Family Vacations... TO BE OR NOT TO BE

We set off for a family vacation on Friday, June 26th. We were heading to Christian’s family’s cabin in Boulder, Utah. We left around 1 pm and arrived about 5 pm to the local gas station where there was a hopin’ party. We enjoyed Pizza, Music, and Poetry (Good old Boulder). We left for the cabin about 7 and it should have been a short ride to get there but you have to have a 4 wheel drive car ‘cause you drive up a river to get to it. The river had been a little high that day but we thought we could get through without flooding the engine of the truck or the car (big car… like a land cruiser) that we were in. Well the truck went first, about 10 feet before it actually would have arrived at the river, the front of it sunk. The so called dirt we though we were driving on was more like a jell-o. The water had soaked so much into it you could actually jump on it like a trampoline. The front tires were half way in the mud. We had to drive the car back to the gas station to find a chain to try and pull it out. We got the chain hooked up and after some time finally freed the truck from the mud. This obviously meant that we were not going to get to the cabin by car. It was getting later and getting darker at night. I thought that was it… we were just going to have to drive home but then I found out that, nope we were going to hike in with all of our luggage and two babies! After dead ends, steep rocks, cliffs, we finally found our way to the cabin. Oscar was exhausted but ok and Ella was not too happy (I don’t think I can blame her). There were a lot of mosquitoes but the only skin showing on me was my face and hands so I thought I was fine. Others had on shorts and I thought for sure they were going to have a lot of bits. Well it’s just my luck that I ended up with seven bits on my left hand, two on my right, one on my left elbow, one on my thigh (through my jeans… impressive), one on the tip of my left ear, one on my eyebrow and one in my scalp. Not to mention that fact that I am allergic to mosquitoes and instead of a little bump that itch I get baseballs that itch. My hands no longer had knuckles they had dimples there instead. However, I can handle swelling from mosquito bits… what I can’t handle is tendonitis. The first night at the cabin my entire right arm was shooting with pain because all the tendons had inflamed from carrying my luggage at the awkward angle while hiking in. I could not sleep at all. I wanted to cry but Oscar was asleep in our room and I was afraid to wake him (I still cried a little though… I know I’m a baby when it comes to pain). Fortunately my father-in-law is a doctor so Christian woke him up to see what to do to help stop the pain. I took meds and finally got about two hours of sleep that night. The next day was just fine as long as I kept up on my meds for my arm. We had fun playing games and being with family. Then Sunday came… (that’s right it’s not over). We went to church and came back to the cabin to pack up and head home. It’s about a 3 ½ hour drive to get back home so we left around 3, 3:30ish. Around 4:30 we hit Tropic and stopped at the gas station to feed Ella. Right when Madeline (Sister-in-law) got out she threw up everywhere. She was so sick. We got back on the road after she thought she was ok and we grabbed some paper bags just in case. She continued to throw up the entire way home but it’s not over… So we’re on the road and Ella started crying not soon after. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her cry so hard. She would not calm down and right when she would take a breath to try and calm down, Oscar would freak out from the cry and started balling himself (he normally doesn’t cry that hard either). In the middle seat it went: Ella, Oscar and then me. So here I am on my knees trying to help Ella with my left hand and Oscar with my right. They bawled back and forth forever and ever and ever. Everyone was kind of laughing because it was just out of control and we had no idea what was wrong with the both of them (I think I was crying more than laughing because I was in charge of them and I could do nothing to make it stop). Ps. I never want twins. So we finally pulled over to get them out of the car. We are in the middle of no where almost all our cell phones where dead and Mike and Kelly (in the truck) had gone the other direction to get home. So I had tried everything for Ella except food so when we stopped I tried to feed her a bottle but she would not take a bottle so poor Madeline being so sick as it is had to try and nurse her. She ate a little and calmed down so he headed back on the road. (Side note: while I was trying to feed Ella the bottle, Christian had Oscar and he was scanning the cars as they passed by and Stephen and Peter where throwing rocks at the cows across the street (they never hit any so don’t worry) but so when Stephen went to throw the rocks he set his cell phone on the back of the car..) We drove off and ten minutes into the drive Steve remembered the cell phone (one of the few with a battery left). We went back and the only way we would have found it is if it fell off exactly where we left off. Low and behold there it was, scratched a little but in great condition. So lucky. About 25 minutes later we hit a rest stop for Madeline. We got the babies out to play with them for a minute and then put them back in the car to get home. We only had an hour an 15 minutes left. Right when we got on the freeway Ella started screaming again. Madeline was too exhausted to feed her and I was convinced that’s what was wrong again. I figured she was on a growth spurt or something (I’m used to it… Oscar has one of those everyday). So I got a bottle again and she ended up drinking almost 3 ounces but that didn’t stop the crying. This time every time she screamed Oscar would laugh. I have to idea what is wrong with my child but that carried on for the entire hour and 15 minutes. We got home at 9 o’clock that night. I was so exhausted emotionally and physically. However, it’s not over… The next morning around 2 am Stephen and Peter got really sick. Then I woke up and Oscar started throwing up all his food and carrots stain. I called the doctor and they told me to wait and they gave me some signs to look for. So as we went through the day, he through up everything. He had one messy diaper early that morning but nothing the rest of the day. He would cry but have no tears. Oscar was not himself so I called to doc again and they said to bring him in. It was now 8:30 at night and the nurse practitioner prescribed some vomiting medicine to help. Ps. They weighed him in at 21 ½ lbs. It worked, he was keeping down what we gave him but that night Christian started to throw up. When we got up that morning Kelly said she felt sick too. I immediately started cleaning; there was no way I was getting sick. I cleaned the kitchen, my bathroom, washed all the clothes that where worn and the sheets of our bed so everything was fresh. So six of the nine people on the trip have been sick and it is now the next morning and I still feel fine. I’ll keep my fingers crossed but personally I don’t think I deserve to get sick and throw up given the fact that last year I threw up at least 275 out of the 365 days of the year. Well, if you endured this post… Congratulations and maybe think twice before you go on your next family vacation. Here are some pics but not from this weekend. These are just of Oscar and his radiating good looks!

Quick Update

Just a quick up on Oscar... As of Monday he is officially crawling! He loves it so much and I am now going to have to keep my room much cleaner. Sorry no pics yet...

ValOSCARaptor

That is Oscar's new nickname. All he does is this raspy scream when he is playing with his toys. He's not sad, he just does it for fun. Well, he has had his 6 month appointment so I thought I would post his stats real quick... He is 28 inches long (80%), 46 cm for his head (94%), and he weighs 19 lbs 11 oz (90%). I think his weight is starting to slow down which is great cause my arms are going to fall off if I have to carry him around anymore. Also, he is getting so close to crawling. I'm kind of excited cause then he won't be so fussy and angry that he can't go get my in-laws cats or my parents dog (good luck to those animals when he can get you). Sorry I don't have any pictures right now but I'll try to post some within the next couple of days.

PS. Only 39 more days till we hit the road for Missouri. CRAZY!