Friday, October 31, 2008

the 6 Dollar Doughnut,

and other tales from our weekend in Shipshewana, Indiana.

Our children are at fun age. An age of innocence, with the full enjoyment of all things kid. So when I saw an ad on TV for Splash Universe, I talked Dan into going there on a family getaway.

My first goal was to earn enough money at the garage sale to finance the trip. Goal not met.

My second goal was to arrive last Thursday as soon as the water park opened as to squeeze every last penny's worth out of our one night stay. Goal not met.

My third goal was to page through Real Simple, People, and the Banner magazines (you like that combo?) that I brought along. By now you may have guessed, Fail.

It all started last Thursday morning with the tell tale scream.
"Mom! Chase just barfed on my bed and the floor" says Drew.
What a sinking feeling for me when I hear these words. The stomach flu tends to have the domino effect in our household. My mind went to a very dark place in that instant. Visions of the 6 of us in a hotel room fighting for the toilet, dealing with the flu in unison. Canceling our trip was not an option as we were due to check in that day. I hugged Chase telling him, he will only puke once and maybe he just ate something that didn't settle well. Both items aforementioned became untrue as the day lingered on.

To shorten the story a bit (only a bit). We arrived in the town of Amish and Flea Markets well into the evening. The moment we opened the door to the room Chase (with hand covering mouth) hit the bathroom, Joy began running around in circles holding on for dear life so she wouldn't pee on the floor. Juliet was screaming for her next meal and Drew was just plain ol' bouncing of the walls in his swimsuit. Dan had went down to the van to get our belongings and I had a very real fear that he just might join the Amish for the night, or forever.

Thanks be to God, Chase was the only one that got sick that weekend. We had to book an extra night so he could enjoy the water adventure while healthy. Dan decided not to join the Amish folk. Poor guy. Not only had he been working since 2am the morning before, he had to pay 6 dollars for Chase's breakfast buffet of which he barely ate a doughnut. All this on one pair of underwear! Please forgive me Danno!






9 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is classic blogging. Nothing worse than being sick on vacation except maybe at Christmas. That happened to me once. Sometimes bad things that happen make the best memories. (Chelle at the basketball finals)

Anonymous said...

oooo... i think the basketball finals your dad alluded to would make a good post! so, was it worth it? would you recomend splash universe to your friends and neighbors?

MiniMe Mom said...

Alright, I am sold. We need to discuss:-)

Anonymous said...

Why was I not surprised to read "My second goal was to arrive last Thursday as soon as the water park opened as to squeeze every last penny's worth out of our one night stay. Goal not met." You are ALWAYS on time!

Or that it took a week to post about it?

denise said...

Looks like lots of fun was had even though your "goals" were not met! I agree with fig, unforeseen things that get in the way of our agenda, sometimes do make for the best memories! Thanks for sharing all those great photos! By the looks of the big smile on Chase's face, it was worth every penny!

Anonymous said...

The pics say it all!Chelle, you've got more guts than me.You guys are great parents to stick with the plan, knowing that any minute another might "bite the dust". I would however have taken Dan one more tighty whitey.Great memories!! Oh,and I'm back finally (of course still on dial up)Yeah for Don Postma!

Anonymous said...

Hi Chelle,
Are you really busy or are you trying to out-wait your cousin, Tami? Her last post was October 29. This is getting close...

Cute pics of everyone.

Anonymous said...

This post isn't really that good

Marva's "Marvalous" Memories said...

You're right - I know I'm into facebook more than blogs lately, but I love catching up on your family. Sounds like you had a fun time and I'm glad Chase was only sick for one day!! I love the picture of Dan sitting by the pool with Juliet - was he really awake!!