This year's trip was notable for one big reason -- it included the latest framily member, Romi, whom the Brunks met for the first time. Being there reminded me of what Kelley's mom said during the Gludt's last visit.
"I never thought I'd see this day," she said at dinner, staring around the table.
"The day you'd have dinner with me, Kelly, Rob and our kids?" I asked.
"Exactly!" she answered, and we both cracked up.
So it was pretty cool to come full circle -- to spend a few days with my friends, and all our kids.
Q: What's harder than getting one good picture of all the kids smiling?
A: Getting TWO good pictures of all the kids smiling!
Thursday, we went to lunch and then watched the kids bounce off the walls for a couple hours. Then it was off to the most hilarious, ridiculous show at the famed Gaslight Theatre. We watched a play called "Tights Make Right" about four superheroes saving the Earth from aliens. It was hilarious, especially when a little superhero action figure chased a hubcap spaceship right past us. Other highlights included the Gong Show at the end, with my personal favorite, La Bamba Bee -- a guy dressed as a giant bumble bee singing "La Bamba."
Friday we awoke to the bad news that poor Kelley had been ill all night. She insisted we stick to the day's plan, which was a trip out to the famous Kartchner Cavern. Reluctantly, we left her behind, and drove an hour in the giant van Rob rented for us.
We arrived a good 20 minutes early, but the ranger took one look at our tickets and announced they were for the day before. I've never actually been a day late or a dollar short before, but there's a first time for everything and today was it!
Luckily, the ranger issued us new tickets for a later tour. Which was great, except that we had three squirrelly kids and a squirrelly baby running loose in a museum that had already exhausted their collective attention span. So we did what any good parents would do -- we loaded them back into the van and drove to McDonald's.
The tour was pretty amazing. The cave was found by college kids, who kept it secret for 14 years, until the landowners could secure state park rights. It was then opened to the public.
We toured the rotunda and throne rooms. Didn't see any bats (for which I am grateful), but saw massive stalagmites and stalactites. My favorite part was the throne room, where the rangers piped in music and lit up various parts of the cave, including the incredible Kubla Khan formation. We were all very impressed, with the exception of Romi.
Friday night we celebrated Shabbat, which excited Romi more than the cave had. (He could barely contain himself -- he LOVES his silver shot glass of grape juice and the challah.) The kids helped Rob make the challah, and then Rob outdid himself preparing a super delicious kosher Thanksgiving dinner.
Saturday, Kelley was feeling better and went off to services. Mark and I went for a bit, to hear Kelley's wonderful sermon. It was wonderful up until Mark had a low blood sugar and an ensuing meltdown which culminated in him lying in the hallway refusing to budge. So that was fun.
Saturday's Shabbat lunch was supposed to be a yummy kosher chicken pot pie, until Rob discovered he'd left it in the oven after baking it Friday afternoon. So we "settled" on leftover turkey, which wasn't much of a punishment at all! (Though we did feel bad about Rob's pot pie...)
Sunday was the saddest day, because the Brunks got up and left early. (I hate that part of vacation.) Suddenly, we were down two kids, and the house was...quiet, a word absent from my vocabulary the past few days.
We took the kids to lunch, and were literally on our way to the airport when I realized I wasn't feeling so hot. Turns out Kelley didn't really want us to leave, and gave me a little parting gift -- her Friday virus!
So we headed back to the Gludt home, where Kelley took care of me, and of Mark, re-booked my plane tickets, and welcomed her next set of visitors. the Bermans. Who took one look at me, and immediately regretted their trip. I felt terrible -- if the flu had come on any earlier, we could have warned them not to make the drive out from California. (The Brunks also got the virus that night, as did Rob the next morning.)
But even with the flu, it was an awesome long weekend. It's been a long time coming, but worth it. I got to see some of my closest friends, and so did my son! All four kids got along famously, and really, what more could you ask for than that?
Mark summed it all up pretty well.
"My favorite part was playing with the kids," he told me, and I smiled. But apparently did not fully understand, because he said, "You thought I was gonna say the best part was the video games, huh? But it wasn't. It was definitely the kids!"
Which made the trip worth every penny...
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