We Are Free

Vacation

Sunday we spend all day cleaning the house and packing. I help Andrew pack and Halo helps Emily pack. Anna said she would make sure Flint has everything he needs.
When we are finally done with everything the car is all packed and ready to go the kids car seats are in it. We have the house clean. We lay the kids down for bed. Halo and I go to bed to. We lay down.
     "Are you ready for tomorrow?" I ask her.
      "Yes I am." She says.
      "Who is driving first?" I ask.
      "I will drive the first half the day then you drive the last half. We will get a hotel then you drive the first half and I drive the second. I think you got the rest." I say.
      "Yeah I got it." We smile and kiss. We start making out are clothes slowly disappear.
*Morning*
We get up early and shower. We get dressed and ready we put the last of our stuff in the car. We get the kids up and ready. Halo puts the last of their stuff in the car. I make breakfast.
We eat and she does the little dishes we have while I get the kids sweaters and shoes on. They each have a back pack they will go in the middle of their car seats.
The back packs are specialized to what each kid likes to do. Halo and I get our shoes on and we leave. We get the kids into the car and settled. They take their shoes off. We get in and get settled.
     "Ready?" Halo asks.
     "Let's do this." I say. The kids start cheering.
      "Okay but we need to go the gas station first." Halo says and they cross their arms. They hate it when we do that.
     "Yeah true."  We stop at the gas station. Halo fills the car up while the kids and I use the bathroom. Halo uses the bathroom while I buy snacks and drinks. Andrew and Emily are in pull ups just in case.
We get back in the car and route the GPS. We get on the road. We jam out to music. The kids play with barbies and action figures. They fall asleep at one point. We stop for lunch.
     "This is going good." Halo says as she looks at the menu.
      "Yeah, it is what do you think guys?" I ask them.
      "Yeah." Emily days as she drinks her chocolate milk.
      "Yeah I like road trips." Andrew says.
     "That's good." We finish lunch and Halo pays for it we use the bathroom and leave. It's my turn to drive. We get back on the road and I drive until 5 we stop and get dinner then we go to the hotel.
We eat dinner at the hotel and get our swim suits on. We go down to the pool and little indoor water park they have. We play in the water and go swimming.
When we are done we go to the room and shower. We lay down and watch a movie. We have popcorn and snacks that we got at a gas station.
     "Are they sleeping?" I ask her. She is closer to them.
     "Yeah it's been a long day." She says.
     "Yes it has but it was fun."
     "Yes it was." We kiss a couple times and finish our movie we go to sleep. The next morning we get dressed and go to the lobby for breakfast. When we finish breakfast we pack up and leave.
We get on the road I drive first. We get gas and drinks then get on the high way. We stop and look at cool things along the way. We get lunch and keep going it was Halo's turn to drive after lunch.
We drive until 4:30 we go to get something to eat. We go to the hotel and go swimming again. When we are done swimming we go to bed. The next morning we get up and get breakfast.
We eat breakfast and leave the hotel. Halo drives. We stop at a carnival we planned on going to. We get wrist bands. We pick a ride. Andrew goes with me Emily goes with Halo.
We ride on horses. I take Emily and Halo takes Andrew. They sit in front of us as we ride the horses. When that is done we get cotton candy and sit down.
     "I'm having fun." Emily says as she sticks cotton candy in her mouth.
      "That's good." I say.
     "How long is this vacation?" She asks me.
     "2 weeks."
     "That's a long time."
     "Yeah."
     "Who is going to take care of Flint?"
     "Anna is."
     "You sure?"
     "Yes I'm positive."
     "Okay." I hug her and she continues to eat her cotton candy. We finish up at the fair and get back on the road. The kids soon fall asleep. We go to the hotel and shower. We go to bed. The next morning we get dressed and get breakfast.
We hit the road once again. The kids sleep and I fall asleep to. I wake up and it was my turn. I start driving we end up at the hotel. We go to a water park close by. Halo and I stand under a bow of water that is above us.
     "This is the best idea you have ever had." She says.
     "You sure?" I raise my eyebrow at her.
     "Okay it's close." I hold her close to me we kiss. The kids come up to us and we run around and play in the water. It was perfect. We go to the hotel and shower. We get dinner and chill. We order pizza.
The kids watch cartoons while we wait for it. We put some comfy pjs on and the pizza comes. I pay for it and we eat. The kids go to bed Halo and I lay in bed and cuddle.
The next few days we do the same thing. It's the last week of our vacation and we are heading back. We get on the road. Halo is driving.
