Don't Let Dad Drive

Several years ago, our family took a trip to the Atlanta, Georgia area to vacation and visit my cousins.  We had a Suburban at the time and loaded the whole family into it.  "Mommy" and "Calvin" pretty much spread themselves out in the vehicle and the rest of the kids had to squeeze into whatever space was left.  Those two were also pretty miserable during the trip because we had dragged them away from their boyfriend and girlfriend respectively. 

It was a pretty laid back vacation.  Some time at the pool, a little sight seeing, time with cousins.  I thought it was a great trip.  The highlight was telling the kids that we were going boating and skiing.  My cousin had a boat that we took to a lake about an hour away.  We met up with some friends of his and headed out for what we thought was going to be a fun day on the lake. Most of the kids had never been water skiing before so they were pumped.  My cousin gave them a few instructions and they were all able to get up on the skis and have some fun.  Until......

My cousin offered to let "Doc" drive the boat.  One by one the kids went down.  "Mommy" ended up doing a full split and was in tears and pain.  "Calvin" got tossed around the lake like a rag doll.  Several of the kids spent a lot of time face skiing without the benefit of skis.  I don't know.  Maybe it's because "Doc" throttled up from zero to seventy in less than ten seconds.  He jerked them out of the water like they were weightless and they came down hard!

"Mini-Me" and "The Blonde" decided to outsmart their older siblings and go "tubing" instead.  Do you have any idea how much damage my husband can do with a boat?  Both girls ended up with abrasions.  Now keep in mind that "The Blonde" is very prone to nose bleeds to start with.  My cousin never expected to look out the back of the boat to see my daughter's face covered in blood because her own knee had hit her in the face!  It looked like we had murdered her and were out hiding the body.  My cousin yelled and I, like the concerned mother that I am, said "Oh, she does that all the time."  The two youngest were not allowed to ride the "tube" with their father in the driver's seat.  I had to put my foot down to preserve some portion of the family.  How could I possibly explain leaving on vacation with six and returning with two and a half?!

We went boating and "tubing" last weekend.  Believe me, the stories about all of the horror and injuries flowed like wine!  God I love family vacations!