So. I believe I’ve mentioned that it’s Spring Break.
I know what you’re thinking. TELL ME MORE.
Gulley and I made plans a while back to take the kids to College Station for the first half of the week and so I spent last Friday getting ready to go out of town for five days. Specifically, I cleaned our toilets. I hate to make it all sound so glamorous, but it’s the truth.
I’ve just realized as I get older that I enjoy coming home to a clean house and so I did what I could to make sure that I wouldn’t feel like I had to spend the last half of our Spring Break cleaning the bathrooms. Instead I can concentrate on the much more luxurious pursuit of cleaning out our closets.
On Friday night we went out to eat with Mimi and Bops before leaving town the next day and then Saturday morning we slept in late and enjoyed the morning with P until it was time to pack up the car and drive over to Gulley’s house to meet up with her and the boys.
In an unfortunate turn of events, it was a horrible, rainy, foggy drive. And Gulley and I drove separate cars because Caroline and I were leaving College Station a day early to drive to Houston for the night. But the drive was made more entertaining by the fact that Caroline decided to use this time to grill me on every aspect of my entire life, including such topics as my childhood years, what I wish I’d done differently and how I met P. I told Gulley by the time we made it to Honey and Big’s house I felt like I’d been in a therapy session. Mainly because Caroline asked after everything I told her “β¦and how did that make you feel?”
I believe she has a bright future as either a psychologist or a daytime talk show host.
We were supposed to go watch the Aggies play baseball on Saturday, but please see the above reference to foggy and rainy. It was not a day made for baseball, so we just spent the evening catching up with Honey and Big.
But we did make it to the baseball game on Sunday afternoon even though the weather wasn’t much improved. We just bundled up, brought some blankets and made the best of it.
And later Sunday evening, we fulfilled a goal that Gulley and I have long held deep in our hearts. We brought back family game night. First we played a good round of Skip Bo and then we moved on to Family Trivial Pursuit.
(Gulley also brought a dice game she’d bought called Tenzi. We’ve had a lot of laughs over it because we’d texted the week before about all the things each of us would pack for Spring Break and Gulley texted, “I’ll bring TENSION!” And I replied, “Please don’t bring tension. It’s a vacation!” even though I knew she meant “Tenzi” and had been a victim of autocorrect.)
(That story is much funnier in person.)
(Or maybe not. Let’s just pretend like it is.)
Anyway, here’s something you need to know about me. I LOVE Trivial Pursuit. I do. I love it. I love all manner of trivia and, true confession, I may struggle with some pride issues over all the various trivia I know. It is also true that in college several of my friends referred to me as Cliff Claven because I have a tendency to share (some might say overshare) interesting things that I know.
It’s a bit of a sickness.
But what’s the use in knowing all those facts if you don’t tell someone about them? I mean, it’s not like I actually know anything that’s useful in day to day life. I just remember things like “What artist designed the Campbell’s Soup cans?” and “What was the name of the bar Archie Bunker owned in the spinoff from All in the Family?”
(The answers are Andy Warhol and Archie Bunker’s Place, which was also the name of the spinoff.)
We divided up in three teams for Trivial Pursuit. Gulley and Will, Honey and Jacks and Caroline and me. Honey and Jacks were actually winning, but Caroline and I apparently share a gene for trivia arrogance because Will whispered to Gulley, “I’m tired of listening to Mel and Caroline brag about all the things they know.” Which is why he laughed out loud a little too hard when Caroline missed a question about Jupiter’s moons and promptly got sent to his room for being a bad sport. Although he insisted later that he wasn’t laughing because we missed the question, but because he just thought it was hilarious that Jupiter has so many moons.
I’m sure that was it.
Also, Caroline and I are going to work really hard to tamp down our trivia enthusiasm. It seems the only thing to do if our Family Game Night renaissance is going to succeed.
In a bad turn of events, Will got sick later that night and Gulley ended up taking care of him until it was morning and they could get into a nearby med clinic. He ended up needing a breathing treatment and was basically diagnosed with a virus that just needs to run its course.
But since he and Gulley were exhausted, we ended up changing our plans for how we’d spend Monday. In all fairness, they weren’t really exciting plans to begin with but we had mentioned maybe going to see a movie and possibly even bowling.
