P.A.R.T.Y - A Party Bus and a Christmas Party

December 19, 2010

We've had quite the weekend.

Friday we traveled to Carson, CA to watch The Bishop's School compete in the CIF Football Bowl Game. Joel, Dusty's cousin, is the head coach, Nate, his brother, coaches and Dusty has been helping coach the JV and doing all the game films this year. So, the family rented a Greyhound bus so we could all travel together, rather than driving separately, each having to deal with the traffic and the rain. Friday morning I got all my things together, including rain coats, umbrellas, snacks, blankets and pillows, etc. We met at noon to get on the bus.

The bus ride there was pretty flawless, minus a bit of traffic, the bus temperature being way too cold for my taste, a couple of tired/fussy kids and the smell. The smell. I have been on many a Greyhound bus, but have yet to experience one this bad. At first I think we were all attempting to be nice about it and ignore it, or, at least not mention it. Towards the end of the day, I believe we all had had enough. But more on that later.

We made it to the game and by this time there was a decent amount of rain falling. I don't know about anyone else, but we managed to get from the bus to the stadium relatively dry, barring the circumstances. I'm not gonna lie though, I was pretty cold. Luckily I had worn boots and as stated, had an umbrella and rain jacket. My pants weren't quite as dry, but I survived. Luckily, my kids were in decent moods. We had 8 kids, 7 of them being under 5. As it goes with traveling and breaking your daily routine, some of the kids weren't fairing so well, due to missing their nap. I have been there and done that with overtired kids, and let's just say I was thankful my boys were well rested. Dealing with exhausted kids is hard enough, but in the cold and rain, it's much worse.

Not long after the game kicked off, poor Brady threw up all over the place, including his clothes. It turned out Nichole had brought a dry change of clothes in case she needed to change her kids after the game. But the poor guy looked miserable. And Peyton was screaming. Just by looking, I think Josh and Nichole were about done. I felt bad.

After half-time, Silas started screaming about his ears. The night before, he was up crying that his ears hurt. I brought Tylenol with codeine (left over from his root canal), because I didn't have time to take him to the doctor before the game. He was devastated about the prospect of not going, so I covered his ears, brought the medicine and knew it would take away any pain, if needed. Once it kicked in, he went absolutely crazy hyper. I tried to divert his energy into something productive, so got him cheering. He began cheering at the top of his lungs, "Go Knights. Go Knights. GO KNIGHTS!! Woohoo!!!"

In the end, The Bishop's WON and are State Champions. It was an amazing season! Great job, guys!

After watching the post-game celebration, we all piled back on the bus, cranky kids in tow. Somehow, the bus smelled worse. We got food for the kids and changed them into dry clothes, in hopes that everyone would fall asleep, ensuring a peaceful ride home for all...

Silas was playing "Batman" with Zoe and another friend for about 45 minutes, having the time of his life. I made him a Bat Cave from his blanket and he was in his own little world of wonder, hiding from the Joker, killing bad guys and driving his Bat Car. At some point he snuggled next to me and I knew he was done for the night. I was just dozing off when I noticed the bus slowing. I wasn't quite sure what was going on, but somehow I knew it was not good. The bus pulled to the side of the freeway, slowing, slowing... Stop. It was dark. It was eerie. I heard something about the bus breaking down. Seriously? All I want to do is go home and snuggle up in my warm bed. I've been freezing all night and I am so tired. Though on the outside I was a good sport, on the inside I was really tired. You know how it is after a super long day and the only pleasant thought in your head is regarding your bed? Yeah, I just wanted to be home, asleep. But in the end, there's nothing griping will do about it. So, I sat and waited while Uncle Bill, Josh and a few others were trying to figure out the best solution.

And somehow the smell of the latrine, I mean bus, was getting worse. They called CHP and 911 to let them know what had happened. We moved all the kids to the right side of the bus, just in case a car were to crash into us. We had no lights on the inside, but luckily the emergency lights worked. As the cars and semi trucks passed by, the bus would rattle and shake. Again, eerie.

Eli was in my arms asleep, and not surprisingly, Silas was horrified. "Mommy, I want the bus to be fixed. Now I will never get home. I will never sleep in my bed. Mommy, I am so scared. I want someone to fix the bus. I want someone to bring us gas. I will never, never get home now." He repeated this not short of a thousand times. There was nothing I could say to relax him.

As time passed, it became clear no one would be able to bring us enough gas to get our bus moving. So, we began looking into options for how to get alternate transportation. The bus company didn't have any other buses available. After many phone calls, we found a party bus from a limo company. They just so happened to drop off a group and needed to clean the bus and could then come pick us up. We requested that they not clean the bus, rather, just come rescue us!!

In the meantime, the California Highway Patrol finally arrived and this guy was one happy dude. He got on, excitedly and began asking questions. Then he said, "Woah, don't you just love the feeling when semi's pass by and shake the bus? It's gnarly!! I just live for that." He gave us instructions on how we would get off the bus and onto our new bus. We were to walk on the gravel, in a single file line and be super careful not to slip. All the ladies would go first, the men would bring the kids and then gather everything off the bus.

We got on the party bus and let's just say, the people before us did in fact party. Silas loved it, thinking it was "so awesome." Carson walked on, looked at Brady and said, "Brady, can I get a whoop, whoop??" The driver asked us if we wanted the lights on. Uncle Bill decided we were paying for it, might as well! "Turn on the lights." I gotta tell you, I've never been on a party bus, but I can see the allure. It was pretty cool and we were all able to laugh about the experience, now having escaped the smelly, broken down bus.

I made it home at midnight. I was ever so thankful to climb into my warm, dry bed.

Here's a few dark, blurry photos from the party bus.

So happy to be off the broken down bus, and fascinated by the new party bus.

You get the idea.

Eli slept on the Party Bus

Saturday night, we had our family Christmas Party. What is so special about this party is the fact that Santa pays a visit to all the kids. Let me tell you, we have really been playing up Santa lately to get our kids to behave. If Silas is crying or whining I simply tell him, "You better watch out, you better not cry..." You get the idea. He straightens up immediately. I mean, come on, it's only once a year we can bribe our kids with toys from Santa. It's been working. {Please no parenting comments here}

Yesterday I was getting the kids all worked up about seeing Santa Claus. They were thrilled. Overjoyed. Ecstatic. Eli then referred to Santa as "Santa Closet" (Santa Claus is...) and Silas questioned me, "Momma, do you think that I am good, or bad?"

Without fail, every time I asked the boys what they wanted from Santa, Eli replied, "A BIG SpiiiiiderMaaaaan" and Silas responded, "A giant helicopter. The army kind."

Santa came. And "Santa" brought the perfect gifts. Surprise, surprise. To their delight, Eli got a Spiderman and Silas got his army helicopter. When we were walking out to the car after the party, Eli said, "Santa is so nice. Santa got me big Spiderman." I asked Silas what he thought of his gift from Santa. He told me in a whisper, "I love it, Mom. It is SO special."

I love these times. I love the imagination, the awe and wonder, and the excitement.

But don't worry, it's not all about Santa. Silas walked out of church this morning wearing a Birthday Hat, balloon in hand and a birthday card he made for Jesus. Priceless.