Road Trip Disaster

This past weekend, John, Benson, and I made the 6 hour drive down to St. Louis to visit our favorite people, Chelsey and Kevin. Chelsey and I were best buds growing up in PA, then we were roommates at BYU, then we both decided to go on missions and got called to the same mission (Mesa, AZ), then we were roommates again after our 18-month missions, and then we married guys who are very similar and are both in med school going into ophthalmology.

Anyway, Chelsey and Kevin are moving to CT in a month, and with everyones' busy schedules, this was the last chance we would have to see Chevin before they move farther away. So we excitedly packed our bags, John got out of work early, we picked up some books on CD from the library and headed down to Missouri.



We arrived at 8 PM on Friday night and had SO MUCH FUN talking, eating, laughing, putting the kiddos to bed, telling stories, etc. John and I went to bed that night and commented to each other what a briliant idea it was to take this road trip.



About 3 hours later, I woke up and felt like my insides were melting. I tried to ignore the queasiness, but after a minute I ran to the bathroom just in time to throw up. A few hours after that, John started feeling sick and threw up, and while he was in the bathroom I barged in and threw up too. Then Benson woke up and we all threw up again. Basically, we spent Saturday VERY SICK. Kevin and Chelsey brought us drinks and food, they bathed Benson and helped change his diapers, they loaned us extra clothes, they went to the store to buy us medicine, they let us commandeer their washing machine, and they were so nice about it. The three of us just laid on their bed moaning and drooling. It was AWFUL!



Benson and I did get a post-sickness bounce for a few hours on Saturday and went with the Gertsches to an Easter Egg Hunt on the campus of St. Louis University. It was amazing-- I think every child in St. Louis was there, and there were thousands of eggs hidden on the lawn. Wow! Peter and Benson didn't really understand the concept of hunting for eggs, but they managed to come home with a few in their buckets.



Here's Jillian checking out her loot. She actually got a "golden ticket" in one of her eggs that said she won an extra prize, and to redeem it at the main booth. (We had fun speculating-- a plasma 42-inch TV? cruise tickets? Turns out it was a very cute stuffed bunny, which she was thrilled about!)



By Saturday night, John, Benson, and I were all feeling much better and we were able to keep some food down. Benson and Peter are 12 days apart, and they had a fun time playing together. Here they are trying to check for any weak spots that would allow them to push open the bathroom door (Benson's current favorite play area).



Here's Jillian, Peter, and Benson all ready to go to church on Easter Sunday.

Anyway, all things considered, it was a really fun weekend. The sick part was a disaster, but everything else was a blast. Kevin and Chelsey were amazing hosts and just chuckled when we were sick and cleaned up and helped us recover. I'm sure it will be a very memorable weekend for all of us and that we'll laugh (hopefully) about this road trip for decades to come.