I look at the pictures that my husband and son Brian took while we drove from Vancouver to Edmonton and all I can think is that there's not much to say. It's all in the photos. It's about a 14 hour drive that took us 20 because we stopped the tour bus so often to take a photo. Our bus driver Mark had us in hysterics, "LOOK to your left, it's a moose. Bullwinkle. Big Ben. Parliament. You would think being held up on a bus for 20 hours would be rough with a 5 year old and a 3 year old, but it was a blast! It's a tour bus after all, not my minivan. Although I certainly miss my Dunkin Donut's ice office (medium, milk, no sugar) I could get used to the beautiful landscape up here.

My husband left us in Edmonton the morning of the first show. The babies were still sleeping in the hotel and he crept off to the airport kissing them goodbye while they slept. (We are officially on a rock-star schedule of being up until 1 or 2 am and sleeping until 11am). As my husband flew home, my father and my stepmother Kay were making their way to the hotel to see us. They flew in to Edmonton the night before. My babies were beyond overjoyed to see their grandparents. My three year old was so excited he sobbed. We dressed and met the bus outside the hotel to travel together to the venue. While waiting in the hotel lobby my parents got to meet most of the Dance Hall Doctors and some of the fine folks from Faith's band too.

Today was all about laundry, seriously. My kids were settled on the bus with their nanny and my parents. So my "downtime" in the venue today revolved around finding Faith's washing machine and dryer. Early on in the tour as I walked with Faith from the buses to the dressing rooms, she carried an enormous bag of laundry. Tim came up behind her scooping it out of her hands and she said these words to me: "If you need to do some laundry, I bring a washing machine with me on the road".

"WHAT? You travel with a washing machine and dryer?! WHY how smart of you!"

Smart indeed. I know this because my friend Lance Miller paid 80 bucks one day at the hotel to have them service his dirty laundry. I know this because I spent the better part of 12 hours at a Hampton Inn in Wyoming trying to dry two loads of laundry. It took 3 hours each load and 150 quarters. I know this because I have recycled "dirty laundry back into the clean laundry pile after reassessing the goods and determining that they really were ok to wear ONE more time (not underwear, I promise). I know this because my three year old will only wear ONE pair of jeans and ONE shirt, over and over again (he enjoys yogurt and has not mastered a spoon yet). I'm a mom; I know this.

Each venue is different. Therefore the dressing rooms are in different locations each night. Today, my dressing room is close to the monitor boards and catering, both good things. And right outside my door, is Faith‚s washing machine and dryer. Halleluiah, it was meant to be.

By the time I am able to get my laundry from the washing machine to the dryer it is almost time for us to hit the stage. This dryer has a lot of buttons and honestly I'm confused but I do get it going and everything looks good. I have dinner with my parents and the kids, we meet some fine folks from Warner Brothers and I rehearse a bit with my guitar players. Dressed and ready to go, as we walk to the tunnel to start the show I notice the dryer is shut off and the clothes are still very damp. Damn it, it's Wyoming all over again. I reprogram the dryer and press start. Nothing. Start. Nothing. Good Lord, Start. Nothing. No spinning, no warm smell, nothing. The monitor guys are watching me,someone yells over, "Lori, is everything alright?"

I'm thinking to myself, NO MAN, THERE‚S NOTHING WORSE THAN DAMP JEANS AND I BROKE FAITH'S DRYER. Oh, she's gonna kill me. The ONE time I use her dryer I break it. It looks like a really good one too, God knows how much this thing costs. She's so good to me and all I do is break her dryer!

Regardless of how wet my laundry was or how broke Faith's dryer was, there was something going on way more important. I was minutes away from being announced to 15,000 people and I have to play! I yell to Heath and Johnny that I broke Faith's dryer and I run to the stage. We had a great crowd in Edmonton. My parents enjoyed the show and it was so wonderful having a piece of home there with me. As I played my set that night (like most nights, if I do my job right), I got lost a bit in the music and the feeling of being part of this amazing tour. I forgot all about the laundry in the dryer.

We walked back to our dressing room after the set in Edmonton and I remember hearing the crowd erupt as Faith and Tim hit the stage for their first duet of the night. I went right to the dryer and opened the door to find my clothes perfectly dry. I look up to Heath and Johnny and Ryan at the monitor mixing boards, but they are all busy working the show. A fairy Maytag Man must have fixed the dryer during my set. I learned the next day that Johnny took a look at the machine and solved the problem, I didn't have the door completely shut.