Sammy & Ilna - love you both to the moon and back. Thank you for being you.

REALMcRollers and Readers - Much, much appreciation and hugs.

This one's for my mom who will be gone a year tomorrow. My first of my 31 Disney trips was with her. Rest easy, Mom, love you.

Not a Snowball's Chance

"Hi Miz Yuko!" Angie waved as the mail carrier greeted them.

"Hi, Angie," she said as she handed the mail to Steve and bent to give a package to the three year old. "Looks like this one is for you and your brother."

"I's for me an' DJ, Daddy!" She bounced excitedly, shaking it. "Wha's in here?"

"Why don't we go inside and open it up?" He nodded to Yuko. "Thanks, have a good one."

"You, too, Commander. Have a fun day, Angie." She smiled as she went to continue her route.

Angie burst through the door in front of Steve, clutching the package to her chest, and ran into the kitchen where Catherine and DJ were cleaning up after the cheese and fruit they'd had for snack time. "DJ we gots mail!"

The eight year old turned to see his sister holding out the package. "That's for us?"

"That's for you guys." Steve sat at the table and lifted Angie into his lap as Cammie came over to give the new item a cursory sniff.

"Can we open it now?"

"Can we?" Angie echoed.

"Go ahead," Catherine said. "DJ can you read who it's from, sweetheart?" She pointed.

"It says, The R..e… The Reyes Family! It's from Uncle Aaron, Aunt Mary and Joan!"

"I's from Joanie?" The little girl's excitement kicked up tenfold as both kids tore the paper with some help from Steve. "I's a book! Story time!"

"I don't think it's a storybook," DJ's eyes lit with excitement as he turned the cover her way. "Look who's on the cover!"

"Is Jessie!" She bounced at recognizing the Toy Story characters. "An' Slinky Dog!"

DJ opened to a page with a colorful headline that screamed, You're Going to Disney World! and exclaimed, "There's Mickey! And Donald and Goofy …"

"An' Minnie an' Pluto!" Angie finished for him.

"They sent us a book about going to Disney World?" DJ's eyes sought his mother's as she read. "It says, Birnbaum's 2020 Walt Disney World for Kids: The Official Guide."

"It's official!" He grinned widely at the word that always brought a smile.

"That's right. That's called a guidebook. It helps you plan a trip. And this one's extra special because it's just for kids." She smiled at Steve. "Looks like we can read all about Disney World and you guys can pick some of the things you'd like to do before we go. Here," she pulled a card from the center of the book, "there's a note."

DJ read it out loud.

Dear Primo DJ and Cousin Angie,

I got the same book at the store and me and Daddy and Mommy got you this so we can start planning fun stuff to do at Disney World!

Page 15 has a picture of Aurora in her pink dress! And there is a map, too!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Joan

Angie leaned into DJ's side as he placed the note down with a smile and opened the book to page 15. "Aurora! I's Aurora! Look! She's dere!"

"She's there, baby girl." Catherine chuckled when DJ asked, "Can we read it now?"

"Of course we can." Steve placed Angie on her feet and stood. "How about if we all go sit on the sofa and look through the book together? You can see what's in it and then we can go back and look more carefully and learn about Disney World."

"Yay!"

"Yay!"

DJ ran for the living room with Angie on his heels.

"We're in for a ride, hmm?" Steve glanced at his grinning wife.

"We are. Hey, there's a map. Right up your alley."

"Mommy! Daddy! Are you coming?" echoed from the next room.

"Go." Catherine put a hand on his chest and gently shoved. "I'll be right in."

Seconds later, she entered to see the three of them huddled on the sofa. Angie in Steve's lap, DJ pressed close to his side, book open across his own lap.

"Mommy, come sit by me." He patted the empty space. "Then we can all see."

She did just that and lifted him into her lap, kissing his head. "These may come in handy." She held out a pad of sticky notes that were cut into half inch wide strips.

"Always thinking, Rollins." Steve grinned. He looked at the kids. "You can mark your favorites pages and those won't fall out like a bunch of bookmarks."

"Cool!" DJ smiled and Angie nodded before opening the book and turning a page. "Mickey Mouse! An' who's dat?" She pointed to the text under a photo of a mustachioed man in a grey suit seeing himself reflected as Mickey Mouse in a mirror. "What it says?"

"That's Walt Disney," her brother said. "We saw his picture in school when Michael did show and tell." He ran a finger over the text. "It says, Meet Walt Disney."

Catherine and Steve exchanged a proud glance.

"He invented Disney World. He made up all the great stuff there a long time ago."

Steve skimmed the passage and gave a quick overview. "He was born in Chicago."

"Like Grandma Ang!" DJ gasped. "I bet he liked the Cubs."

"Probably." Catherine smiled. "Ohh, look, there's tips from other kids in here."

They leafed through the pages, with the kids making comments on different characters, attractions and rides.

When they got to the photo of Cinderella Castle, Angie's eyes grew wide. "Ohhh dat castle soooo pretty."

"We're gonna see it in person when we go on our familymoon," her brother pointed out.

"Looks like there's one of those places that dresses kids up like they did when they took Joanie to Disneyland," Steve noted the image of a little girl Angie's age in a salon seat, under a banner proclaiming Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

"Joanie do dat?" Angie swivelled to get confirmation from both parents.

"She did. She dressed as Elsa." Catherine told her.

"I do it, too! I be a princess at Dizzyworld with Joanie," she said with a nod.

"You can dress up as a knight or a prince," Catherine pointed out to JD.

"I'd pick a knight, like at the ress- I mean renaissance faire we went to. The lady called you a knight that day, remember, Daddy?

"I do. And you were my squire." He ran a hand over his son's head.

"Yeah! I'd pick a knight."

"I be a princess with Joanie. I be … Cinderella, or Merida, or Belle…or…"

Catherine's phone dinged a text and she reached for her tablet that was on the coffee table. "Aunt Mary said they're all home now. How about we call and thank them for this amazing book?"

Steve grinned as Angie continued to list princess possibilities even as she said yes and nodded vigorously.

As the call connected, the kids hopped off their parents' laps to get closer to the tablet screen when their cousin's smiling face appeared. Joan, flanked by her parents, was wearing a Frozen t-shirt and holding her costumed photo from her trip to the boutique. The blonde hair that normally shone silkily in the sun sparkled with glitter - visible even in the online image.

"No chance we can ixnay the hair glitter, hmmm?" Steve whispered to Catheirne, who laughed and shook her head as Joan dove into an explanation about how when she was in Disneyland, Elsa even made snow in the California heat. "Not a snowball's chance, Commander."

# End. Thanks for reading!

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