It was that time again, camping time. Of course Mom wasn't coming like usual. "We leave first thing in the morning, be at Ed's cabin by noon, and immediately start chopping wood for the fire. I'm bringing my axe." Dad said to us, I looked at him.

"Can you teach me how to chop wood with an axe this year?" I asked him, he never taught me in case I accidentally killed someone but that wouldn't happen this year.

"Not this year." He said to me and I sighed.

"Good. Now I won't have to find a sharp rock to kill myself with." Oliver said to him, I guess it could be used for that as well.

"Don't be negative, Oliver. Us living off the land, no electricity." Dad said to us, sounded like a nightmare.

"It'll be fun, Dad. It'll just be like when you broke gender barriers to be the first male Den Mother." Taylor said to him, I shuddered at that. I remembered that day.

"Remember how I turned my skirt into a capris? It was pretty awesome. I was a real trailblazer. They called me a modern-day FDR." Dad said to us, no one called him that.

"You mean you called yourself that, and no one stopped you." Oliver said to him.

"Fair enough." Dad said to him.

"Don't most people go camping in the summer?" Oliver asked, camping in the winter was something I never knew about.

"Yeah, but Ed makes you pay for the cabin in the summer. But this is gonna be great. Anna-Kat's finally old enough to camp with us, and you might just like it. It's not too late to follow the Otto family tradition. Some families are soldiers, some cops. We're scouts. Eagle Scouts." Dad said to Oliver, he wasn't become a scout anytime soon.

"Well, I've been dying to wear a red kerchief around my neck and have no friends." Oliver said to him before putting a fake smile on. He didn't have friends anyway so nothing would've changed.

"Son, men have died for the right to wear that kerchief." Dad said to him, that sounded like a massive lie.

"No, they haven't. I don't have time for off-season family bonding. I have a business to run." Oliver said before standing up and leaving, I got a bottles water from the fridge and sat on the sofa.

"Your mom and I don't like you selling knockoff polo shirts to kids in Norwalk." Dad said to Oliver, I turned the Tv on to see what was on but there wasn't anything really.

"They're not knockoffs. They're shirts with defective logos that I improve and re-sell." Oliver said, did he just describe what a knockoff was?

"Isn't that the exact definition of knockoff?" Dad asked him.

"That's exactly what I thought." I said to Dad.

'I'm providing a service. Those Norwalk kids are just happy they can get an expensive shirt for 40 bucks so they can have a fancy night out at Dairy Queen." Oliver said before leaving.

"I brought you pillows!" I heard Mom say, she must've only just come downstairs.

"We don't need no stinkin' pillows! We'll make our own. Pune needles in a sweatshirt." Dad said to us, that just sounded painful. I was definitely bringing a pillow.

"That sounds so fun. Ugh! I wish I could go. But Angela needs me. It's the one-year anniversary of her breakup with Celeste." Mom said, I wish I could be with her, Angela and Doris tomorrow.

"I totally get it. You need to be there for your friend." Dad said to her, was allowed to be there as well.

"But I hate the thought of you guys being on an adventure without me." Mom said, we all knew she didn't. She was glad to get out of this.

"Hey. Can I bring my new fish?" Anna-Kat asked, at least we'd have a small food supply.

"Yeah, I don't think camping will be good for it." Dad said to her, it was true.

"Yeah, it will die in two days instead of its normal span of four days." Oliver said to her.

"But at least we'd have some food." I said to them.

"Oliver. Y/n." Dad said to us, it was true though.

"I'm not the one who brought a death-obsessed 7-year-old a pet with a high-mortality rate." Oliver said to Dad, now that was exactly true.

"He's got a good point." Dad said to her, a good point indeed.

"You know, I'm going to go to Second Breakfast and try to get out of it. I really want to come with you guys." Mom said before getting ready to leave for Second Breakfast. The rest of us had to suffer Dad talking about the trip. When it got to morning Mom was helping us get our stuff ready so we could go. "Let's get you guys on the road." Mom said to us as she came downstairs.

"You owe me money." I heard Luz say to Oliver. They were video calling.

"Luz, I'm not exactly liquid right now. I took our profits and re-invested in more shirts." Oliver said to her, that wasn't good business.

"You didn't ask me." Luz said to him, and that made it even worse.

"Luz, as soon as I get back into town, I promise- -" Oliver started before she cut him off. This wasn't helping his case.

"You're skipping town on me?" She asked him, it sounded like it.

"No, I'm going camping." Oliver said to her, it didn't sound believable.

"That's what they all say." I said to him, I saw Luz look at me. I couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"You're going camping?" She asked him.

"I am. Mom, tell her I'm going camping." Oliver said while looking at Mom who was packing wine.

"No, this isn't too much wine." Mom said to him, not what he asked but at least she answered a question.

"We're not going camping." Dad said while entering the room, thank god for that.

"Knew it." Luz said to him, and now he was in trouble.

