this should be all of the vacation now

I had actually written more but was using the laptop with a poor connection and it got lost. So to finish up the vacation diary - here's the rest. So Elexis threw up Friday on the way back to the campground. She layed down when we got back. Autumn, Warren and Josiah all went swimming while Warren made supper. The little boys really wanted to go to but had been having such horrible diarrhea and you never know when vomit that I was mean and wouldn't let them. I told them they could go in the morning if they were doing better. So then we finally started eating around 9pm and Josiah didn't take any. He said he didn't know where the brats were. So Warren gave him one on a plate and he promptly began throwing up on next to the picnic table. Good thing he hadn't taken a bite yet. Exhaustion had set in so all the kids and I went to bed. Warren stayed up a bit to clean up from supper.

A bit later I had to go to the bathroom and Warren had just left for the bathrooms himself but I figured it was safe to leave the kids so I went too. When I got back not more than 5 minutes later, I smelled vomit as soon as I entered the tent. I should have just ignored it and went back to sleep but I turned on the light and found that Samuel had made quite the mess. He threw up where he was laying (which wasn't horrible because I had precautionarily laid a towel under each boys head to keep any mess to a minimum) but then he must have moved some and was laying in a different place where he had vomited more. He was back sound asleep though. So clean-up ensued, including Josiah's legs which Samuel had managed to get in her spewing. We were quickly running out of sleeping bags as we had one for each boy and the two that had been dirtied the previous night were still dirty as the washing machine at the campground was too small to properly clean them and after washing them the vomit remained. However, it was a hot night so I think they were all okay. I believe Eli woke up later that morning and had a small emesis but we caught all of his in the bucket so it was an easy clean-up. Unfortunately for him, his diarrhea was really getting worse and he couldn't stay out of the bathroom with that.

That morning I wanted to get packed up quickly (saturday) as there was no point in staying any longer with sick kids and it looked like rain. I let all the kids except Bethany and Elexis who didn't want to go swimming as I figured it was the pool that got them sick anyway so what the heck. Elexis was great helping out with packing and taking down the tent and we made it out of the campground by 11a, checkout time. Despite stopping at the camp bathrooms before we pulled out, we hadn't gone one mile before Eli had to go to the bathroom again. We decided to do Taco Bell for lunch (I mean, really, at this point, what was it going to hurt?). Eli went to the bathroom once while we were in the drivethru and then twice more before we could pull away as we passed out the food (in the restaurant, that is.) We needed gas then where he promptly informed us again he needed to go. I told him sorry, he had to wait. We drove about eight miles out of Rapid City to Ellsworth Airforce Base where we stopped to visit. Our plan was to take our time driving home that day and get home around midnight or so. We toured the museum there with Elexis and Bethany staying in the van while Bethy slept. From there we drove to Wall Drug, most everyone except big Warren's favorite place. The boys stocked up on guns again, I made them buy the cheap ones this time though. Then we headed out again. Somehow, between bathroom stops and such, we only made it about 200 miles and it was getting late already. We stopped in Onamia at McDonalds for supper. Actually we got drive-thru and then went to the park to eat. At this point, it was almost 9pm and Warren and I were both tired enough, we didn't know how we would get home. So we started looking at hotels/motels to stay at. This in itself is never easy for us as we either to lie about the number of kids and then take them in through different doors or get two rooms or a really big room or whatever. After trying a couple other places, we stopped by the Super 8 and they had one room left, a king jacuzzi suite with a king bed and pull-out couch we were told. She asked how many kids and I asked I had to tell the truth. We told her and she let us stay anyway. The kids were thrilled to stay in a hotel. We didn't do any swimming - enough of that plus it was late. The room had a window air conditioner which was not on when we entered so it took several hours to cool down in there. It was hot and sticky. However, we were all happy to be sleeping somewhere other than a tent and there was a tv and CABLE! Bethany I think was the happiest as she just ran around smiling and playing. Being we got there so late, we didn't get to enjoy as much as I wanted to but was a nice break.

The next morning, we had to be out by 11 again. We weren't even going to attempt to find a church to go. No one would have been in the service. The hotel room was starting to feel very small as half of us began fighting for the toilet all morning. Little Warren had several dirty pairs of pants in the bathroom he had soiled during the night, Eli wet himself and couldn't stop with his diarrhea, and Elexis, big Warren, and I all were needing to go. At least Sam and Beth had diapers on so didn't need the toilet too. We let the kids who wanted use the jacuzzi quickly that morning while we packed. Right at eleven I sent Warren to check us out but had to remain in the hotel room with Eli as he kept going and going and going. I was really beginning to fear for his hydration level. We finally made it out of there and got to Sioux Falls by about 2 for lunch. By this time we were all tired of campfire meals, sandwiches, and fast food so decided to splurge and go to Olive Garden. And this is where perhaps the story becomes the best.

When we went in, Samuel had soiled himself and leaked so I brought in a change of clothes for him and sent him and Bethy into the bathroom with the girls to get them changed. We were seated then and ordered our food. Throughout the meal, Eli got up to leave and go to the bathroom about twenty times. Other kids went at various times. I'm sure at some point the waitress had to be wondering what was wrong with this family. I should mention since we were there at non-peak time there was only one lady sitting near us and we were pretty close to the bathrooms. Right after the lady left, we heard Sam go. Warren and I put our change together and offered it to whoever would change him before it got too late. Everyone refused (including myself because by this point, I had long since given up trying to change every diaper and had had enough myself). Well, it got to be too late as Warren noticed neon green stuff running down Sam's leg onto his chair and the floor. We used the babywipes to wipes off his legs and the chair so thankful no one was around. Although even if they had been, it looked so much not like normal poop they probably wouldn't have known what it was. Both girls had to try to carry him in the bathroom without dripping anymore while Warren went out to the van to get another change of clothes. Can you imagine what the hostess must have thought of us as she was in clear view of the bathroom and the door and probably saw all our comings and goings. So we left then, appetites were gone, and with only a few more bathroom stops on the way, made it home.