitchy but let me tell you in the end....WE THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE HIM WOULD ALL BE PROUD. It was an moment in my life I will never forget when at the end of the show and they come out for applause the crowd is screaming "SIMBA", when people of all ages are so pleased to meet him to tell him what a good job he did - its crazy as a mom to see this.
Now we are ready for all of you to come see him.....in whatever state it works, whatever date.....TRY to make it. Its an amazing show without Chris and well with him I think its even better. I would love for you to see! and share this experience with us. Tomorrow night, Alexi, Joe and Grandma Maureen are coming for Thanksgiving and my birthday and we are super excited.
I need to squeeze my baby girl........
We miss everyone.....thanks for keeping us in your hearts.

Melissa

Missing Everyone!!!!

Well Christopher has been keeping extremely busy this last two weeks. Its crazy how time is passing by so quickly yet so slowly. We are so thankful for this opportunity but we spend the majority of our time - counting down the days till we see Alexi and Daddy. We really miss them. So we are down to 12 days till they visit and 12 days till Christopher's FIRST show. He normally has rehearsal everyday from 12 to 4 and then we watch the show in the evening. He says he is ready. Yesterday was his wig fitting.....LOL can't wait to see Christopher in dreads.
They had a get together for Halloween for the kids. Christopher dressed as the guy from Nightmare before Christmas. They are having a big "Thanksgiving Dinner" for the cast - so at least we will get some turkey. I mean its not the normal Puertorican/American thanksgiving that we are used to but we will be together and thats most important.

We are in Minneapolis till November 26th and then we are off to Detroit. We cant wait to start getting company and to share this experience with each of you. If you log on to www.lionking.com and click on National Tour. You will see the locations of our stops and the dates we are there. Plan your time whatever works for you and just let me know. We look forward to company. We can make hotel arrangements through management and also get tickets.

I will be sending a seperate link to look at some of our recent pics...Love and miss you all. Biggest thought to share is that we can all be proud. Christopher really is making many great strides to the curtain opening and I think its going to be a show to remember and an experience to never forget.

Much Love, Melissa & Christopher

The Start

Well we got to Minneapolis..Welcome to the cold !!! Actually everyone was out and about enjoying the city (which is beautiful) because it was a nice day. The temp was around 40 during the day.
I didnt expect the city to look like this....its a lot like Midtown in NY just less people running around and clean. Very very clean.
Chris met a few members of the cast and everyone was so welcoming. Disney really works to please the cast. Friday night is the opening night party at a restaraunt that they are closing down to the cast and crew. Chris is scheduled for a few public appearances. Life sure has changed but I must say he is handling it very well so far (even just from landing the opportunity) and I plan to make sure he stays focused and realizes just how big this opportunity is to just experience something he will never ever forget.
Tomorrow is his first "curtain call" which is his rehearsal. He has to meet the makeup crew tomorrow and the special effects crew for the fitting for his harness. It should be a busy exciting day.
We ask that you all keep us in your prayers, wishing us strength and good health during this time. We miss everyone already. We hope that the love we share with everyone will get us through the lonely nights and allow us to concentrate on only the good. I will keep everyone posted. I am taking pictures and will send some out soon.
Lots of love, Melissa & Chris
our hotel # is 612-332-6800 room 804.