Last MB20 Day - 342/365

Today, we were running a little slow. 

Nana, even though we went to bed AFTER 3AM, was still up raring to go at 6:00am! She was up, sitting on the balcony, just listening to her headphones. She was jamming away. We were so proud that she was such a party animal! LOL! 

 The room was making a crazy howling sound that morning since we had the balcony door open. When Jennifer woke up, the first thing she said was, "Why is the room screaming at me? Is it in my head!?" It was so funny! It was rather spooky. 

We took it a little slow getting up and ready. We had our photoshoot this morning. There was no "set" time, group A was just asked to start lining up at 11:00. We got some coffee and were actually first in line! It turns out, they were sending groups of eight to get pictures with both bands. Our group was OK, except for two people. They were technically THE FIRST people in line, and stated quite bluntly, that they were standing by Rob. WHATEVER. I tried to make a joke that I wanted to stand by "Pookie" (a nickname the band has for Brian Yale) and the husband said, "Whatever, she was first, so she gets to stand by whoever she wants." Yes, we already heard, she wants to stand by Rob. Again, WHATEVER! It worked out because we did get to stand with Pookie and Kyle. Both of which, are super awesome people. We got to talk to Rob for point three seconds. I told him how much fun we were having watching all those old videos in our rooms. He loved that! 

Next, we moved over to have our picture with the Goos. They moved us through pretty fast, but we were howling because Nana and little dirty looking Robbie (singer/guitarist) were holding hands in the picture! It was HILARIOUS! 

 After that, we went to grab some lunch, then explore around the ship. We went back by the water slide area and found some nice lounge chairs. We sat there for a long time just enjoying the sunshine and the humming of the ship in the water. It was awesome! 

This afternoon, both bands were having a Q&A on the lido deck. It was so great, because everyone was just hanging out, swimming, drinking, just listening to the Goos and MB20 answer questions. They joked about everything from who was the clumsiest, them growing up and what they would have been if they weren't famous. It was fascinating!

After the Q&A's we decided to go see how crowded the Goos theater show was. We enjoyed ours so much, that we were hoping to sneak in like we did for the songwriters session. The theater was about half full five minutes before it was supposed to start. We felt so bad. We snuck in and sat in the back row again. A guy from Rose Tours came over and said, "you're welcome to move up, but if the people that have the closer seats show up, we just ask that you be respectful and move back again." We were like, "OK!" We ended up probably in the sixth row. It was awesome! They put on one hell of a show! John Rzeznik actually forgot the words to one of the songs. He started laughing and making fun of himself. It was a hoot! We were just excited because we got to see them do Holly Jolly Christmas again. It was so good! 

Between shows, we went to grab some dinner at the buffet. Since we snuck into the Goos, we had missed our dining time. Oh well, it was worth it! 

Nana and Jenny were going to take care of some other stuff, when I happened to see that John Rzeznik was sitting in the secret room. I told them I was going to hang out there, and when they were done to just come meet me. I didn't think he'd come out, but you never know. I ended up talking with two other ladies while we were sitting there. All of a sudden, out the door he came. I jumped up and said, "Hi John! May I have a picture?" He smiled and said, "Why do you have a shirt that says box on it?" I explained our shirts and that my two other partners weren't there. He just laughed and said, "Let's do this!" His bodyguard snapped the picture. I just love it! We had such a moment!

Next up, was our Matchbox Twenty concert in the theater. We were so pumped!! Before the show, we spotted Randall, who we've been trying to get our picture with. He's a friend of the band that came along and helped them with stuff on the ship. I went over and asked him if we could get a picture. He said, "Sure!" I asked him to come up to our seats, he said he couldn't because the show was about to start. He teased, and said, if you need anything during the show, let me know. I teased back and said, "Actually, we were wondering what's with the camel in the Real World video?" We had been laughing about Rob Thomas walking a camel through a bowling ally for three days. It just seemed so random. Randall laughed and said, "well that's the guy you want to ask! That's their manager." I shook his hand and asked him the same question. He loved it! He went on to tell me that it was originally supposed to be an armadillo, but the armadillo wouldn't walk in the bowling alley, so the brought in the camel. He could of went on, but the show was about to start. What a cool moment that was.

