Dad's BIG Present

 Last Friday Thomas and Daniel were playing Nintendo with John when Mike, Moira, Anna and Carol snuck in the house through the back door. "Bang, bang, bang!" Thomas skillfully shot the bad guy.

"Nice shot!" Mike said carelessly. "Thanks,----" Thomas started to say as he looked up. Then all boys suddenly realized what was really happening! Mike was here! Moira was here! Anna and Carol were here!

Now for my perspective.

As I was vegging on the kid's computer, I suddenly heard Thomas's distinct voice shout, "HI! Anna!" Immediately, I knew that Mike and Moira were somehow in the house. I dashed across the room in an effort to hide before they saw me, but as I reached the doorway, there they stood! "WHOOHOO!!"
The only reason why I wasn't struck silly in my seat and temporarily paralyzed with excitement when I realized they were here before I even saw them was because they have surprised us and come down at random times so much that it has almost become a normal thing.

At that time, Dad and Marie were at Marie's Debate class, so we were waiting for them to get back home. Expecting them some time around 7:30pm, we waited in excited expectation. Finally, the dogs started barking. They were here. Everyone scrambled around the house preparing for their entry.

The door opened and shortly after shut again. Everything was normal. We all greeted Marie and Dad in turn and we went back to life as it was. Marie and I sat at my computer to "watch a movie" while Dad went to his computer to do work and Mom started reorganizing the room.

I rushed into my room to seemingly get something, but in reality to say the key words from Mike and Moira to know to come out of their hiding place in the boys room. Then I rushed back to my seat next to Marie at the computer. Mike and Moira were walking through the kitchen now in full view of BOTH Marie and Dad. They got all the wayto the edge of the room before Dad and Marie looked up.

Dad's expression was pretty much the same as always when he is surprised - not surprised, just happy. "Haha!" he said. Marie's expression, on the other hand, was MUCH more satisfactory. Her jaw dropped open and her eyes twinkled but she couldn't move from her seat. It was as if she was in a daze and couldn't decide whether or not this was real. Finally, she realized and rushed to hug both of them.

And the rest is history. But lets just say the house for the next couple days was even less quite than it had been before Mike and Moira came.