Rubbish Parties

When I married into the Easley family I suddenly had to learn a new language. Not only did most of them speak Arabic, but they also had a whole set of words and phrases that they had picked up from friends they grew up with named the St. Johns. Words like "boo-k", "Chunder", and most importantly "rubbish party".

Now I am not a master at explaining what a rubbish party is, I have barely figured it out myself, but from what I know they end up being quite fun. A rubbish party is when everything is going wrong and you have to stop and laugh and just go with it (those of you who know am I right?).

Well the past few days have been full, and I mean full, of rubbish parties. It all started when we headed out this past Saturday. We (Becky, the kids, myself & Josiah) are taking a friend to the airport so she can head back to the states. As we left I noticed that we were low on gas. The kids were all in the very back of the van, and since it was so hot they were pretty thirsty. So the plan was to stop at our usual gas station get gas and water for the trip. I wasn't thinking though until it was too late. The turn off for the airport is before the gas station and there isn't another gas station until you get to the town where the airport is- which is 2 hrs away!!! So I tried not to worry but I was sending up prayers for help every couple of seconds. I spent most of the trip watching the gas light and the oil light that also intermittently came on.

Finally I couldn't stand it any longer and I pulled off into a town along the way. They don't have a gas station but you can stop at the local 7-11 and ask for gas. So, here we sat, 5 kiddos, three ladies and the lovely van in front of a bunch of questionable guys waiting for them to pour some gas into the van. It worked out ok, and we were off.

Finally we got to the town with the airport. I pulled off and got some gas. I also decided i should check the oil. There wasn't any!!! Bad news! So I ran inside to buy some. Trying to explain to the guy what I wanted and what was going on wasn't going super great. Finally he grabbed some oil and came out to help me. Praise the Lord he did. I haven't ever added oil to the van and I was a little out of it. So I had taken off the radiator cap ready to add oil. He looked at me shocked (wouldn't you be?!!!) and kindly explained that was for water not oil. So we added a bunch of oil and then he wanted to get some water for me too. The kiddo's were not happy to say the least. Josiah was screaming his head off and the bigger kids were anxious to be going. The guy helping me was moving SO slowly it hurt. So I was a little anxious for him to take the time to add water. So I told him the kids were freaking out and we needed to just go. He understood, but said if I didn't' get more water the van would die. That was a pretty convincing argument to wait.

I got up to start the car (he told me to) and I wasn't thinking that it was in gear. I started it up and it lunged forward. Luckily no one was in front of me and all that was damaged was my pride. Finally we got gas, oil and water and we could leave. The gas station was so small I had squeezed in there and on my way out to add to my humility, I ran up over the curb with the car. Uhg, I was so happy to get out of there!!!

The rest of the day was pretty smooth sailing, no major rubbish parties, just minor slips and spills here and there. The next morning I got up and made German pancakes. I was so excited to get them made. They turned out beautifully. They just looked perfect. I got everyone a plate. Got them all put together. A little powdered sugar, a pit of lemon and away we go. My friend Caitlyn who we were taking to the airport took the first bite. At first she didn't want to say anything, but she was thinking the recipe was a little salty and then it hit her. It wasn't powdered sugar - it was baking soda!!! Oh my goodness! I couldn't believe it! Simon, who has a way with words told Caitlyn that I wasn't very good at cooking and we should have warned her. It was the classic statement for such a rubbish party!



So with the day starting off on an interesting note I got Caitlyn to the airport and came back to relax a bit at the beach. It was really nice and we didn't' have any problems. The kids love the beach and couldn't wait to play in the water. We came home, ate pizza, watched a few movies and went to bed. Becky took good care of me so there wouldn't be anymore rubbish parties and the day turned out beautiful.

Unfortunately the rubbish parties are sticking with me, I have spilled more in the last few days and had more little accidents than ever. Hopefully they will pass soon. I am having a hard time giggling and going with it. It does make it a lot better though when you can smile and think about what a great story this rubbish party is going to make! Hope you can laugh with me.