We’ve landed back in Colorado! And this is the route we took: We drove (yes drove) with our trusty U-haul attached to the Sequoia all the way down the West Coast to Disneyland. Yes, that’s right. I said Disneyland. And it was everything we hoped it could be. Let’s start from the beginning. On the first day we got to see the enchanted castle, ride lots of rides, and eat a ton of cold ice cream. But all that pales in comparison to the training we received. Training, you ask? At Disneyland? That’s right! Riley and I got picked to train to be Jedi! We got lightsabers, went up on stage and practiced our crazy, cool Jedi moves. It was a good thing too because guess who showed up just as we were finishing our training? Darth Vader and Darth Maul!
No way, you say? Yes way! And Mom got pics to prove it. Check them out. I totally took out Darth Vader and Riley fought off Darth Maul. We were such amazing Jedi that they even left! They were too afraid of us to hang around. We got Padawan certificates showing that we trained with real Jedi and we were so proud of ourselves for days-days!-afterwards. Cool, huh? Does it get better than that? It does!
We met Tessa’s favorite Disney character. Minnie Mouse! And she was in a special red dress. Not her normal pink dress, as Tessa aptly pointed out to us. It must have been her dress-up dress for special occasions. We also met Anna and Elsa. Yes, I did say Elsa. My favorite Disney princess. Like, favorite of all time. I was shy when we got to the front of the line. But she and Anna were very sweet and took their time in talking to us about everything from our light-up crocs to our wonderful baby Asher. Then we got more pics. Baby was super interested in all the characters. Not sure what he thought. He stared a lot.
The electric light parade and World of Color shows were amazing. (I missed the parade, voluntarily absenting myself due to my dislike of fireworks, but the Blondies assured me that it was fantastic.) We got to see all the cool Disney characters during each show and there were fireballs in the World of Color too! Asher skipped the parade with me but he loved the World of Color too. He kept saying, “Wow, cool!” and “Whoa!” So cute!
When asked what my favorite part was, all I could think of was the stuff I want to go back and see. The Haunted Mansion was closed for Halloween decorating and we missed the Ferris Wheel in Adventureland. But Mom assures me that we’ll go back soon. Our cousins Colby and Brody get to go to Disney like once-a-year. Maybe we’ll make it an annual trip? Three full days in 100+ degree heat just wasn’t enough. I imagine that it wasn’t enough for Mom and Dad too, even when one of us melted down (possibly literally given the record heat) on cue each morning around 11am and again at 2-3pm. Even taking a break to cool down and have some quiet time. Can’t imagine that Mom and Dad thought that was at all tiring or frustrating or depleting. Because, in the end, we all enjoyed ourselves, so that stuff kind of floats away from memory. Right?
Which brings me to our next favorite experience, playing with our cousins! I’ve been calling them “My best friend boys.” Mom’s brother Jake lives in Phoenix, like Grandma Cheryl, and we drove there after Disney. We swam in our cousin’s pool, and had a pizza party with them while chasing each other around Grandma’s backyard. Asher swam for the first time ever with Dad. He was hesitant at first, but after a bit he refused to get out. Even after the sunset and the water got cold and he started to shake. He was giggling like crazy when Dad threw him up into the sky and caught him again. He loved it! Grandma’s sister Jane even came from Wisconsin to visit. It was perfect. I made clear to Mom that family is very important to me. That we should visit them again. (Maybe the next time they are at Disney?)
But I’m sure your big question is, how did you four pigs handle the drive of around 2200 miles? Amazingly! (Ok. Full disclosure. Mom and Dad souped up the Sequoia with an in-car theatre system. We each had our own DVD players, which were also connected to the car so Mom could play one and control all the ones in the back. This, as you may imagine, made quite a difference for us Pigs.) There was one marathon day of 14 hours. Hey, hold on there! No judging Mom and Dad. It wasn’t their fault. The highway was closed between Shiprock and Albuquerque and when we went north, all the hotels were full-up in southern Colorado. By the time we got to a hotel with space, Tessa was begging to lay down flat. But it all worked out.
Which brings us back to where we left almost two years ago. We rented a house pretty close to our old house because we aren’t sure where we want to live yet. Dad’s still exploring his Army and non-Army options. He’s got a heart for working with at-risk communities, so he may leave the Army a bit early (though his commitment wasn’t for all that long to begin with) and find something that fits his needs here. Or he may return to WA for a bit before he joins us permanently. He’s still deciding. But when Dad got word that the Army may ship him overseas, we all decided we’d rather be in CO were that to happen than in WA. So here we are!
Did we enjoy our WA adventure? Yes. Are get glad we are back. For sure. What’s next for us? No idea, except we are almost starting first grade at home with Mom, so that should give us something to do. Along with swim lessons. And riding bikes. And hiking. And… Maybe getting to know our CO cousins a bit better? We gained a new appreciation for family in our travels. And we’ve already spend a good deal of time with Pop-pop since we’ve been back. And we’ll see Miss Ann tomorrow, too. The more the merrier!
Keep checking in, and I’ll keep you posted. New place. New stuff. Same Four Fantastic Pigs!
Love,
E
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