It was like a National Lampoon Family Vacation movie!!!

Seriously!!! I am sure I can not put it in writing like it was in real life. We celebrated Rich's dad's 80th birthday at Sugarloaf. One brother has a big house there, room for all 16 of us. They have a rental unit downstairs, so two kitchens, four bathrooms, a hot tub, a sauna (huh, no one used that this weekend???), the downstairs bathroom has a door to the bathroom, then a door to the shower and a door to the toilet, so really great privacy options. It was perfect!!! Four brothers and their kids. Well, Rich and I have no kids, but the other three have 2-3 kids each. Ages 8-20. Not sure when was the last time we were ALL together? So, it was PERFECT!!!

OK, except for a few things. Of course, you already figured that since I mentioned National Lampoon, right??? ;D

First off, this is Sugarloaf, biggest ski area in Maine. Very popular! All the boys and kids ski. Big skiing family. Dad even skis regularly, still, at nearly 80!! He is AMAZING! So, Friday all the boys and the kids ski. Dad and Mom arrive that day, so Dad didn't get to ski, and I arrive with one of the wives and kids in time for Happy Hour. Yay!!! We are now all together and Happy Hour has commenced and the hot tub is in full use and kids are running around, everyone is happy, they had a great day skiing, it's AWESOME!!! Until..............me, one brother and his new girlfriend are in the hot tube and feel/see water dripping from the over hang above. Since it had been SO cold last week, we just thought perhaps the ice on the roof was melting because of the steam from the hot tub, so no biggie. Well, it starts coming down a bit more. And a bit more, and then we see it coming out of the light fixture!!!! OMG!!! I stand up and look up and say........."OMG, that is coming from the bathroom above!!!!" :O Yep, it was!!!!! One of the teenage boys took a dump and over-flowed the toilet and didn't realize it. Ewwwwwwwww..................

The scene after that was a bit..........well........National Lampoon!!! LOL!!!! And, well, not really very funny, it probably means some major repair on the ceiling, floor, walls, insulation, etc., at some point. I think for now it is fine, but all that water went somewhere and will end up molding, so I think it will need some work at some point, but at least it never made it to any sheetrock inside the house and they can probably access the walls/floor, etc., from the over-hang ceiling which is exterior. Phew. That gave us a LOT to talk about for that night.

The next day..........well........it started early in the morning.......the rain. And it rain, and it rained, and it RAINED!!! At 8 AM we realized we were iced in. The guy who checks the water system for the mountain and houses slide off the road in front of the house. That gave us entertainment, but we also realized there would be no skiing. At least, not until the conditions improved. We watched this BIG ASS bulldozer with CHAINS spin tires trying to get that little water truck out. Then Dad was given some ice cleats (more like crampons!!!) and he tested them on the icy, slopping driveway. GO DAD!!! We also "clogged" up the internet, all 16 of us on our iDevices checking radar and weather and Facebook and shit. Finally, it was simply shut off so we could NOT use our iDevices. Good idea, we needed to just BE with each other, play games, read, socialize and NOT be on our devices!!!! But, for a family who is EXTREMELY active and the whole idea of the weekend was to SKI, it was not easy. Kids fought, adults fought, too much food was eaten, fun was had, yes, but definitely not what we all had hoped for and it was sure claustrophobic for everyone. Finally, the sand truck came and we could all get out, two went skiing for an hour, until they said the rain just sucked. The rest of us just wandered around the base, in and out of shops, not buying much, some hot chocolate. Then home for more eating, socializing, gifts and cake with Dad.

Then the photo!!! Of course, you MUST have a family photo. When we will ALL be together again???? Did anyone bring a camera??? NO!!! The ONLY thing ANY one had was an iDevice. Seriously????? Again, one of those National Lampoon moments. You have to be kidding, no camera, nothing with a timer!!! But, I found an app for that!!! LOL!!! Well, OK, but iDevices as good as they are do not take great indoor photos. They just don't. So, we manage a few photos, but they will all need some help because of the strange white eye from the flash. But, the National Lampoon Greatest moment was right before the last attempt to get another photo, the youngest grandchild comes strolling up the stairs and looks at us! WHAT?????? OMG, it was like a scene from a movie!!! Every single one of us reacted the same way...........MICHAEL!!!!! WHERE WERE YOU??????? The family couldn't believe we had gone through that whole scene and forgot about Michael!!! He says........"I was pooping.......downstairs". Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!! Oh, that had to be the funniest moment!!!!! So, of course, we have to do the photos ALL over again!!! :D Poor kid, we made sure the dog was in the photos, but NO one realized little Michael was not there. :O

Seriously, I don't think National Lampoon could write a better script. It was definitely a weekend we will talk about for ever.

Happy Birthday Grampa Carlson!!!! It was memorable!!! For sure!!!!!