Instead, I offered Caroline and Jackson a trip to the local Academy to look around (Yes. I mean the sporting goods store. Look for more travel tips in my upcoming brochure entitled “How to Give Your Kids an Awesome Spring Break”.) and then because we are just this out of control, we decided to also go to Aggieland Outfitters to look around because Jackson wanted a new A&M hat and Caroline wanted an Aggie soccer shirt. While we were there, they decided it might be fun to play a few rounds of air hockey in the store lobby.
I took that picture, texted it to Gulley and said, “I feel that someday our kids will be reminiscing and say, ‘Remember how all our friends used to go skiing for Spring Break and our moms took us to play air hockey at Aggieland Outfitters?”
She replied, “Because their mothers are AWESOME!”
And also know a lot of trivia.
My hubby & I love Trivial Pursuit too. Actually he won’t play opposite me anymore because I usually beat him. His family refuses to play it with us…luckily my parents will play against us. π
My kids are grown so my husband and I took the grands and our niece to South Louisiana on a “Swamp Tour” a few years back. Let’s just say it was a memorable Spring Break for them and more than once I thought that I must be really getting old since I got in a small boat with a certified crazy cajun man that I knew nothing about. He was practicing script for “swamp-something that he hoped to make him famous someday” the whole time. Literally launching into crazy talk 98% of the LONG gator-riddled ride. Once when he asked if we had any questions, my darling 4 yr old granddaughter raised her hand and asked him” when are we getting off this boat?” Oh, and I am also an obnoxius trivia buff. My husband says I know more about “nothing” than anyone he knows. He’s just a poor sport as well.
I had to turn the light in my bedroom because I;m writing this comment in the time change darkness of the morning…i.e. 7:30 a.m (thank you time change). And, I am laying in bed praying that somehow it will all just go away (while reading blogs, specifically this one), and knowing that it won’t, and i must venture out in darkness to the world. We had our spring break last week, and as you can probably tell, it’s Wednesday and I haven’t accepted that its over. Enjoy it while you have it!!
Board games are very telling! We learned when my son was a preteen never to play Monopoly with him because he morphed into a killer Alex P. Keaton. He’s now in his thirties and in sales. When my daughter was two, she could skunk anyone on that little kids Memory Game. She became an executive assistant to one of the most powerful legislative members in our state and survived literally because of said memory skills. I loved the part in James Herriot’s books where he talked about grilling his young daughter on wild flowers and then animal anatomy. She grew up to be a doctor and I bet that early game prepped her for med school. With Caroline’s love of animals I bet she would enjoy the series either on DVD or better yet the books. My eldest granddaughter and her friends love to play some game called Apples to Apples. They all still love to play board games with their spouses and friends. For a video game Oregon Trail is still my favorite for mixing in some education without really knowing it.
I share your love of family game night! And I also share Caroline’s game winning enthusiasm π During a recent very exciting game of Sorry (at which I am a BOSS) I MAY or MAY NOT have yelled “IN YO FACE!” to my daughter … she’s 8 lol. Maybe she should send me to my room next time π
Christine, THAT made me snort laugh!! #INYOFACE #sorrynotsorry
And yes, Mel, you two are AWESOME! Family Game Night should come back.
Your adventures with Gully are my very favorite things to read on this blog! I always look forward to your summer road trips! I’m hoping that your next book (loved the first 2!) will be about friendship and you’ll tell all kinds of stories about Gully. Y’all crack me up!! =)
I love Trivial Pursuit! No one likes to play with me though because I too know a lot of answers. I have lots of useless information floating around in my head. Our local Mexican place has trivia one night a week and we go and play at least one a month and I use my talent to win us gift cards to use at the restaurant. It’s like getting paid to eat there!
I’m feeling a lot better about the fact that we’re taking our kids to Williamsburg, VA for spring break. According to my kids, everyone else is going somewhere where there will be sun. And presumably fun;)
Our kids were NOT excited about going to Williamsburg as middle school and high school kids, and they LOVED it. We even went back for a second day. It was one of our favorite family vacations. The people who work there are just great! Have fun!
took our three grands one at a time to Williamsburg. even the 22 year old says she’d love to go again. You do need to stay more than one day. Some of the shops are closed one day a week and you don’t want to miss any. Go on the ghost tour and the DeWitt Museum tour. The Museum is underground and huge. Have fun and I bet they will.