When the show started. the band seemed a little tired from their marathon photoshoot day, but it was still awesome. It had taken four hours for the whole ship to get their pictures taken with them. I can't even imagine that! That had to be hell for them! Rob even opened the show by saying, "So, I met every single person on the ship today!" It was a hoot! His voice was even a little raspy from chatting all day! At one point it got real quiet between songs, and I said to Jenny, (a little louder than I wanted) "Geez, he sounds just like Robbie!" (Robbie from the Goos who we joke sounds like a little troll when he sings) Kyle actually laughed out loud at that, that's how close we were. It was so awesome! 

At the end of the show, each band member came across the front row and was signing autographs. I had brought my boarding picture to see if I could get a few signatures. I never dreamt, I would get all of them! I WAS SOOOO EXCITED! Just SO EXCITED! They were all so completely down to earth. Just very kind people. Paul Doucette actually held up a drum and asked who wanted it. He went on to say, most of you will have to fly with this, so keep that in mind and just giggled. He ended up giving it to a teenaged girl. She was thrilled! Jennifer got a drumstick and Kyle gave us each guitar picks. It was so FUN! 

 After that concert, we went up to the lido deck to give Joe Bachman another shot. He was in his upbeat happy mode, so we had a good time! We were dancing away and having some cocktails! We just giggled and laughed the rest of the night. We bumped into a couple Goos and Paul Doucette again and got some pics. It was so FUN! 

When we were heading back to our rooms, we decided to check down the hall where the bands were staying. It was actually on our floor, but the opposite side of the ship. They had bodyguards sitting in chairs at the top and bottom of their hallway, so you couldn't go down there. The bodyguards were really friendly though. I was joking with the one, when Pookie came around the corner from the other end, heading to his room. I yelled down the hall, "Goodnight Pookie!" He just smiled and went in his room. Yes, I admit to having probably three to many "Real Worlds" at that point! LOL! We just continued to giggle and laugh at everything and anything. We had the BEST time! 

Meanwhile at home, Jim and Reagan went to Reagan's first YSU girls basketball game.They played and lost to Cincinnati University. Jim said Reagan was really into it and watched the whole thing. At halftime she was happy because Jim got her a big Kit Kat. The only thing she didn't like was the buzzers. Being it was such a blowout, Jim tried to leave with five minutes left. When Reagan realized they were leaving, she said, "No Dada, I don't want to leave," so they ended up sitting by the cheerleaders. I guess she spent some time waving and talking to them. It was a very successful trip! 

After the game, they met Jim's mom and dad for dinner at the Cracker Barrel. They had a nice dinner together! 

 The photo of the day is John Rzeznik and I...

Next, us with Brad from the Goo Goo Dolls.

Jim and Reagan - Reagan enjoying the game...

And, all of them at dinner...

Eppie Adventure - hanging in the lamp

 

Boarding Matchbox Twenty Cruise - 340/365

Today was boarding day for our Matchbox Twenty Cruise! 

We couldn't wait to get on the ship! We got over to the terminal and were escorted right to the desk. The lady handed each of us a tiny envelope with a wrist band inside. We knew we were guaranteed the first three rows, but didn't know exactly where we would be. I pulled out the wrist band and started SQUEALING! We were FRONT ROW! How awesome was THAT! 

When we walked on the ship, our jaws just DROPPED! They had these HUGE banners of Matchbox Twenty and the Goo Goo Dolls hanging in the atrium! They were awesome! 

