Two weeks later, the Hanson's were back into a regular routine. Wake up, go to the studio, come home, do it again the next day. Thanks to Taylor's brilliant matchmaking between Scott and Sierra, the two bands hardly saw each other anymore and left each other alone at the studio. Zac often made a point to say hello to Bob and invite him over for a night of Parchizee, but other than that, Scott had forgotten about Tamara and Taylor could relax and work on the album. It was now almost mid-December and the whole family was feeling a bit of cabin fever.
"Please!" shouted Zac. "Get me out of here!" He ran through the halls of the studio like a crazy man and crashed into the wall, falling to the floor.
Ike and Taylor each grabbed one of Zac's legs and dragged him back into the studio.
"Sit at your drum set," commanded Taylor.
"Hold these sticks," said Isaac.
"What do I do with them?" asked Zac.
"You hit the drums with them," explained Taylor.
"Can I do that?" asked Zac with wide eyes.
"Yes," said Isaac. "It's your job."
"What's my job?" Zac asked.
"This is."
"What is?"
"Mary mother of Moses and grape flavored ginger ale!" yelled Isaac. "I'm going home!"
"Ike!" yelled Taylor. "We're not done yet!"
"I don't care!" Ike said slamming his guitar case shut. "I'm outta here!"
"So am I!" said Zac, throwing his sticks in the air and running out the door. "I'm free!" he could be heard yelling down the hall.
Taylor turned to the engineers. "Well, I guess we'll call it a day then," he sighed. The album was coming along at a snails pace. He was sure that the fans were getting impatient and he couldn't blame them. When the album was released in May, it would have been almost 3 years since they had had new material. It was very frusterating. He knew that he and his brothers needed a break.
Luckily his brothers were still waiting for him outside in the El Camino. Ike revved the engine and a sputter of black gas shot out of the tailpipe.
"Come on, this baby doesn't have much gas left in her!" Ike shouted.
"Oh great," muttered Taylor as he hopped over the door. It was broken.
Ike peeled away from the studio, leaving a dark cloud behind them. "WAHOOOO!!!!" yelled Zac, his hair blowing wildly in the wind. "I'm going home and taking a long nap! And then I'm going to watch Teletubbies and then I'm going to go swimming and then I'm going to bed and I'm gonna do it all over again tomorrow!"
"And I am going to eat every flavor of Hot Pockets," said Ike.
When they got home, Ike and Zac ran into the house and collapsed on the ground.
"Please Mom," begged Zac. "I can't go back to the studio...EVER! I'm burnt out...I don't even know what drums ARE!"
"Me either," said Ike. "I have writer's block, my fingers are sore from playing the guitar every freakin day and I've forgotten what the outside world is like!"
"They could use a break," Walker said to Diana.
"But what about the album?!" yelled Taylor. "Am I the only moron here that realizes that we have a deadline?! The fans are WAITING!"
"Screw the fans!" said Zac. "I have a television show to watch." And with that, he stormed off into the living room.
"And I have a Hot Pocket to attend to," added Ike.
"Your father and I are going to have a talk," Diana said to Taylor. "We'll all discuss this in the morning."
"As you all know," Walker said, pacing back and forth across the room, "we have been here for about 4 months with hardly a break at all. As Christmas and the New Year are approaching, Diana and I have decided that it would be in everybody's best interest if we go on a family vacation...to Las Vegas."
"Las Vegas?!" exclaimed Ike. "Wow!"
"Alright!" said Zac, pumping his fist in the air. Everyone in the room murmured and nodded in excitement.
"We'll be leaving in two days, so I suggest that everyone start packing," Walker turned to look at Ike, Tay and Zac. "We'll be there for about 2 and a half weeks, so you kids are welcome to invite any friends that you want...I'm sure you all miss your friends from home."
"I get to invite Eric and Nick?!" yelled Zac. "Awesome!"
"Yeah, this is great!" said Tay. "Let's invite everyone we know!"
"Now hold on," said Diana. "Let's not get too carried away. We've rented 3 suites and 2 rooms, so we can't have more than 30 people come with us."
"Thirty?!" exclaimed Taylor. "Alright, that's way more than I was thinking. This trip's gonna rock!"
"Im' going to invite Carmen," said Ike.
"Yeah! And Holly!" added Zac.
"We've already asked George and Martha Rice to come with us, so that means that both Scott and Megan will be coming along," said Walker.
"I'm sure you'll want to invite Phoebe, won't you Tamara?" asked Tay.
"Well, yeah, if that's okay!" she said, sounding as excited as everyone. But then her face darkened. "Do you think we'll be safe, Mom?" she asked, turning to Janet.
"Well, we booked the tickets for us under the name in the account that you wired the money to. We'll have to be careful. When we're in public, we'll be known as Jodie and Chimaera Lauder."
"Oh, okay," said Tamara, looking a little worried. Taylor gave her a hug.
"Don't worry, I'll keep you safe," he whispered. "This is gonna be a ton of fun!"
"Let's start packing!" Zac yelled. "I have some phone calls to make. Viva Las Vegas baby, yeah!"