Tangled and Duck Dynasty.... :D

The next morning, I woke up around four in the morning.  I tried to just go back to sleep, but I couldn't...and by the sounds of things, Flynn was up too. 
My face mashed into the top of the dresser, I sighed and drearily lifted my head up to look at Flynn through the dimness. 
"Did I wake you up, hon?"  he asked immediately, situating himself on his side. 
"I guess not...why are you up anyway?" 
"I got one of Tangled Fan's shirts out of the dresser drawer to use as a blanket.  I was even starting to get chilly, so I figured you definitely would be cold.  She forgot to shut the window last night.  Oh, and I checked up on the girls.  They're still warm.  And I was kind of marveling at the fact that you were sleeping in the position you were, faceplanted into the dresser, without being uncomfortable." he whispered. 
I suddenly became aware of the fact that there was, indeed, a shirt spread over me.  I nodded and laughed through my nose. "I dunno..I was pretty comfy..until I woke up and realized I couldn't breathe."  I joked. 
He gave me a grin and then kissed my forehead, pulling me close to him.  I wiggled down into the makeshift blanket and enjoyed the warmth from both the shirt and his gentle arm around me. 


When I woke up again around eight thirty....(not even the vibrating phone woke me!) I smiled to myself and turned to look at Flynn.  Only...he wasn't there. 
Wait a minute.  Where was he? 
I jumped up, narrowly missing the bench before I remembered to duck, and then I scrambled out from under it. 
Rayne was the only one up. 
"Do you know where Flynn is?"  I asked her, wide-eyed. 
She shrugged.  "I thought he was with you?" 
"He..." Panic gripped my heart, knotted my stomach, and I trailed off, covering my mouth with my hand.  "What do you think happened to...do you think Tangled Fan..."
I cast a quick, careless glance around the room, but couldn't see him. 
"The girls are still asleep, so I'm going to go look for him.  If they wake up, do you mind watching them until I come back?"  I asked. 
"Yeah, that's fine.  Go," Rayne said, eyebrows furrowed with concern. 
I wheeled around to begin my search...and he was just climbing up onto the dresser. 
I gasped and dove for him, grabbing him into a relieved hug. 
He caught me (luckily.  If he hadn't, I would've gone over the edge of the dresser!  Why am I so accident prone??  Disney princesses just aren't that accident prone in the movies...) Anyway.  He caught me and held me close for a moment, chuckling. 
I pulled away from him.  "Where on earth were you?!  You scared the tar out of me!" 
"I went and asked Tangled Fan if we could have the laptop back here.  She said she'd bring it back in a few minutes...And then I invited the 18 inchers to come to Tangled Fan's bed and we'd all watch Tangled, and some Duck Dynasty.  Why were you scared?"
"Oh, okay.  You could've told me..but oh well.  That sounds like a lot of fun!  I was just scared because I woke up..and you weren't there, and then I couldn't see you anywhere...and I just sort of freaked out, I guess."  I laughed at myself thinking about it now. 
He nodded.  "I'm sorry...I was going to tell you, but I looked at you and you were sleeping so peacefully...so I figured I'd be back before you were up.  Sorry," he repeated. 
"It's fine.  I'm just overreactive," I chuckled, and he pulled me close into another hug. 
After a couple seconds, though, the door burst open and Tangled Fan came in, plugged the computer on, and set the Tangled DVD into the dvd port. 
"It's all set up for you guys, Flynn.  Enjoy,"  she said, and before anyone could answer, she was gone.

After awhile, once everyone else was up, we made our way onto the bed. 

Elizabeth, Hailey, Julie, and Christy were already sitting there, waiting for us to start the movie.  Even Punzie was there!  I smiled and while I waited for everyone else to get settled, I talked with them. 

Here's our decently-sized crowd! :P  I laid on my stomach with Hallie, to make sure that little Julie could see... :D 

The movie was awesome!  I guess I'm just about as indecisive as the movie character.  We all got several good laughs out of it.  At one point, I laughed so hard I cried!  And during the lantern scene, I almost accidentally started warbling along with "I See the Light".  I'm not the greatest singer...not the worst, but I'm not as good as Mandy Moore, who voiced Rapunzel in the movie, let's just put it that way! :D  Flynn started up too...he's not too bad a singer!  Merida just laughed at us.  Hey, at least we didn't make the babies cry or break anything from our singing. 
Oh, and then there was the scene where Mother Gothel kills Eugene in the movie.  Rayne was crying, Hailey and Elizabeth were crying, Blondie sniffled a bit...and then I was bawling like a baby...and Merida just rolled her eyes and muttered something about 'us Rapunzels being overreactive'.  She may be right.  :D  I was a little concerned that Jase would get scared at the end of the movie, but she seemed fine. 

Sometime during the scene where Eugene cuts Rapunzel's hair off and then he dies in her arms, my Flynn started stroking my hair.  I turned to look at him, about to tease him and ask if he was thinking about cutting my hair..and then I saw he was teary eyed.  Ohhh boy.  Even HE was going to cry about his character dying?  I dunno.  Regardless, I gave him a small smile and turned back to the movie in time to cry my eyes out to Rapunzel crying out the rest of the healing incantation song. 

 

Whew.  I'm glad we watched the movie before we watched Duck Dynasty...at least we could get light-hearted again after watching that movie!  I liked it, but the end is so sad...I mean, until Eugene's healed and everything.  :D 
We watched about an hour of Duck Dynasty.  EVERYONE got a kick out of it!  I laughed...Our Jase was beyond excited to see the person who shares the same nickname as she does. 

After that, and everyone had left, Eugene--whoops.  My FLYNN*...I'm going to have problems not calling my husband Eugene now, because in the movie, his name  *technically* was Eugene Fitzherbert..or however you spell that last name... :D  Anyway...my FLYNN and I decided that we definitely really needed to work on the month in review posts now...how long has it been since we posted them, seriously??  We're hoping to get at least 1 or two done today...but we'll see! 

