Las Vegas

George and his awards at the Blackjack Meet

We went to Las Vegas for the first weekend in February. George had a gymnastics meet and did well. We had fun at the meet. However, the family time is what I wish to blog about. We drove to Vegas in five hours. That would be five hours in a Suburban with every seat filled up. A Suburban may seem large, but when all the seats are occupied, with two carseats and siblings within contact range of each other, it's like driving around in a Corolla with five orangutans. Needless to say, it was quite an experience. Sam, George and Max occupied their time by making up some weird jokes. The jokes were understandable to no one, slightly funny to me (mainly because I am starting to understand boy humour, not get it, just understand it), and extremely annoying to Maddie. Maddie could barely handle the conversation. After listening to George, Max and Sam say, "What's a chicken?" or "What's a scientist?" or "I know a chicken is a scientist, but I don't know what a scientist is," for a few hours, Maddie was ready to go crazy. She lashed out by making private jokes. The problem was, Sam heard her jokes and decked her for it. I'm not saying it wasn't deserved, it just made for a noisy car ride.

By the time we actually got to Vegas, I was tired of all the fighting. I informed the kids that I didn't think I could spend all the money I needed to spend to take them to Hawaii this summer. I just didn't feel like spending a small fortune on a week of fighting. That shocked Maddie and she did try a little harder. She really wants to go to Hawaii. Of all my kids, she wants to go the most. Tales of turtles, fish, warm water, and sand have her hooked. She became a little more patient. If I looked at her over the next day, she would quickly fall in line.

Then came the ride home. After a couple of hours of more "chicken and scientist" talking, Sam spoke up. He announced to the car something about his general awesomeness. He said, "Does anyone object to my awesomeness?" I could feel Maddie in the car. Although she was feigning not listening, she couldn't help it. Sam went on, "Speak now or forever hold your peace." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Maddie's hand raise in the air. Hawaii or no Hawaii, she could not let the moment go. She had to let the whole world know that indeed, someone did object to Sam's general awesomeness. I burst into laughter. She spoke no word, just raised her hand in contrast with his opinion.

Will we go to Hawaii? The jury is still out.