Someone pointed out that I never finished my story (Here’s Part 1 for those who have no idea what I’m talking about)…how very remiss of me!! Buckle up, folks-here it is.

My Aunt married this wonderful man. He’s great with our kids, he’s business savvy, he’s good at Mario Bro’s, he’s just one of those nice guys – nice enough to let his wife’s insane nieces and their children and the various array of blanket and stuffed animals and Pillow Pets invade…oh, ya and don’t forget our stomach bug. We brought that, too.

First day, everyone seemed fine. No more “orange spit” (as my son has henceforth deemed it). Seemed like, perhaps, we were in the clear! YAY!! The kids swam, we played games – it was a lovely day. We put the kids to bed and talked late into the night, sipping wine and catching up. At some point I must have fallen asleep on the chair in the living room. You know that weird state between asleep and reality? Ya, I was there when I heard the first gut-wrenching heave. I remember thinking “oh God, please no!” You guessed it. That lovely man, who so patiently allowed us to descend like vomiting locust on his nice quiet, organized house, caught our stomach bug. By the end of the day, my aunt, my grandma, and my uncle were all ill. Our kids, however, were fine.

Once the bug had made its way through each of us – except me, thank the Lord – we had a wonderful time at the beach, shopping and just relaxing. The kids still talk about the beach and the sand and all the shells that were collected. We had an awesome time visiting my sister Tammie and then later my little sister Kristy and her husband and their two little ballerinas, Bunni and Ellyna.

So, it was with a sad heart that we packed up and headed north – straight into one of the worst ice storms to hit Atlanta in years! Awesome.

Have you ever been ice skating in a wind storm? It’s not that much fun. Have you ever taken your van ice skating in a windstorm…colossally not fun! Add to it five tired, hungry children and well you have the makings of a really really really LONG night. Wait, did I mention the engine spewing “smelly green juice” ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! No? Really? Someone pour me another glass of wine!

Ya, so apparently, if you flush your transmission, you’re actually supposed to screw the bolt that holds the clamp that keeps the hose that pumps the smelly green juice that makes your car run, in! Go figure. We stopped for gas and for one of our 752 million potty stops. I waited in the car with the kids while my sister ran in with her son. We were all sitting there enjoying the twentieth round of Might Machines the Movie, when out of no where, smoke started billowing into the air. Gratefully, Kim and I are not really girly girls, so I knew enough to cut the engine and pop the hood. Imagine my surprise when I realized that the hose for the transmission was missing…laying on the ground, actually. Like any good husband, Jeromy (Kim’s spouse) had the van serviced before we left.  I guess the mechanic who serviced the van, had failed auto 101. Annoying. Well come now, we had managed to survive this trip so far – we were not about to let a little antifreeze geyser deter us. Ice storm in Georgia-Ha! We laugh at you! Orange spit, lame! Green van juice, pa-leeze!!!

After purchasing the only 2 bottles of anti-freeze in the little hole-in-the-wall convenience store that just happened to be in the middle-of-no-where Georgia, we did what any two true blooded, well educated, femininely handy women in their thirties would do. We stood outside in the 30 degree wind and pretended to not know what we were doing. Soon, a couple of  lovely elderly gentlemen came to our aid and while they dickered over how to put the hose and clamp back on, Kim and I sat inside the warm car and sipped our coffee. Two hours later, we pulled back onto the road, smoke trailing, as we made our way back onto the freeway. We were off.

I slid the van down the sloping driveway some time after midnight and we began extracting children as carefully as possible. My Aunt Joyce and Uncle David had opened their home to us. We herded our gaggle of children into various beds and pack-n-plays and sacked out for the night.

The next day was a pleasant time of rest and relaxing. We spent the day chatting and doing laundry. The children went for a Polar Swim in the outdoor hot tub. All in all it was a quiet visit. Until my uncle thought he’d take ALL five children to the barn to see the chickens – in the dark, at 9 o’clock in the evening, by himself. “Really guys, I raised twins. How hard can this be?”  As soon as the words escaped his mouth, we knew he was toast. An hour later, Sundi came bounding in the house and declared that “all the people are crying”. It wasn’t long after that we heard the cacophony of bellowing little people slowly approach the house. Apparently, one of the children got cold and started crying and like dominoes they all joined in.  Sparked by lack of sleep and sub-zero weather, the crying soon turned to hysterical screeching. Yes, there he was, one child tucked under each arm and one hanging onto his hand for dear life. Remember the ice storm? Right, the whole quarter mile hike to the barn was a field of solid ice. To say that he looked frazzled would be an understatement. Let’s just say he was the first one in bed, that night.

We left the following day. From there we made our way to Kentucky to visit a friend and her new baby boy. After a day in Kentucky, we made the eleven hour drive home. Other than the occasional scuffle and meltdown, the rest of our trip was uneventful.

Six months out, I look back at that trip and know that our children will talk about it for years to come.  Kim and I still laugh about the ridiculousness of the whole thing. I love my sister. She’s my best friend and closest ally. However, I don’t think we’ll be braving the open road anytime in the near future.

A special thanks to Uncle David and Aunt Vicki, Uncle David and Aunt Joyce, Krysti and Brian, and Sam and Valerie for opening your homes to us and our brood.

Sarayah and the Chicken

Uncle David and Sarayah

Sundi in the barn

Aidan in the barn

Aidan and his ball

The cousins brushing teeth

Mimi & Sundi

All the cousins

Me (Aunt Becca) and Beautiful Bunni

Tammie and Damo

Aunt Vicki & Sarayah