Vacation Part One-WORST TRIP EVER!

WARNING: long post, but very entertaining...for you anyway.

Thanks to the most wonderful mother in the whole world, I FINALLY have a new computer. And guess what? It's a Macbook like I have always wanted! I am so excited to be back in the world of blogging. So much has happened that I can not possibly write all of it, so I will just write from our recent vacation to California.

the trip started out rough...and I mean ROUGH! Liam woke up with a fever and a really bad cough. Instead of leaving at 7:00am like we planned, I waited to get him into the doctor. He got a 9:30am appointment and we were told that he had croup with stridors. That means that his airway was really blocked and he was having a hard time breathing. He was given a steroid to open his throat and the doctor said to take him the the ER if it seemed like he could not breathe. Great start to a vacation right? We ended up not leaving until about 11:00am.

To make matters worse, Kennedy decided that she needed to use the restroom between Mesquite and Las Vegas. Anyone who has driven that stretch of road knows that there is nothing but sand and cacti for an entire 70 miles or so. So, we stopped on the side of the road to let her go. Little did I know that my new phone fell out of my pocket and onto the pavement never to be found again. Even if I had found it on the way back, it would have been melted into the ground. I was very sad and am still in the process of trying to replace it. I have about 13 voice mails that still need to be checked. By this point, I really wanted to turn around and come back home, but I also really wanted a vacation. And so, we journeyed on.



When we got to our hotel in Las Vegas, Kennedy was so excited to get out of the car and into the pool. Just as we were going out of our room, the heavy door hit Kennedy's big toe and ripped it almost clear off! We had to carry her down to the lobby with a towel wrapped around her toe while she screamed! Poor girl. She did not want to miss swimming for anything, so she went in anyway. By this time, I could not wait to just get into my bed and go to sleep. Alas, I had a sick baby...and when baby does not sleep, mom does not sleep either. I was up all night long between Liam coughing and a rock hard bed and paper thin pillow.
Is this vacation starting to sound like National Lampoons vacation? Maybe I am being dramatic, but I felt as if God opened the clouds and said, "I HATE YOU CARLI" (name that movie)

After about a good 3 hours of sleep, we continued on to California. I felt better knowing that we only had a 5 hour drive ahead of us. wait a minute...STRIKE THAT! I was traveling with two kids and some very bad luck, so it really took us more like 8 hours. We stopped in Baker for some "Alien Jerky" because the kids were both tired of being in the car and ready for a break and some ice cream. It was 115 degrees outside which did not make for happy children. We got in the car and planned on driving straight through to Orange county, but the foreign fruit check decided to open up and we were stuck in an hour long line! That check point has NEVER been opened in all of the times that I have driven that stretch of road. But they decided to open up the day that I have a screaming baby in the car. He was screaming even more because the car was not moving at all!


By the time we got through that traffic, were were only in Barstow and still had a good three hours of driving left to go. We decided to stop and let the kids out to eat and stretch their legs yet again. This felt like the longest day ever because we just wanted to get there! Something else bad happened in Barstow, but I am too embarrassed to blog about it, so I wont. (if you want to ask me about it, I will send you a message with what happened) We were now back in the car again and on our way. "NO MORE STOPPING!" I said...hoping that if I said it loud enough, it would come true. We put my grandparents address into the GPS and were off. I knew how to get to my grandparents house. I have been there a hundred times, but the GPS said that there was a faster way. Stupid me listened to the GPS and got onto a freeway that I have never been on before. Little did we know that it was a toll road.

We paid the first $2.50 when we got on the freeway. We paid it again about 20 miles down the road. Then our GPS decided to stop working! I though I remembered the name of the exit, so I told Christian to get off the freeway. One problem...at the end of the freeway, It asked for $1.50 in CHANGE! No cash allowed, no person to take our money. Just a machine that took dimes, nickels and quarters. We dug up $1.00 in change and then could only find pennies. The machine did not take pennies! We both got out of the car and searched under seats and through every bag we had. I was so sad when we were a nickel short! The toll booth said that if we passed without paying, the fine was $75.00! I said a quick prayer and looked in the truck. There, we found a nickel! We ended up laughing so hard when we finally got through the toll and were happy to almost be there!

If anyone knows me, they know that without bad luck, I would have NO luck at all. And, it was true in this case as well. With the GPS not working, and me not knowing where exactly we were when we exited the freeway, we stopped to look for an outlet to charge Christian's iPhone to look on the map to see where we were. Remember, I had no phone either to call to see where we were going and Christian's was out of batteries. I spotted an outdoor outlet at a grocery store and let the phone charge for a few minutes. All the while, my two kids are both crying in the car to get out. I looked on the map and had NO idea where we were. Not even the directions made sense anymore. I called my mom to see if she could tell us where to go. My grandpa told us that there were 2 exits with the same name and that they were the second exit.

We stopped at a gas station to get some change to get back on the toll road. We did not want to get stuck without money again. We got back on the toll road, paid another $2.50 and what do you know? We passed the exit!!! In order to turn around, we would have to pay $1.50 to get off and pay another $2.50 to get back on. Well, that is EXACTLY what we did and we still got lost. $17 later, and still no final destination! We ended up pulling over at a store and letting my parents come and find us. I really had no clue where we were and I still do not know how the GPS took us so far out of our way.

Anyway, we were FINALLY found and we got to my grandparents home at about 7:00 that night. REALLY! 7 1/2 hours later! (this part is almost over I promise) After a great homemade meal and a shower, I knew that I would sleep well that night after having only 3 hours sleep the night before. I laid down in bed (after giving Liam yet another steroid to open his airway) and tried to sleep. I looked at the clock and it was 4:30 am...and I could still not sleep! I finally dozed off at around 5:00am and was woken up by the baby at about 8:00. I was exhausted and in a horrible mood. I was happy that we had no real plans that day, so I mostly got to relax and hang out with my family.

That night, I took not one, but two sleeping pills and slept VERY WELL thank you! Stay tuned for vacation part dos tomorrow! (one problem.. I have pictures but I have no idea how to cut and paste on a mac. any help would be much appreciated)