The WORST VACATION EVER?!?!?!

Well, if you determined the best and worst vacation by how many things go right or wrong, we would be in BIG TROUBLE for this vacation!!!

It started out innocently enough - I left with the kids Sunday Afternoon (to be joined by Brian later) to drive the 3 1/2 hours down to my parents house.

Tyler had a MAJOR and SERIOUS asthma attack the 2nd night there. His immune system was down from being sick, and then he came in contact with lots of DUST and CATS - both of which he is allergic to at my parents house - does not end well. (He has not been treated yet for cats and dust through NAET.) After giving him the albuteral emergency stash for 2 hours straight - burning fever, rapid shallow breathing - at 5 AM I was TOTALLY freaking out. I was told if it was like that to call 911. Finally he improved enough where I was comfortable NOT to have to call them. That DARN CATS - they will never get any love from me!

Tyler's sickness got passed to Brooke, Kylianne, and I. Thoughout the whole house ALL WEEK all you could hear was hacking, barking coughs.

AND my best and only BRA with me - BREAKS! Safety pins are a PAINFULLY sharp replacement.

I had a HORRIBLE eye infection - but STUPID ME - I forgot my back-up glasses. And with a Perscription of -9 (yes, thats right NEGATIVE 9) that is DEBILITATING. I couldn't just not see anything all day, so I kept wearing my contacts - my eye got more and more red, and bloodshot, and weepy so I gave up. By the 3rd day my mom gave me a pair of my dads glasses - they looked really cute I'm sure - but they were just a DROP in the bucket. I could still see nothing. Joking - as an option - I put on my brother's glasses ON TOP of my dads glasses - and it was the perfect perscription. My dad is -5 and my brother is -4.

But then....I had to go everything looking like a mad raving TOTAL lunatic. My dad was doing his annual Christmas vacation cleaning on my teeth and his receptionist walks in and sees me - wearing TWO pairs of glasses, one on top of the other, no makeup because of the eye infection, a RED PUFFY eye, uncoiffed hair (I couldn't really see it to COIF it - I felt like I was seeing life through a fish tank). I could just HEAR her thoughts - " What has HAPPENED to that girl the last year - YIKES?!?!?!?


When we went to go see "Valkerie" I thought to myself that it was awfully cold in the theatre. I wore a winter coat and furry hood the whole movie. I keep the teeth chattering shivering all night - even with EIGHT blankets - until I woke up drenched in sweat and with a NEW PRESENT - a STYE on my eye!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH ME.

So the vision is gone, the well being is gone, and then the VOICE completely disappeared. LARYNGITIS my wintertime friend latched onto me BIGTIME.

No biggy - I just had to go to be at 10 pm New Years.

But then on the way home from my parents (yes we DID forget to say a prayer before we left) Brian noticed something awry. The car was making weird noises. Luckily we were right by an exit - a good 2 3/4 hours into the trip. We made it onto the offramp BARELY before our TIRE BLEW. IT WAS VERY DARK ...and...Well - we had no flashlight so Brian used his cell phone for a light. My cell phone was dead because I refuse to take my cell phone charger our of the charging station at home. Well, he got the jack on the car, and took the tire off, and then....

THE JACK COLLASPED. There was this FREAKY CRUNCHING and LURCHING noise, and then the minivan shifted its weight in an eery way. My first thought was that it crushed Brian. I rushed out of the minivan in the blustery cold night and found Brian throwing out Mormon curse words (FETCH) - PHEW he was not crushed and he was alive. The minivan did fall on his cell phone and CRUSHED it, so we could not call a tow truck or the police. And of course no one stopped.

So Brian ran to a gas station as we sat in a freakishly lopsided car right next to a huge ravine. We said lots of prayers - especially for what seemed like would be an expensive axle repair with no way to get home before Monday.

It seemed like forever before Brian came back. He said we needed to get out of the car right away. We ran with the kids all the way down the off ramp into the city and into a McDonalds gas station. They had refused to let Brian used the phone even after explaining the situation but a GOOD SAMARITAN eating there let him use the phone. The kids cried as we ran in the dark, windy, cold night, but we got there as Brian raced back to the car to meet the tow truck. Brian's dad was also on his way to come get us.

The kids, especially Kylie, were hungry. We bunkered down in a handicap stall while I pumped to get some milk for Kylie, as here crying filled the bathroom. She has been in here carseat for 9 hours straight by that point - and she was NO HAPPY camper.

LUCKILY our prayer for the axle worked - it was fine. Brian and the tower got the donut on the car and Brians dad followed him in the van.

Its a good thing we didn't stay for one more day (LOVE YA MOM AND DAD) because who know what the HECK else would have happened!?!