The Cactus Cuties were happy to return to New Orleans, LA to perform for the National Automobile Dealers Association 92nd Convention and Exposition.  NADA’s 2008 Chairman Annette Sykora, one of the Caldwell’s close friends, was instrumental in bringing The Cactus Cuties to the event, and The Cuties were excited to have such a special opportunity.  The Cuties reported to the Morial Convention Center for sound-check at 11:30 am on Saturday, January 24th.  The room was massive, seating over 5,000 people, and the Cuties were astounded when they saw the giant screen with their faces on it!!!  Sound-check went beautifully, the sound and lighting was absolutely spectacular!!  After sound-check, The Cuties grabbed a bite to eat and returned to Morial Convention Center to change clothes and prepare for the performance.  The Cuties began their performance with a five minute medley of Patriotic tunes, and the audience erupted in two standing ovations!!!  The Cuties exited the stage and hustled to the opposite side, where they entered to meet the Color Guard for The National Anthem.  The Anthem was a success, and The Cuties were proud of their performance!  After the performance, The Cuties headed to The French Quarter to spend the rest of their evening shopping and exploring.  One of their favorite discoveries in New Orleans were the tasty beignets, deep-fried square dougnuts without a hole, covered in powdered sugar.  While in The French Quarter, they stumbled upon a glass harper entertaining for tips.  The Cuties were spell-bound by his talent!!!  He actually played glasses filled with water and it was absolutely beautiful.  They discovered his name was Peter Bennett, and according to him, there are only five glass harpers in America!!!  The Cactus Cuties bid Mr. Bennett goodbye and walked back to the Hilton to get in some valuable play time!!!  The Cactus Cuties were grateful to NADA for creating another wonderful experience in New Orleans!!!!

photographer: Leanna Elbert

The Cactus Cuties were proud to end their astounding year of performances with a trip to Houston, TX to perform at the NFL Houston Texans vs Chicago Bears game on Sunday, December 28th.  The Cactus Cuties flew to Houston on Saturday, December 27th and were greeted by Mr. Kyle, who would be their escort for the weekend.  They checked into the hotel, had a fabulous meal at a local favorite spot, and hit the Galleria for a little shopping.  After The Cuties were all shopped out, they went back to the hotel and enjoyed a little playtime.  The Cuties love pretending they are in Cutie yoga classes and they did lots of laughing, as they took turns being the Cutie yoga teacher!!!  The Cuties ended their evening with a little Ninja Spy action before finally turning in for the night!!!  The Cuties reported to Reliant Stadium on Sunday morning for sound-check.  The stadium was massive, seating 72,000 people, and The Cuties were excited to learn that the game was completely sold out!!!  The Houston Texans presented The Cactus Cuties with their very own jerseys, and The Cuties adored them.  After sound-check, The Cuties were escorted to the front of Reliant Stadium, where they performed three songs, to give the growing crowd a preview of The Cactus Cuties.  After the mini show, they were quickly ushered to the field for the National Anthem.  The Cuties were happy with their performance and were giggling as they ran off of the field.  After the game, the Texans escort Kyle took the Cuties to greet the Texans players as they exited the field.  Baylee was wearing #91-Okoye, and as Okoye ran off of the field, Baylee began cheering loudly and showing him her jersey.  Okoye walked right up to her, took off his helmet, and gave it to her!!!!  All of The Cactus Cuties were screaming their heads off!!!!  They couldn’t believe they actually had a real NFL football helmet to take back home to Lubbock!!!!!  The Cactus Cuties would like to thank The Houston Texans for a fabulous ending to an amazing year!!!

photographer: Leanna Elbert and Eddy Matchette

The Cactus Cuties had a great time performing at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA for Snowball Express.  Snowball Express is dedicated to helping children of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces since 9/11, and The Cactus Cuties were blessed to have the opportunity to entertain these inspiring kids.  The Cuties reported to sound-check on the afternoon of Friday, December 19th.  Sound-check went extremely well, and The Cactus Cuties couldn’t wait to see the huge room filled with kids!  After sound-check, The Cuties reported to their beautiful dressing room, changed clothes, and were then served a delicious dinner right in their dressing room.  The Cuties finished dinner, said a prayer, and hit the stage for their concert.  They performed a twenty minute set, and the crowd roared!!!  After their performance, The Cuties were happy to see their friend actor, Gary Sinise.  The Cuties first met Mr. Sinise at an event called SkyBall in October and are huge fans of his work.  The Cuties swallowed him in a giant hug, and even got him to play along with their Ninja Spy pose.  The Cuties’ favorite part of the evening was meeting and visiting with so many of the children Snowball Express helps.  The kids were so sweet, and The Cactus Cuties hope to be involved in many future Snowball Express events!!!!!

photographer: Leanna Elbert

The Cactus Cuties were recently contacted by Snowball Express, a group dedicated to helping children of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces since 9/11.  Snowball Express invited The Cactus Cuties to perform at the close of their Snowball Express III in Anaheim, CA.  The Cuties were so excited to participate in such an incredible event and to top it off, Snowball Express gave The Cactus Cuties passes to Disneyland!!!!!  Neither Baylee, Blaire, Andi, or Madeline had ever been to Disneyland before, so they couldn’t wait to arrive in Anaheim.  On the evening of December 17th, The Cuties enjoyed exploring the massive Disney store in Downtown Disney, and on the 18th they conquered Disneyland!!!  They began their Disneyland adventure with the “Christmas Fantasy” parade that was absolutely spell-bounding, and then headed to the castle.  The Cactus Cuties’ favorite rides were the Teacups, Space Mountain, and the Haunted Holiday Mansion.  After an unbelievable time at Disneyland, The Cuties said goodbye to the dreamland and headed back to the hotel to get some beauty rest.  The Cactus Cuties would like to thank Snowball Express for giving them the opportunity to do some serious playing at Disneyland!!!!

photographer: Leanna Elbert

The Cactus Cuties had the honor of performing for President and Mrs. Bush in Washington D.C.  While there, they also visited the International Spy Museum where they learned all the secrets behind spying!!!  At the International Spy Museum they obtained their new favorite toy which they named, “their trusty Cofe” (a combination of a switchblade knife and a comb).  Around 11:00 pm that evening, The Cactus Cuties told their director, Cami and their mommas they wanted to play spies, so they dressed up in long underwear (which appropriately happened to be black) and hit the hotel hall to play.  A little while later, Cami went to check on them and began laughing hysterically at the Cactus Cuties’ new game!!! She grabbed the camera and began to film, laughing through most of the video.  The Cactus Cuties would like to apologize to all the innocent victims who made the mistake of getting off of the elevator on the 6th floor of the Capitol Hilton that fateful night The Black Bandits took control of the hall!!!!!

photographer: Cami Caldwell

(NOT a real photographer just happened to be holding Leanna’s camera)