Quick check in

Hey everyone .... sorry I haven't been able to update anything lately - I've been sooooo impossibly busy with the girls, and helping Merida with Allie.  Friday, Merida's legs were bothering her something awful, so I took care of Allie for the day whilst she rested them - despite her grumbling!

Thursday, I decided to take Jase and Hallie with me to visit the 18 inchers.  Merida stayed home, and I suspect her legs were bothering her a bit then, too.
Elizabeth, Hayley, Christy, and I had a good visit...Kailey's still being unwelcoming towards us.  I'd like to find out sometime why she's that way.

Wednesday was spent with two very finicky little babies and Jase, who hadn't gotten much sleep because of the babies, was Little Miss Grumpy Pants as well.

Tuesday, Merida and I went out shooting for awhile, whilst Rayne and Blondie babysat for us.  It was a very much welcomed outing, because I was still bummed out about Flynn.

I know, I know.  It's pretty silly that I'm so bummed out about him being gone - it will only be about three more weeks -  UGH!  THREE more weeks?  ONLY?  :( - anyway...it's not like he'll be gone forever.  But there's still a small worry in my mind that sleep deprivation isn't what the problem is, and he'll have to be away even longer, and me or Jase or Hallie won't be able to visit.  I wonder how he's been doing, and I worry all the time about it.  Tangled Fan hasn't been around in her room a lot this past week so I haven't been able to ask her about him!  I'm going to be a basket-case soon!  I soo need to get my mind off of things.  I suppose in a little while I'll maybe see if Jase wants to do anything special so we can have a 'girl's day out' or whatever today...it'd do her good!

Flynn here...Monday confessions

Hey everyone.  Yes, I am stealing my wife's title for today's post - I couldn't think of anything else  :P
Last night I had the most awful migraine ever, and so we both stayed up till really late.  I was surprised to awake at 6 in the morning, when Rapunzel woke me up by pulling her arm out from under my back.
I looked at her groggily and told her good morning.  I heard how gravelly my voice sounded, so I cleared my throat.  She took a deep breath and pulled her pretty face up to smile at me.
"Morning - feel any better?"  she asked, turning her head to look at me with a creased brow.
To attempt to lighten the mood, although I still had a tiny bit of a headache, I said, "Right now, I feel pretty great," referring to the fact that my wife was at my side.  I gave her a squeeze with my arm, which was around her.  She rolled her eyes, which was at least halfways the response I wanted, and I added, "No, really, I feel a lot better than I did last night, that's for sure!"
She leaned over me and gave me a kiss.  I could see the relief in her eyes.  "I'm sooo glad."
Which was what was nagging at me in the back of my mind.  If these migraines turned into a chronic event, I didn't want her to be worried all the time about me.  She deserved much better than that.  I bit my lip.
Rapunzel sat up, and so I did too.  She turned her face towards me and smiled, put an arm around my waist, and asked, "What?  I know you're thinking about something."
I looked at her, too, and watched her blink her big, emerald-green eyes at me, waiting.  I put an arm around her and held her tight to me for a few seconds.  Then  I stood up, and headed for the 'deck' in hopes of clearing the thought about chronic migraines out of my head before she hounded at me too much.  But it was too late for that..she followed me out and waited.
Finally, I spoke my concern, and told her that if she didn't want to deal with that chronic possibility, we could call it quits and I would understand.
Her eyes teared up, and she grabbed at one of my arms, smoothing my sleeve with her hand.  "Oh, Flynn...no way, never, ever in a gazillion trillion years, am I leaving you just because you might have a bad headache once in awhile!  Now I know it's not as bad as I thought it was originally.  In case I've never told you, I love you so much.  And if you ever end up in the Dumpster, I hope I go at the same time, cause I could never live without you.  And if you think I don't want to be your wife anymore because of some piddly headaches, you've got another thing coming, mister!  Regardless, she [Tangled Fan], said it was from sleep deprivation, not just because."
My taut, knotted-up stomach immediately relaxed, and I felt relieved.  I found her hand and loosely held it, until she grabbed me up into a hug, sniffing and wiping her eyes.
I kissed her hair and wrapped her in my arms, and we just stood there.  Eventually, she pulled away from me enough to see my face.  "You get some idea like that in your head again, and I'll swat you one," she joked, winking.
I smiled at her, and she pulled away to braid her hair.
I went off towards the other end of the 'deck', to go peer out the window, wondering if it was going to be another crummy-weather day.  It didn't seem like it!
When I heard Rapunzel grumbling, "Stupid ribbon anyhow...can't get it unknotted to save my life...why won't this loosen up?  Rrrgh!" through her teeth, I turned to look at her.  As soon as I did, I saw she was trying to hold her braid in place in one hand and unknot her ribbon..using her teeth.  I started laughing and strode over to her.  "Spit it out and let me get that for ya."  I picked the knot loose, tied her hair up for her, and finally stopped chuckling at the situation.  We'll not elaborate on the fact that the ribbon was kinda damp from her spit.
"Thanks," she laughed.  I nodded.  I would've kissed her cheek, but we both turned when we heard the babies waking up.
We both sat down and picked them up and hushed them before they started to even whimper.
"We're getting to be old pros at this."  Rapunzel giggled, and I was amused, because I'd been thinking the exact same thing.  I slung my free arm around her and nodded in agreement.
She leaned over to talk to Allie.  "Tell Daddy he's silly, huh!"  I felt a warmth envelope me to hear her call me 'daddy' when she was talking to Allie.  I don't know why though, but I just did.  I plopped a kiss down on Rapunzel's head, and Allie grinned.  I could tell Rapunzel was wrapped around the babies' little fingers.
And then Jase came tearing over.  Rapunzel scooped her up, too, and then Janet came out as well.  She talked with both of them for a few seconds, and then turned to me, and asked if she could take the girls out for a girl's day out.
I agreed to care for the babies and that I would be fine.  She handed Hallie over to me and leaned over to kiss me goodbye.  "See you later."  She said, smiling.
I shifted the babies to one arm and brushed some hair away from her face, pausing to cup my hand over her cheek.  She gave me a loving look and put her hand over mine, squeezing it.  She seemed to stand a bit reluctantly  when Jase came back over.
Pretty soon, Merida was working her way down the shelf, and they all left.

