Part 3...

Part three brings us to the summer of 2011. My cousin Halle, also known as my mini-me was supposed to come to Texas again, but couldn't make it due to the knee surgery she had in April that year. She popped out her knee cap while dancing. Did I mention she's my mini-me?? ;-) Since she wasn't able to make it back to this great state I decided to go to Cali to visit her and the other cousins. My mom said she wanted to join me so we made plans for our trip to California. Well, about a week or two after we booked our flight my husband came home with a "a weight has been lifted" look on his face, so I asked him what was going on. He proceeded to tell me the company that he was working for couldn't afford him anymore. Boy, I didn't take that well, but after a few minutes I calmed down and accepted it. After all, he never really enjoyed working for that particular company and honestly, he wouldn't have gone far with them. It was a small company and not really any room for advancement. In my opinion, my Wilson deserves better than that. I think what pissed me off the most was that he'd never been "let-go" from a job. I also believe he was treated unfairly but I found out later the owner talks trash about anyone who is no longer with the company, whether they were let go or quit. Will really did look relieved and said that he thought it was a blessing in disguise. He started working from home as a VFX Artist/Producer/Screenwriter. The freelance world welcomed him once again, and has been very good to us. We're doing better financially than we were with that other company and my hubby is so much happier. Working from home has been wonderful. A lot of couples ask us how we can stand spending that much time together, but honestly, it's easy. We get along very well. We're best friends and I couldn't think of anyone else I would want to be with 24/7, which is the way a marriage should be, in my opinion. :) Ok, so back to my trip...by the time I left for Cali we had no money coming in and we really weren't sure what we were going to do but my flight was non-refundable. I probably needed the vacation, but my mind was going crazy with worry. I honestly should listen to Wilson when he tells me not to worry about things. He always comes through for us...always. I seriously never have doubts that everything will work out if he has anything to say about it, but it's in my nature to worry, I suppose. My Great Grandmother always used to say, "Don't worry, just pray". Maybe I should do that. She was a smart woman, after all. Well, we got to Cali and had a blast! That got my mind off our financial issues, at least for a while. We saw Alcatraz,Calaveras Big Trees, and Yosemite!!! San Francisco was awesome, as always, but I had never been to Alcatraz, so I bought Halle and me tickets (before we had no income) for a tour of the Rock. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen!!! Definitely an experience. The other cool thing we did in SF was a bus tour. We sat on the top of the bus, which made for an awesome view of the city! Of course the Golden Gate Bridge was hidden by fog, but that's normal. We had a funny bus driver name RRRRRRRRamone (as Halle likes to say it) and he would talk about the "city of lub" (love, in case you didn't catch that). HAA! So, that is now extremely funny when we get together! (again...Mini-Me) I look forward to going back...and taking Will!! On our way to Yosemite, we stayed at a motel in Mariposa, CA. The afternoon we arrived we took the most amusing tour of the Mariposa County Jail. Wow, was that hilarious. There was a funny tour guide who got his kicks out of trying to scare the tourists with silly stories about how prisoners were thrown out of the second story window with barbed wire around their necks. The funniest thing was when he would tell the stories he had a maniacal laugh. SO FUNNY! Oh, and there was an American Flag hanging in the front of the jail that had 50 stars and he kept trying to convince us that it was the original flag from when the jail was built...in 1852!!!!! Poor guy. I think he might have actually believe that. So, that tour was entertaining, to say the least! We went to Yosemite the day after we arrived in Mariposa. After our day at the national park we learned about three young adults who fell off a cliff into a waterfall and were swept away on the day we were there. Apparently, they didn't read the signs that said, "Do not cross this fence". Duh. Ok, yes, it is sad that they died, but seriously...the signs apply to everyone. Again...duh. The next day we went to Calaveras Big Trees, which was amazing. The trees really are HUGE, but I hear they're not the largest out there. I'm fascinated by nature. God sure did make an amazing world...don't ya think? It was a great trip and a fun summer. The best part was that there was a record high in Texas of continuous days over 100 degrees and they all happened while we were in Cali. Poor Will, the dogs, and our new kitten (I'll talk more about her later). We actually stayed longer than we originally planned because Tracey and Halle wanted us to see a few things (ie: Yosemite, Calaveras, etc...). Our trip was only booked for 10 days but we extended it to about three weeks, I think. We had such a good time and I look forward to making that scrapbook, which I hope to do with Halle while she is here this summer (more on that in the next blog). And just so you know, my knees really hurt that summer, but I toughed it out and walked around that giant national park without hurting myself too badly. I think I was in awe of everything I was seeing that it didn't phase me that my knees might be in pain. ;-)