It’s late, and I’m so tired, but I want to get this written down before I crash.

We spent the whole day today on our last Saturday excursion before we leave for Africa on Monday. The destinations on these trips are usually fine, but nothing special. Every once in a while they even sound good enough that I’m willing to take the time to go. But today was great. We went to an indoor amusement park in Vegas. Everyone went except the nursery kids. As usual on these trips, we had to leave our phones back at campus, which is why I’m just writing this up now after all my after-hours coding is done.

Anyway, we rolled out this morning in the electric buses. As we passed through the vast fields of solar panels and massive monolithic batteries covering the desert between here and there, Marc took the opportunity to point out to the younger classes how Father had used those empty miles of sand to save the Earth. With their cheap and nearly unlimited power production, they turned the whole western half of the country off of coal and set off a wave of green power development all over the world. I remember similar installations back home in Colorado, with massive lines carrying the power eastward. I hadn’t realized back when I lived there that those were Father’s work.

Anyway, when we got to the park, we had the whole place rented out just for us. Roller coasters, bumper cars, games, junk food, sodas, the whole works. No lines. Indoors. My mom took me to Disneyland once, but the sweltering summer sun and the long lines kept me from wanting to go again. This place though, I’d go there every week if I could.

Chad organized a giant laser tag game, splitting all the classes into two armies. Evan, Louise and I dominated, rallying our little teammates against Chad, Marc, and Andrea’s team. Even Chad seemed to relax and loosen up, though he wasn’t happy about having his butt handed to him.

Jeff was the only one who didn’t have much fun, I think mostly because of the no clouds rule. He had to actually walk around, like with his leg muscles. That’s a rare sight, and an awkward one. He just looked like he was in pain the whole time. He spent half the day sitting on benches catching his breath.

I stuck with Louise through the first part of the day. This was the first time she’s actually worked up the courage to leave campus. She had a panic attack getting on the bus, but I nudged her along and the breathing trick worked. She got over it, and we had a good ride. She had another one when we arrived. I breathed with her and by the time we took our first roller coaster ride, she was having as much fun as the rest of us.

Having siblings is still weird for me, but days like today make me wish Mom had wanted more kids. I know it’s not a normal family dynamic, but I really love my sibs. Even Marc. Even Chad, a little, when he’s not being a dick.

I’m tired though. I haven’t slept more than a few hours a night for months. I’m going to finish writing this up and then crash. I can even sleep in since there’s nothing on the schedule except our travel. I want to be at my best for this trip. I have to admit I’m more than a little excited.