I blinked at the deafening silence...for a few seconds.  Hallie started huffing, so I took them out on the 'deck'.  I walked back and forth for awhile, and then went back onto the shelf when they had both fallen soundly asleep in my arms.  Smiling to myself at how serene they looked, I set them down to nap and yawned.  I was still tired, and I could feel my twinge of a headache start to worsen, so I retreated to go nap myself, in hopes of making the headache go away before my wife came back home.

I got up a few times with the babies, but they were pretty good.  After awhile, my headache finally went away - thank goodness!  It was afternoon before the girls finally all came back home.  Jase and Janet left to play in the corner, and Merida and Rapunzel came over towards me.  Linking her arm in Rapunzel's, Merida cocked her head and said, "And here's yer lovely wife."  She giggled.
Rapunzel laughed at Merida, but then randomly ran and scrambled up to Rayne's shelf.
Merida looked at me with a brow quirked, nodding her head towards where Rapunzel had stood seconds ago.  I shrugged, frowning in confusion, and she shrugged too.
When Rapunzel came back a couple minutes later, Merida turned towards her.  "Don't need to worry about coming back quick - I can watch these gals for any amount of time.  It's boring up on that shelf!"  When Rapunzel gave her a thankful smile, she added, with a grin that spelled 'trouble', "Now, go enjoy your hubby and smooch while you're not interrupted by the kiddos."
It worked.  Rapunzel put a hand over her eyes and turned a lovely shade of crimson.  "We don't...well...we talk, aaand walk, and-" I came up behind her, gave her a peck on the forehead, and felt the need to tease as well.
"And smooch."  I grinned, and she gave me a shove.
Merida was laughing at our antics.  She snorted when Rapunzel shoved me, and that made her laugh even harder.
"Shush," Rapunzel told me.  "It's not all we do.  I take it you're feeling fine now, 'cause you're back to your usual self!"
"Just go!"  Merida was fighting laughter now, but her eyes were tearing from her effort.
Rapunzel laughed a thanks, and I led her down to the floor.

