Goodbye Merrillville, Indiana and Hello Houghton, Michigan

We enjoyed the rest of our stay in Merrillville, Indiana. On Saturday we shopped at the Mall and thanks to Colin (Dodger) Mikey now likes Abercrombie. We bought him a pair of plaid shorts and a couple of tee-shirts that cost an arm and a leg! I am convinced they are so expensive because of there shopping bags. I'm not kidding you.....did you ever see them? They have thick wide cloth handles and a big picture of a perfectly muscled male model. I think you're paying for the bag instead of the shirt. Thank goodness I was literally saved by the bell when John called us during shopping to meet him and Q at the movie theater to see "Hotel Dogs." I told Mikey we can't shop anymore because we had to hurry to get to the movies. The walk from the Mall to the Movie theater was brutal. It was freezing, windy and a little dangerous. Nobody in any of these States we visit believe in side walks so you are literally risking your lives as you walk around. Crossing the street is a hazard. With snow everywhere and my boots still not ready for wearing thanks to the bus burglar, I was not a happy camper. However, the walk was worth it because we really had a few good laughs at the movies. I really knew I wasn't in New York when the ticket price was only three dollars and the price even included free popcorn. The soda refills were even free. After the movies we met up with Colin and Missy for dinner. (They had decided to skip the movie and keep shopping!) We ate in a place near the hotel called "Sheffields." The food was good but once again the walk was so cold. I really miss the warm weather states! After dinner we all enjoyed the pool and hot tub. After the pool we ran into Chaz and Allaggio and got in trouble for talking in the hallways. So an impromptu PJ Party sprung up in Missy and Colin's room. Chaz (Mr. Bumble) got into the spirit of things and came in his blue silk robe. Mikey made himself right at home in Missy' s very comfy bed. (LOL) Missy broke out the thirty dollar a bottle white zifandel that she bought at Olive Garden the night before. (She asked to buy a bottle of wine without asking the price!) I tried to refuse the wine but she made me have some! We had some fun and Chaz is always fun to be with. Mikey and Chaz were discussing who would get to be Nancy if a boy got to play her. Fierce competion between those two for the role! Chaz was also still traumatized by what happened to him when he went to a Catholic Church that day with some of the other cast members. Chaz is not Catholic but really missed Church so decided to go with other members of the cast. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to received communion but thought it would be disrespectful if he didn't. He asked the other cast members what to do and they told him how to hold his hands to receive but did not tell him to put the host in his mouth right away. So while we is walking back to his seat with the host in his hand one of the Woman who was giving the wine out chases him down and asked him if he is catholic. When he says no she actually grabs the host out of his hand and chastises him and the cast members he was sitting with. Poor Chaz, we tried to tell him not all Catholic's behave that way. Some of the parishioners actually came up to him and said they were sorry to him. On Sunday, there was a matinee show and the parents really had fun because we sat in the front seats dead center trying to see if we can break any cast members. Mikey spotted us right away during "Food Glorious, Food." We tried to break him but he just smiled from ear to ear. Erin and Will spotted us and tried to sell us some sausages. The parents were also excited when we bought soda and popcorn and the cashier gave it to us free because we were wearing backstage passes. I can tell you this is the only theater that did that for us. After the show there was a Question and Anwser with some audience members. Mikey was thrilled when the moderation stated "He heard one of the cast members got started when they tried out for their talent show in kindergarten without telling his Mom." So Mikey told his story.....he was so cute and I think the audience got a real kick out of him. I was amazed how poised and confident the three boys were while anwsering questions from the audience. The parents also enjoyed listening and learning from the adult cast members when they anwsered the audience's questions. It was also good for the boys to hear. Mikey really enjoyed it. After the Q and A we went to dinner with the Nims, Araujos, Rhiannon (Nancy) and Chaz (Mr. Bumble.) to "Red Lobster." Missy and I had steak with lobster tails that was unbelievably good. (VERY RITZY) The desserts were also awesome. We had good food, good company and good conversation. Today, we had to be on the bus at 730am and we arrived in Houghton 845pm. A long bus ride but everyone made the best of it. After school we watched the movie "Clue." The kids all seemed to really like it. Then the adults, kids and parents played "Catch Phrase." It was the music edition. Everyone had a lot of fun guessing the songs. When we finally got off the bus there was snow everywhere on the ground and we trekked to AppleBees after dropping our luggage in the room. Tomorrow we can sleep a little because the show is not until the evening. Only 5 shows left! Until tomorrow..................