Dinner went as expected....the kids were well behaved, the food was good.
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| Gabriel and Lainie, picture by Ian |
We knew that some snow/rain was in the forecast for some parts of the state. We did not expect to get any kind of bad weather in our area. So, we were surprised to get out to the parking lot around 7:15 to a good amount of slush on the ground. We immediately changed plans to game night at our house, since Perry has 4 wheel drive, and we only have front wheel drive. The boys wanted to drive with us, which was okay with Andy and Melody because they had a few errands to run before coming to our house. At this time, the snow is not bad and the roads are driveable.
But, this is when it gets weird. Bob, normally is the guy who always has to have everyone drive in sync....usually he follows someone or vice versa, so that we don't lose each other. He even has designated meeting times whenever we go to Summerfest, the zoo, or Bay Beach; he is notorious for being "that guy"...the one making sure everyone knows the place/time that every one should meet up so that nobody gets lost....heaven forbid!! So it was a surprise to everyone that he just took off, without waiting for anyone or making "plans". His excuse was that he was positive he knew a faster, alternative route than the one we took in.
We all drove to the restaurant separately. Bob and I took Highway 43; it took us about 20 minutes to make the trip. On the way out, Bob decided he wanted to take a different way. He said something about Dairyland Drive. I, not being a driver, think he is going to be taking LS (Lakeshore Drive) because that is the route we often take during our drives to Cleveland and places north of the area....I figure Bob is just calling LS by an older name; thus, I do not question the route because we are going in the direction of LS. About 20 minutes later, the weather is getting worse. Bob is thinking out loud, wondering where the signs that indicate we were close to Sheboygan were. I take out my phone, turn on Google Maps, plug in our address and it shows that we are now 40 minutes away from home!! I say this info out loud to Bob, telling him that I must have typed the address in wrong....but he says "I must be going north! I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere".
Meanwhile, the snow is getting considerably worse, as are the roads. We find a place to turn around, Bob is still unsure what road we are on....I tell him we are on LS, but the whiteout is pretty bad and we cannot read any of the signs. There is one point that we are on sheer ice and the car is gliding.....I am saying, "Oh, my God....oh, my God!"
Luckily, we get past the sheer ice. Now, we just have to figure out a place to turn so that we can get off of LS, which is now in terrible shape, and get to the highway. We find an intersection and Bob figures out that Washington Avenue is just a block up...and that road leads us to the highway.
On our route, we see at least one car in the ditch. The rest of the ride home was fairly uneventful, thank goodness. It took us almost an hour to take a trip that should have taken us 20 minutes.
It wasn't until later on in the week that we realize how lucky we were. When Bob finally relates how he got lost going from Cleveland to Sheboygan to the guys at work, one of his work friends tells him "On that road? It's easy to make the wrong turn and in that kind of weather, I am surprised you didn't get stuck in a ditch". Now, in retrospect, I think it could have been much worse than just being in a ditch. I really think we may have had a guardian angel with us, guiding Bob as he drove with our very precious cargo.
Now the "Shenanigans" part of the night. While the adults played Wikipedia and Farkle, the kids played several different games during the night. Some with me, some that they made up as the night wore on. Grocery store, Characters (much like Barbies, but where they each grab a character to play with the Barbie camper/Princess castles), and Zombies. As the night progressed, they all kind of scattered to different things. Ian was on the Kindle. The other three were wondering in and out of the playroom, which is next to the living room Just off of the playroom is a little elevated alcove that is a little store room for more toys and has just enough room for someone to hide in (there is a curtain covering the front of it). Important to know this for what happened next.
So, the adults were playing a game. Ian was in the living room with the Kindle. I saw Lainie go into the playroom. Awhile later, I saw Gabe, Lucy and Teddy go in there. I could hear them playing. I was wandering in and out of the kitchen/living room. Suddenly, we hear a piercing scream from Lucy. I turn around and see (we all see) Lucy, Gabe and Teddy racing into the living room with looks of sheer terror on their faces. Teddy had locked his hands around Gabe's arms as Gabe was racing from the room because he was basically shell-shocked and could not make his legs move to get himself off of the ground. They all three sat on or near Papa's recliner. We asked them "What's wrong?" and all they can do is point and I hear one of them say, "The doll's head".
We finally get them to relate how they all heard a knocking and then saw a doll's head appear from behind the curtain. We all realize that it had to be Lainie playing tricks...we go to check and sure enough...there is Lainie behind the curtain...already starting to cry as she realizes that the joke did not turn out as planned. This is the doll and this is the curtain:
Lucy was crying her little eyes out and her heart was beating so fast! Teddy was actually shaking for awhile after it had happened.
A night to remember....one for those "Remember that time....."stories.
Later, when I asked Teddy what was scarier, the ride home or the doll incident....he says "The doll, the ride was not even that scary".
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