"What?" Oliver asked while looking at the window.

"Luz, do you think we should get a cat? I'm kind of wanting one again." We heard Viv say in the background. That would be a mess.

"Coming, Miss Viv! I want my money." Viv said before hanging up. Now Oliver was in trouble.

"Luz!" He shouted but she was gone. "Why would you say that?" Oliver asked Dad.

"Because we're not going camping." Dad said before throwing open the curtains I walked over and saw snow. "It snowed all night, and I checked online, all the roads are closed." Dad said everyone came over to the window.

"No!" Mom said before coming over. "It was supposed to be a dusting. They said it was a dusting." Mom said while looking out the window. Looks like both of our trips was cancelled.

"I was really looking forward to this. And this is the only weekend that we could get Ed's cabin. We were gonna ice fish for hours and catch nothing...but memories." Dad said, now that got a little sad.

"Damn." Oliver got out.

"Almost made me feel bad." I said to him.

"I know." Dad said to Oliver. The power then went out.

"The power's out." Oliver said, this was just becoming a nightmare.

"You got to be kidding me!" Mom shouted a little, I wish we were.

"Wait. This is great." Dad said, I would like to know his thoughts exactly.

"It is? You know what? One of us has been using the word 'great' wrong our whole life." Mom said, it truly had been using it wrong. This wasn't great.

"No, don't you see? We can do our camping trip right here in our living room. It's just like Ed's cabin but instead of having a dead moose head on the wall, we got Mom!" Dad said with a smile, at least someone was happy about this.

"It's all coming together." Taylor said with a smile, it truly was.

"Full circle." I added with a smile.

"Everybody wins." Mom said, she wasn't happy about this at all.

"Okay, let's move the couches so I can create a base camp." Dad said, we then started moving the couches. Once base camp was sorted, we then started making our lanterns from jugs and torches but Dad went to get mom first. Oliver started calling the power company.

"You don't know when our house is going to get it's power back? That's not an acceptable answer. No, I don't want to talk to your supervisor. I want to talk to the guy below who's about to get your job." Oliver said on the phone. I'm pretty sure the guy hung up.

"My fish is cold." Anna-Kat said to us, weren't they supposed to be?

"Don't worry, sweetie. I'm starting a fire utilizing nothing but steel wool, a nine-volt battery, and a small pile of cheese puffs." Dad said to her, why couldn't he use a match.

"Why don't you just use one of those long matches?" Mom asked him, I looked at her.

"I was thinking the same thing." I said to her.

"'Cause you married an Eagle Scout, baby. Come be amazed." Dad said to Mom as an answer. I'm sure we wouldn't be amazed.

"That's fantastic. Hope the power never comes back on." Mom said before chuckling.

"Why are Viv's lights on?" Taylor asked while looking away from the window.

"She clearly has a generator. The lesson here is marry money, people." Oliver said to us, it truly was.

"That is not the lesson, people. We actually have it better than she does. She's not learning how to start a fire or buoys a she,tee or make her urine more drinkable. Now, who wants to tie some knots?" Dad asked, now I draw the line at drinking urine.

"My fish is starting to shiver." Anna-Kat said to us, it was fine.

"I have an idea. I'll take the fish over to Viv's immediately." Mom said to Anna-Kat, I was learning how to tie different knots that I'd never need again. After a while Oliver called Luz again but she hung up immediately. It wasn't long until Mom returned. "Viv's going to keep Anna-Kat's fish safe." Mom said to us, that was good.

"Well, took a whole bag of cheese puffs, but I got the fire started." Dad said to her, I wanted this thing to be over.

"Who knew that the kids' favorite snack was combustible?" Mom asked us, I don't know but it's gotta be the dust.

"Very. Okay, troops, let's start making a shelter out of available materials. We'll need the hat rack, some chip clips, and take the shoelaces out of your shoes." Dad said to us, it was going to take so long to put those laces back in.

"Here's a great idea for a shelter. How about this house that already covers us?" Oliver asked before getting up.

"Hey, where are you going?" Dad asked him, he was going upstairs.

"Upstairs to use the bathroom." Oliver said to him.

"There's no upstairs in camping. We'll have to dig a latrine in the snow. I can teach you how to make a shovel out of a dust Pan and a curtain rod." Dad said to Mom, I hated every minute of this.

"I love it all." Mom said to him, I went over to the stairs and sat next to Oliver, we both went our phones. "Ah, would you look at that. I forgot the fish food. Be right back." Mom said before picking it up and leaving again for Viv's.

"Damn it, that's a fine woman." Mom said to him, we then started constructing our shelter. "Okay, high grades for improvisation. Low marks for over-reliance on mops. Now, what kind of knot do we use to secure the Swiffers to the frame?" Dad asked, I felt like I knew the answer but didn't at the same time.

"Power cinch." Taylor answered, that was it.

"Right. Oliver, you haven't answered a single question." Dad said to him, I'd answered only one because that's how many questions I knew the answer to.

