sunrise

AND NOW, TEN YEARS LATER...

Family traditions were important and in the Montgomery household, watching the Shrek movies was one of them. That’s why the family skipped the town festivities at night, just to be able to come home early, have dinner and then, snuggle on the couch while watching their favorite ogre. It wouldn’t have been a problem if Wyatt, 6, and Declan, 3, were not as big fans as their mother was. What was the problem, you’d ask? Well. The next day, as the family was getting ready to get out and go have some fun at the rodeo for the second day, Wyatt found the Shrek ears the family had bought a year ago, and took them with him in the car where he made it a point of honor to give every member their own ears -- including his father.

Putting hers on the top of her head, Katie did her best not to laugh as she watched her husband explaining to his son that he couldn’t drive with the ears but that he would wear them later. Poor Dacre. He got stuck with Shrek the very first time he agreed on watching the movie with the brunette when they were not even in a relationship yet. More than a decade later, he still had to live with the Shrek legacy they had passed on their sons. But it was cute, which was exactly what she said out loud as she looked behind her and saw both of the boys with their tiny green ears.

A bit of both? Maybe more excited than nervous now. I’ve let it really sink in. Ha, like lots of towels and diapers at the ready? We did, and now we’re happy to just be in town, luckily no big projects at the moment so we’ll just dedicate all of our time to getting ready.

Aw, that’s cute. Pretty sure that every dad to be is feeling this way, which is probably a good sign. Lots of towels and diapers and caffeine to help you staying awake once the little girl is here and asking for her parents 24/7.

That’s very true, too. You could hate a subject but have a good teacher who still really makes sure that you love it, or you could love a subject, but have a horrible teacher that makes you dislike it immensely. Life is kind of funny that way. Food is the solution to every problem in life, so it honestly wouldn’t surprise me one bit. Absolutely, I’m going to be here all weekend, I can’t really have enough delicious, fruity drinks by the pool!

Exactly. Sometimes all it takes is one person to make you love or dislike something. Fingers crossed that children meet more people from the first category in their school years than from the second one. Amen. Food is like the one cure that could fix everthing or so. Awesome! We should have one of those fruity drinks this afternoon!

You’re faster and more efficient than Amazon Prime! Which is saying something, considering how good Jeff is at his job, even if he might not be a great person all the way around. Don’t worry, I think he’ll understand. James – the tall, adult one here in town, not my kid – will take over for me and marry him, it’ll turn out okay. I think everyone was so excited to see their bed and take a shower! But hey, Getaway time now, at least, right?

I know, I know. At least I am kind, which means that I’m probably better than Jeff in many ways. Oh, great! So everybody is having their happy ending. I get you, you get me, Jason and James get each other. That’s perfect. I just need to let Dacre know, too. But I think he’d be fine too, Joe would probably marry him. Hell, yes! You know I can’t miss a good party like that one.

Maybe one of us will develop a horrible snoring habit and the other person will need them to sleep at night, so I guess it’s a good idea to have them on hand in those circumstances, right? It’s a good legacy, if you ask me. I wish that my parents would leave something like that for me! Oh, wow, somewhere in the world, someone who is a fan of the Scary Movie franchise probably hates you for that one, but I actually agree with you. Obviously. You’re very welcome, maybe we can speak in some sort of code, though? I know that you can’t just outright avoid mentions of your other love, so just… do it secretly, so he doesn’t catch on. Of course, we don’t want to miss out on opportunities like that, after all! Although now Lili brought up the fact that we are spending our time by the pool and ocean, so who knows what you might try at the Getaway… Do you think so? Hmm… I might have to try that out, just to test your theory.

You think so? That would be quite terrible so the headphones would be life savior for sure. Let’s keep them in a box nearby. Me too! That’s probably one of the best things to get, let’s be real. Oops, I’m sorry, Scary Movie lovers. But let’s be honest, the movies are quite bad. They’re funny because they’re kind of ridiculous but they aren’t masterpieces. Oooh right. I like that idea. I feel like a spy whenever I use a code name. Even though it will be for talking about Shrek, which is probably the less-spy thing ever. Excuse me?! Are you implying that being near water, whether it is a pool or an ocean, means that I might drown you at some point? Cause we both know that’s not true. I really think so, hence why I am encouraging you to try. I just have one condition: I want to be the first one watching the video.

