We made an impromtu (and quick!) trip into Vermont this week for the funeral of Chris' Grandfather. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not really comfortable going into really emotional issues on here; maybe it's the stigma of narcissistic "bloggers," or maybe it's my constant fear of coming across as "cheesey" instead of sincere, but whatever the reason I deliberately try to keep my post on here light. So, I am not going to say much about Chris' Grandfather, who was dearly loved and will be dearly missed. But please pray for his soul, and most especially for the grieving people he left behind.

And now on to our trip tallies:

Hours driven - 20
Incidents of vomitting - 7
Number of "vomit bags" I packed - 6
Number of words exchanged with Becky at rest stops (who was following behind us in her car) during the first two hours of the trip, during which all 7 vomits occured - maybe five, and those were limited to things like, "Have a plastic bag?"
Number of times Becky repeated the offer (made before leaving from home) to take a couple of the girls in her car - NONE!

And here are some quotes that are worth preserving (most, you will note, come from Beth):

Beth, to Chris after the funeral mass, "Wow, there are a lot of old people here!"

Beth, to me after being told to please hurry because she was making a very extended trip to the only ladies' room in the funeral parlor, "I think that when people listen through the door and hear my low moaning, they will understand that there's a little girl who is using potty in here."
(Note: "low moaning" are her exact words!)

Claire, to someone she's never met before in her life, "My tights are PINK, see! And I use potty now because I am a BIG GIRL! And Uncle Andy is the biggest and he is my BEST FRIEND!"
(This was repeated several times to several different strangers. Claire clearly thought that the reason for the gathering was purely to show off how cute she can be.)

Katie, yelling down the entire length of the funeral home (to the extreme amusement of the funeral director), "Mom, are you going to the BATHROOM?"