The Amazing Race: Family Edition

In case you don't know it yet--and how could you not?--my favorite television show EVER (besides Friends, which doesn't count because it is off the air) is The Amazing Race.

Now, check out the last two words of that title:

AMAZING: inspiring awe or admiration or wonder; surprising greatly

RACE: an extended competition in which participants struggle like runners to be the winner; a competition of speed, as in running or riding

And that is totally how the show has been done in previous seasons. I was admiring as I watched the extended competition of speed. [That is just like a sentence you would make your students write using vocabulary words.]

I didn't know how I would feel about a Family Edition. I should have made my family apply. We Flowers are certainly very entertaining, except no one would get our jokes and we would stress out before we ever got to the starting line.

It does not seem to be a concept that is family-ready. Given the Indian Train Crushing, the Ethiopian Mud-Slinging, Icelandic Glacier Camping, the French Back-Stabbing, and the All Over the World Cab-Stealing, you'd think a family might reconsider when deciding on what to do for their summer vacation.

(Although, wouldn't that be an awesome back-to-school paper?)

However, I did like the season premiere. I had lowered expectations, which probably explains why I was pleasantly surprised.

There were several times when I was like, "That is sooo my family."

Like when the Aiello sons-in-law said, "Tony doesn't know how to put up a tent; he's got three daughters. They never went camping. Don't worry; we'll teach you how to be a boy."

Even though my dad has only two daughters, we did go camping a LOT, but Joon's husband says the thing about being a boy to my dad ALL THE TIME, because Daddy never watches football on Sunday afternoons. (Because it's stupid).

When the Gaghan boy said, "I'm sorry I didn't contribute more," and his sister said, "Get used to it, dork." That kid rules.

When the Linz boy [whisper] passed gas in the buggy and his sister was completely disgusted. Man, I have been in her place. Joon really cuts 'em.

Speaking of Joon, we are back to our Weekly Wrap-ups of the show, and she liked it when the Gaghan kids sang "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" during their buggy ride.

JOON: But I would have sung it like on PeeWee's Big Adventure
MEI: No, YOU would sing Jimmy Cracked Corn
JOON: LOL oh yeah
JOON: If we were on it, I'd be talking about how annoying all the other teams are
MEI: And everyone else would talk about how annoying WE are
JOON: Yeah but we're still better
MEI: Yeah

Well, we are.