When we were down there, Rapunzel took my hand and we walked.  She had a carefree spring in her step, swinging her arm back and forth, [and my arm too], and chattering about her day.
"We had a lot of fun today.  Thank you so much for watching the babies!  How were they?"
"I'm glad you had fun.  They were really good, actually!  So what all did you do?"  I enjoyed watching her talk with a sparkle in her eye and such an innocent smile on her face.
"We went over to visit the 18 inchers.  Merida visited with Angus, and Jase got to sit on Angus with her.  She really enjoyed it - we'll probably end up having to ask Tangled Fan to find a horse for Jase, based off of the huge smile on her face! Janet visited with the mini dolls, and I visited with Julie, Elizabeth, and Christy.  They're so nice!  Kailey's still a bit off-putting, but I just don't talk to her, cause I know she doesn't like to be friendly, or whatever her problem is. Thank you so much, again, for watching the babies!"
While she talked, I started to think about what I wanted to tell her.  You already know I'm not the best with words, so I was pretty nervous.  Finally, I stopped walking.  Rapunzel turned around and asked me what.
I pulled on her arm carefully, and it sent her right into me. "What?" she repeated, putting her arms loosely around my waist.
I wanted to tell her, I really did.  And there was something else I wanted to say, too.  So instead, I made a joke.  "Just...I dunno.  Just cause you're my wife, and I love you to plastic bits and pieces."
She giggled,  and I got that funny feeling in my stomach again (the good kind, not the migraine kind :p).
"Oh, you.  You're bad!  But I love you, too.  And I'm glad you're back to yourself!"
 I put an arm around her, used my other hand to remove one of her arms from my waist, so I could hold her hand.
Rapunzel leaned her head on my shoulder for a few minutes, but then she looked up at me with questioning eyes, slipping her hand away from me.
"Why're you so, like, affectionate with me?  I mean, it's not like I don't like or appreciate it; but I was just curious why."
I took  a deep breath, and told her my fear that our marriage would fall apart because I rushed her.
And then I decided I wanted to tell her the other thing, too.  I opened my mouth, but she stopped me.  "Before you go on, I want to say this - Don't you ever, EVER, think our marriage will be wrecked 'cause we moved quickly. Or because of injuries or headaches.  It was just as much my fault as it was yours that we moved fast.  And mine that you got that headache.  And truth is?  I'm glad we got married so soon - I can enjoy you as my hubby for longer, now!"
I was going to contradict her, that she wasn't at fault for anything, but I just smiled hugely at her, relieved. She smiled back, and my heart sped up as I considered what I wanted to say next.
I led her up onto the chair, but then I decided not to say anything.
"Whatever it is you wanted to say, I won't laugh or anything.  Just say it," she smiled still.  Obviously, she hadn't forgotten, and wouldn't drop it, either.
I fidgeted around plenty, and then I just spilled my guts to her, with all I wanted to say to her about how much I really did care about her.
When I opened my eyes, which I'd squeezed shut while speaking, to keep focus, Rapunzel was crying openly.
I panicked.  "I told you I wasn't good with words.  I'm so sorr-"
She broke me off.  "No!  You..you were perfect!"
I smiled at her and reached to wipe her wet cheeks.
"You gave such a gorgeous speech.  For a guy who supposedly is awful with words..I don't think you give yourself enough credit.  I feel the same way about you.  I still get the butterflies and a tingle up my spine when I see you, and I feel like a little schoolgirl with a gigantic crush, every time I see that cute little grin of yours - yeah, that's the one" - she said when I grinned at her - "and you're so handsome, and soo impossibly sweet.  It never fails to amaze me how gentle you can be.  I mean, in the movie, you were some ruffian...but I guess after you met me in the movie, you turned into a sweetheart.  But anyway.  You do have a way with words, by the way.  You make my knees go to Jell-o...either that, or it's just this heat - but I don't think so. And I just love you!"  She finally finished, and I was fighting tears myself - one tear had already escaped.  It takes a lot to make ME cry!  She gently wiped the tear from my cheek, and my heart nearly faltered.
I leaned into her until our foreheads touched.  She and I stared at each other, but she quickly shut her eyes when they started to cross [I kid you not].  Abruptly, she pulled away.
"What?"  I asked, wondering why she was so jumpy about displaying her affections.
"They can probably see us from here," she said, casting a guilty glance up towards the shelves.  "And I dunno.  I just feel a bit awkward being so open in our affection - but you know what?"    
"There's no other place around here that we CAN be at that dolls aren't gonna see us."  I finished for her.
"Exactly."
"So why feel awkward?"  I asked, confused.  "If it makes you feel weird, I'll.." I started to withdraw my arm from her shoulders, but she snagged my arm and held it.
"No.  You know what?  I'm gonna stop holding back and feeling awkward about it. If some doll has an issue with me loving you, they can keep it to themselves!"
I felt like teasing her after that.  "So you won't mind if I do this?"  I tried to ask with an innocent expression on my face.
"Do what?"  she asked.  I grabbed her and started to tickle her.  [even though we're plastic, we can still be ticklish, mind!]  She yelped in surprise and elbowed me.  I made an exaggerated fall backwards, as if she'd knocked me down, and she flopped down as well, dissolving into giggles that made me grin.  I slipped my arm around her, and she rested her head on my chest and smiled sweetly at me, laughter still glimmering in her eyes.
After not too long, she dozed off, exhausted from her sleepless night, probably.  I looked at her to make sure she was asleep and not just laying really still.  Her eyes were shut, a peaceful grin still played across her pink lips.  I slowly stroked her hair, hoping not to wake her up.  And then I guess I must've nodded off for a bit, too.
When I woke up, the sun was starting to set - I glimpsed it through the window - and Rapunzel was still out.  Her smile was still on her face and I hated to disturb her, hoping she'd wake up without me doing anything to wake her.  But after it grew dark, I knew we needed to get back to Merida and the kids.  I tried to ease her up off the chair to carry her to bed, but she quickly woke.
"Flynn."
"What?" Even though I knew full well what 'Flynn' meant.
"Put me down."
"I'll just-"
"Put me down.  Please,"
I sighed, but did give in, lowering her legs, but still keeping a hold around her shoulders.
"Thank you," she said, kissing me on the cheek.
So then we went home, and were greeted by Merida.
I peeked around and saw all the kids were sprawled out in random spots, played out and sleeping hard.
Rapunzel and Merida chatted quietly for a few minutes, but then she left, and my wife turned towards me, unbraiding her hair.
"And thank you for this wonderful day, again."  She grinned, then went to lie down behind the lamp.  I followed her and sat down.
Leaning down, we shared a goodnight kiss, before I lowered myself down beside my wife.  Rapunzel fumbled around till she found my hand and grasped it, with a smile that lit the darkening room.  I smoothed my hand over her hair over and over.  "You're the best wife anyone could ever ask for, and never forget that I love you." I whispered to her, though I didn't think she'd soon forget the love we shared for one another! Anyway, then I was asleep too.

I'm hoping Rapunzel wants to keep the tradition of having evenings to ourselves, because I've begun to really like it, and I tend to be able to tell her lots of things that are on my mind, during then.

Monday confessions

Monday morning, I woke up at 6, pretty early compared to our late night up because Flynn had a migraine , which is pretty rare amongst dolls.  

I was laying with my head on his shoulder, and his chin was propped up on my head.  I didn't want to move, but my arm was also falling asleep. I carefully moved my arm, and his head lifted from mine.  

"Morning, gorgeous."  His voice was a bit gravelly still, and he cleared his throat.  

This morning, I didn't chide him for calling me 'gorgeous'.  I was just glad to be with him - usually, dolls that ended up feeling like he did last night, end up mashed in a Dumpster by morning.  Umm, no.  

I took a deep breath in and raised my head up to smile at him.  "Morning!  Feel any better?"  

"Right now I feel pretty great," he joked, giving me a squeeze with his arm.  I rolled my eyes, and he said, "No, really; I feel a lot better than I did last night, that's for sure."  

I leaned over and gave him a relieved kiss.  "I'm so glad."  

He gave me a small grin, which faded and it seemed as though he was thinking about something.

I sat up, and he did too.  "What?  I know you're thinking about something."  I gave him an encouraging smile and put an arm around his waist, and he did the same to me, holding me tightly. 

He stood restlessly, and I followed him out to the 'deck'.  

"There's a chance I'll have them chronically.  Migraines, I mean.  I know how upset and scared you were last night, and I don't want to put you through that again, if they are chronic.  If you don't want to, I understand fully."  

My eyes teared up.  "Oh, Flynn...no way, never, ever, in a gazillion trillion years, am I leaving you just because you might have a bad headache once in awhile!  Now I know it's not as bad as I thought it was originally."  I grabbed his arm and rubbed my hand up and down his sleeve.  "In case I've not told you, I love you so much.  And if you ever end up in the Dumpster, I hope I go at the same time, cause I could never live without you.  And if you think I don't want to be your wife anymore because of some piddly headaches, you've got another thing coming, mister.  Regardless, she said it was from sleep deprivation, not just because."  

A relieved look washed across his face, and he took my hand gently into his.  I marveled at how gentle he could be, and grabbed him into a hug. 