They’re still not a bad idea to have, since you never know when they might come in kind of handy in the future, right? Even if we don’t have to use those headphones against each other or anything. It’s what our parents did with us, right? And their parents with them. I just don’t think that I ever quite pictured the movies that I wanted to pass on to my kids being Shrek movies, but now that I am at that point in my life…? I honestly couldn’t imagine it being any other way! Exactly, it’s going to be a tough decision. I guess we’ll just have to make sure that you never, ever have to find yourself in that position, which means that Joe better behave himself. You’re very welcome, darling. I think I could practice… but I like spending my time with you, so maybe pass. We’ll just stick with camping in cabins or tents like the ones in Montana. Is this how we end up going viral on TikTok? We look up an idea and then decide to follow through with it and post what we do on there for everyone to see?

That’s true. We could need them someday, for other reasons than trying to avoid Shrek. So we are going to keep them. Listen, that’s the legacy we are giving to future kids. It’s alright, it could have been worse after all. I mean, we could be big fans of... I don’t know, something dumb like the Scary Movie franchise. At least Shrek is good! Thank you, I really want to avoid having to choose between them both. Maybe I should just speak less about Shrek when Joe is around, just in case. If he doesn’t know that Shrek is our true third wheel, he won’t be hurt. That’s a very good idea. We’ll stick to cabins and luxury tents. But we’ll keep going to the camping trip here in town, just for the pleasure to rent a canoe and go on the lake again. Possibly! But to be honest, I think that you could go viral on TikTok even if you weren’t doing anything special. You could be shirtless and wink and that’d be enough.

I think that we deserve the best things in life and honestly there is zero harm in just wanting to enjoy life a little bit.  I think it is nice when you can just have the energy to get everything you want to do done with no worry about exhaustion or jetlag. Teleportation would remove so many hindrances to the things we love in life.  I definitely am more of an outdoor girl and I own it.  I’m glad that you did enjoy it though even if it was a bit rough. Now you can get back to your electivity and fun. Speaking of jetlag, we’ve been in Sweden so Bill could get some filming done but we should be home for the Getaway. We’ll definitely get a drink together.  I’ll never turn down Katie time.

Amen to that. We deserve to live a life where we don’t have to worry about those things, you’re right. So teleportation is what I want for my next birthday or for Christmas. I want an easier life with no jetlag. Oh you have no idea how happy I was to have electricity again! And a real bed! Best things ever. Ohhh, how is Sweden? Hit me up when you’re home again cause we need that Katie and Lili time. I would even say that we deserve it.

I was the same way, I did pretty well in school, but I was more interested in sports or the music classes or being a bit of a class clown than actually learning, so there’s that! I think any life lesson that can be taught with food is going to be a million times better than anything else! True, maybe that’s not the right time to give them that life lesson, at least not yet. I did! It was a huge change, but kind of fun, and now it’s gonna be a few days of relaxing before heading to the Getaway!

I think that the way people are teaching you their subject is a bit responsible of the way you’ll learn. Granted, we could have been super quiet and learn everything perfectly but it’s easier to do so when the teacher knows how to catch your attention. So food might be the solution! Phew, I’m glad you survived! Hopefully I’ll see you at the closing party. Can’t miss the chance to have some fun near a pool.

We’ll have to take advantage of the amusement park while it’s still open because I think it usually closes during the winter. Me neither! I’ve driven through it back when I did a small road trip but never had the chance to enjoy the state. Yup! The camping trip is one of my favorite things around here. How’d you handle the first night? 

That’s true. I’ll probably go back there next week, after partying at the Getaway this weekend. Yeah? Well now you have! You got to know it a little bit more than before. The first night was a bit tough, not gonna lie. I’m not used to sleeping on the floor, you know. But I had a good time. Did you enjoy it?

Soon, soon. Everything’s already getting some last minute touches, and prepping for family to arrive too. I’ve got to stop by the grocery later. I did! It was really nice, like one last little getaway before the baby arrives.

How are you feeling about it? Excited? Nervous? Both? Do I have to go get a soon-to-be daddy first-aid kit? I’m glad you enjoyed the weekend though and hopefully you took a lot of pictures of that last getaway!

