Spring Break 2012

I want to apologize in advance - this post is very, very long and all about 'Our Life'. I will do a garden post tomorrow. Really. I Promise.

Why do kids LOVE Spring Break but adults almost cry at the thought of it? Planning Spring Break this year was a little harder to do. We did not know if David was going to be here or be able to take off work. His shop is always under manned. Thankfully David was home and took off from last Tuesday to this Tuesday. A whole week. Yup - I was in shock.

So....I had two weeks to plan a trip and I chose to drive 8 hours to Denver with two cranky kids. Yes - I am just that crazy. We had a blast. We drove to Denver on Tuesday and came home on Friday. We stayed at a KOA in a cabin. We love to camp but I did not want to camp in Colorado in March. I don't like the cold that much.

Our little cabin - small but warm!

On Wednesday we went to the Denver Zoo. I was surprised by how large it was and how fast Alex ran through it! He didn't even give us time to read about the exhibits. I was able to catch a few pictures along the way.

Alex spent most of the time staring at her twitching tail.

Toward the end of our visit to the zoo. Alex started to go down hill. That is when our plans changed for the rest of the day.

In less than 30 minutes Alex went from being his normal active self to a sleepy, lethargic, shadow of himself. We left the zoo and went to the nearest store to find a thermometer and to get the basics of Tylenol and Motrin. We took his temperature before we even paid. Alex was running 103.4. We ran and picked out some Gatorade and some juice, paid, and went to the car. Less than 20 minutes from checking his temperature the first time. He was just getting hotter. We checked his temperature again. 104.9. Thank God for the Navigation in my new car. We found the nearest ER (It happened to be a Children's Hospital). They took his temperature again. It had gone up to 105.1. I was in panic mode. He would not talk to me. All he would do is rub his face against my shoulder and whimper. It took them over an hour to get his temp down to 103 again. Once it was down to 102 he started to act more like himself. He played with the lights and the nurse's call button. And even drank some Apple juice. They could not find anything wrong with my baby. There wasn't an infection so they told us it was Viral and to wait it out.

We decided to stay in Denver until the next morning to see how he was doing. By morning - as long as we did not forget to give him his Tylenol- Alex was his old self. So we continued our vacation. On Thursday we went to the Butterfly Pavilion, Downtown Aquarium, and to Dinosaur Ridge. By the end of the day I was exhausted.

During Lunch at the Aquarium the boys (all three) were able to watch the Mermaids swim. The girls were wonderful. They played with the boys through the glass and blew kisses at them.

Don't the kids look happy? We took this picture after walking up and down the ridge. I need to remember to take the pictures before the hike!

On Friday we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. It was the best museum we have ever been to. We spent all morning there and decided to drive home at 3. Big mistake. Traffic was terrible and we saw two wrecks as they happened. I never want to drive in rush hour traffic again and I don't think David wants to drive in it again with me in the passenger seat. I think I yelled 'BRAKES' twenty times. He would just roll his eyes at me.

Even with our ER visit it was a wonderful trip and I am very thankful to be home again. Now to get the kids off to school and daycare tomorrow so I can really relax!