Our Trip

In request from a favorite friend of mine....it is time to update the blog with our weekend trip. I haven hardly had time to sit down but I need to inform all my blog readers (whomever that may be!!)

So Hutchinson was a grand ole time. (No it really was, but here's the story) It started off with heading out of town Friday night after Kaden ate, so he'd sleep for the 3 hr trip. As we are heading into Hutch, well about 20 mins out or so, we started hearing bad weather reports and it was all where we were or were going. So winds pick up, darkness covers and I am freaking out a little bit. Tornadoes around western/central KS all night long!! Great, glad we are heading into it. So we made it to his parents house, unload the bags, carry Kaden upstairs and put him in the crib and go back downstairs to see whats going on w/ the weather....bad news...sirens started going off, red areas all over the radar and I'm a little nervous. So as soon as the sirens started we all looked at each other and Brett headed upstairs to get Kaden out of bed, mind you this is about 12:15 or so. He woke up a little and wondered where the heck he was, but smiled when he saw his parents dog and saw the grandparents, but yet still confused. So we watch and watch the reports and never really headed to the basement b/c of the reports and the fading away of the storm. An hour past w/ the sirens going on around town, and we put Kaden back to bed and headed there ourselves.

Sat. morning came, really quickly, and we played a while w/ Kaden and then got ready and headed to Haviland, KS to see his grandparents. The hr. car ride, let Kaden take a morning nap, and he was ready to go as we rolled into town. It was good to see them and everyone was impressed with Kaden's size, hey now, and talents (dancing, talking, walking, laughing, etc.)

Around 3 we headed from there to Kiowa, KS for his cousins wedding (the reason for this whole trip) Well on our way there (1 1/2 hr trip) we got lost (well Brett's dad did) so we are going down highways and trying to figure it out, then turn down dirt roads to get to another hwy, oh man, it was a trip. We made it there JUST in time for the wedding to begin, literally about 10 mins before it started, but I will say we weren't the last to arrive. The ceremony was really pretty and everything turned out great. We headed to the reception and ate, and talked a lot w/ his family and then needed to head out around 8:30 b/c Kaden was getting restless and it was still a 2 hr or so drive from there to Hutch!!Yikes.

We made it home and woke up Sunday, again rather a quick night, and saw and ate w/ his other grandparents, saw some aunts/uncles/cousins, then kinda hung out a lot at the house. Kaden LOVES wagon rides, we do them daily, so luckily grandma and grandpa Ballard had a wagon, so that occupied lots of time!! So after dilly-dallying around and eating dinner, we decided to start our trip yet back home to Lawrence. As we are doing this the clouds and weather start to feel a little weird and we start watching the radar on tv again.

Are you serious, more tornadoes and bad t-storms!!! So we had to adjust our route home to stay south of all the really bad stuff. So we headed out and gave Kaden his bottle in the car. About 30-45 mins out of Hutch and Kaden had JUST finished his bottle.........BLAH BLAH BLAH, Kaden was puking EVERYWHERE!! I mean I was throwing out buckets of vomit from the car. Brett pulled over and we are getting him cleaned up as good as possible and the carseat out of the car on the side of a dirt road and wiped out w/ napkins and baby wipes, which was all we had in the car. There is nothing in site where we were except for dark clouds and winds. We are getting things cleaned as good as possible, trying not to get to frustrated w/ each other and the weather stuff, and all of a sudden the sky turns pitch black and the winds picked up to like 60-80 mph. It was nuts, I started crying, trying to get the carseat back and buckled into the car, Brett has Kaden, he's crying and there is still puke everywhere. We get it in as good as possible, but we HAD to go b/c the bad stuff was coming. Brett speeds off and we were literally REALLY braking the speed limit for a LONG time to get ahead of the storms/tornadoes. Kaden finally fell asleep and we are stuck in the car for 3 hrs dodging & running from tornadoes and have the great smell of throw-up the ENTIRE way. I don't really know how we did it and at times I really wanted to puke myself.

We took my car, for gas reasons, and it is cloth seats where the Explorer is leather, so yeah....cloth seats-----soaked up all the puke smell!! (poor Brett he's still driving it, we haven't had it detailed yet, oops!!)

So there you have it, we made it home, more in between storms we actually did hit and could barely see, but we made it home and I don't EVER want to be in that situation again.

Kaden is feeling better, not sure what he had, just a little bug I guess, but man that was the most disgusting thing and most helpless feeling I have when he gets sick like that, poor baby.

Sorry this was so long, but details make it the story it is.

Hope everyone else's Memorial weekend was better.

We cant wait to see everyone really soon for my brothers wedding, we are anxious for it to be here.

Take care , talk to you all soon.