"How about I ask one? Why do we own three Swiffers?" Oliver asked, they had to be some stupid reason behind it.

"Because your mom can never find the mopping-cloth refills, so she keeps buying new ones. Anyway I'd like it if you joined us." Dad said to him, I didn't want to but I was still joining in.

"This is business. I have more pressing things to do." Oliver said before he began walking away but Dad stood in-front of him. "Hey." Oliver said as Dad took him phone.

"Camping- -no electronics." Dad said to him, that was the worst part.

"Fine. Then I'm going across the street to talk to Luz." Oliver said before walking to the door but first he stopped to put his coat on.

"Make sure my fish is okay. She's all I have." Anna-Kat said to him, so obviously we weren't important.

"You have parents, three siblings, and a room full of ponies." Dad said to her, Taylor and I looked at her.

"Eh." She said to us, we both looked at Dad.

"Well, at least we know what she thinks of us." I said to them all. When Oliver came back we were whittling.

"Hey, we're whittling." Dad said to him with a smile.

"Hey, I didn't ask." Oliver said making dad stand up.

"I've had enough of you today. Is it so hard for you to join in and act like part of this family?" Dad asked him.

"I'm just nit interested in camping." Oliver said, I wasn't but I was still joining in and having some fun.

"Yeah, but I'm interested. And your sisters are interested. And your mom's interested. And to be honest, I don't care if you're not interested. Sometimes you do things for other people." Dad said, I was apart of that second part. I wasn't interested but I was doing it for Dad.

"If Mom's so interested, how come she's hiding out across the street drinking champagne with Viv?" Oliver asked him, that sounded like Mom.

"There's no way." Dad said to him.

"You could be right, suppose it might have been a nice Prosecco." Oliver said to Dad, who then left.

"Why doesn't that surprise me." I said to them all.

"Because Mom's been trying to get out of it all these years." Oliver said to me. When Dad came back we continued Whittling and Taylor had an accident. When Mom came home she joined in.

"It's not that funny." Dad said to us, it was funny though.

"I brought wood." Mom said to us, she truly did.

"Where'd you get it?" Dad asked her, she didn't buy it, that was for sure.

"I looted it. Looting is legal in time of crisis. Oh, it's so nice in there. Look at that. See? Good thing I bought all those Swiffers." Mom said with a smile, was she really going to participate. "What happened to your hand?" Mom asked Taylor noticing the pad on her hand.

"Ah, whittling accident. Happens." Taylor said while showing Mom her hand.

"We bandaged it with tree sap and a maxi-pad, the nighttime kind." Anna-Kat said to Mom.

"We had to think outside the box." I said to her with a smile.

"That is amazing." Mom said to us with a smile, it kind of was.

"You know, you don't have to be here." Dad said to her, it was true she could go and join Oliver.

"No. I do. We got married to be together and to do stuff. And there's good stuff and there's crappy stuff, like this. But we're partners. And you can't do what's best for you and screw over your partner. The fact that Viv is the one that made me realize that is really freaking me out. So, do you accept my apology?" Mom said apologizing to Dad, it was bittersweet in a way.

"No." Dad said before closing the makeshift tent on her.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Mom asked him, Dad got out of our tent.

"You have to earn your keep around here." Dad said to him, all of us had done work all day.

"Okay. Great. Perfect. What can I do?" Mom asked, we needed something still.

"We still need the snow latrine." Taylor said to her.

"None of us has had time to do it." I said with a smile, Mom was going to hate this.

"Yes. Yes, we do." Dad said while handing her the shovel.

"I'm on it. How deep?" Mom asked, that was the wrong question to ask.

"If you have to ask, 'how deep?' You haven't gone deep enough." Dad said to her, she walked off with a smile. I saw Oliver smile before walking upstairs and then leaving with his savings. Soon Oliver came back inside with Mom.

"Look who helped me dig a toilet in the cold, hard earth with a plastic dustpan." Mom said before getting inside our tent.

"And I brought the fish back." Oliver said it all went quiet. The lights then came back on along with the rest of the power.

"Oh, power's on." Mom said and we all groaned.

"But I was actually just starting to enjoy this." I said to them all. Oliver then turned the lights off.

"Mind if I join you guys?" He asked us, Taylor and I smiled at him.

"Whatever happened to this nit being your thing?" Dad asked him as Oliver started walking over to us.

"I'm really sorry. I was being selfish, and whatever Mom said when she screwed up, can I just piggyback on that?" Oliver said while apologizing. He sat in the tent and now we were a camping family.

"Smart. That was good stuff." Mom said to him, it was a smart move.

"Taco in a bag?" Dad asked while showing him the taco in a bag.

"What? No. Ew." Oliver said and we all laughed, when the day ended we put everything away. When we ended that Lilli, Hattie, Khadijah and I all went to go and grab a hot chocolate and we talked about our days.