"Nicki, Joey, Jacklyn! Get in here!" I yelled to my three children. I heard a noise like a heard of Elephants running down the stairs. 8 year old Nicole, or Nicki for short, tumbled down the stairs first. Of course, Nicki's first name, Nicole, was the female version of my grandfather's name, Nicholas. Nicki's middle name is Pamela, which was my mother's name. She died in a car wreck when I was ten. 6 year old Joey came down next. That boy is a handful, like the man he was named after, My Dad's best friend Joey. Steven is his middle name, and he is named after my husband, Steve. Then came 3 year old Jacklyn, who was not named after anyone, but we liked the name.
I am a stay at home Mom. I just enjoy following my kids around. (I also enjoy trying to keep Joey from making a huge mess.) Steve is a doctor. He enjoys not being around the house when the kids are home, due to the mess factor.
"Anyone know where we're going?" I asked. "Grandpa's house?" Nicki asked. "Yes, so we're going to need to pack." I said. "I can do my packing Mommy!" Joey yelled, halfway up the stairs. I sighed. He tried this every time. He mainly just took everything out of his drawers and set it on his bed. Then he got a big box and put everything in the box. It took Steve and I an hour and a half to get all his clothes put away.
Thankfully, I avoided a disaster in Joey's room by keeping him busy on my iPhone. I was able to get him and the girls all packed. Steve and I had packed the night before, so we might be able to get on the road when he got home from work. We were due on a flight from Orlando to San Francisco two hours after we got home, and it was a thirty minute drive from Cocoa Beach, where we live, to the Orlando Airport. Plus, it will be hard to get Joey through security without any issues.
"Flight 130 to San Francisco is now boarding, ticket numbers 1-20." I heard a raspy voice say over the intercom. As we were 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15, we had to get in line. "Joey, you better behave yourself." Steve told Joey. After we had full body searches at Security (due to Joey bringing one of his toy cars through the metal detector) we didn't need any more problems.
We got onto the plane and sat down. "I don't want to hear a word out of that boy until we get to San Francisco." I told Steve. "Me neither.
