[E&B's Mom]

It seems I am much in demand for teaching assignments at work these days. The assignments are never convenient, and never in good locations, but I love teaching, so I usually make it work.

I just got back to work after almost 2 weeks in Portland, OR and a week on vacation, and I had a couple of e-mails requesting that I teach a new class. The timing is OK (first two weeks in May) and it is a class I have always wanted to teach, but they were talking about sending me to Portland, OR again. No offense Goof Father, but Been There, Done That, and it would require two full weeks away and is too far to come home over the week-end.

Well, a second e-mail came up saying that they were able to get Philadelphia as a location. DH and I have already been, and have been talking about taking the kids, so this is awesome. EVen if we didn't take them, it is close enough for me to come home over the week-end. ]

Anyway, as some of you may remember, we were originally planning our June vacation for a couple of days in Philly followed by 4 days at Hershey Park area. We bagged that idea when we got to dreaming about going to Universal Studios again, but the kids still to not know we are going to Universal this year. It's a surprise, and we were planning on keeping them thinking that we are flying into Philly and renting a car.

I really want them to come down to Philly with DH over the week-end I am there, because we will not be going in June after all and we really want them to see Philly. Do you see the problem? How do I tell them we are going in May and still throw them off for vacation in June? When I called home to mention it to the family, DD's first questions was we are still going to Hershey park in June, right? Plus, they think our plane tickets are really cheap fares into Philly?

Help me come up with another good lie!

[Dana]

You could just tell them that they ae visiting you and you want to show them some of the cool things they will see when they come back for vacation. Keep your story about having vacation there. While they ae visiting tell them about some of the cool stuff philly has to offer and purposely don't take them to a few and say you will have to catch it when you come back on vacation. If you change the story to much it may become suspicious so keep what you have going, but just tell them they are "visiting you" that time and "vacationing" there the next.

[ddoll]

Dana's got a good one. You could also say this trip is to see Philly since you're there anyway and the trip in June will be for all park days.

[E&B's Mom]

We're tentatively changing the story so that we are changing our plans from 2 days in Philly & 5 days in Hershey to 1 day in Philly to hit our favorite spots again and 6 night in Hershey. Since they know we have plane tickets we can't change the dates, we'll just change the hotel.

Of couse DH and I both agree that since I am excited about teaching this class, and it's at a convenient time in a place I want to go, luck will have it that it will be cancelled. But, I hope not.