He kissed my hair and stroked it a few times, but then just put his arms around me as well and we just stood there for I don't know how long.  "You get some idea like that into your head again, and I'll swat you one," I joked, in an attempt to lighten the mood, pulling away a tiny bit and winking at him.  He smiled at me, and I left to go brush and braid my hair.  When I was done braiding, I realized my ribbon was knotted, and I was growling at it, holding my thick braid in one hand and picking at the knot with my teeth, grumbling at it.  

Flynn took one look at me and laughed. "Spit it out and let me get that for ya."  He chuckled the whole time he was picking the knot out.  Within seconds, it was out and he'd tied it in a neat bow around my hair.  

"Thanks," I laughed. He nodded, and we both turned to the now-familiar sound of the babies waking up.  We went over and picked them up before they started to cry.  

"We're getting to be old pros at this," I laughed when the babies silenced immediately.  

He slung his free arm around my shoulders and nodded.  I noticed Allie was studying me intently with her icy blue eyes.  

I leaned across Flynn to smile at Allie.  "Tell Daddy he's silly, huh!"  Whilst I was leaning across him, he plopped a kiss on my hair.  Allie smiled, and my heart squeezed.    

And then Jase came running out.  I shifted Hallie to my other arm and scooped Jase up into my lap.  "Aren't you sleepy yet?"

"Nope!"  She smiled at me, complete with dimples.  

"Okay," I grinned at her.  

Then Janet came hurrying over.  "I just woke up.  Want me to take the babies?"

"No, that's fine, honey; thank you, though!"  I turned to smile at her.  She grinned in relief and collapsed back into her chair.  

Soon, an idea formed in my mind.  

Turning to Flynn, I said, "Could I take Jase and Janet out for awhile today?  Would you be alright with the babies?  If you aren't, that's fine too, I can-"

He grinned at me.  "I can take care of them.  You go have a girl's day out."  

I smiled at him, then I handed Hallie over to him.

I asked Jase to go brush her hair and get ready, and Janet to climb up onto the printer to ask Merida if she wanted to come, too.  When they both left, I leaned over and kissed him goodbye.  

"See you later," I smiled.  He shifted both the babies to his one arm and brushed the hair from my face, cupping my cheek in his hand once he was done.  I put my hand up to his and gave it a squeeze, and then I noticed Jase was coming back over, so I stood up and turned towards her.  

Janet came over, too, and said Merida would be down in a second.  When Merida was here, we were ready to go.  

I suggested that we go visit the 18 inchers, and Merida nodded excitedly.  

"Exactly what I was wantin' to do!"  she beamed.  

It didn't take too awful long to get over to the dresser where the 18 inchers resided. 

As soon as we got there, Merida climbed up onto Angus and held her hands out for Jase.  I held her up and Merida set her down onto her lap and talked with her.  

As for Janet, she went over and found Samantha and Nell, and sat to chat with them.  I scooped up Julie when she came hurrying over, and talked with Elizabeth and Christy.  

We all stayed for a good while, but eventually, Merida said we should probably get back to see if Flynn had survived.  :P

She handed Jase back down to me, and leaned down to give Angus a kiss in his mane, wrapped her arms around his satiny neck for a few seconds, and then climbed off.  Janet came hurrying over, and talked excitedly about her visit with the mini dolls.  She also mentioned how Kailey wasn't very friendly with her, and I said it wasn't with just her.  

When we got back to the shelf, I put Jase down and she scampered over to the corner to play her game she liked to much.  Janet thanked us and then went over to play with Jase.  

Merida linked her arm with mine and cocked her head, turning towards Flynn.  

"Annd here's your lovely wife," she giggled.  

"Oh, quit," I laughed.  

Suddenly (and completely randomly), I remembered that I needed to thank Rayne for orchestrating our day yesterday.  

"Wait a sec," I said, before racing over and scrabbling up the shelf.  

I said a quick "Hello" to Blondie, and then raced over and grabbed Rayne up into a big hug.  I must've surprised her, cause her arms flew out and her eyes bugged.  

"Have a nice day yesterday?"  

"Oh, it was wonderful!  Thank you so, so, sooo much!"  I gave her another squeeze and then stepped back.  "I don't know how to repay you, ever!" 

"You can bring those little youngsters up tomorrow, and I'll watch them.  I've been wanting to meet them!"  She said.  

"Okay, it's a deal!" I smiled.  

"Now go have some fun," she winked, and I left.  

When I came back down, Merida turned towards me.  "Don't need to worry about coming back quick - I can watch these gals for any amount of time.  It's boring up on that shelf!"  

I smiled in thanks.  

"Now, go enjoy your hubby and smooch while you're not interrupted by the kiddos," she teased.  

I put my hand over my eyes in embarrassment.  "We don't....well...we talk, a-and...walk, and..."

Flynn came over behind me and gave me a peck on the forehead.  "And smooch." he grinned, and I gave him a push.  

"Shush," I laughed.  "It's not all we do.  I take it you're feeling fine now, cause you're back to your usual self."  

"Just go," Merida said, who was laughing pretty hard at our awkward antics.  

"Thanks," I laughed, waving at her as I let Flynn lead me down to the floor.

Since it was sooo muggy and hot, I just took Flynn by the hand, swinging my arm back and forth, and told him about how our girls' day out.  

When I was finally through with my chatter, I glanced back at him, because he'd stopped.  "What?"

He pulled my arm, and swung me in towards him.

I put my arms comfortably around his waist.  "What?" I repeated.  

"Just...I dunno.  Just 'cause your my wife, and I love you to plastic bits and pieces," he joked.  

"Oh, you."  I giggled.  "You're bad.  But I love you too.  And I'm glad you're back to your self."    

He took one of my arms from his waist and took my hand, smoothing his thumb back and forth on the back of it.  I leaned my head on my shoulder, in no big rush to keep going.  But there was something I'd been wondering.  I gently slipped my hand away from him and looked up.