We took some pictures, then wandered a little bit around the ship. We stumbled on the theater where the concerts would be, so we went in to try to find our seats. I got down to the front. Then, got thrown out, by the road crew of Matchbox Twenty, because they were trying to set the stage for later. Ooops! On the ship 10 minutes and already getting in trouble! 

After getting tossed, we decided to hit the lido deck for a snack and some drinks! They were walking around with these drinks called the "Real World", after one of MB20's most famous songs. They were really pretty and in these awesome MB20 Cruise glasses, so we HAD to have them. I said I'd get the first drinks. We were all howling when he brought the bill and it was $60.00 for three drinks. OMG! They were so worth it, though! 

 As we were sitting there, we noticed, Joe Bachman, from the supporting third band, walking by. Jennifer and I happened to know who he was, because he opened for Sister Hazel this summer in Cleveland. None of us really enjoyed him back then, so we were like, UGH! We decided to get a picture with him anyway. LOL! We kind of felt bad, because he was really nice, and really happy that someone actually recognized him. 

After our snack and drinks, our room was ready, so we went to check that out. On our way, we realized the elevators had these awesome Matchbox Twenty skins on them! TOO COOL! 

Our room was AWESOME! It was nice and big and we had a really cool balcony! Nana ended up sleeping on the huge pull out couch. Jenny was the middle twin bed. We called it her own private island. I, was the other twin bed by the wall. They even had a channel that played every Matchbox Twenty video they made. We tuned to that channel and left it on. It was so fun just hanging around the room watching and listening to old songs! We were really happy with everything!

Finally, it was time for the sail away party. What a good time this was! They had the tunes cranking!! Matchbox Twenty and the Goo Goo Dolls made an appearance as well! They thanked everyone for coming on the cruise and promised an amazing vacation. They talked for a few minutes, then started shooting off these air guns loaded with confetti. It was GREAT! 

Next up, we were off to dinner. The food was GREAT! We were all pleased with our meals. Dessert was pretty good, too! Jennifer got an awesome orange cake! It was bright orange, too! Scrumptious! 

Finally, it was time for our song writers session. We were SO EXCITED! It started a little bit late, but it was worth the wait! They talked all about their songs, and played some awesome clips from when they are just jamming, trying to get it to come together. We were HOWLING! 

At one point, Rob Thomas looked RIGHT AT JENN and asked, "Are you having a good time?" It was so funny! 

They started a little Q&A session next and I actually got to ask a question! They had talked earlier about how they are brutally honest with each other during song writing. Since, everyone has songs they hate, dislike, kinda hate and so on, I asked if there were any songs they have recorded, that their families disliked? I was so nervous when I was handed the microphone. We had our Matchbox Twenty Cruise shirts on, that Nana had made, and Rob Thomas said, "Oh no. This is going to be serious, they have effing t-shirts." LOL! It was too funny! In answer to the question, they talked about their kids and how they are all pretty much unimpressed with the rock star life. They said when the smaller kids, go on tour with them, instead of going to the show, they ask to stay on the bus and watch TV. How funny..what a life! 

During the songwriters session, every band member the entire hour and a half drank wine. It was so funny. They had this girl that would bring out more wine when they needed it. Kyle even snuck of the stage to use the bathroom. They are all just so down to earth. At the end of the session, Rob Thomas stayed to sign some autographs. I didn't really have anything, so I handed him my phone. The case on my iPhone used to have Mickey on the back, but it had rubbed off, so it was completely white. He signed his name in silver sharpie. It was AWESOME! We kept laughing because his signature actually looked like it said, "Judy." 

This evening was the Goo Goo Dolls concert. We REALLY enjoyed their show. It was outside on the lido deck. What an unbelievable place to have a concert. Floating in the ocean, stars above, listening to a great band. We were actually starting to feel pretty bad that we put up a stink about the Goo Goo Dolls being included in the cruise. It wasn't that we disliked them, we just didn't want them taking away any MB20 time. Turns out GGD were really were adding a lot! It was FUN! 

