POSTED BY ROBBIE SCHAEFER: MAY 11, 2007
5/6-Little Rock, AR
Today provided us with a much needed day off. We caught up on sleep, laundry, and . . . sleep and laundry. Little Rock is a lovely city full of friendly people who are very proud of Arkansas. I searched most of the day for the actual “Little Rock”—there is one, you know—but no luck. Went for a visit to the President Clinton Library and Museum (he’s from Arkansas!) and that was pretty neat. They even had a real Presidential limousine in there. They wouldn’t let me take it for a drive though. Geez, how’s a kid supposed to have any fun at these things?
5/7-Little Rock, AR
What a busy but fantastic day! We visited the Arkansas Children’s Hospital, which is just breathtaking! It is full of art and nature. It even had a big fake tree inside the hospital! Luckily, the tree was hollow, so I could actually go in it. Get it? Robbie Schaefer’s Stuck IN A Real Tall Tree! Check out a picture of it on the xmradio.com/roadshow website. Anyway, what I liked most about the hospital was that everyone seemed so happy to be able to work there. From the nurses to the doctors to the administrators--everyone seemed very focused on not only healing bodies, but spirits as well. In fact, painted right above the entrance was this: “FEAR NOT ILLNESS. THIS PLACE OF CARE, LOVE, AND HOPE IS FOR YOU”. Wow. We’re so lucky to be visiting these places.
From there we went to the Sam’s Club just outside Little Rock and, among others, met Tim Taylor and his daughters Shelby and Jordan, who donated their entire allowance to Children’s Miracle Network!!! Jinx had just flown in to meet the Balloon Bus and he happily hopped on board for the 6 hour drive to Nashville.
5/8-Nashville, TN
My main goal in Nashville (also, called ‘Music City’ since it is the home of country music) was to get noticed by some big-shot record label guy so I can sell my song, “There’s A Carp In The Tub”, to Rascal Flatts so I can make a gazillion dollars and donate it to Children’s Miracle Network. So, I set up my guitar and played on the sidewalk figuring, “heck--how hard can it be?”. Well, let’s just say I didn’t make a gazillion dollars, but I did get a whole lot of funny looks from people. They just don’t know fine art when they hear it, I guess.
Speaking of Rascal Flatts (they sing ‘Life Is A Highway’ from the movie ‘Cars’, by the way), did you know they do two huge concerts every year and donate all the money to the Children’s Hospital here? That’s a whole lotta balloons people! Jinx and I had a great visit at the hospital. Another beautiful place full of art and nature and light. You know, it looks almost as though kids designed all these hospitals (and it turns out they actually DID help design this one!). There is even a stage right there in the lobby! Jinx and I tried to put on a show, but the only song we both know is “Wheels On The Bus”, so the show was over pretty quickly. Our producer, Rob, was very thankful.
5/9-Nashville, TN
Today was my last day on the Balloon Bus before heading back to my Real Tall Tree. We paid a visit to the Wal-Mart just outside of Nashville and I got to meet Marvelous Micah, who is a guest on my show a few times a week. We also met a bunch of other great XMKiDS fans, some of whom traveled quite a long way to meet us. Let’s see . . . Micah, Aubrey, Michael, Lauren, Sam, Kennady . . . the list goes on. Anyway, at one point, we all got onto the bus (kids, parents—everyone!) and recorded an awesome sing-along version of “There’s A Carp In The Tub”. I’m sure you will all get to hear it on the air at some point. All I know is that if this group had been singing with me the previous night, Rascal Flatts would have a number one hit on their hands!
Well, that’s all from the Balloon Bus for now. Keep buying those balloons and we’ll see you at the big concert in Charlotte, NC on Saturday, May 12. If you can’t be there, be sure to listen to it live on XMKiDS from 10am-3pm EST. Love you all lots! See you on the radio.
Robbie
Friday, May 11, 2007
Monday, May 7, 2007
5/3/2007 Leaving Phoenix, AZ
Mindy thinks she can out-run the Balloon Bus. I'm not sure why she thinks that but she's pretty-well convinced. I think it might have something to do with the "Breathmobile" -- They have a mobile Asthma Clinic here at the Phoenix Children's Hospital and it's almost as big as our bus. We wondered which one was faster, and Mindy started trash-talking - saying she could out-run them both... I think the home-sickness has gone to her head.
