The Worst Vacation. Ever.

In brief, this was our experience going to visit family in Colorado. 

Sunday while packing: Nora begins puking everywhere

Monday: Nora eats breakfast only to continue puking the rest of the day in the car while Greg carefully drives us through a thunderstorm with puke splashing against the back of his head and side of his face...This pattern continues for the remainder of the trip with variances in the puker and the weather. 

Instead of making the entire 15 hour trip in one day, we decide not to push Nora and get a room for the night. Nora has a high temperature but sleeps well.

Tuesday: Nora wakes refreshed, eats, and pukes. Screaming as we pull into Denver area. Greg actually even told me to just take her out of her car seat for the last few miles of the trip because she was so uncomfortable. Drive through blizzard conditions to get into Denver. Why are we doing this?

Walk into home we are staying at with distant relatives and immediately start load of laundry. 

Call dying family members we came to visit and they tell us that they would rather not have us in their home because it's messy...call back later. 

Wednesday: 12:03 A.M. wake to Ben's heaving as he begins flu. Spend night cradling him and running him to bathroom while he screams bloody murder. Try to keep him quiet for the family we are staying with since they have school-aged children with a schedule to keep. 

Spend Wednesday encouraging Nora to eat, cleaning puke, holding Ben, pleading with Ben to stop screaming. Phone call drama between family members begins, no one understands that I don't care anymore and that my focus is on my children's survival.  

Thursday: Can't let down grandmother on Western side of Colorado down so we pack the sick posse into the ever ripening sick-ward-on-wheels and head for the hills. Snow. Snow. Snow. 

Stop in Glenwood Springs and beg hotel to let us check in early so we can change the kids out of puke covered outfits. Greg isn't feeling well. Debate Greg and Ben staying to puke together in hotel room. Decide this is the only time we will ever bother to make the trip to the town I was born in and that if Greg wants to go, the time is now. 

Drag Greg and Ben with to visit Grandma, Ben pukes, screams, and sleeps through lunch. Nora just pukes. Greg waits until we drive past our old house and park we played at, then pukes. My stomach in cramping, I refuse to be sick. 

Grandma is oblivious. 

Drive back to hotel. Crash. 

Ben hates us. 

Friday: Ben not doing well. Diarrhea. So bad. Poor kid. So so bad. I'm dying. Greg feels better and Nora is frustrated to be stuck in the room. Crew comes into hotel room to check and clean smoke detectors. Nora was in the closet to take a nap and starts screaming, clothes are everywhere. How terrible does this look? Fire alarm sound periodically from this point on.

 We had planned to swim in the hot springs, instead Greg gets us another night in the hotel and takes Ben to the emergency room to get fluids. He has color back and asks for water. God is good. I'm not longer worried about forcing fluids down Ben and pass out. I feel terrible. 

Saturday: No hot springs, or hiking, or anything out of the car. Ben doesn't feel good. Diarrhea blows through every pair of pants we brought. Good thing Greg washed laundry at the hotel while I suffered through flu. He is so great. 

Drive to Leadville and past many major ski areas. Don't leave car. The stench is overwhelming. 

Meet with my Godfather for dinner. It was wonderful.

Sunday: I wake up feeling worse than ever. The kids seem to be doing better. Ben asks for morning nap, he was so wiped out. We decide to buck-up and just get through meal with aforementioned family members. They ask to meet at Panera. Deal. Ben talks for two minutes with family, screams, and falls asleep on Greg. It's nap time and Nora, though not behaving terribly, is fidgeting, rolling, squawking the entire visit. Spend 2 hours then head back to sleep. 

Decide we are defeated, pack bag and decide to leave before sun up the next day. 

Monday: Leave Denver just before the sun rises and a huge snow storm hits. Ben sees bread for sandwiches in the car and asks for a slice. Happy he is hungry, I give him a slice. He eats a few bites. As the sun rises I see the entire slice of bread is covered with mold. From then on I can't decide if he is cranky because of flu, mold, or the car ride.
 Push through entire day driving, only my stomach is upset at this point. Greg does great job getting us home. Walk into house at 11:30 P.M. The freezer door is open, orange juice is dripping out the door.  

Tuesday: Grocery shop and recover. See huge storm we missed is coming and bringing record flooding and rain.