After the GGD concert, we were just hanging around the lido deck, enjoying the DJ, when all of a sudden, Paul Doucette, was up on the next balcony jamming on a set of drums that glowed. He and another guy just pounded away. It was SO AWESOME! You could tell he was feeling pretty good from all the wine he consumed earlier in the evening. When the other guy was playing, he jumped up and sat on the railing right above us. We were so afraid he was going to tip backwards and fall down to our level. Actually, he ended up falling the other way. When he jumped down, he lost his footing and fell right into a chair. It was so funny! 

At this point, it was pretty late, so we decided to call it a night. We wanted to save our energy for our day in Nassau and our MB20 concert the next night! 

 Meanwhile, back at home, Jim and Reagan were continuing on their adventure without me. Jim had to go into work today for a little bit, so Jim's mom came to get Reagan for the day. When Jim got home from work, they all had dinner together over her house. They had ice cream for dessert which made Reagan super happy! 

The funniest photo of the day is....us with Joe Bachman

Our fabulous drinks...

And, my "Judy" phone. The blob above the "J" used to be Mickey's foot.

Finally, ROB!

Jim and Reagan's adventures - Reagan enjoying dessert with Grandma and Papa.

 Eppie Adventure - Sitting over the door.

 

Harvest & Hazel - 207/365

Kind of a busy day today!

We started at Gymnastics. A little funny that happened was, at the start of class, they do some butterfly stretches. Miss Amanda usually asks each one where they are going to fly to. When she got to Reagan, she replied, "Alaska!" I guess she's ready...LOL!

After class, Nana, Reagan and I headed to Fellows Riverside Garden for their Family Day. The theme was lady bugs and sunflowers. The kids got to make a little lady bug out of popsicle sticks, it was so cute!

 After their craft, they could harvest some vegetables in the Children's garden. She picked cucumbers, beans, beats, celery and tomatoes. The best part, you got to take whatever you picked home. How great! We're already looking forward to next week.

After that, we headed over to Elliott's and Petitti's to look for some new bushes. We had some old rocket bushes cut down and were looking for something else to replace them with. I ended up finding another hydrangea tree and two tall skinny hydrangea bushes. Obviously, I love hydrangeas, so I was pretty pumped! I think they are going to be great!

This evening, Nana, Raymond, Jennifer, Jim and I were off to Pittsburgh to see Sister Hazel, again! We had so much fun at the Cleveland show that we couldn't pass up seeing them again, when they were so close. They were playing at a small bar on Carson Street called the Rex Theater. Cool little venue!

We decided to have dinner first, down in Station Square at Houlihan's. It was quite yummy!

We got to the theater right at nine and Sister Hazel came out shortly there after. They were awesome; even better than the Cleveland show! They seemed to have a lot more energy, too. They were quite chatty and told a lot of funny stories! You can tell they are just a bunch of down to earth guys. It was a lot of fun!

When the show was over we were standing on the side street waiting for the valet to bring the car around. We were kind of standing behind the building and I said, I bet this is where the tour bus will go. Jim decided to walk down the street and around the other corner to investigate. Sure enough, the tour bus was on the other side. He came back and said Ken Block, (the lead singer) was standing over there. Jennifer, Jim and I rushed back over to try to get a picture. We ended up getting to talk to him and have our picture taken. He was so super nice!! It was so exciting and a great way to end the night!

While we were out partying with famous people, Reagan had a slumber party with Jim's mom and dad! They went to dinner, did a lot of coloring and chased around Timmy the cat. They had a great time together! We so appreciate them have her spend the night!

The photo of the day is Jim and I with Ken Block from Sister Hazel....

The next is all of us at the show...

And finally, Reagan with her harvest from the garden...

