February 8, 2012

Fayetteville, Arkansas

This week Grace did a lot of this...

The pool was surprisingly chilly for an indoor pool, but Grace didn't care. 

She stayed in the pool till her lips turned purple.

We also took a trip to the theatre to check out Dave's piano and see the cheerleaders.

We were only in Fayetteville for a week, which was just long enough. It was very cold (15 degrees) and David was busy with rehearsals during the week days. Grace and I did a lot of running up and down the hotel halls, playing in the pool, and art projects. Before we knew it, it was time to pack up and move on to Dallas! 

February 6, 2012

Houston, Texas to Fayetteville, Arkansas

I-45 North

572 miles / 9.5 hours

I was sad to say goodbye to Houston...well not the city, but that gorgeous house. We had so much fun playing in the yard and at Herman park, cooking in that fabulous kitchen, Grace loved living with her new buddy Michael, and I loved sleeping in that king size bed. But as we have said a million and one times, saying good bye to one city means we are closer to the end of the tour and being back in New York! 

Anyway, we packed up our things and headed to Fayetteville. We headed north and stopped in Dallas for lunch at one of our favorite lunch spots, Jason's Deli. They have the best salad bar and soups, not to mention ice cream comes with your meal. An hour or so after lunch we were back driving through the lovely state of Oklahoma.

It was a fairly uneventful ride. At one point I said to David, "I hope we see something interesting sooner or later or else I have no idea what I'll post on the blog." We did see a beautiful reservoir named the Eufaula Reservoir and a hand full of casinos. And of course we saw a lot of cows. We always see a lot of cows.

We arrived in Fayetteville around 7:00 p.m. and checked into our home for the week, Staybridge Suites. We were looking forward to staying in a hotel for a week and enjoying the hotel amenities: free breakfast, free laundry, and an indoor pool. 

Our new home away from home

February 4, 2012

Bring It On

Houston, Texas

Backstage in the theatre world, a lot of times you'll find something like this...

Touring companies will paint their show's logo on a wall and then the cast will sign it. David wanted to show Gracie the All Shook Up painting to find Mommy's and Daddy's names. Then a few paintings down we found this...

And while David and I were talking to someone walking past, Gracie added her "name."

It's the little scribble mark on the circle second row up from the bottom, second circle in from the left. We think years from now that little scribble will be worth something.

She may be destined to be the worlds greatest conductor. 

On the way home, I asked Grace what her favorite part of going to Daddy's work was, "Playing the piano!" I have to admit, I was tearing up when she was sitting up there on the podium. She looked so grown up and was loving playing the piano and singing, just like her Mommy and Daddy!!!! 

January 30, 2012

Wire Road Studios

Houston, TX

David is officially on his first soundtrack! The Cast and Band spent the day in the recording studio "laying down the tracks!" I'll keep you posted as to when it's being released. SO excited! 

Grace and I went for an hour or so just to check it out. We were so incredibly proud of Gracie's behavior. She sat in the sound booth and listened to everyone recording and never made a peep, just watched David playing.

And when she wasn't watching David, she was playing with her buddies...

Michael,

Courtney and Lauren.

The studio was really nice. There was a kitchen and a living room and they had put out a great spread of bagels, donuts, sandwiches, chips, dip, crackers, mixed nuts, drinks etc. It really was fun hanging out in the studio and seeing everyone in the cast. Hopefully, we'll get to do it again sometime.

January 25, 2012

A Little Sun, A Little Fun, and A Little Bum

Houston, TX

It seems to either be gorgeous or raining here in Texas lately.
So when the sun is out, we are outside playing!

This is Grace and her new buddy Michael.

Herman Park is only a mile or so away from our house. It's like a miniature central park with a couple of play grounds, fountains, running trails, a golf course, and an adorable little train that goes around the park. It's a great park and Grace loves playing there.

As a side bar, notice that David is wearing all black in the picture above. He's almost always wearing black, since that's what he has to wear to work. Grace loves chatting about it. She'll say things like, "Daddy wears black to work. When I grow up, I will wear pink!" She also told Dave, "Daddy you're black pants are cute!"  or  "When Daddy comes home from work, he will change out of his black clothes and then what color do you think Daddy will wear?" It's hilarious.

And speaking of wearing all black...notice all the guys below wearing black. They're the Bring It On band posing with their latest brush with fame...President and Barbara Bush. I love Babs face in this pic!

Now, this picture I borrowed from Billie Sue's (the girl on the right) facebook page.

 Please notice where George's hand is...

He wasn't bashful at all! You grab that bum George! I just wish I could see Babs face in this pic.

January 24, 2012

Welcome to Jackson
Houston, TX

We're living on Jackson Street these days, which is also the name of the High School in Bring It On!

 We're sharing the house with 2 other guys from Bring It On and we couldn't be happier. The house is gorgeous and the guys are really fun to live with.
So, this is the front room when you first walk in the front door...

Then off to the left is a dining room and this amazing kitchen, including a 6 burner stove. 

Then off the kitchen is the family room and the kitchen table is to the left.

Upstairs there are 4 bedrooms. This is the master (The Pepin's room). 

Not only is there room for a king sized bed and a dance party, there's also a little nook large enough to fit another bed in...Grace camps out here. And is actually sleeping in her bed in this picture.

This is the master bathroom off of our room. 

Gracie's tub/swimmming pool!

This is Joey's room

This is Gracie's play room

This is Michael's room

And this is the boys bathroom

This is the patio off the front room

and the back yard.

The pictures don't even come close to expressing how awesome this house is. If we could pick up this house and move it to NY we would in a heart beat. It's spacious and modern and beautiful. I love it!

January 22 & 23, 2012

Denver, Colorado to Houston, Texas

1-35 South

1,122 miles / 18 hours

The car was packed and we were on the road by 7:30 a.m. The weather was unbelievable! The winds were at least 60 miles per hour and it was snowing on and off for the first couple of hours. An hour or so  into the drive, we stopped for gas and breakfast. I only wish we would have recorded David putting the gas in the car and myself walking into McDonalds...and by walking I mean being completely blown around the parking lot. I have never experienced such strong winds before, so strong that I thought I was going to fall over. 

About 2 hours later, with the weather behind us, we crossed the state line into Kansas.

And just like 2 weeks ago, there was a lunch stop, a couple movies, IPad games, naps, a few bathroom breaks and then we arrived in Oklahoma.

We decided that we would stay over night in Norman, Oklahoma. (A little over 2 hours from the state line). I highly doubt you'll ever visit Norman, but if you do, I promise you won't be disappointed. Tons of restaurants and tons of hotels. We totally lucked out. 

By the end of the night, I was feeling pretty bad. I had caught a cold earlier in the week and it seemed to be in full swing by the time we checked into the hotel. I owe my husband big time for driving all day and then taking care of Grace, while I was pretty much passed out in bed. It had been a long day for all us.

We woke up Monday morning, with only 7 hours to go until we would arrive in Houston.  However, it took us forever to get there. Lots of bathroom breaks for Grace, longer lunch stop than planned, and rush hour traffic when we finally got into Houston.

Grace had been singing away and coloring for awhile and then it got quiet. 

She basically passed out in the middle of coloring, shortly before pulling up to our new house.

We were all thrilled to arrive in Houston around 5:00 and even more thrilled when we saw how beautiful our new home was. Grace made herself right at home in no time.