Vacation

"Ope!" Lou said, reaching over and zipping up Tommy's bag, making sure that his stuffed white tiger didn't fall out. "Careful there, scout, almost left that little guy behind!"

Tommy gurgled and smiled as his mommy carried him into the biggest car he'd ever seen! It was so big there were stairs in it, like a house! She set him in his carseat next to his friends while his daddy got behind the wheel and began to drive away. It was like a house of wheels! And everyone was able to fit inside! He looked out the window but soon his mommy gave him his white kitty to play with and got his friends toys too and they focused on playing.

"This was a wonderful idea, Stu," Drew said. "We haven't done a big vacation since Christmas."

"Yeah," Stu said as he began to drive down the road, heading for the highway. "Will be nice to relax for a while."

"I still say we should've gone ta Las Vegas!" Lou said, walking up to the two of them. "That would have been a blast! Playin' slots-"

"Losing everything to rigged machines," Betty teased.

"Hitting on 21."

"I think its staying on 21," Chas said.

"Why do you think he always came home without any cash?" Charlotte teased.

"Craps."

They heard a grunt and turned to see Tommy staining before letting out a little sigh. "We have enough of that at home, pops," Didi said, getting up to change Tommy.

"Vegas is just one of the best places ever!" Lou finished.

"That might be pops but its not great for families with a bunch of babies. We can't take the kids to the casino floor, they're too little for the shows, and with how noisy and smoky it can get…" Drew shook his head. "Maybe in a few years when they are older but it wouldn't be much of a vacation for them if we just kept dumping them in a daycare."

"Yeah, suppose you're right."

Stu let out a laugh as he pulled onto the highway. "Pop, you'll have fun, trust me! The campground I picked out has a zoo, a theater district, a couple large parks that are just a walk away… there will be plenty for the kids to do AND for us."

"Should we tell him about the Indian Casino?" Drew whispered.

"Do you want to risk him gambling the RV away?"

Drew quickly shook his head, allowing Stu to focus on the road.

Tommy didn't know quite what to think about this 'vacation'. Him and his parents did a lot of fun stuff but they did fun stuff anyway. And yeah it was in a different place but he was discovering new places all the time.

'Maybe mommy and daddy wanted to go on an adventure themselves,' he reasoned on the last night of the trip, just before he drifted to sleep…