Children's Circle of Friends Foundation Golf Outing - 189/365

Today was the Children's Circle of Friends Foundation 28th Annual Celebrity Golf Scramble. Jim's dad is the President of the Circle of Friends Foundation and the Executive Director at D&E Counseling Center. The Circle of Friends Foundation helps provide D&E with the finances to help treat and prevent mental disorders in children around the Mahoning Valley.

Each team that plays in the tournament is lucky enough to get paired with a celebrity. Most of them are former and current players from professional and college sports teams. This year, some of the most famous players were, Ed Muransky, Otto Orf, John Greco, and Greg Pruitt, just to name a few. It turned out to be a beautiful day for the outing. It wasn't super hot and no rain!

Greg had asked me to take pictures of the tournament, and I was thrilled to do so! Jim was my "assistant" for the day. We drove around taking pictures of the golfers in action on the course. He drove me around, so I didn't' make a wrong turn and get clobbered by a ball! LOL! We had a great time spending the day together!

One highlight of the day, for me, was getting to meet Otto Orf! Back in the day, my family was HUGE Cleveland Crunch fans. We had season tickets and went to every game up at the Cleveland Convocation Center, now the Wolstein Center. When they were in the playoffs and winning the championships, we would travel all over to watch them! We had the best time! Otto was the goalie back in the day.

I didn't even realize he was there at first. I was taking a group picture of the celebrities, after I was done, they scattered. I looked down and noticed one of them had forgotten to pick up their back pack. I noticed a name written on it and it said, "Otto Orf!" I said to Jim, "Oh my God! Otto Orf is here!" We looked around and immediately spotted him. We walked his bag over and ended up chatting for a few minutes. He was THE NICEST GUY and we had the nicest talk! He even sat with us at the dinner that evening. It was too fun! He lives in Rootstown with his wife and daughter and is still very involved in soccer. He ended up giving us a sealed box of 1992 MSL Pro Soccer cards. We're going to gift them to Uncle Ray!

We also got to chat briefly with John Greco from the Cleveland Browns. He was also super nice! He is the cousin of Karen, a family friend of ours. She always talks about him, but we had never got to meet him. He was super sweet to Reagan, too!

Jim's mom, babysat Reagan all day during the golf part, but they both came out for the dinner. Everything went perfect and everyone seemed to have a really nice time!

 Hopefully, a lot of money was raised to help the children that need it most in the valley.

The photo of the day is the group shot of all the celebrities that donated their time and money to help the kids.

The next is Reagan and I with Otto.....

Myrtle Manor - 127/365

Today we spent the day with the Myrtle Manor Cast...LOL! 

Jim and my dad went golfing, so Ed, Pam, Nana, Reagan and I drove down to check out Myrtle Manor. We all started watching it mostly because, it was filmed in Myrtle Beach. We all got hooked and watched every episode. 

We arrived and immediately spotted Cecil, the trailer park owner, in the souvenir trailer. He was the nicest guy! He made you feel like you have been best friends forever. He just loved Reagan, too. He scooped her right up and didn't want to put her back down. We asked him what he thought of his new found fame and he replied, "well, I still take out the garbage." LOL! 

Next, we headed to the back where the rest of the cast lives. We parked the car, hopped out and realized Taylor was washing his car in the driveway.  His bulldog, Gus, was just walking around. He was pretty nice, but really only spoke when spoken to. Reagan got a kick out of playing with Gus! Although, Taylor was nervous he would knock her down. It was cute. 

After we talked with him, we spent some time walking around the set and taking pictures. There was an old playground set in the yard that Reagan enjoyed. She got a kick out of going down the slide, even though it had two holes in it...LOL! 

Cecil had said that most of the people work nights, so you have a better chance to see them between 1-3 in the afternoon. We had a few things we wanted to do at the mall, that's less than 2 miles from there, so we went to the mall. Pam wanted to go in Belk, and Nana and I wanted to go to Gymboree. After the mall, we went over to Five Guys Burgers and Fries to have a snack before we headed back over to the Manor.  

