The Road to Vacation

Cost-co, Cookies and Cooties

Disclaimer: I only own Damien, Adrien, Avery, Lynsey and Gracen. I own no one else.

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"Amy, do you have any more diapers?" Trish asked, rummaging through the toddler diaper bag. "I seem to be out of toddler-size diapers," Amy reached into her diaper bag and handed Trish a diaper.

"My last one," Amy said. Then, she cursed silently. "Great! Rand, can you stop at Cost-co?" Randy glanced at the backseat. Cost-co? How were they supposed to take five children into Cost-co and survive?

"Um, Amy, can we handle five kids in Cost-co?" Randy asked, remembering the last time he had gone into a store with the five children. Adrian had been three months. Gracen had been two months. Damien had been nineteen months. Avery had been seventeen months. Needless to say, it had been an adventure. Damien was adventurous. He liked running around. If you put him in a stroller, he wailed to be let out. Avery was more homely, but she liked to walk.

"If I take Damien, and Jay takes Adrien, and you take Lynsey and Gracen while Trish takes Avery, it should be a walk in the park," Amy replied. Randy sighed.

"Fine," he said, waiting for Trish to strap Avery back in her car seat. Once Avery was safely buckled in, he pulled out of the rest stop.

"Trish, I'm bored!" Lynsey whined. Trish glanced over to Amy. Excluding Avery, the other children were asleep. Lynsey's whining would wake them up.

"Lyns, we need to stop at the store. That should be very soon. I promise you we'll get you a new book," Trish said. Lynsey looked at her. Lynsey was an avid bookworm. She read everything she could get her hands on.

"Okay!" Lynsey squealed, excited to get her new book. She was getting bored.

Randy parked the van in front of Cost-co. Shaking his head, he sighed. He knew this was a bad idea. The toddlers were a handful. The babies were alright because they couldn't walk. Lynsey was generally well-behaved.

He just had to think positively, and all would go well . . . HOPEFULLY.

"All right, Amy, got the leashes?" Trish asked. Randy looked at her. She put their daughter on a leash? Why had he not known this?

"Trish, for the millionth time, they are not leashes! They're harnesses," Amy replied, handing her a pink harness. Randy watched as she expertly strapped Avery into the harness. It was obvious it wasn't the first time she had done it before.

"Um, Trish, since when do you use a harness on our daughter?" Randy asked. Trish sighed, draping the handle over her wrist.

"Since she started walking when I was eight and a half months pregnant," Trish replied. "It's perfectly safe," Randy rolled his eyes. That was his wife, stubborn and headstrong.

Lynsey gripped his hand, sighing. She loved Cost-co, simply because of the free samples. She watched Randy place Gracen in a sling carrier attached to his chest.

"Daddy, why does Trish have Avery on a leash?" Lynsey asked, glancing up at him. Randy shrugged.

"Because she does, Princess," he said. "It's not a leash. It's a harness," Lynsey nodded, not really seeing the difference.

Trish struggled to keep her grip on Avery's harness. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed toddler was a runner. The harness was really her only option, despite the strange looks she got.

"She looks like she wants out!" a woman exclaimed, spotting the harness. Trish sighed.

"I prefer using this to a stroller," Trish explained, glancing over to Amy. She had Damien on a bright blue harness.

"I hate when people make comments!" Amy remarked. She glanced down at Damien. "I'd rather keep him on a harness than lose him!"

"Same here," Trish said, placing a box of juice boxes in the cart.

Meanwhile, Jason and Randy wandered around, trying to find diapers. Lynsey clung to her father's side.

"Did you know the girls use harnesses?" Randy asked, placing two huge packs of toddler size diapers in the cart. Jason nodded, placing two huge packs of smaller sized diapers.

"Yeah," he said. "It's a lifesaver with Damien. He loves to run everywhere. Only Amy can use it with him. I put it on him, he screams,"

"Daddy, can I have a cookie?" Lynsey asked, spotting a free sample table. Rolling his eyes, he nodded. Going up to the table, he handed her a cookie.

"Peanut butter! My favorite," Lynsey squealed, devouring the cookie. Randy glanced over to Jason.

"Why did you choose to name Adrian Adrian?" he asked. Jason chuckled.

"We loved the name, Damien when we had him. It seemed perfect. When we found out we were pregnant with another boy, we went through the eclectic name ideas. George, Jasper, etc. Then, Amy began to read 'Rosemary's Baby'. At the very end, Rosemary changes her son's name from Adrian to Andrew. She looked at me and said 'Since we have one son of the Devil, we might as well make it two. His name is Adrian Scott,' The name fits him," Jason replied.

"Lynsey, what are you eating?" Trish asked, approaching her husband. Lynsey smiled.

"Cookie," she said. Damien laughed.

"Cootie!" he squealed with glee.

"Cootie!" Avery exclaimed.

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This chapter is . . . COMPLETE! I hope you enjoyed this.

-JenLea