The Week of Reunions

(I love this picture of Erika...she got so dirty and loved every minute of it!)

This past week Erika and I drove up to McCall Idaho for the Smith Family reunion. Trent wasn't able to come because his work has been really busy meeting deadlines with a couple jobs so he didn't dare ask for the time off. We missed him lots and called him every night to rub it in his face how much fun we were having!

A couple days before I was suppose to leave my car died on me and we found out that the starter and battery both needed to be replaced. We could pay $300 and get one like that day or we could wait until Monday/Tuesday and get one for like $75. So Trent's Mom graciously offered to let me take her car so I wouldn't miss the reunion.So Monday morning we took off. The ride was uneventful for the first 5 hours... I was about 10 miles outside of Boise when Erika started screaming that she had to go to the bathroom. Now usually I would tell her to hold it and wait the 10 miles but she looked like she was going to pee her pants so I pulled off at the next exit only to find nothing in town. I kept driving around when a random Arby's popped up out of nowhere. I got her out of the car and turned around to lock the doors when she threw up all over the road. Thank heavens for the random Arby's parking lot.So I got her inside cleaned her up made sure she was fine and then we took off. She continued singing and being happy so I figured that was the end of it....I wish...we take our turn off for McCall in Boise and am driving through town when I look in the rearview mirror and see Erika covering her mouth with her hand. So we pull over at the gas station on the corner and race into the bathroom to have her throw up again! I get her cleaned up again and as we are walking out the lady working there hands me one of those big 44 ounce big gulp cups and says "Poor thing doesn't look good you might need this" what an angel...she seriously doesn't know how much that cup saved my life (and my Mother-In-Laws car!) We get back in the car only to get a couple more miles down the road to hear her start crying. I throw the cup back at her and she sticks her head in it and starts throwing up. I pull over and this time I start losing it...Hey I held my composure for the first 3 throw ups...what did you expect! So Erika and I go inside Wal-Mart and clean ourselves up...purchase a travel size container of Mouthwash and then head back out to the car. Not before I raided the Wal-Mart bathroom though of paper towels! So back on the road...but not for long! A couple miles later she starts crying again and is holding her stomach and covering her mouth. I pull over..give her the cup and she fills it up. Poor thing is white as a ghost now. I am thinking...she can't have anything left in her. She won't drink anything and she has already thrown up lunch.

I moved her carseat to the front seat so that I could be closer to her and she could feel the cold air blowing on her face and hoped that would help. For the last 2 hours of the drive to McCall it is a windy road that you can't go more than 35 miles on and so I knew the worst wasn't behind us yet! Sure enough she threw up about 3 more times on that road. She would cover her mouth and I would hand her the cup and then hurry and pull over at the next turnout. I would race around the car and then hurry and empty the cup inbetween convulsions. She did really good at only throwing up in the cup and never got anything on her or her carseat...what a wonder child! By this time though I had her stripped down naked and just wrapped up in a blanket just in case!

We got into town and about 3 miles away from the campground and she threw up for the last time...the rest of the night she just sat comatose on my Mom's lap and didn't move. She slept fine with no accidents and the next morning she was back to normal! Oh man though...what should have been an 8 hour drive turned into an almost 11 hour drive!

The rest of the week was pure heaven..almost! We got up early...ate breakfast and then raced to the lake where we would spend all day laying on the beach, riding jet skiis, kayakking and wakeboarding. It was fun to hang out with family and see all the cousins. Erika had a blast playing in the sand all day long and playing with Jack and Kathryn who are close to her age. She evened conned Mallory into playing with her a couple times too! She loved playing with her and kept asking if she could play with the princess again.

Each night we would eat dinner together, make some kind of a craft, and then have a campfire and play games. One night we made Jacob's Ladders and Erika had fun helping me sand all the blocks and get them painted. Another night we made homemade ice cream in a bag. Kathryn was my partner and we tossed back and forth the bag until it made our ice cream just perfect! Another night after dinner we saw a fox running through the campground. It would come up to some campers and eat food right out of their hands. It was hard to get a picture of it because the kids were always chasing it...so sorry its blurry! It was so much fun being around everyone. We don't get together often enough!


Friday morning we packed up camp and headed back to Utah with my family. Once again...what should have been an 8 hour drive turned into almost a 12 hour drive...not because of Erika though...because of me! I don't know what our deal is but we couldn't hold it together!

Saturday morning we got up and got ready and headed to Lehi for the Davies Family reunion. We hung out and talked with the family...ate a little lunch and then Trent took me to my cousins house for a bridal shower for another cousin. It was fun to see all the Fugal side of the family! After the shower we hung out at my grandparents house for a while before heading to the Pleasant Grove pool for the Fugal Family reunion. They had a hawaiian BBQ and had rented out the pool for the family so it was fun to be able to feed our faces again..mingle...and swim!
All in all its been a busy...exhausting...way fun week! Erika and I are sporting our tans and flaky skin from being in the sun for like 10 hours a day for a week! Its hard to get back to real life but we are slowly adjusting!