three out of four or a train wreck

.

OK guys and dolls, you really need to read this post, stranger than fiction.

Yesterday, we head up to San Antonio on our quest for a fun filled day at Fiesta Texas. Our directions were wrong, missed a turn but finally made it there. Scan our tickets, get a locker and are off! The first ride we come to is the boomerang. Its a great ride, me and the girls love it. We decide to wait in line for it. This was the first time we have ever been in the summer and it was the most crowded I have ever seen the park. It was also the hottest. The heat index was about 105 out west yesterday. I had told Ash to wear shorts, she refused and said she would be fine in her jeans. There we were in line, no shade, there is Ash in her jeans, no water, no food. She started to waiver. She was in the process of asking Larry for some money for a drink when she said she couldn't see, then dropped to the ground. She passed smooth out for about 5 seconds. When she woke back up she said "Oh man, I fell asleep" Her pupils were huge and her lips were white. We promptly took her out of line, got some water and food down her. We asked if we needed to go, she said no, she felt better. She hadn't eaten anything on Friday, drank no water and had heat exhaustion. OK, there's one out of four.

We eat, get our fluids in and decide to press on with the day. We come to some acme roadrunner ride, a smaller rollercoaster and decide to go on. Here's the part when I tell you Larry has a back problem, for about 4 years now. He decides he can get on the ride, we go, screaming all the way, me and the girls in fun, he in pain. Nope, he doesn't think he can ride any of them. I joke and tell him he should have come with us when the girls were little and he could still move. He didn't think that was funny. There's two out of four.

Next ride was the Rattler. A true wooden roller coaters built into the rock walls that surround fiesta texas. It's awesome and one of my favorite coasters. We get to our turn, Larry tries to sit in the ride, nope, no can do. The girls had gone ahead in the first car. I ride alone. Mistake. Now, this car is different than normal ones, the seats are very tall and slender and there is a big divider between them, filled with plywood or something. We go up the big drop, go down the big drop and around the first turn. I get a little airborne, land on the divider and get the wind knocked out of me. I am scared to death. I'm thinking, I am going to pass out, then fall out. Breathe, breathe, breathe. I get a grip, hold on for dear life until the end of the ride. When I get off I am so sore. I heard something crack when I landed but wasn't sure if I broke the ride or the ride broke me.

We push through the rest of the afternoon deciding we would be better off in the lazy river of the water park than on the rides. We go and spend an hour in the water then decide we are all ready to come home. Except for Hannah. She had a fantastic time and escaped without bodily injury.

We finally get home, it's hard to breathe, I can't move this way or that. I decide to try and sleep it off, see how I feel today. I get into bed with the help of a stool. Lay down, nope, that won't work. I get out of bed and sleep sitting up on the couch. When I wake up, I am throbbing. I can't believe my luck. Larry says we need to go to the er and get it looked at. Only problem is I have to go in at 10:30 to learn how to do the inventory adjustments. I go in, tell Mandy the whole story, she can't believe it either.

Get home, Larry is ready. We go to the er and it is packed. Coughing babies, bleeding heads, puking old women, ugh. I go to xray, wait for the docs. Yep, one rib broken, another bruised. What can they do? Nothing. It seems back in the day they would wrap the ribs, then everyone got pneumonia. They treat the pain. How long? A few weeks. I think I am going to die. This hurts almost as bad as my appendix did when it almost burst a couple of years ago.

I have to take it easy, force myself to take four deep breaths four times a day to keep my lungs clear. Have to go in to work tomorrow as Clint's grandmother died and he is off to Arkansas. I will be off Tuesday and will be planted firmly on the couch.

On the way home Hannah says, "Even after everything that happened, it was a great day!!" As only Hannah could. It was a good day in spite of everything. A very memorable what could be the last family mini vacation we have.