This year, Dad said we couldn’t afford to go anywhere farther than the back yard because of rising gas prices. It took Dad two days to get the RV into the back yard. When he did, it was great.

Camping in the RV is a lot of fun. Dad lets us watch videos that we could never watch at home. One day, I watched all three “Shreks” in a row. And he lets us wear the same clothes three days straight. Mom wanted to go on vacation with us, but she said she had to stay home and work. Sometimes she’d come out to see us, but most of the time after work she would stay in the house. She said that was vacation enough for her.

Last year, we went to the Grand Canyon. It was really great. The best part was that they have donkeys you can ride down to the bottom. Donkeys are like horses, but they have stupider names – like Sally and Buttercup. No cowboy would ever ride a horse named Buttercup, so I said I wouldn’t ride down there until they gave me a boy donkey. The guide came over, looked at my donkey, and asked: “What stupid cowboy told you that was Buttercup? That’s not Buttercup. That’s Jolly Roger. Buttercup doesn’t have a white spot on her forehead.” I felt sorry for the stupid cowboy when everyone laughed at his mistake.

Sometimes, Rudy, who lives across the street from us, would come over to hang out. He was on vacation, too. His Dad filled up their back yard with sand and put up a volleyball net. We would go over there sometimes. Mr. Delfino said it’s the best vacation he’s ever had. He said he may never mow the lawn again. Once, Mrs. Delfino yelled at him for tracking sand through the house, but he didn’t seem to care. He said she should come out and let him rub some sunscreen on her back. It didn’t sound funny to me, but she laughed.

My sister, Halley, just turned 14, and she is so snooty. She acts like she’s 15. She and Dad fight all the time. “I need a real vacation,” she said. Dad said, “A vacation from what? The mall? I tell you what, how’d you like a vacation from that cell phone for a few weeks? I can make that happen.” She made a face and went into her room and locked the door. It made me remember how much she hated the Grand Canyon because her cell phone didn’t work there.