"Why're you so..like, affectionate with me?  I mean, it's not like I don't like or appreciate it.  But I was just curious why."  

He took a deep breath and glanced down at me.  "Well....I'd read in lots of places how marriages were wrecked because the couple rushed into things and didn't know each other, or anything.  And I don't want that to happen-" he broke off and grabbed my hand up again.  "I just so don't want to lose you because I rushed you.  I dunno what I'd do."  He mumbled that last part.  But then he went on.  "I'm awful with words, but I've been wantin' to tell you something."

"Before you go on," I stopped him, "I want to say this:  Don't you ever, EVER, think our marriage'll be wrecked cause we moved quickly.  Or because of injuries or headaches.  It was just as much my fault as it was yours that we moved fast...and mine that you got that headache.  And truth is?  I'm glad we got married so soon.  I can enjoy you as my hubby for longer, now!"  

His face split into a huge smile, and I smiled back, my heart leaping.  

We climbed up onto the chair, and he seemed to have lost his nerve about what he wanted to say to me.  

"Whatever it is you wanted to say, I won't laugh or anything.  Just say it," I said, still smiling.  

He repositioned himself, slid an arm around me, cleared his throat...twice...turned to look at me..and then he finally spoke. 

"I'm not good with words, but I've been wanting to say something." He was talking so quietly that I had to lean into him to hear him.  "You're...well..don't feel, like, weird because of this.  Okay?" 

"Okay, I promise," I said quietly, but didn't prod him.  

He squeezed his eyes shut and spilled his guts.  "I know, I know.  You know I love you, I tell you every chance I get, because I do.  But...well, you probably think I'm pathetic."  

When he paused, waiting for an answer, I said, "No...My guess was that you were just as crazy about me as I am you."  I wanted to kiss him but I didn't want to cut him off.  

"Here goes.  Every time I see you, my stomach feels funny - in a good way.  I-I love you so much it hurts.  I can't ever imagine not having you.  I hope you didn't have any hard feelings about rushing" - I shook my head-"A-and, well...I...I hope nothing ever comes between us, cause I don't think I could live without you.  And I'll never, ever give you up if you get hurt or something.  As Flynn from the movie would say, you are my new dream...only I'm not just taking a line from the movie.  You're perfection and you're so beautiful, and you're so sweet...and I don't know what I ever did to deserve you...and I just...thanks for loving me too.  I just hope you're not weirded out or whatever, from me acting so...uh..twitterpated.  So there.  That's what I've been wanting to say."  

By the time he stopped, I was crying.  

Flynn looked alarmed.  "I told you I wasn't good with words...I'm so sorr-"

"Noo!"  I yelped.  "You...you were perfect!"  

He smiled tenderly at me, and wiped my cheeks with such a gentle hand that I grabbed it and held it up against my cheek after he was done, while I gathered my thoughts.  "You gave such a gorgeous speech. For a guy who supposedly is awful with words...I don't think you give yourself enough credit.  I feel the same way about you..." Well, I won't include my whole spiel, as you readers are probably tired of reading about how much I love him, and he loves me, and this and that and whatnot.  But when I was done, he actually had a single tear streaming down HIS cheek, which I wiped carefully, my heart thundering.  

He leaned in to me till our foreheads bumped together.  He and I stared at one another for a few seconds, but then I shut my eyes, because they were getting unfocused.   

And suddenly, I remembered that we were right by the shelf.  I felt soo self-conscious that I pulled away abruptly, although I hated to.  

"What?"  Flynn asked me.  

"They can probably see us from here," I said, glancing up at the shelves.  "And...I dunno.  I just feel a bit awkward being so open in our affection.  But, you know what?"

"There's no other place around here that we CAN be that dolls aren't gonna see us."  he said.  

"Exactly."  

"So why feel awkward?  If it makes you feel weird, I'll-" he started to take his arm from my shoulders, but I stopped him.  

"No.  You know what?  I'm gonna stop holding back and feeling awkward about it. If some doll has an issue with me loving you, they can keep it to themselves." 

I saw a mischievous gleam in Flynn's eyes.  "So you won't mind if I do this?"

"Do what?" And then he started tickling me, of all things.  I yelped, and elbowed him.  When he fell backwards, I collapsed with him, still giggling.

He laid there with a grin, and then slid his arm around my shoulders.  I rested my head on his chest and smiled.  I laid a hand on his chest and we stayed there.  

We must've both dozed off, because next thing I knew, I could feel Flynn pick me up.  It was dark.   I, for one, knew I was exhausted from not sleeping much last night and then my full day today.

"Flynn."

"What?"

"Put me down."

He started to refuse, and I repeated my request, adding a please.  

He sighed, but he did let go of my legs and carefully lowered me down.  I reached up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you."  

We went home, and were greeted by Merida.

"The kids are all asleep.  They were all really good.  See you tomorrow!"

"I'll probably bring them up to you tomorrow, if we do anything tomorrow.  Rayne wants to see them." I smiled.  "Thank you soo much, again."

"Whaddaya mean, 'IF we do anything tomorrow'?"

"You need a break sometimes," I said. 

"And it ain't tomorrow!  I really enjoy babysitting them, truth be told.  Gets my mind off of my legs!" 

I gave her a quick hug and she was on her way up to her shelf.  

I turned back to my hubby as I unbraided my hair.  "And thank you for this wonderful day, again."  I went to lay down behind the lamp; he followed me and sat down in his usual spot.  He leaned down and we kissed goodnight.  But this night, he didn't sit up and sleep.  He laid down beside me.  I laid on my back, felt around until I found his hand beside me, and held it until I fell asleep.  He stroked my hair with gentle caresses for a little bit, and whispered something I didn't quite catch, because I was out cold within minutes.  (I've noticed that he puts most of his monologue on his blog posts..when he creates a post for this day from his perspective, I'll have to sneak over and check out what he said :P)  I was ecstatic to start tomorrow!!!

