Braille..... from Phoenix

Well, Nikki already told the story better then I could - so instead of telling everyone about Disney I decided to just post a picture.  It was a memorable day for sure.  One of my favorite parts of the day was running through sprinklers with Gabriella.  She has been making me laugh so much lately.  At night it's been taking us 2 or 3 hours to put her to sleep - but the whole time she cracks us up with silly games and funny things she says.  Nikki also talked about my show at "The Movement" - and honestly it was one of the most refreshing mornings I've had in a long time.  I sold around 75 CDs, which is definitely one of my top selling shows of all time.  Overall though, the people were very encouraging and excited to "serve".  

The family we stayed with in OceanSide was the Hancock Family.  My good friend Scott runs a company called The Glue Network.  www.thegluenetwork.com.  It was great to spend time with his family and their baby girl London.  After Disney, I ran over to the Cerritos Allstars radio show for an interview and freestyle.  I was the only MC in the house, so I freestyled pretty long.  haha.  Maybe to long, but it was a lot of fun.  After the radio show I drove over to Hollywood for the CunninLynguists show at the Knitting Factory.  They were gracious enough to let me take stage and rock a song right before Substancial took stage.  I performed "The IV" with as much energy as I could and it went over really well.  My L.A. show got canceled, so it was good to at-least perform one song for the local heads.  Today we are driving from Phoenix to Flagstaff.  Last night we took Gabriella swimming at the hotel, and tonight we are rocking another show!!!!

Nikki..from Anaheim Cali.

Hey everyone!!!

   So...We are still in California but alot has happened here! I feel like we have been gone much longer then we really have. But tours are just like that, you will feel like you have been gone forever yet time flys. We were in the San Diego area for a couple days and stayed with some really good friends of ours. They have a daughter a little younger then Gabriella. The 2 of them enjoyed playing together! It was nice to be around another mom for me also. We were able to share storys, and give advice! 

  Its been hard for me to get used to the heat. It was not even that hot today (prob. in the high 80's) but I need to get used to it because the summer has just begun! I have come to realise what an Oregonian I am! I tend to enjoy cooler weather over the hot humid weather! Am I crazy? Well, It has been fun dressing Gabriella in all her cute summer clothes, like I have mentioned before. So dont get me wrong I dont hate the sun that much...Okay enough of all that...

  If you know my daughter, then you probably know about her true love for Mickey Mouse. You cant be with her for more then 5 minutes without her mentioning him or singing the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song. So me and Bryan were talking the other day and we had this idea to take her to DisneyLand. So we went today! And she had a blast!!! Her day was filled with so much Mickey, but i dont think she got tired of it...she was able to meet him personally and give him hugs. She even got to see her favorite Mickey Mouse show live on stage. She danced alot of the time, or just zoned out! It was so cute because when she first met him she was acting so shy. She did not freak out or jump for joy like i thought she might....she just smiled a flirty smiled and petted his nose. Then gave him a hug. Her reaction was exactly like HER. She is  gentle and loving :) 

  Bryan performed at a church on Sunday morning called "The Movement" Its one of the coolest churches I have been to. I just felt at home there. There were so many young couples with babies Gabriella's age. The people were so giving. They loved Bryan and really enjoyed his songs...they were very suportive. It was refreshing to visit a church like this one. Every now and then you need a little jump start and that what they gave me!  I really felt God there, and I know he is working in the people there. If you are ever in the Ocean side area you shoulc check it out! 

 We are heading out in the morning to Arizona, its about a 5 hour drive. Im excited to move on with the tour and experience some new things with Gabriella. I will write again soon! :) 

