White Lightning Axiom: Redux

On Sunday morning, we get up a little late. Sevenish is a little late, ugh. We have plans to drive up to Long Island, Syosset township. The drive up there is always fraught with traffic jams and pot holes. We got a good start at about 8:45am and things went very well in spite of the dreary drizzly weather conditions. For the first time since we got the mini-van, I actually had the foresight to stock the center console with my CDs. Its the first car that we ever owned with one of those new-fangled CD players built in. It was a blissful trip across the PA Tpk and up through NJ. Things went well as we jaunted across Staten Island from the Outer Bridge crossing and to the Verrazano. Have I told you that I LOVE EZPass? After the bridge, things got ICKY (tm). The Belt Parkway has never been a particularly nice road to travel, and this was no exception. I can only imagine that the 'Road To Hell' is not paved with good intentions, but rather, chunks of asphalt kicked up from this dastardly passage. We drag our caravan of lost (and sleepy) souls across to Van Wyck and on to the LIE. In record time and with minimal vehicular damage. It only took two and a half hours. Ghaaa. Why? Because we are going to a surprise 40th birthday party of Joyce's cousin's wife. I think she had alternative motives though, we ended up retrieving more child cast-offs to bring home (toy chest, storage bins, etc.). In any event, the Twins of Terror completely ruled the house. The balloons meant for the Birthday girl ended up being the most incredible toys. So much so that they decided to skip their afternoon nap. I would have gladly taken over the napping duty, but that was not in the cards. We spent a good deal of time chasing them about the house and trying to keep them from utterly destroying our guest's home. Due to their 'liveliness', they were quite popular and some of the other smallish children did not know what to make of these mini-tornados of shriek & shred. Towards the end of the day (5:30ish), they were showing signs of attitude deterioration and we decided to call it a day. It was time to sound the retreat and try to make a strategic withdrawal back to Philadelphia. It only took three hours to get back home, but it seemed like forever. For me and for the Hounds who were very eager to destroy my back yard. The evening proceeded as scripted. The kids didn’t sleep much on the trip home and were not very interested in releasing their balloon booty. Eventually, after craftily reducing them to one balloon each, I traded them some ice for the last balloons. Cookie, yeah, sure ... it’s a cookie. They got their baths and off to bed for the two ... I think I know why they look like angels when they are asleep: it’s the only time the poor angels can catch up with them! And then with the kids asleep, the wife and I can work till 12:30 am doing all the stuff that we didn’t today. Thank goodness for Monday!