We took our two to Willamsburg one Sunday night for dinner at Kings Arm Tavern then to a concert at the Colonial Capital! My husband and I were the youngest people next to our 10 & 12 yr olds! It was awesome and they were bored out of their minds. Later when our son was buying his first home as a single AF officer he was telling a lady that was one of his favorite memories of traveling all over the country as a military brat! It made me smile!
Mel, your comment about the brochure made me burst out laughing. My four kids spent some spring breaks visiting relatives and chilling out. My emphasis was on resting and getting recharged, so I could make it thru the rest of the school year. Especially May – which in our schools were busier than December with Field Days, teacher appreciation week, end of the year parties for school and sports. I was room mom for many years since I have four kids. Fun memories, but I am sort of glad that part is behind me.
So I love love love trival Pursuit my husband refuses to play board games with me because I am a shameless WINNER!!!. Spring break in our house consist of sleeping in and movies nothing to spectacular. However my husband and daughter think a trip to Bass Pro shops is considered a fun outing so go figure. We sound so cool!! Oh and by the way I ordered your book well I ordered 5 off of amazon ( I had to mail one to all my peeps). I am laughing so hard I cry … and force my husband to listen to excerpts all the time. Through my unstoppable laughter he shakes his head and goes back to reading one of the 10 hunting magazines sitting on his nightstand. Your book makes me feel better about the MANY mounts on our walls to say the least.
Blessings
Sarah
I highly recommend the Quiz Up app. My teenagers thought that I would love it since I also possess nuggets of highly useful knowledge. Now I can exercise my love of grammar, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and interior design in peace. I dare say that it has surpassed Candy Crush for wasting time / vegging / waiting in the orthodontist’s office.
By the way, love Aggieland Outfitters. In my household, it’s called raising ’em right. And believe me, there are worse ways to spend Spring Break… just ask my kids. Gig’em.
My daughter got Tenzi for Christmas and we love it. We are also a little competitive in our house when it comes to games, so we get kinda crazy with it. You would LOVE to play trivial pursuit with my husband, he is such a whiz at random useless facts. He’s very handy at parties. π
Poor Gulleyβ¦doesn’t her son get sick EVERY time on Spring Break? Glad you guys can make the best of it. The kids will look back and remember all the awesome things you did with them. I think our kids need to learn to be bored and make their own fun (from a mom of 3). Enjoy the sleeping in a few more days:)
We love to play spoons, I have also seen this called Reflex. So much fun and can be played with adults and children. Can get out of hand easily so keep it calm.
here is a link I found but we have never done the tongue out or finger on the nose. We just grab the spoon (that’s when it can get rowdy).
http://boardgames.about.com/od/cardgames/a/spoons.htm
Am DYING over the “how did that make you feel?”
And after the winter we’ve had, I’m dreading Spring Break. I just want them to go to school!!!
I’m a teacher and teachers LOVE spring break,too. My exciting break has been scheduling all the workers for jobs that I can’t be home for during the year…..so far in 3 days, I’ve had an electrician, plumber, handyman, remodeler, water softener installer, and kitchen design lady. it’s grand central station, but so exciting at the same time.
My father felt every vacation had to include something educational(“It’s not all about the FUN!”;) we hit factories of all manner and museums…not tons on each trip, but at least one every. single. vacation. Now , as a Texas history teacher, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that kind of stuff. You and Gulley are making great memories for your kids. I also vote for a book about the friendship you have with Gulley!!!
I’m glad I’m not the only one that loves to over share all the useless information that crowds my cranium !
Love all your stories, but don’t kill me when I tell you that Andy Warhol did not design the Campbell Soup Can. He only appropriated it’s image in his art. Campbell has produced limited edition soup cans bearing the artistic images created by Warhol, however, the iconic red and white label has been around since the late 1800’s.
And my husband calls me Cliff Claven too. Great post Melanie!