Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Toledo, Ohio













Well we arrived to Toledo February 18th and we are going to be here until March 31st. Toledo is not as bad as we expected but wow....another cold city. We are staying in a nice little city called Maumee and it has not been bad. We have relaxed a lot here since there is not too much too do but thats okay because we know we will have a lot of fun in the next stop which is Atlanta. YEAH! Chris did the "Opening Night" show here and it was a great success. Joe and Alexi got to be here for that show and attended the Press Opening Party with us. Chris was working the crowd and did a great job mingling and taking pictures with everyone. Including VIP guests and the ABC local news cast. He has really grown up during this process.......
While Joe was here he met Andrew Z in the morning from Kiss FM (the number one morning radio show in Ohio) he arranged for a radio interview. After we got everything approved through Disney...they sent a publicist from Disney to escort Chris and his castmates (the kids) to the studio. They did a live interview and sang on air. It was really fun.....I even got a little speaking part myself which was a little nerve racking. The kids were sooooo excited when the ride to station showed up and it was a limo......its the little things that still make them feel amazing.
OK so talk about snow....we have had a total of 19 inches of snow while we have been here. WHEN IS SPRING coming???? We cant wait to head down South to Atlanta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last night, Chris was involved with the Make a Wish foundation in granting a wish. A local girl here in Toledo with a terminal illness that unfortunately will be taking her life very soon was granted her last wish.....which was to meet the cast of the LION KING. Chris spent time talking to her, hugging, and showing her around. She was so grateful and he felt so honored to be a part of such a special event.
Well I think we filled everyone in.....but just in case, we have decided to come home when the contract ends in May. We are looking forward to being back home and Chris is anxious to see his friends, go back to school, and see what other opportunities are out there for him. This has truly been an amazing opportunity but also quite a challenge for us to be away for so long. So we should be home around May 19th and ready to jump into Summer mode :)
In case your wondering why we took a picture with the cut out guy...thats Flat Stanley. Alexi made him for a project in school. We received him via mail and had to spend one week taking him around. After a week, we sent him back with a letter of all the places he went and we sent some pictures of Flat Stanley with the cast, in the SNOW, and with us. Alexi was so excited to share this with her classmates!!!!
Missing everyone....and soooooooooooo looking forward to seeing our friends and family in Atlanta.

Melissa & Chris