Happy Happy Birthday, Cousin Stacey!!

Okay, so the post is actually a day after her birthday, but really isn't it the thought that counts?

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Cousin Stacey and I hit the Lucky Turtle around 11 Thursday night and I pathetically lost $47 in an embarrassingly short amount of time. Stacey found a Jackpot Party machine and I saw her eyes get that familiar twinkle - the twinkle that says "It's genetic - I'm a gambling addict." Yep, it must be a Glenn thing. She found me around 12:15 and said, "Hey it's my birthday! Can I go ahead and get my birthday money now?" Well heck yeah! I sent her up to get her $10 and she gambled on it for quite awhile. By the time she was done with that, it was nearly 1am and that's when the Nite Owl party starts so we got in line around 12:50 and visited with some folks who drove an hour and a half to gamble at the Turtle. Hmh. I really planned on just taking the $10 and going home with it, then at least I'd only be $37 in the hole. But I got bored and it's really really hard for me to sit and watch someone gamble without being overwhelmed with the urge to daub my own machine. So I stuck the $10 in a Yahtzee machine and about 20 minutes later, cashed out with $51.83. So I actually came out $4.83 to the good. Whoo hoo!

We got home around 3:30 in the morning, she came in and we visited awhile before we both started being just overwhelmed by the need for sleep. I got up at 6:00 with the kids, got them ready for school, fed Chandler and Kady then set the satellite to change shows every 30 minutes, making sure it was programmed to the ones that would hold their attention the best. Then I laid down on the couch and proceded to slip into a semi-coma. I got up around 9:30 and showered then headed to Sis' to help pack around 12:30. Then I picked up the school kids, brought them back home and fed them an early dinner. I had forgotten that the neighbor girls were getting off the bus at my house, so add them to the 6 that were in my van already and I had 8 kids here after school. Paul walked in at 4:20, looked around kind of panicky and said, "Why do we always have 40 gazillion children in our house and we only actually own three?" I said, "Cuz this is what we do - we host." He seemed satisfied with that and went outside to mow the backyard. Chicken.

After the neighbor girls were picked up, I loaded the remaining 6 into the van again and flew to town, dropped off Chandler and then went to the karate dojo. After karate I stopped at the bank, got some cash for the gambling run and then headed back home.

Sis and Bub were late, as usual, so we left around 7:30. We had just turned onto highway 60 in Fairland, heading toward the mecca of Wyandotte, when we saw flashing lights on the highway, headed toward us. It was a high speed chase! A red T-bird driven by a wild-looking kid with long hair was flying down the highway with about 25 miscellaneous police vehicles in hot pursuit. I think I even saw Roscoe P. Coltrane there were so many. Highway Patrol was right on his tail, followed by unmarked cars, county deputies, BIA and maybe even a dogcatcher or two. It was cool. Being the rednecks that we all are, we started scrambling for cell phones and called all of our friends with police scanners trying to find out why the heck he was running. No one had heard a thing on the scanner. Later one of Sis' friends called back to say that he eventually wrecked, but she lost cell service so we never heard the details of the chase or the wreck. What a way to start the evening!

We went to Grand Lake Casino, where they give you twenty whole dollars in COLD HARD CASH. I didn't gamble, just watched Stacey and Sis sit on machines and play as little as possible, but enough to qualify for the hot seat drawing we had just gotten in on. Neither of them won. We were all starving so we drove on into Grove to the Rib Crib. Oh my gosh. Maybe it was the fact that the pb&j I had eaten at 11 that morning had worn off, but I swear that was some of the best damn bbq I had ever eaten.

We left there and went to Bordertown Bingo in Seneca, MO. I didn't gamble there either. I just stood there cashing out ticket after ticket as Paul won like crazy. Then we went to the Eastern Shawnee Travel Plaza and Paul and I played $5 on Red Ball and didn't win crap. By that time it was nearly 11:30 and we still had three casinos to hit. There was no way, so we went directly to the Buffalo. We left at 4 this morning. That is the latest I have ever stayed in a casino. Longest stretch, too, I think. We had a blast. Some guy gave us the almighty cheat secret to winning at electronic blackjack. It's helpful, but not foolproof. You can control your winning to an extent, but still, if the machine decides that your winning is over, you lose. I plugged my entire babysitting check into the retarded machines through the course of the night. Paul lost over $100. I was pissed that I had blown so much money, so what did I do but borrow $20 from Sis. Thankfully I won $100 on RedBall with that $20 and cashed out with $80. Of course, we put it right back in. Then I cashed out with $50 some. Then played some. Then put in a $5 and cashed out with $20. I somehow came home with $45 and even though I am still in the hole, it's better than nothing.

Tonight is the Cousin Party, Part Deux. I can only imagine the laughing and cavorting that will commence tonight. Everyone's getting around kind of late, but Stacey and I are okay with that because that gives us a chance to play around on the four-wheeler. Gosh, I love being a redneck.

I will be posting pictures tomorrow, hopefully!