Getting into Shape for the '13 tour!

After the crazies of 2012 with it's travels taking us all the way to Massachusetts and nine other states in between while dealing with unprecedented fuel and travel cost as well as increases in taxes, regulatory fees, and insurances we really deserved hibernation this winter.  Grant it we didn't really hibernate. We went to conventions, marketed, update and upgrade props and equipment, and did all the thousand little things to get ready for 2013's season.  
One last thing to do before we go into full throttle ...get my gut back down to my show pants size. Yup, time to shed the winter coat.  So recently I have been working out with the kids.  Well, as best as a guy with a tumor in his spinal cord can do. Mostly I have been biking; mostly w/Jim.  But today Princess Olivia and I packed our bikes into the van and after running around on errands we hit the trails that run along the Feather River.   We passed a gaggle of birders with their big binoculars and cannon-sized camera lenses.  A couple of joggers and dog walkers were out enjoying the day too.

We are coming up on what was once a yearly event but we have missed the last two years, Magic for Mexico. My home church sends youth group and sometimes college kids to Mexico over Spring Break to build homes for the needy there. We often donate the use of one of our vans.  But this year we are going back to the old tradition of doing a nice sized show where 100% of proceeds go to the trip for the kids.  It's a character building trip for these kids and it serves the Lord.   I have asked my good magician friends, JC Dunn, Carlos Sawyer, and Bill Jackson to join me.  Jugglin' Jim and  the Kent Kids will also perform.  It will be less a circus style show and mostly a magic show.

If you can make it out please do; you will be helping a great cause.

While we have been enjoying warm days here in NorCal my cousins in CT have had a bit of a rough patch. Below explains what I am talking about. That is my cousin's husband half way down his step shoveling snow the same way Obama shoveled the manure in the State of the Union last night.  Look how high up on their glass door the snow reached.

 Many of you have asked about Cynthia and Miles. They are doing well.  Ky was at the far edge of the big freeze so they fared well. Below are some pictures from Cynthia's Birthday gathering last week.  Miles baked her a cake and they both, joined by friends, had a nice spaghetti dinner.

 Miles, being industrial, went out and booked himself a show back at the college. He Performed a 30 minute show and made some pocket cash ...Below he is swallowing a loooong balloon.

Meanwhile at Home Olivia's Onigiri, and Amelia's Piggy had a tea party celebrating Cynthia's birthday. 

James made the front page of the local paper after doing a very terrific job at reading for kids at a local school as part of a fundraiser.  The publicity resulted in another school wanting to hire him for a regular paid show school assembly for next month. 

More to come on new tricks and stunts in the show. Below is our current Summer tour schedule:

Here is the Summer tour layout so far (still booking shows so this will change as we progress in time forward):
Beech Bend Amusement Park Jun 3-16
Clarksville Fair (TN) June 18-23
Bellevue Festival (OH) June 2 27-29
Willard festival in the Park (OH) July 3-6
Delaware Co Fair (IA) July 9-13
Cherokee Co Fair (IA) July 18-21
Plymouth Co Fair (IA) July 24-28
Breemer Co Fair (IA) One day Aug 1,2 or 3
Mannington Fair (WV) August 5-10
Upper Peninsula State Fair (MI) August 12-18
Mohave Fair (AZ) Sept 12-14
Navajo Fair (AZ) (Robot only) Sept 11-14
More to come and adjustments to any errors I may have made here in dates to come.