Vacation woes -- with a ray of sunshine at the end

So last Friday we started Erin's spring break by heading to FL to visit his mom, the pool, and Mickey Mouse. After a bit of a later start than usual we only made it to an hour outside of Atlanta (the St. Louis side). We usually try to make it past Atlanta on day one, since it makes for a much easier second day. God was with us this trip though (I mean, I know He is always with us, but I really saw him this trip) But storms and tornadoes went through Atlanta right around the time we usually would have been driving through. So good thing #1, we made it to Gramme's house safe and sound Saturday night.

After a lot of swimming on Sunday and Monday the kids were tired and I wasn't feeling too hot Monday night. Erin was grilling hamburgers when he came in to tell me we needed a plan B. Apparently the gas grill was rusted through and at one point he went to lift the lid and the entire grill fell to the ground. Good thing there is a Wendy's up the street. So after dinner we watched "B Movie" and got the kids to bed. Still not feeling well, I took my temp and it was 100+. Not good, we were going to Mickey's House the next morning, but I was determined to make it through the Disney day regardless.

As we were packing up stuff to take to Disney, I realized I hadn't seen the camera bag since the hotel in GA. The camera bag that contained our new ESO digital camera, our video camcorder, and 5 full tapes of recorded memories. 6 AM is not really a time to be looking for the camera that I am sick to my stomach sure in somewhere in GA, so we grabbed Gramme's digital, lots of Advil for me, snacks, diapers, jammies for the way home, etc. . . At this point my fever is still over 100

Once at Disney, my Advil has started kicking in, the kids are having a blast, the weather is perfect (partly cloudy, low 70's), and the crowds are not too bad. We met several characters and got there autographs in Kalista's new autograph book. We rode lots of their favorite rides, plus some new ones. (Isaac really liked his first roller coaster -- Goofy's Barnstormer) At some point mid-morning I started shivering and told Erin I was buying a sweatshirt. (I also took more Advil) The kids got some new pirate gear with their souvenir money (thanks, Gramme!) and got to meet Capt' Hook. Next we headed over to Animal Kingdom to see Finding Nemo - the Musical. We had a bit of time to kill, so the kids (and Erin) played at the Boneyard Playground in Dinoland. I sat and watched. The show was great, but I was not, so we got a quick dinner and then caught the bus back to the ticket center and our car. As Erin was changing Isaac's diaper I started looking for the new autograph book and realize that it is no where to be found. Deciding we must have left it in our rented stroller at Magic IKingdom, Erin hopps back on the Ferry to find out, while I take the kids to the car for jammies and a movie while we wait. (Thank goodness for car DVD players!) Erin got back, but no luck finding the book. Disney did give him a replacement though . . . minus the autographs of course.

So we drive home, or Erin drives home while me and the kids sleep (me covered up with our picnic sheet from the back of the van with my heat set on 85) My fever was up to 103 when we got back to the house and my throat was killing me. I got in bed, covered up with four blankets and tried to sleep. This morning I decided I better find some walk-in medical center, or I would be no help to Erin driving home on Thursday. Diagnosis -- Strep. At least now I have some antibiotics to help me get well. . .

So what's the ray of sunshine the post title eludes to, you may ask. . . Erin called the hotel in GA where we stayed and of course they don't have our cameras, but as I sat down to write this "poor, lil' me" post Isaac woke up from his "nap" where he had been playing in our bedroom. Apparently he moved lots of stuff around, including all our jackets where our camera bag had been hiding underneath of! YEAH! Now if we can just make it home safely without losing anything else. . .