Traveling With the Family

Today, the family and I returned home from a trip to southern GA to attend the wedding of my wife's cousin. It was about a 6 hour trip with a 5 year old and an almost 3 year old. Unbelievably, the children weren't the problem. It was the weather. It started out perfectly clear, although it was 98° outside. As we traveled down the highway, the sky began to darken with sort of a purplish tint. Having experienced and survived one tornado, I tend to be a little uneasy and nervous in inclement weather of a rainy and windy nature. Traveling at 70 MPH, the legal speed of HWY we were on, all of a sudden a torrential downpour struck. Everyone slowed immediately to about 45 MPH. We had to because we couldn't see 15 feet in front of us. This slowing, in itself, practicaly caused 5 wrecks. The rain lasted about 10 minutes of white-knuckled tenseness. After the 10 minutes, the rain would stop, and back to 70 we'd all be. Then once comfortable, the downpour would start again, then stop after a while. This continued for the entire 6 hour trip.
Once we arrived at our destination, we had to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. My wife and I dressed beautifully and the children were picturesque. 2 minutes before loading into the car, you'll never guess.....yep, it started raining. Monsoon-type raining. This happened the next day at the wedding, too, only with more rain, and we were looking even more stunning. Being the husband that I am, my wife and children only suffered minimal moisture damage during the weekend (hairdo's not included). I retreived and held umbrellas and opened doors. My wife lost a silk shirt to rain-devils. Other than that, no other injuries were recorded.
The ride home was fairly uneventful. We stopped at an outlet mall for some what-we-thought-would-be quick shopping. Yeah, right. *Note to self: Never go to an outlet mall near closing time, on Sunday, during a NO-TAX weekend, with 2 children that are ready to get home. That trip to the mall is in the running for the stupidest thing I've ever done, along side taking home a big screen TV in the open-bed of a pick-up truck, in the pouring rain, with no box. Man, what is it with me and the rain?
And now, we're HOME SWEET HOME