Things Change & People Change

12~The Happiest Place on Earth

The Happiest Place on Earth. [Trenton] About thirty minutes later, I follow Hunter's car into our hotel, well resort, entrance. Glancing over at Annabella, you could see her excitement bubbling over. I couldn't help the soft chuckle that came out seeing her this excited. Every time I've seen her, she always seems so happy, outgoing, and full of energy. Even now, she's so excited you'd think that she was the one being surprised with this trip. I follow Hunter's car to the front of the resort and park behind him as he already told me he would check us all in. I suddenly remembered there was a third passenger in the car who had been pretty quiet for the last couple of hours. Glancing in the rearview mirror, I see little Chrissy with her head leaning back against her car seat and her mouth wide open passed out. "So, when are you guys going to tell her?" I whispered, nodding my head in Chrissy's direction. "If she doesn't notice before we get inside, she'll probably notice once she's in the room. Hunter told me he got us the Finding Nemo suite," she whispered back, trying hard to contain her joy.

"Have either of you ever been here before?" Suddenly, her excitement died down as she looked straight ahead with a half-smile. "I came once. I was around 5, Hunter was 9, and Cole was only about 3 years old. Our parents brought us, but I don't remember a lot from that trip. That was back before my parents became so absent. But Chrissy has never been here before." She turned to look back at Chrissy before looking at me, smiling a bit bigger now. "That's part of why I'm so excited, I'm excited to make new memories for Chrissy." I nodded, noticing Hunter and Cole coming back out.

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When we finally got up to the room, Hunter, Cole, and I set down everyone's bags as Annabella carries a still-sleeping Chrissy. After everything is brought in, she starts to wake Chrissy. To say she was excited is an understatement. Once she opened her eyes and started to fully wake up, she instantly started squealing seeing the Finding Nemo-themed room.

While Chrissy and Cole were exploring the suite and the bedrooms, Hunter cleared his throat to get Annabella and my attention. "So," he started, rubbing the back of his neck. "When we originally booked this place, we had planned for just the four of us. We have a kid's room for Cole and Chrissy and Annabella and I each have our own rooms. So, we just have to figure out the sleeping arrangement for you, Trenton. The couch might pull out into a bed, so maybe you could sleep on that?" "That's fine with me. I know I kind of crashed your trip, so either way, I can just sleep on the couch," I replied, shrugging. I wasn't going to be picky since they didn't have to let me join them, to begin with.

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After we were all settled and sleeping arrangements were made, we decided to head out for dinner as it was nearing 5 o'clock. We ended up settling on a restaurant in our hotel that had a character dinner. Of course, this decision led to both Chrissy and Annabella being very excited. Walking down to the restaurant, I felt a small hand grab hold of mine.

"What are your favorite Disney characters, Chrissy?" I asked, looking down at her and smiling. She got a very serious, 2-year-old-thinking face as she came up with her list. "I love Elsa and Anna and Cinderella and Belle and all the princesses!" She exclaimed, excitedly. "What about Mickey and Minnie Mouse?" Chrissy nodded her head quickly replying, "Of course! I love Mickey and Minnie!"

When we got down to the restaurant, we luckily were able to be seated fairly quickly. They sat us at a round table and Chrissy insisted she had to sit next to me. Annabella shot me an apologetic look for Chrissy, but I just smiled back. I don't mind Chrissy, she has so much energy and happiness that it's contagious when you're around her. Plus, I've always enjoyed spending time with kids.

I was snapped out of my thoughts as the waiter came to get our drink orders. Once he left, I noticed some characters starting to come out to each table to greet guests. Leaning over to Chrissy I whispered, "Look who it is!" When she looked up, her eyes got huge. "ELSA AND ANNA!" She started bouncing in her seat, having a hard time waiting for them to come around. Everyone couldn't help but laugh at how adorably excited she was.