Me and My Teddy Bear
a Mini-Peter Adventure transcribed by Nikki, 2007
July 3rd-4th - Trip to Grandma's to see the Fireworks!!!
My grandmother lives in one of the few cities left in Southern California where it's still legal to set off fireworks (albeit small ones) in the street, so I got a few days off work and drove down there for the festivities!
When Kitty, Lugnut and Mini-Peter heard there would be fireworks, they absolutely insisted on coming along. It would be Mini-Peter's first time spending the night away from home, so we made sure he had everything he needed.
"Sleeping bag?" I asked.
"Check," he confirmed.
"Pillow?"
"Check."
"Toothbrush?"
"Check."
"Blankie?"
"Check."
"What is that?"
"Not what-- who."
"Pardon me. Who is that?"
"It's Teddy, of course! Teddy, meet Nikki. Nikki, Teddy."
"Hi Teddy, nice to meet you."
I shook Teddy's paw as he smiled shyly, then we packed the last few items and were on our way.
On the hundred-mile drive (to Orange County, and a certain mini-someone got quite a kick out of that!), I told Mini-Peter all about my own adventures at my grandmother's house. When I was a child, I used to meet up with my cousins every summer for a few weeks, and it was always the best time of the year. Mini-Peter delighted in the stories and couldn't wait to see all the places we'd had our adventures.
We arrived late and got ready for bed. Mini-Peter informed me that he absolutely could not sleep in a strange place without his nightlight.
I informed Mini-Peter that I couldn't sleep with the nightlight, but he won in the end, of course. He rolled out his sleeping bag on the bed, fluffed his pillow, curled up with Teddy and fell fast asleep.
I pulled the covers over my head to block out the light, and eventually I drifted off as well.
In the morning, I gave Mini-Peter the grand tour.
"How did we miss these on the way in?!" He exclaimed, climbing into the great bush of Orange flowers by the front door.
"I thought you might like those!" I grinned as I snapped the photo.
"Where are the toys you used to play with?" he asked, so I showed him to the box in the spare bedroom.
"Vroom, vroom!" he growled as he played with the very same Micro Machines playset that had been there for almost two decades.
"Those are just your size, aren't they?"
"They sure are; I wish I could bring them home!"
"No, there are still young grandchildren who come here to play. We have to leave the toys for them."
"I suppose." He drove and crashed the cars around for a bit longer, then decided it was time to build a tent.
Ahhh, the nostalgia...
With the tent built, it was time for more exploring. Teddy was a bit trepidatious about venturing under the bed...
...but Kitty and Mini-Peter eventually coaxed him into the 'cave', where they had a great time telling ghost stories until Teddy got scared again and went back to the tent.
I left them to their fun for a while and walked down the block to buy fireworks. I picked up some poppers for Mini-Peter to play with, and he had a great time throwing them to the ground and making them explode.
You know what these look like??" he giggled.
"Oh, stop it. You think that comparison has never been made before?" I rolled my eyes.
"What's wrong with tadpoles?" he asked, but from the wicked grin on his face I knew he'd been thinking of something else as well.
As it grew dark outside, we went back into the house to get the fireworks ready. Mini-Peter picked out a few that he wanted to light, his favourite being the "Mini-Monster". Naturally.
I reminded him to put on his jacket, then we broke open his glow stick and headed outside.
For well over an hour we set off fireworks in the street, and got so many pictures of them that they needed their own page!
Then there were the sparklers, of course!
We discovered that the sparklers gave off a sort of chalky smoke that could be used to write on the pavement. We all left our mark on the street in front of the house... Mini-Peter drew his usual logo, Kitty and Lugnut made a simple K&L, Teddy made himself dizzy drawing his giant spiral, and I left my very own Neptunian number five. (It's a long story.)
It was after midnight by the time all the sparklers were burned. We all got ready for bed and I thought surely they had worn themselves out with all the excitement, but it quickly became clear that no-one was going to sleep just yet.
They stayed up for hours recalling all the fun they'd had, and once again, kept me awake. Gee, I felt old... telling the little ones to be quiet so I could get some sleep! I finally took them all out to the kitchen to get pickles and milk - the snack I used to get for myself when I couldn't turn my brain off after a fun day at Grandma's. Just as it had always done for me, it knocked them right out.
We left the next morning so I could go back to work. I understood well that sad feeling that the holiday was over... but we've already marked our calendars to take this trip again next year!