5/4/2007 The Balloon Bus -- from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Houston, Texas
I have never slept in a bus with a bed on it before. It was kinda cool, but also kinda weird. Our Bus Driver, Mr. Chris, drove 16 hours straight !! He only stopped ONCE. I don’t know how he did it. Didn’t he ever have to pee? I’d like to ask him, but I’m too embarrassed… I think he’d like to forget that night. I know it was a lot of work driving a bus that big for that long. When we got to Houston in the morning, my legs felt really rubbery. I kept feeling like the ground was moving for a while… but eventually it went away. By the way, the desert mountains are BEAUTIFUL. They turn blue at sunset (really). It looked like a movie.
The Texas Children’s Hospital was really amazing. They are great at treating kids with all kinds of illnesses, but they also have a lot of people and things dedicated to making kids feel better about being in the hospital. They have a game room, pool tables, video games – and a working radio station. I actually didn’t want to leave, but we had to go because Mr. Chris needed to nap – really, really badly.
5/5/2007 Houston Texas
What a great day… I was amazed at how many people drove a long way just to see us! The Balloon Bus welcomed a bunch of special guests including Corrina and her family who drove 5 hours just to say hi! It was very windy, and lots of stuff at our booth blew away. (I won’t be surprised if they’re still picking up XMKiDS stickers at Christmas.)
The show was very cool. 3 different acoustic sets – basically just three guys and their guitars – but man, could they play! Joe McDermott did a great set (I think the acoustic version of “Don’t Drop a Brick” was my favorite…), Lucas Miller was a lot of fun and his version of “Anaconda” (set to the tune of “La Bamba”) was perfect for Cinquo De Mayo. I saw some Moms in the audience dancing along. Our very own Robbie Schaefer came down out of his Real Tall Tree to perform (as well as host) the show, and he was awesome! Because he works with me, I sometimes forget how good he is as a musician and a performer. It’s cool to have friends with talent. I’m thinking of booking him for my 40th birthday… but I think that might freak out my neighbors.
The best moment for me was the sing-along at the end when Robbie, Joe and Lucas sang an impromptu version of “Wheels on the Bus” with all of the kids. It was pretty silly – especially when we started making up our own words.
Now, I get to go home and see my family -- which I'm excited about. Robbie and Jinx are off to rock Little Rock!
Mindy thinks she can out-run the Balloon Bus. I'm not sure why she thinks that but she's pretty-well convinced. I think it might have something to do with the "Breathmobile" -- They have a mobile Asthma Clinic here at the Phoenix Children's Hospital and it's almost as big as our bus. We wondered which one was faster, and Mindy started trash-talking - saying she could out-run them both... I think the home-sickness has gone to her head.
5/4/2007 The Balloon Bus -- from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Houston, Texas
I have never slept in a bus with a bed on it before. It was kinda cool, but also kinda weird. Our Bus Driver, Mr. Chris, drove 16 hours straight !! He only stopped ONCE. I don’t know how he did it. Didn’t he ever have to pee? I’d like to ask him, but I’m too embarrassed… I think he’d like to forget that night. I know it was a lot of work driving a bus that big for that long. When we got to Houston in the morning, my legs felt really rubbery. I kept feeling like the ground was moving for a while… but eventually it went away. By the way, the desert mountains are BEAUTIFUL. They turn blue at sunset (really). It looked like a movie.
The Texas Children’s Hospital was really amazing. They are great at treating kids with all kinds of illnesses, but they also have a lot of people and things dedicated to making kids feel better about being in the hospital. They have a game room, pool tables, video games – and a working radio station. I actually didn’t want to leave, but we had to go because Mr. Chris needed to nap – really, really badly.
5/5/2007 Houston Texas
What a great day… I was amazed at how many people drove a long way just to see us! The Balloon Bus welcomed a bunch of special guests including Corrina and her family who drove 5 hours just to say hi! It was very windy, and lots of stuff at our booth blew away. (I won’t be surprised if they’re still picking up XMKiDS stickers at Christmas.)
The show was very cool. 3 different acoustic sets – basically just three guys and their guitars – but man, could they play! Joe McDermott did a great set (I think the acoustic version of “Don’t Drop a Brick” was my favorite…), Lucas Miller was a lot of fun and his version of “Anaconda” (set to the tune of “La Bamba”) was perfect for Cinquo De Mayo. I saw some Moms in the audience dancing along. Our very own Robbie Schaefer came down out of his Real Tall Tree to perform (as well as host) the show, and he was awesome! Because he works with me, I sometimes forget how good he is as a musician and a performer. It’s cool to have friends with talent. I’m thinking of booking him for my 40th birthday… but I think that might freak out my neighbors.
