Birthday Family Vacation

Peacar, winter, 2001
Julio is 34, Rebecca is 31, Abel and Amanda are 5

Peacar starts as anything but peaceful for the Wilsonoff family. Julio and Rebecca are debating what to do to celebrate the twins 5th birthday. Luckily there was the short school holiday so the twins wouldn't miss any assignments.

"I know my brother would love to see them again and we can go to Kimikura again. The twins would love it."

Julio has to agree, the twins would love the culture of Kimikura, but the economy weighs on his mind.

"The trip would be expensive..."

"Yes, but we can afford it, besides. They can have new toys anytime, but there won't be much time for a cultural trip that expands thier minds."

So it's decided, the family, along with Rebecca's brother from Simmington Hills, will be headed to Kimikura again.

Rebecca asks her sister-in-law, Carmela to watch the house while they're gone.


"Oh, Antonio wanted me to give you the photos from the twins photo shoot." She said, handing Rebecca the stack of photos.


The mothers couldn't help but spend a few moments ooohing and ahhing over how cute the twins were as toddlers.

"Stop it!!!! MOM!!!!! Amanda's tormenting me!!!!"


"Am not!!!!"

"Are tooo!!!!"

Rebecca sighed. Yes, they were cuter and quieter as toddlers...but she didn't miss potty training.

Before she can issue a word of discipline, the twins cease thier arguement and instead cry out.

"Uncle Ray!!!! Auntie Lydia!!!"

The twins love thier Uncle Ray and Aunt Lydia. They don't get to see much of them since they lived in Simmington Hills which was far away. The twins didn't mind since they could brag about how many places thier extended family lived. Uncle Roy lives in Murdville, Uncle Alvaro lives in Simborough and is the editor of STAR, the famous magazine that thier mother wouldn't let them read. Uncle Salvador lives in Brisbee Downs. Only Uncle Antonio (Uncle Alvaro's twin brother) and Uncle Jorge (thier father's twin brother) lived in Apple Valley. Wow, that's a lot of uncles.


After lots of swings around the yard, the twins start playing with thier new birthday gift, jump ropes. This frees the adults to discuss adult issues such as the recovery in Simmington Hills, the status of the Toy Shoppe and Ray's own bakery.

"I had a celebrity stop by the shop the other day," Rebecca gossips.

"Who?" Lydia whispered.

"Tatiana Garris-Vanderburg, from Pahala Shore."


"Really? What was she buying in a toy store?"

"At first she browsed around downstairs and picked up a few toys, I think for her nieces and nephews. Then she went upstairs to the nursery section and checked out the cribs."

"Really? So did you see a baby bump?"

"No, nothing. She kept her arm over her belly. But she did place an order for a crib."


"So it must be true!"

"I don't know!"

---

After a long ferry ride, a longer plane ride and thankfully, a short van ride, the Wilsonoff family finally arrived to thier resort in Kimikura.


While Julio checked in, Abel convinced his uncle to spin him around. Amanda was content to watch this time. Amanda did a lot of watching. It wasn't that she was shy, but she rather sidle up next to you and then capture your attention instead of loudly demand for it. Unlike Abel, who then commanded the conversation later about the fish in the koi pond.


"I bet we eat them at the sushi resturaunt!" He bragged. "I bet they don't swim that fast at all! I could catch them with my bare hands! Then we could eat sushi for days! Weeks!"

Perhaps Amanda was a better emotional reader of her family, for she recoginzed the forced smiles and tired eyes and dragged her brother off for a game of catch.

"Why do you talk so much?" She asked throwing the ball at his head.

"Why are you so mean?" He asked ducking.

The adults showered and changed into thier kimonos that they brought last time and the family walked to the nearby sushi resturaunt. The twins ran around the place, ducking under the bridges, dipping thier hands in the koi ponds.

Right before thier table was called, Lydia grew sick to her stomach. She insisted it was nothing, but Ray ushered her back to the resort while Rebecca and Julio exchanged knowing glances.

The family enjoyed thier relatively quiet dinner, though Abel refused to touch the sushi-too squishy, he declared. Amanda on the other hand happily enjoyed every bite. The knowledge that she told her brother that sushi was actually fish droppings and not fish at all made each bite sweeter.

After dessert of flan, cake and green tea ice cream, the family supported Abel in his attempt to sing karoke. Amanda didn't even try to pretend, she stomped off with her hands on her ears declaring the noise too much to bear.

It seemed that Lydia's illness didn't get much better and after Julio took a look at her, he advised the couple to return home and be closer to thier hospital. The twins pretended not to be upset that thier family trip was cut short and instead packed thier things without asking.

Upon thier return home, Julio discussed the possibility of signing the twins up for extracurricular activities.

"There's not enough on this island for them to chose from. Each group that starts only has about two maybe three children in it. That's not enough for a soccer team even!"

"How many players are on a soccer team, daddy?"

Julio stumbled around for an answer, sports were not his thing, he preferred his bugs and medical journals. "Um, four, sweetie."

"Four? That doesn't sound right?"

"How about a game of catch after dinner?" He said bribing his daughter.

Afterwards he couldn't help but hope, please don't let her be a sports fanatic...please oh please!