I've really grown to like and enjoy our evenings alone.  I wanted to enjoy this time for as long as possible, and hoped so much that we keep this tradition forever.  (:  

Wedding Day!!!!! (=

Hi everyone!!

It's the moment you've all been waiting for...well, at least..the moment WE'VE all been waiting for over here!!  

The morning of July 4th dawned horribly muggy and rainy.  Again.  But that didn't dampen our spirits!

I also finally decided - Merida would be my maid of honor.  Rayne agreed and was actually relieved that I chose Merida.  Win-win!

I had spent the night with them up on the shelf, to keep tradition - The bride and groom aren't supposed to see each other the day of the wedding.  I think that you humans have that tradition as well?

We rummaged around in the dresser for a good while.  Blondie found a hair clip that matched PERFECTLY with Merida's dress -we'd found a fancy Barbie dress lying in one of the drawers back over at our shelf, and decided Merida should wear it to my wedding because she was the maid of honor.  Merida was not amused, but she's such a good friend that she agreed to wear it anyway.

Rayne pulled Merida's hair up (which was NOT an easy task! :P)  and clipped it carefully with the hair clip.

Blondie's hair was braided, and Merida wrapped a necklace around her neck several times until it was short enough for her to wear.  

And then Rayne and I exchanged dresses.  

Although they'd all seen me in Rayne's wedding dress before, Merida gasped, pointed, and said, "Now THAT is perfection!"  

Blondie gave a little, excited giggle, and Rayne clasped her hands in excitement as well.  I felt a sudden wave of embarrassment - I wasn't used to so much attention!  

"C'mere," Merida said, gesturing.  I did, and sat down.

Merida knelt behind me and got to work with the hairbrush.  She's actually quite the hairdresser!  

We tried two different looks.  The first one was having my hair loose, and me holding the engagement ribbon...

And what we were planning to do anyway - braided hair with the engagement ribbon tied in place.  

We decided that the braid worked the best.  

Annnd here's a picture of all us gorgeous gals.  I think Merida looks best - I heard that pink doesn't look good on redheads, but I think she looks AMAZING in that dress!  I think she was starting to even like it.  

Suddenly, though, we heard familiar whistling.  Flynn!

"Oh no!" I squeaked, pulling the veil off, crouching and twisting the skirts around my legs so the skirt wouldn't poof out so much.  

Merida and Rayne stepped in front of me, and Blondie in front of them.  

It must have looked pretty amusing to Flynn, - Blondie's pretty small compared to the rest of us.  

I heard Flynn ask where I was at, and they said that he couldn't see me anyway, because of tradition.  

"The ceremony's about to start, and the 18 inchers" - I peeked upwards towards the dresser, and saw that Elizabeth, Christy, and Hailey were watching us with smiles.  Oh, and there was Julie! I wanted to wave but didn't want to be seen by Flynn.  -"are getting a bit restless."  

"Okay.  Well, turn around, then."  

He did, and with a lot of skirt rustling, Merida and I slipped around a corner until Flynn 'assumed the position'.  

Rayne and Blondie walked down the aisle side by side, and then turned off to the side to sit and wait for the ceremony.  As we waited to make our grand entrance, Merida talked.  I was starting to feel queasy. 

"Should I be doing this?"

"Yes!  Of course."  Merida said.  "Ya like him, don't you?"  (Oh - you may notice that I've been typing Merida's monologue without the Scottish accent attempt - it's to make it easier for everyone else to read.  :P)

"Yes.  I love him.  But still - we've only known each other a little while since we've been out of our boxes."

"But you've known him for a good while overall?"

"Yeah..."

"Then you're good to go.  No secrets?"

"No..."

Suddenly, we heard Blondie call out a question as to where we were.  

"Showtime," Merida said.  

I followed her out, clasping at my stomach when I felt nauseated.  "I can't do this."  I mumbled quietly.  I tried to turn around, but Merida kept me snug at her side.

"We're right in front of Flynn, and he's seeing every move you make, so don't do anything 'less you mean it.  Rapunzel, we all know how you are with important decisions.  Do you want this guy, or do you not?  Because I think you're about as ready as you can be.  But if you don't want to, better decide now, or forever hold your peace."  she whispered.

I finally looked up and saw Flynn waiting.  For me.  Just a few steps and I would be a married doll, to the doll I did, in fact, love dearly.  

With a deep breath, I took a sudden step forward.  Merida was a bit surprised, I think, but she tried to keep in step with me.  

When we were in front of Flynn, Merida gave my arm a squeeze and then went to sit by the others.  

Flynn gave me that adorable grin of his and held his hands out.  I took them and grinned too.  Merida jumped back up, untied the ribbon from my braid, and handed it to us. 

The doll marriage tradition is that the engagement ribbon is held in both the male and the female dolls' left hand, then tied in a knot.  

And here's the knot!!  We managed to get it right in the center of the ribbon, which was pretty cool :D

As soon as the knot was made, Flynn dropped it, tipped me back, and we kissed.  

After that, I scooped up the ribbon and Flynn linked his arm in mine, before we walked side by side back down the aisle.  He took the ribbon from me and set it in a safe place.

And then after that, we had to have a quick photoshoot, of course.  We didn't get as many pics in as what I was hoping, but oh well!  

I just noticed that I didn't get a picture with Rayne and I! :(  

Then I gave everyone hugs and thanked them for participating and making the best day ever even better! :P

After that, Flynn and I headed back to our shelf and just sat and talked...   

..For a little while, anyway.  After a short amount of time, Tangled Fan suddenly bustled into the room, picked us both up, and tossed us onto the bed, asking us to model for her while she drew.  (See...she even DRAWS Tangled stuff. It's a bit creepy, actually; how much of a Tangled Fan she really is.)  

