Saturday, June 9: Todd and I head out for the needle in a haystack that Mr. Eternal Sunshine thinks is going to be sitting right infront of the haystack with a big blinking sign that says, "Here I am." Mrs. Eternal Realist who Mr. Sunshine says is ther pessimist thinks otherwise. After a couple of hours, a couple of stores, Mr. Sunshine starts to think Mrs. Realist is not so crazy after all, at least where raincoats are concerned. We have found him something that doesn't scream "I'm a snowbird (which is code in Arizona winters for really old people who shouldn't be driving)." I could find nothing for the girls and me so we were headed to Walmart for some umbrellas just in case the track, granny, and just-for-looks coats didn't cut it. I'm hunting in the women's section of Walmart for umbrellas and low and behold that needle with the flashing sign is pointing right in front of me. I found some raincoats; mind you, they were in size 3x and up, but they were raincoats. I asked Mrs. Walmart if she had any others that I might try. She said that for some reason, they only got orders in this year in plus sizes. The regular sizes at Walmart are plus sizes so I can't imagine what the plus sizes are like.The smallest I could find was a 3X. I held it up and blocked half the light in the store out. 3X meant that Brittany, Kylie, and I could all three fit in this raincoat. If I bought poles, the 4X could double as a tent. But Mr. Steve didn't list tents or poles in his Holy Grail of a packing list. He also didn't list pajamas, but who's counting. Now, I have never heard a guy say, "Does this make my butt look big?" I heard it that day and answered like very guy should, "No honey. It's perfect." The only thing we can't fit in there is the kitchen sink so it's perfect. I think I sold him on the fact that you gotta have something to balance out that pocket pouch on the front or you will be walking at a slant for six weeks.
With these final purchases, we should be ready to go. Fingers crossed and buckle up. It's going to be a wild ride.