     "So was this a hit." I say.
     "Yeah it was."
     "What should we do when we get back?" I ask winking.
     "Nothing." She says and I stick my lip out. She is probably messing with me.
    "Awww."
    "Okay we could do that but we have to unpack and do laundry."
    "Yeah true." We keep driving and we end up at the hotel. We get in and get settled.
    "Jace can we go swimming?" Emily asks me.
     "Why not get your swim suit."
     "Yay." The get their swim suits on and Halo and I get our swim suits on. We go down to the pool. We get in the water and play. We go back to the hotel room when we are done. Andrew goes into the bathroom to change I help him.
He puts his shirt on and goes to leave he opens the door and puts his hand on the door jam. The door closes and lands on his fingers. He starts screaming and crying. I grab him and pick him up. Halo gets some ice.
     "What happened?" Halo asks me.
     "His fingers got slammed in the door."
     "Oh wow that is swelling fast." She says. She is right."
     "Can you move them?" I ask him.
     "Noooo, it hurts." He manages to get out in between gasps of air.
    "Okay baby."
     "I think it is broken." Halo says.
"Me to okay I am taking him to the hospital." I say.
"Okay do you want me to stay with Emily?"
"Yeah that sounds good."
"Okay." I put my shoes on and grab his I take him to the car and put him in. He keeps crying and holds the ice on his hand. We get to the hospital. I fill out a form and they take us back. He can't feel his hand now.
"Okay what's the matter?" The doctor asks.
"He slammed his fingers in the door." I say.
"What kind of door?"
"A hotel door. We are on vacation with my sister and girlfriend. He was changing his clothes and went to leave. He had his hand in the door and it swung shut and got his fingers."
"Okay so I want x-rays the middle on looks broken but I want to be sure."
"Okay." They take x-rays of his hand. 30 minutes later the doctor comes back in. He had a small box and tape in his hand.
"His middle finger is broken. Since his fingers are so small I am going to put a small splint on it. It will cover both sides of the finger. I will also give you medical tape and an extra splint." The doctor says.
"Okay." He puts the splint on Andrew's finger and wraps it. He gives me instructions and the stuff. I put his shoes on for him and put him in the car. We go back to the hotel.
Emily was sleeping and Halo was sitting by the desk painting her nails. Andrew was sleeping on my shoulder. I lay him in bed and take his shoes off. Halo comes up to me shaking her hand. She had just finished it and had the other hand to do yet.
"So?" She asks blowing on her now purple nails. I see zig zag nail stickers to her right along with black nail polish telling me she isn't done.
"His middle one is broken." I say.
"Oh, the poor kid." She starts painting the other hand.
"Yeah, I know he did well though."
"That's good."
"Yeah, I am going to shower."
"Okay sounds good I am just going to finish what I am doing I did Emily's nails."
"That's cool." I give her a kiss and get in the shower. When I'm done I lay in bed with her and we go to sleep. We decide to take the quickest way home. We stop for 3 nights at hotels.
Andrews finger hurts every once and a while so I give him Tylenol. We finally get home and bring everything inside. Emily looks for Flint. We discover that we have to go shopping tomorrow. We make a list and do nothing the rest of the day.
The next day we unpack. The kids unpack their bags and put their laundry in their baskets. They take a while, the clothes they haven't worn they lay on their beds.
     Halo and I fold them and put them away. Halo and I unpack our bags. I start laundry. We go shopping. Emily walks next to me and Andrew goes in the child seat.
    We get cat food, cat litter, cat shampoo, groceries, paper plates, paper towels, toilet paper, and some cleaning supplies. We pay for it and leave. 
     We go home. I switch laundry and Halo mops the kitchen. I vaccume the living room. She folds the clothes. I get a phone call.
"Hey." Zac says.
"Hi."
"What's up?"
"House work."
"Oh I don't suppose you could watch Zane for a bit?" He asks like he is biting his nails.
"Yeah I can do that."
"Okay thanks."
"No problem just drop him off."
"Okay." I hang up and 20 minutes later there was a nock on the door. Zac hands Zane to me and his bag. I take him out of his car seat and let him crawl on the floor.
     He goes to the coffee table stands up and walks around it holding onto it. We finish the house and Ava's mom calls me.
"Hey what's up?" I ask her.
"Nothing how about you?" She asks me.
"Just cleaning and laundry."
"Yeah, I know that, um Ava has been wanting to have another sleepover. I don't have to work Tuesday and Wednesday. So if Emily would like to come for a sleepover we would love to have her." She says.
