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01/28/2005: "Howdy Ho from the freezing cold!"

Hello All!
Well, here I am procrastinating the inevitable sojourn out into the tundra that is my front walkway...it is so cold. It is winter, though. And I always try to remind myself of how good it feels to step outside into the first warm rays of the spring sun after a long and cold winter. Somehow, that makes this all worth it to me! (well, that and hot chocolate with whipped cream:))

Anyhoo, I must say that it feel strange to have no shows this week...I miss you guys and gals! This last weekend of shows was so much fun - even with the snowstorms in our way. The snow almost made the shows feel more special. You know, like we'd all worked really hard to get there so we'd better have as much fun as possible! Not to mention the fact that this weekend was filled with so many familiar faces - the lovely miss Charlotte and familiy from Canton, my Indiana girls - just as loovely as ever, and of course, Trish, Chrissy, Maurah, Zoe and all the boys! What a fun car ride THAT must have been. Oh, by the way, Trish, your Elivis glasses came in handy sooner than you might have thought - I used them to block out the sun as I slept on the plane home on Monday! Shaun made fun of me, but I thought it was a clever idea.

AND along with seeing the true blues, it was really great to meet all the new folks as well! I just loved meeting people who had never seen the show or who have been watching for years, but had never seen us live. What was cool, too, was that a lot of the kids were staying in our hotel in Indiana, so we kept having run-ins with people at the pool, or, my personal favorite, me in pajamas getting tea at Starbucks! It was such a great weekend!

The other thing that I wanted to share with you all is that I can feel already the popularity of the show growing - and I wanted to let you know, because I think in a big way this growth is due to your efforts and your support. It seems that every time I step onto the train to head home or even go into office buildings in the city that someone says, "hey, are you Karla?"

Now, besides being a very cool and surreal thing to have happen, it really warms my heart. The thing is that I know I believe in what this show stands for - education, creativity, physicality and fun. But, when I see that mirrored back to me in the faces and comments of all of you and all these new people I meet, it let's me know that we're doing our job. When we get to meet special kids like the ones in Wake Medical Center in Raleigh, the stunningly chivalrous Alexander, little Hannah (sister to Abigail) and so many more, it let's me know that we're doing our job. When we get to go to places like Fort Hood and to meet a soldier in Green Bay who, the night before going off to war, takes his child to see Hi-5, I know that we're doing our job. And every time any of you gets up to sing with us, remembers our birthdays, sends me pictures of kitties or butterfly pony tail holders, I know that we're doing our job. So, I know that we're constantly saying thank you, but really, thank you for letting us build forts with you and hide under tables and sing and dance, and for listening to me babble on:) - it's been such a blast. See you next week in LA!

love and giggles,
Karla

P.S. I'm going to try and upload a picture that my friend just sent of Kimee and me getting ready for a show in Hartford - I thought you might like to see it...have great weekends!