I was a bit miffed, naturally.  Well, wouldn't you be, if you had just gotten married less than two hours ago, and were recruited, quite quickly, to model for drawings, rather than relax?!  Regardless...I requested some more pics - since she had her cell phone with her anyway.  And she told us that whatever sketches were good enough to finish up, we would be allowed to have hung up in our little shelf spot.  

So this was our first modeled position.  I guess it was supposed to be like from the movie, where Rapunzel and Flynn are dancing in the Kingdom Dance, and finally run into each other just as the music ends?  I'm not sure, though.

And I guess this was supposed to be like in the movie, where Rapunzel finally realizes that Flynn isn't coming back for her.  We had a bit too much fun with this one.  I kept giggling.  

"Oh, Rapunzel, Rapunzel, what is wrong, my dearest?"  Flynn joked.  I have no clue how he kept a straight face, because I couldn't!  

Still keeping my position, I busted out laughing so hard I had to lean up against him.  

That's when Tangled Fan glanced over.  She looked at us, looked at her paper...looked at us...with a confused look on her face.  If I would have had tears to run down my face from laughter, that's what would have been happening.  Even Flynn lost his composure.  

"Very funny, guys..."  I guess she finally ditched that position idea, because she erased a lot off her page and explained to me what she wanted for the next one.

I actually liked this pose, and she showed me the final sketch, which was also good.  

Then we were able to have some picture taken.  

As you can see in this picture, I have to stand on Flynn's boots, on my tiptoes, and Flynn STILL has to ben down some in order for us to kiss.  It stinks being short!  =P

And this one looks funny.  In reality, Flynn was just holding my hair.  But at the angle in which it was taken, it almost looks like he's wrapped in my hair.  Like in the movie :D

'Stargazing'...only there weren't any stars to gaze at.  

Suddenly, Tangled Fan dashed for her window and slammed it shut.  

"Rain was coming in," she explained. 

She left the room, and we clambered up onto the windowsill to look out the window. 

"I so wish it would stop raining so much.." I grumbled.  

Flynn nodded, and then stepped aside.  

"What?"  I turned my head to ask him.

"I have...well, that is..."

"Spit it out," I urged with a chuckle.  

"Tangled Fan came to me this morning before the ceremony, and said that she'd found some little five-year-old girl in her closet that would make the perfect first kid for us."  He said quickly, then grinned.

"Note how she told you, not me," I muttered quietly.  

Sure, I'd thought about kids.  I wanted kids.  But that was definitely moving too quickly.  Not only were we married already, but having a kid around already, too?! 

"Flynn."  I wasn't sure what to say, to explain myself, so I just gestured.  

He caught my hand mid-gesture, and pulled me in to him.  "It's fine.  I can understand why you don't want to. I just would really like a family, and when she said that she'd likely be either selling her on eBay or sending her to Goodwill, I just thought it would be a great opportunity.  She said it would take quite a while before we would actually become the guardians of her, so it's not like we'll be parents by TONIGHT or anything.  Even I know that that would be moving too quickly!"  Flynn explained.  "But if you don't want to, that's perfectly fine as well." 

"She'll be gone soon? Like if we don't say we'll take her, she'll be gone by the weekend?"  

"Likely, but I'm not sure."

I shrugged my shoulders and pressed my chin up against my one shoulder, turning away from Flynn to think.  

I remembered how I'd felt when I'd held Julie.  I'd suddenly felt the need to have a little child to tend to - it would sure take the dullness out of the days.  But then I wouldn't be able to go exploring the room with Merida anymore.  Unless, of course, those days would be when Flynn watched her.  And an older child would be perfect to start parenthood off with - not a wee baby, although I wouldn't mind having one of those, either!  Oh, goodness.  There I go again with the big decisions!  I needed to talk with Merida, or Rayne, or someone.  I could talk with my own husband,  (oh, he can be a bit of a risk taker, but I still love the guy - enough to  'squee' when I typed that!) Anyway, but Flynn was pretty biased.  Och.  

Finally, I turned back to him and looked at his face.  He looked like an excited little kid himself.  I imagined Tangled Fan telling that little girl she might have found a home for her.  I bet she had looked just as excited.  And then maybe I could take her with me and Merida when we went to visit with the 18 inchers, so she could play with Samantha, Julie, and Nell - they'd love that!  How disappointing would it be to Flynn if I told him no?  Would he hate me forever, for giving up the chance to save a doll who'd likely been here for a long time?  Us dolls have to stick together, you know.  I know he would probably respect my decision as his wife, but then would I hate MYSELF if I told him no?  Maybe I'm thinking into it too much.  I tend to do that, in case you haven't noticed already :P  I had to say something.  

"Why don't we sleep on it?  And I want to talk to Merida or Rayne, as well." 

"What is your personal opinion?"  Flynn asked, still looking a little hopeful.  

"I don't know, hon.  I just don't know...it's been a really long day and I just need to sit and think - you don't make life-changing decisions on a whim-" 

"But we've already made two of those life-changing decisions on whims within the past two weeks or so."  Flynn finished for me.  "I understand, and respect that."

We started to go back to our shelf.  

With a sigh, I asked him if he'd hate me forever for not wanting to take her in.  

"Rapunzel, I just took you as my wife today.  If I would hate you forever over something like that, I don't think I would be being a very good husband, do you?"  He asked, half-joking.  Then he turned serious.  "I love you.  Whatever decision you make is fine with me.  Just remember that I'm here if you want to talk about it, and I'll try not to be biased."  He put an arm around my shoulder and kissed my hair.  

Leaning my head against him as I walked, I told him I loved him too.  

What a day it was...I'm going to leave it at that and try to think about it some on my own before I go talk to Merida and Rayne tomorrow.

And on another note, happy 4th of July to all my readers!  I hope you all have a safe and wonderful day.  I know I had probably the best 4th of July a doll could ever have!!  (=