I would be really disappointed if it was any other way. Paris is always beautiful. I know it can be a little bit cliché but I feel like most girls just love the energy and the food there. Jet lag is a real evil so anything that you can do that’s going to help even slightly is great. We will see about the magical powers when the time comes. I’m glad that you manage to have a good time. I don’t mind the no power. I’ve always enjoyed camping and getting to sort of turn everything off. I mean, when you’re in the city there is so much light pollution to have the time you don’t even get to see the stars. I’m definitely gonna be there. I just hope the weather decides to behave this year.

We don’t care if it’s cliché, we just want to enjoy a shopping day, good rosé and great food. Think of how nice it would be, especially if there’s no jetlag to ruin our schedule. You are much more of an outdoors girl than I am, Lil’. But I did enjoy the weekend, it was a bit rough at night but it was nice to be away from everything and to focus on people and fun activities. That said, now that we are back to our usual lifestyle, we should do something! Or just have a drink at the Getaway for the closing party.

You absolutely found my sweet spot, but given that this is you we’re talking about, I should have known from the beginning that you would have been more than capable! Well, if it makes you feel any better, I will be there suffering with you, so at least we’ll have fun… sulking about not being able to check the internet that often? But I am looking forward to it, in a strange way. Like just cutting ourselves off from the world is nice. Minus the whole sleeping on the hard ground thing.

This is one of my skills. I win people’s heart over the way Jeff Bezos earns money every second. I just hope that Jason won’t be too mad when he sees the divorce paper but I’ll make sure to send him some chocolate to make amends. I had the same feeling before going. It was nice, actually. I enjoyed it, although I missed my bed so damn much. Was so happy to get back into it when we came home!

Right?! Honestly, who is going to argue about charity, and if they are, well – you’ve got your answer! We’re just brilliant, we’re those ladies who can’t be stopped. The town should be scared! I’ve no doubt I’m going to miss those beautiful cabins, as excited as I am about camping. I’m not even going to be ashamed of the amount of power banks I’ve been slipping into the bags Zach has packed… Though connecting with nature is always a good thing. 

I love that. Soon enough we will be conquering the world with all our smart ideas. Be careful Bayview, we’re coming for you. You know what, I think it was really smart to take power banks with you cause we all needed something from the civilization at some point of the weekend. Although I do admit it was a good time!

With noise-proof headphones, right? The thing is, I don’t foresee this scenario happening anytime soon, so I think that we’re going to be okay. I’ll be able to sit next to you on the couch even when we’re old and gray and enjoy some movies together. I think that he’s going to be incredibly jealous. As in… you might want to get on the phone and ring up the swamp and warn Shrek that if a guy with meticulously good hair comes after him, he should run the other way. I know how devastated you would be if our son killed your other one true love, after all. Let’s do it. I’m on board with this plan, it’ll be the most perfect night and everything. Thank you, luv. I like to think that I did pretty alright! It’s practice for the next time, although I’m not making it a habit to go out into the wood with no electricity very often, I have to say. That’s going to be my next project, come to think of it. Researching the best way to display a pasta necklace in a shadow box. Someone has to have a tutorial out there somewhere. After all, everything can be found on YouTube, right?

Of course, the noise-proof headphones are a must-have in this situation, even if I’m glad that we won’t have to face it anytime soon. I like that picture, us being old and watching movies like before and you know, sharing those moments with kids, too. That would be an absolute disaster if our son was trying to kill Shrek. I would be torn too because this is Shrek but this is our son and I’m supposed to love him no matter what, right? So we’ll make sure we’ll never have to prevent them from fighting. You were right, it was the most perfect night so thank you for that. I mean, you could practice a bit more if that’s something you want to give shot at but I just can’t promise that I’ll go there with you everytime. I need my little comfort in life. That’s a valid argument, there’s probably something about it on YouTube. Or on Facebook, there’s many tutorial videos on Facebook, too. Maybe even on TikTok!

It would make learning so much more exciting, when we got to have some fun while we did it! But the stuff that they actually do teach us, and the way that they teach us… it’s just not a good time for anyone, is it? I’ll have to remember that, in case I ever reach a point where I feel like I need some ice cream in my life – I’ll just come by your place! Absolutely I am, we just got back from Mexico, so it’s a total change in scenery, but no complaints.

Right?! It would be so much better. I had no big trouble at school but some classes were very boring. But with food, everything’s more exciting! They should just avoid talking about wine I guess, given that the kids are young and everything. Of course! You’re more than welcome to come by whenever you need some. So, did you survive the change, from Mexico to our rough camping?