We're Off to See the Wizard

Getting excited about jumping on a plane Today...off to New Orleans for the weekend. Claire's sister is graduating from college. It should be a lot of fun. Not only is her family great, but it is a start of a little vacation for both of us.

I read yesterday that someone calls the little trips they take "Adventure Weekends", but our trip(s) could be referred to as "Adventure December". We are in Louisiana this weekend...Vegas for 4 nights with my family next week (our annual trip that is one of the highlights of the year. Oh it will be so cool!)...then back to Louisiana for a couple of days...all-in-all we will be gone for 9 days...wooohooo! But then, on December 28, we take off for a little European adventure...Copenhagen, Denmark for New Years. We are just traveling fools!

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I got to say, this Vegas trip is always great! A few years back, pops decided that his present to us would be a trip for the family to Vegas...we usually stay at the Mandalay, but we have also been to Planet Hollywood and THE Hotel...but Mandalay is one of our favorites and they run great rates over Christmas...

The fam will eat at the buffet's, see a show (Beatles Love show this year), spend a day at the day spa, and probably check out the art at Bellagio...It really is a time for the family to be together and enjoy hanging out...This year it is a bit different than in the past...My lady is joining us...why is that different? Well, a couple of years ago we (meaning I came up with it) instituted a Ring Rule...if you are not blood, you need to have a ring on your finger to come. Well, despite what some people have said/thought, not only are we NOT getting married this week, an engagement is not eminent...no matter what Steve/Stacey or James/Sabra say...I digress.

A couple months back, my parents asked if she would come...mainly because she lives on the East Coast and they don't really get any time to meet and get to know her. I flat refused at first...did not think it was OK and just said no...but after talking a few times with both pops and mom, I flipped and decided it would be good for her to come along...When else will they get a chance to spend time with her? How else am I supposed to know if my sisters approve?

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This is the first year I get some say as to what show we see. I may never live down the Great "Amazing Johnathon Incident" of 'ought four...See, that was the first year I really made a decent living...I was in the process of buying a house, got a big bonus, and thought it would be nice for me to give back to the family...I went to Vegas a little early and got tickets for everyone to see "The Amazing Johnathon", we will call him AJ...wow wee that was a mistake...

How quickly did I know it was a mistake? About 10 mins BEFORE the actual show started.

AJ sends a camera around the audience and focuses in on someone, then they will put funny things up on the screen about them...So, a camera might focus in on me and they would make fun of my scraggly, red beard. AJ might call me a pirate or something...hilarity ensues and the audience is happy...but not in 04...you see the camera stopped on my pops and put a line on there that nobody wants to say or hear or even think about with their parents...

Camera squarely on pop...line on the screen says "HE HAS A REALLY BIG $%##@#$%^".... and that "#$%^*&%" was a word that should not be spoken unless you are in a porn movie...I was mortified...as were all my siblings and my mom...holy mackerel, is this for real...but wait, it gets better...

AJ then puts the camera directly on my mom and the screen says "AND SHE LIKES IT".

Ok...there is no good in that. Nothing is more uncomfortable than seeing that written about your mom/pops on a screen...I would rather get a hot poker in my ear or a paper cut on my eyeball than to ever go through that again. It was horrible and terrible. My stomach is in knots just thinking about it.

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If I ever see AJ, I might punch him in the nose...I was way to embarrassed to do it that night...as a matter of fact, I spent most of the night in the fetal position humming "Jesus Loves the Little Children" to myself...