family story.

When I was in first grade, 7 years old, my family, which consists of my mom, dad, and sister, Joey(5 years old), were going on a road trip in an R.V. with my Auntie Nancy, Uncle Matt and my cousin, Bo(3 years old). They live in Alaska so we don`t get to see them that much. My mom`s whole side of the family lives in Arizona. My grandpa, grandma, Aunie Marissa all live there. My Auntie Marissa and Uncle Matt are my mom`s siblings and Auntie Marissa was getting married. Since we all had to be in Arizona for her wedding, my mom and Uncle Matt decided it would be great if we went on a long trip together beforehand so Joey, Bo, and I could spend more time together and so she and my dad could spend more time with Uncle Matt and Auntie Nancy. We hadn`t seen them in the longest time. We flew to Arizona and since we got there a day earlier then Auntie Nancy, Uncle Matt, and Bo, we spent the night at my grandma and grandpa`s house. They flew in the next day and we didn`t want to waste anytime. We were going to drive and spend time at the four corners of the U.S.A., Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico and we wanted to make sure we had enough time to do everything. We rented the R.V. and went grocery shopping right away to prepare for our 3 weeks on the road before returning to Arizona for the wedding where Joey, Bo, and I would be flower girls. On the first day we wanted to get as far as we could into Arizona so we drove from 3 p.m. to around 5 p.m. We stopped in a nearby parkinglot to eat in the R.V. then started driving again. It was getting dark and we were still driving at 7 p.m. It was cold even though it was the summer so we all had our jackets and long pants on. We were all tired and just wanted to find a campground fast so we could all settle down and rest. My dad was driving and my mom was sitting in the passenger side. I was sitting in the arm chair behind my mom and Auntie Nancy and Uncle Matt were sitting on the couch while Joey and Bo played cards on the dinette, all of which had seatbelts. Right in the middle of their game of go-fish, my mom yelled "WATCH OUT!" and my dad yelled "HO GEEZ!" and a big thud came from my dad`s car door. My Auntie Nancy and Uncle Matt ran up to where my dad and mom were sitting and said "What just happened?" in a worried tone. "3 deer just ran across the street and one of them hit my cardoor," my dad replied. "Is everyone OK?" my mom said, "Girls, are you all right?" she called to Joey, Bo, and I. "We`re ok," we all said in unicent. "What happened?" I asked my mom curiously. "Nothing dear, just go play cards with Joey and Bo, ok honey?" she said. From the armchair I could see that the sideview mirror had been knocked off, but I just did what my mom said and unbuckled my seatbelt and sat next to my sister and cousin and played cards with them. My dad pulled to the side of the road and a sherriff pulled up right behind us. He talked to my dad through the car window and said, "Don`t worry sir, I saw the whole thing from my car right behind you, I`ll take care of it." The deer had died, but my parents made sure Joey, Bo, and I didn`t see it and were kept occupied so we wouldn`t worry or have any clue what was going on. The sheriff told my dad that we were lucky because if the R.V. had been any smaller, the deer woul`ve been hurtled right throw the windsheild and injured my mom and dad. He was really nice and made sure we were all ok before he let us keep driving. He said to call the R.V. company in the morning and tell them what happened and that they would take care of it. He took care of the deer, but Joey, Bo, and I hadn`t the slightest clue what was going on so we just played cards the whole time the sheriff and the adults were talking. My mom always says, "It was an exciting, yet traumitizing way to start off that trip."