Update

AtP has been living with me since Friday. Notice I said "living," not "visiting." Because if you come see me WYSIWYG. My house looks like people live in it--not like I have hotel maids, I make regular food, we don't do something fantastic every day (so it's possible that there might be a moment or two of boredom), and my kids are an integral part of your stay with me. Basically, when you're with me, you're a member of the family and I'm not above giving you jobs around the house or asking you to move if you're in my way. Oh--and if you bring a spouse you might be sleeping on an air mattress, as Adam's room doubles as our guest room and he only has a twin bed. But if you're small and like cuddling together, perhaps a twin bed is adequate. Darrin and I did it once or twice shortly after we were married. We didn't really notice the possible perils of falling off the bed. I suppose the crux of this paragraph is to let the world know that I am not in the running for Hostess of the Year--and I'm perfectly okay with that.

There are perks, however, to coming to visit me. Last night, after two years of friendship, AtP was initiated into "Friend For Life (FFL)" status. This process involves watching one of my favorite movies of all time. In fact, there are a few movies one must watch in order to complete the initiation. If your reaction to the first movie is satisfactory (and in order to ascertain this, one must discuss the movie in depth for at least an hour after watching every second of it--including the credits), I entertain the possibility of allowing you to move to the next step, or movie, in the FFL process. AtP's reaction was not only acceptable--it was infinitely rewarding and I might even decide to let him skip a few of the necessary steps. He is definitely FFL material for Samantha.

Also, Ambrosia, you will be happy (or perhaps nauseated) to know that AtP and I finally fulfilled our urge to bite the butter. And it was as wonderful as we assumed it would be. We repeated the process several times and each bite brought great joy. It might become a habit. However, we forgot to explain the butter biting rules to Sully and Adam, who wished to join in the experience. They not only bit the butter--they ate it. And they didn't look well when they had finished. I believe their joy was not equal to mine and AtP's. They were very good sports about it, though.

Saturday we had the Day of Days. We went to an amusement park with ten other people. List of attendees: Darrin, Samantha, DJ, Adam, Tabitha, AtP, Sully, Brother of Sam, Favorite Sister-in-Law, Tabitha Friend One, Tabitha Friend Two, and Friend of Adam. The Girl Car transported Favorite Sister-in-Law, Tabitha, Friend One, Friend Two, and Me. The Boy Van transported Darrin, Brother of Sam, DJ, Adam, Friend of Adam, Sully, and Atp. The Girl Car was cuter and much more fun. Boys are yucky.

At the amusement park I managed to bond with my seatmate, Sully, as we immortalized our ride on my favorite roller coaster of all time, with a photograph. The delightful picture also features DJ and AtP who sat behind us. All four of us managed to scream like girls (I did it the best) as the picture was snapped. Okay, I'm lying. Only DJ, AtP, and Sully screamed like girls. I was laughing too hard. But Sully and I further cemented our bond by cuddling for 10 seconds during the subsequent trip to the Imax to see the Dark Knight. We tried to extend the cuddling session--but let's face it. I'm not that great at cuddling with guys. And besides, it made me sleepy. AtP circumvented all cuddling by putting the arm rest between us, so now he will never know the joy of a 10-second Sam cuddle.

After the movie Tabitha decided she was feeling ill, and I was very tired because I stayed up until 3:30 a.m. the night before, talking on the phone with Jason. This was a bad choice. I would do it again. It was fun.

Given my fatigue and Tabitha's illness, the Girl Car lost its gender specific status as Sully took the wheel and drove us safely back home. We arrived, finally, in spite of the fact that at one point after a potty break, he tried to return to Denver because his sense of direction became confused. We set him straight. I believe he has filled his lifetime quota of riding with three loud, giggly thirteen-year-old girls and Samantha. Except he has to ride to Utah with me tomorrow. We'll take AtP with us instead of the girls. His giggle is nicer.

This is now day ten of lack-of-sleep Samantha. Although I got about five hours last night. That's more than I've had in a long time. If I ever get more sleep I believe my posts will make more sense. I could be wrong, though. Perhaps they've always been a little odd.