A California Christmas

I heard some people talking downstairs and went to see. Abby, Daniel and Izzy and their families are have an after Christmas dinner. Everyone was there except Granddad. I wonder where he was hiding?

After breakfast the next morning, I watch Abby and Izzy work on an important project

And Will and Alex build Lego rockets to take a trip to outer space.

Abby and Izzy ride the wild seesaw and Will and Alex's old school. I watch a fat goat watch them.

Abby gets ready to wrap Izzy in seaweed.

Instead, they collect seeweed. It will make a great piggy lunch!

Izzy's mom washes the sand out of her hair to get ready to return to Altadena.

After Izzy leaves for home, Abby and Daniel take their family for a walk on Carmel beach

Daniel gets his first look at the Pacific Ocean.

Abby demonstrates her rock climbing skills.

And walks near the ocean. Watch out for that big wave, I shout!
That's not a big wave, says Abby. It's Pebble Beach!

Granddad takes a picture of Will taking a picture.

The next moring, the house is very quite, and I wonder where everyone is.

Abby's beautiful sea colletion is still here.

But her butterfly chair is empty.

And there are no presents left under the tree.

Daniel's crib is empty.

Lots of Legos and pictures of Izzy, Daniel, and a tiny Abby.

But no one at all to drink tea with.

Max, Stimpy, and I wait for Daniel by his favorite boxes, but Daniel has gone back to Rochester.

Christmas is a wonderful time, but I'm sad when everyone goes home!

A Lonely Thanksgiving Day at the Blue Butterfly

It's Thanksgiving Day, I said, but nobody has come to the Blue Butterfly. It's good to be with my friends Paco, Tiny, and Rainbow, but I do wish someone would visit us and bring some Turkey.

At least nobody eats pork on Thanksgiving Day, said Rainbow Piggy. That's why I like Thanksgiving!

Let's go visit Abby and Daniel! But how will we get there? asked Tiny Pink Piggy. I can ride on your back, but you can't fly with all of us!

Ay Carrumba! shouted Paco. Where there's a worm there's a way! Did you know that Rochester is full of secret tunnels that only worms know about? Some go all the way to Mexico. In fact, there's a tunnel from the Blue Butterfly right to Abby and Daniel's house! It begins in the backyard.

Entrance to Paco's Secret Tunnel in the backyard of the Blue Butterfly

It was a long trip through the Secret Tunnel, and we didn't get there until the day after Thanksgiving!

Where are we, I asked?

This is Abby's Secret Garden, said Paco. A Secret Garden is an excellent place for a secret tunnel to end.

What beautiful garden, I said.

We were very tired and rested on a blue bench. We looked around the Secret Garden.

Under a bush, we spotted a shy white rabbit hiding.

 

And a very scary scarecrow guarding the garden.

Look, a member of our species! A Giant Brown Water Can Pig! Let's invite him over to our bench and ask where Abby and Daniel are.

Hello, said Giant Brown Water Can Pig, I'm very pleased to meet you. Abby and Daniel have gone to Decorah, Iowa for their grandparents' 50th anniversary party.

That's sad, I said. We were looking for some Thanksgiving company and some tasty turkey.

What shall we do now? asked Tiny Pink Piggy. Why don't we all go to Noni and Granddad's house in California? It's warmer there!

But I can't fly, Rainbow Piggy said, and I'm too heavy to ride on your back. I'll go back through the secret tunnel and stand guard at the Blue Butterfly. Maybe Abby and Daniel will come for a visit. I'll be on top of Granddad's high quality super stereo!

I'm a worm, said Paco. I'm not comfortable flying through the air. I'll stay here by Abby's window.

But it gets cold in the Minnesota winter, I told him.

Perhaps Abby will find me and take me into her room, said Paco. I can look out the window at the snowy Secret Garden and see Giant Brown Water Can Piggy. I will remember my friends in California and at the Blue Butterfly. Next summer, when Noni and Granddad return, we can all be together again. If Abby and Daniel go to California for Christmas, maybe they'll bring me along for a visit!

So, we said sad goodbyes to our good friends, and Tiny Pink Piggy climbed on my back. With little piggy tears in our eyes, we started west to California.

Over the Rainbow

What's that on Noni's Refrigerator? asked Tiny Pink Piggy.

It's a rainbow Abby made at school, I answered. Abby has been studying weather. Isn't her rainbow beautiful!

I heard that there's leprechaun and a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow, said Tiny Pink Piggy. Lets fly to the end of Abby's rainbow and see what's there. Tiny Pink Piggy climbed on my back and off we went!

Higher and Higher to the top of the rainbow!

And down again! Hold on tight, Tiny Pink Piggy, we're coming in for a landing! Look, said Tiny Pink Piggy, there's a big red barn at the end of the rainbow. I wonder if it's full of gold? We'll soon find out, I said.

There wasn't any gold inside the barn, but we met the most colorful pig I've ever seen! Hello he said, I'm Rainbow Piggy. I've been waiting for you. It's Abby's birthday, and I've made a special rainbow cake for her.

Here it is! Wow, said Tiny Pink Piggy, that's a colorful cake.


Oink, oink this is a very good tasting cake. I like blue, best and Tiny Pink Piggy likes the purple. Shouldn't we wait for Abby? asks Tiny Pink Piggy. We wait for no one, I answered. That's why we're called piggys!

We invited Rainbow Piggy to come back to Noni's and Granddad's house to live on Granddad's Super Stereo. What's that green creature? asked Rainbow Piggy. That's Paco, the worm from Mexico, I said. He escaped from one of Noni's stories.

A Trip to Aunt Carol's

Tiny Pink Piggy, I said, it's time for a new adventure. Let's visit Aunt Carol.

Oh boy, said Tiny Pink Piggy. I do love adventures!

So, with Tiny Pink Piggy on my back, we flew south to Laguna Niguel where Aunt Carol lives.

We flew over Santa Catalina Island, where Granddad use to sail with his family long, long ago when he was a little boy.

Avalon Harbour on the south end of the island is very beautiful. Abby and Daniel's daddy rode in a glass bottom boat there when he was a little boy.



We stopped at Aunt Carol's house in Laguna Niguel, but Carol wasn't there. Cousins Heather, David, and Diane were in the Kitchen making a surprise dinner for Aunt Carol who was out on the ocean racing her sailboat with her friends Mark and Roy.

We hope she wins, they said.


Down to Dana Point to try to find Aunt Carol!

Here comes Carol's boat the Beaver! What's a beaver? asked Tiny Pink Piggy. They are wild pigs with flat tails, I answer. Beavers live in rivers and streams in the Mall of America, not far from Abby and Daniel's house. They gnaw down trees and use the wood to build dams. Here is a picture of a beaver.

A beaver

We came aboard Aunt Carol's sailboat. It was brown, but otherwise didn't look very much like a beaver.

Aunt Carol was very happy. They had won the world famous Newport Beach to Dana Point race, beating the second place boat by 11 seconds! It was a great race, she said. The wind was blowing a gale! Roy had to go to the bow of the boat 73 times to reset the spinnaker. What's a spinnaker? asked Tiny Pink Piggy. It's a great big sail that only the very fastest boats with the best sailors can work. Look over there, there's a boat with its spinnaker flying.

Wow, said Tiny Pink Piggy, that's one big sail!

As a special treat, Roy held onto a rope and we water skied behind the Beaver.

We Helped Aunt Carol secure the Beaver.

Very tired from our long adventure, we went back to Aunt Carol's house where Dave, Heather, and Diane had prepared a special celebration dinner. Could Dave be sprouting Piggy ears?