When we got back, we headed straight for the back. We noticed that Tangulls was now open, so we went in and Gina was in there cutting a girls hair. We chatted with her and asked if she would be willing to give Reagan a trim. She said sure, so we just plopped down an waited. We talked with her and she was super nice! 

Gina doesn't live in the trailer park, but has known Becky's family forever. She had a SEVEN carat diamond on her hand! It was stunning! She was telling us all about how they film. She even pointed out things around the shop that were from the crew. It was really interesting! 

Next up was Reagan! She had a kids chair she wheeled over and threw a peach towel down on the seat. She was telling us how the crew ruined the seat with some of their hot camera equipment. She has had the seat forever and was so bummed they ruined it. She puts the towel down so it doesn't pinch the kids legs.

Then, just as Reagan was getting in the chair, Miss Peggy walked in. It was a HOOT! There we are, sitting in Tangulls, hanging out with Gina and Miss Peggy all by ourselves. It was so fun! 

Gina was so good with Reagan and talked with her the whole time! Her hair looks great and she even took the time to give Reagan a cute braid at the end! It looked adorable! Reagan sat perfectly, too! After we were done, we headed back up to the souvenir trailer to get some goodies. It turns out Becky, Alyson and Jeana were there working. They were all super nice, as was the rest! Every single person, made you feel like you knew them forever! It was such a weird, but fun day! 

 After we got back, we got cleaned up for dinner and hit one of our favorites, Carolina Roadhouse!

 The photo of the day is Reagan sitting in the chair for her haircut....

 The extra pic is all of us and Cecil...

 

Myrtle Date Day - 126/365

Today was Jim and I's, Myrtle Date Day! 

Every year, my mom and Aunt Pam take Reagan for the afternoon, so Jimmy and I can go on a date! We love to go have lunch at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and have a drink at his other restaurant, LandShark. This year, we decided to do the opposite. LandShark was slammed! It took nearly 45 minutes to get our food. There was a football team of 15 or so players that put their orders in right before us. So even though we just ordered pretzel sticks as an appetizer and some sandwiches, it still took forever. When we did get our food, it was delicious! We still like Margaritaville better for food though.

 After lunch, we were only a couple blocks away from Myrtle Manor, so we decided to drive over and check it out. We pulled in and found the "set" all the way in the back of the trailer park. We saw all the "famous" trailers and Tangulls hair salon. My mom, Pam, Ed and I were going to go the next day and really spend some time taking pictures, so we just kinda looked around from the car. As we were leaving the park, we spotted the souvenir trailer. Becky, the head of the trailer park, happened to be there selling shirts! I told Jim, we HAVE to get out and get a picture with her! We parked the car and hopped out. She was SO NICE! I asked, "can I get a picture with you?" She said, "Sure honey! I just got my hair did!" We chatted with her for a few minutes and she mentioned that, Roy and Gina were in the salon and told us to go say hello, so that's what we did. They were also super nice and it was surreal standing in that salon! LOL! Roy was actually in the middle of a hair cut! He came over, shook our hands, and was friendly as can be. He is one of our favorite characters on the show, so it was funny to actually meet him! 

After we left Myrtle Manor, we headed over to Broadway at the Beach to walk around and have our drink at Margaritaville. It was such a beautiful day! We popped in a couple shops and visited our favorite winery. Perfect afternoon with the hubby!
My mom and Aunt Pam had a fun day with Reagan. They took her down to the pools and lazy river. Aunt Pam even gave Reagan a mani/pedi! She was SO EXCITED! It was a glitter polish and when we got back and Reagan said, "mama, Pam gave me farkles!" She is such a little HOOT!

When we got back, we took Reagan down to play in the sand for a little bit and check out the inlet. She loved "digging in the muck" as she kept saying. Who knows where she got that! What a fun day!

 The photo of the day is Myrtle Manor Roy and I...

Extra pic is our little lady running in the inlet.

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