The best moment for me was the sing-along at the end when Robbie, Joe and Lucas sang an impromptu version of “Wheels on the Bus” with all of the kids. It was pretty silly – especially when we started making up our own words.
Now, I get to go home and see my family -- which I'm excited about. Robbie and Jinx are off to rock Little Rock!
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Day 2 -We made it to Phoenix!!
Greetings from the XMKiDS Traveling Roadshow! Wow. What a day we had yesterday! I hope you got to hear our big kickoff concert in Duarte, California! We had such a fun time with amazing performances from Paulie Litt, Laughing Pizza, Rhythm Child, Meredith Brooks, and a special performance from the Jonas Brothers! We danced, shimmied, and shaked..no shook our tailfeathers all afternoon long!
I have to say, that one of the biggest highlights of the day was getting to meet some really cool kids AND listeners! Amazing Aly the Expert and Ginger Girl drove 5 hours with their mom to make it to the concert, we also met Julius who is a HUGE XMK Animal Farm Fan, and we met a new friend named Devon (the girl) who was so much fun to dance around with! If you were listening, you might have heard 11-year-old Emily from Laughing Pizza, broadcasting with me LIVE on the air! Thanks for being such a great Co-Host Girlie Girl!
After the concert, we hopped on the bus and headed toward Phoenix, Arizona only to find out that our balloon bus had a big Freon problem that left us stranded at a bus fix-it place for about 4 hours! Just when I thought I was about to go CRAZY, the bus was fixed and we rolled on down the road! I was sleepy, so I got into one of the teeny tiny bunk beds and slept for the WHOLE 6 hour drive to Phoenix! The boys watched boy movies, ate junk food, and complained about the water I spilled all over the bus floor. OOPS!
Well, I'm really excited about tomorrow. We head out to our Wal-Mart appearance in Glendale, Arizona, and then we're off to Albuquerque, New Mexico! If you live anywhere in the area, we'd LOVE to meet you so stop on by! We've got fun XMKiDS stuff to give away, and all we ask is that you buy a Children's Miracle Network balloon for ONE DOLLAR! If you can't be there in person, you can listen to XMKiDS on your radio! We'll have snippets from today's visit to the Phoenix Children's hospital, bus drama, and chit chats with Meredith Brooks, Laughing Pizza, and Rhythm Child!
Well, I hear Kenny arguing with Dirk on the phone, so I better go make sure everything is okay. In the meantime, to find out if we're stopping in a town near you, visit www.xmradio.com/roadshow. Thanks for reading our BLoG! We'll be posting more soon...and pictures too!
Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuv,
*Absolutely Mindy
I have to say, that one of the biggest highlights of the day was getting to meet some really cool kids AND listeners! Amazing Aly the Expert and Ginger Girl drove 5 hours with their mom to make it to the concert, we also met Julius who is a HUGE XMK Animal Farm Fan, and we met a new friend named Devon (the girl) who was so much fun to dance around with! If you were listening, you might have heard 11-year-old Emily from Laughing Pizza, broadcasting with me LIVE on the air! Thanks for being such a great Co-Host Girlie Girl!
After the concert, we hopped on the bus and headed toward Phoenix, Arizona only to find out that our balloon bus had a big Freon problem that left us stranded at a bus fix-it place for about 4 hours! Just when I thought I was about to go CRAZY, the bus was fixed and we rolled on down the road! I was sleepy, so I got into one of the teeny tiny bunk beds and slept for the WHOLE 6 hour drive to Phoenix! The boys watched boy movies, ate junk food, and complained about the water I spilled all over the bus floor. OOPS!
Well, I'm really excited about tomorrow. We head out to our Wal-Mart appearance in Glendale, Arizona, and then we're off to Albuquerque, New Mexico! If you live anywhere in the area, we'd LOVE to meet you so stop on by! We've got fun XMKiDS stuff to give away, and all we ask is that you buy a Children's Miracle Network balloon for ONE DOLLAR! If you can't be there in person, you can listen to XMKiDS on your radio! We'll have snippets from today's visit to the Phoenix Children's hospital, bus drama, and chit chats with Meredith Brooks, Laughing Pizza, and Rhythm Child!
Well, I hear Kenny arguing with Dirk on the phone, so I better go make sure everything is okay. In the meantime, to find out if we're stopping in a town near you, visit www.xmradio.com/roadshow. Thanks for reading our BLoG! We'll be posting more soon...and pictures too!
Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuv,
*Absolutely Mindy
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