Im so excited to see the comments on my last blog! It makes me feel special haha. Well, the beginning of the tour has been so great. Our lives went from being hectic and crazy, to suddenly being calm and relaxed. I feel like yesterday I could finally take a breath of fresh air! Our house sold in the nick of time. And we finally have everything packed and we are on the road again...the first show was in Redding Cali. the weather is so beautiful! I am enjoying finally getting to dress Gabriella is her summer clothes. She is such a cutie in her little jean shorts! Anyways, back to the show...I made friends with the promoters wife. She was so sweet! She had 4 kids and each of them was about a year apart. She is super mom for sure! As we were chatting she told me she could feel such a gentle spirit from Gabriella. She said she could feel something special radiating from her, she went on to tell me that she felt God has something very special for Gabriella's life, and that she will do great things. It was really cool to hear this. Of course in my own mind I think Gabriella is special and one of a kind. But hearing it come from an outsider who  does not even know her, and who is a strong women of God, it was just really cool for me as a mother.  Well, today we are heading to Sacramento then on to LA where we are meeting up with some close friends. We are still here in Redding and Bryan is feeding Gabriella breakfast while I am writing my blog hehe. I have already begun to realise that this tour is going to be a special one. The fact that me and Bryan and Gabriella get to be travelling as a family is an amazing experience. 

Well I better get ready now...I need to give Gabriella a bath and get her dressed for another sunny California day! 

Braille.... from Redding

Hello!!!  I'm going to keep this short because I'm sure me and Nikki will share some of the same stories.  April 23rd was our last day in our home.  Our house has sold and now we are living on the road.  We had most of the house packed but when your on a deadline it feels like a never ending job.  I spent the whole day packing, then drove to Portland to open for Cunnin Lynguists, then got back home and kept packing until 2:30 in the morning.  It felt crazy unplugging all my studio equipment and putting it in boxes.  This is the studio (home studio) where I recorded all the vocals for "The IV Edition".  So yeah, it was a little bit sentimental.  We had to leave the next day (April 24th) at 9 AM but we were running late.  Nikki had all the bags packed and organized - so I loaded them into our Van and we hit the road.  It was a 6 hour drive to our first show in Redding, CA.  The drive actually felt like a breeze.  Time flew by really fast.  This was my first time doing a show in Redding, and the turn out was pretty small but we felt really refreshed and encouraged from the whole experience.  There was one guy who heard of my music from the Transworld Skate Video which featured the song "keep on".  He brought a couple friends, and Jeff (the promoter) invited a lot of his friends out as well.  Most of the audience was "families" with kids.  Haha.  I was performing in a gym and the kids were running around the whole time.  Since I wasn't standing on a stage, Gabriella would run up to me while I was rapping and come dance with me.  While I performed "Blessed Man" I held her in my arms and it was really cool.  She didn't want to leave but I couldn't hold her for every song.  haha.  We stayed with Jeff's brother in law Eddie and he showed us great hospitality.  He went grocery shopping and brought us like 4 bags full of stuff.  haha.  Animal crackers, juice, cereal and stuff.  It was an unexpected blessing and we are very thankful for it.  Nikki will be on tomorrow to share more.  peace

Nikki...From Nashville!!!

Hello everyone!!

  This is my first official tour blog...I'm really excited to be keeping this blog.  I love to travel with my husband, and have been on many tours with him. But this is the first time I have been able to share how it is as a wife and mother on the road! So yeah, super exciting. Just a warning..I will be writing how I talk...meaning I might not use all the "proper" grammar etc. hope that's OK!! So, Nashville has been great. Bryan and I flew here from Portland. We are here for the GMA's. Bryan had a showcase the second day we were here, it went so good! We have been running around doing various things that Bryan needs to get done...business stuff mostly. We left our daughter with my parents back in Salem, because we will only be gone  4 days...i miss her so much! We were in an ice cream shop and I heard a baby giggling..it sounded just like her!!! I turned around quickly and then remembered i was in Nashville, and Gabriella is safe at home with Grandma. So yeah, i miss her! I will be seeing her tonight though. We are flying out today, our time at GMA has come to an end. What I liked most about the trip was the fact I got to see everyone I have ever met in my previous travels! Bryan and I started touring the second year of our marriage, then stopped once we had Gabriella. I was 18 when we went on our first tour. So seeing all of our old friends has been wonderful...i was able to get in some good conversations with everyone and catch up...Last night was our last night out here...we went to a revolution art show and hung out with friends. As soon as we get home we are un-packing and re packing and heading out the 24Th for California! Then we will all be on the road for 3 months...more entertaining blogs will be coming soon!!! This  one is a little slow moving, i am in Panera Bread and thought I would type up a quick entry to start things off.. :) keep checking up on us though , we will be putting up some pics and video blogs to!!! be back soon..