"Okay that sounds good I will ask her real quick."
"Okay." I set the phone down and call for her. She comes up to me and I ask her she says yes. I relay the information to Ava's mom. Tomorrow her mom will pick her up around 1:00.
     We go to her room and pack her duffle bag. She puts her favorite pjs, socks, panties, tooth brush, tooth paste, hair brush, favorite blanket, a pillow, and outfit to come home in. She puts a hair tie in her bag and a couple Barbies with clothes in a ziplock bag.
     She puts her slippers in her bag to. We put it by the door. She is so excited. We finish what we need to do. Zac comes to claim Zane. It's been a long day. The kids go to bed and so do Halo and I. The next morning we wake up. I start breakfast.
     "When is Ava coming?" Emily asks me. I really am proud of her. The way she treats Ava. To her Ava is no different and Emily even forgets that Ava is different. I must have done something right.
    "1:00 ish her mom has some fun things planned."
     "Like?"
     "I don't know."
     "Oh, okay."
     "Oh there's a text."
     "What does it say?"
     "You need your swim suit."
     "Okay." She gets her swim suit and puts it in her bag.  She is so excited it is her first sleepover away from home. Halo, Andrew, Emily, and I get dressed. They play while Emily waits. Around 1:00 we hear a nock. I get the door and Emily runs to it. She gives Ava a hug and her mom takes her bag.
     "Hey, come here." She looks at me.
    "Be good okay."
    "Okay."
    "If you want to call me just ask and you can okay. If you get scared and wanna come home I will come get you."
    "Okay."
    "Give me a hug and kiss." She gives me a hug and a kiss then she leaves. I put cartoons on for Andrew. He sits in the chair with a sippy cup of juice watching tv.
     I look at Halo she was wearing a blouse with a tank top under it the blouse was a pretty ombré pink and blue. Her tank top was blue. She was wearing short shorts and grey high tops with a pink band around them.
     Her hair was lose on her body. She was so pretty. I loved everything about her. The way she laughed. The way she smiled. She was funny and outspoken, I will do anything for her. She looks at me.
     "What?"
     "Nothing, I just like looking at you. You are beautiful."
    "Thank you."
     "You are welcome." She lays her head on my shoulder. I kiss it. My phone starts ringing and I grab it. I go outside.
     "Hello." I say.
     "Hi is this Jace?" A female voice greets and it sounds familiar.
     "Yes it is."
     "Oh, hi this is Ellen Degenerous. I'm calling because I saw your interview. I wanted to know if you would be interested in making an appearance on my show with your girlfriend, brother, and sister?"
     "I would love to when?"
     "Um, how does next Tuesday work?"
     "That sounds great."
     "Okay see you then."
     "Yup, bye."
     "Bye." I hang up and a huge smile creeps across my face. I have so many emotions right now. I go inside.
     "I have news."
     "You are pregnant." Halo says smiling.
     "Why would I be pregnant? That's not even possible."
     "I thought I would do it to you for once."
     "It was funnier when I did it."
     "Okay, so what's your news?"
     "Ellen wants us to make an appearance on her show next Tuesday."
     "All of us?"
     "All of us."
     "That's great!"
     "I know!" We kiss and she calls her mom. I could hear Anna from the other side of the room. Andrew was excited to. We decide to go to the park. Andrew swings on the swings and goes down the slides.
     Halo goes down with him. We take pictures and he plays in the sand box. I help him on the monkey bars and the jungle gym. We decide to go out to ice cream to. We sit outside.
    "You need a bath tonight." I say.
     "I know."
     "Are you excited?"
    "Yeah but I miss Emily."
    "Aww she will come back tomorrow."
     "I know but I like having her around."
     "Well that's okay."
      "Yeah."
      "What's wrong?"
      "I'm cold."
      "Well quit eating your ice cream for a second and you will warm up."
     "Okay." Halo got a smoothie and so did I. Andrew just got a cup of ice cream. When he finishes his ice cream we leave. We go home and I start dinner. Halo gets him in the bath.
     She helps him and he gets his pjs on. We eat dinner and he plays on the floor with Legos and building blocks. We watch a movie. Andrew lays on me and Halo sits in the chair.
     Half way through the movie Andrew falls asleep on me. I get up and lay him in his bed. I cover him up and leave. Halo and I finish the movie. I take a shower and get ready for bed. She showers and gets ready for bed. We lay down and go to sleep.